animal
wellness educating your passion
How positive training GETS RESULTS
Going from
fat to fit in 5 steps
Amazing Animal Stories
Find out who won!
Collar, leash and harness DO'S & DON'TS $4.95 USA/$5.95 Canada
VOLUME 7 ISSUE 1
animal wellness 1 www.AnimalWellnessMagazine.com
contents 22
Photo provided by Fox & Hounds
14
51
features 14 The power of
positive training The gentle touch is the right touch
22 What's in
and what's not The dos and don'ts of choosing a collar, leash or harness
58
19 Dr. Martin Goldstein 63 Legal beagle animal wellness
resistant bacteria with natural remedies Healthy ways to zap bad bugs
32 Online dating
services bring animal lovers together
Here's how to meet the perfect match
Story Contest
The results are in! Read our selection of prizewinning animal tales
40 Alternative therapies help improve life for FIP cats Taking a holistic approach to managing this fatal feline disease
columns 10 Yakkity yak
4
28 Fighting antibiotic- 36 Amazing Animals
66 Animal
communication
68 Animal passages
72 Book reviews 82 The tail end
70
features 43 Overweight?
From fat to fit in 5 steps
54 Noxious energy
fields may endanger you and your animals
Ways to protect yourself and your four-footed friend
51 Hop up to health! A basic guide to natural bunny nutrition
58
Communication and respect are key to natural horsemanship
65 Enter our
Amazing Animals Photo Contest Send us your best shots and you could win!
70 Pass the grass!
Grow some wholesome greens for your kitty
Enhancing the bond you share with your equine
departments 6 8
Editorial Pony express
31 Product picks
47 Wellness
resource guide
62 What’s gnu?
73 Ad spots 80 Events calendar 81 Classifieds
Animal Wellness Magazine (ISSN 1710-1190) is published six times a year by Redstone Media Group Inc. Publications Mail Agreement #40884047. Entire contents copyrightŠ 2005. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, without prior written permission of the publisher. Publication date: January, 2005
animal wellness
5
Fighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria
with
natural remedies
by Shawn Messonnier, DVM
A
“Antibiotic” literally means “against life”. That’s great if the life in question is a nasty bacterium. It’s not so good if the life is that of your animal companion. Properly used, antibiotics are usually safe and can help overcome serious, even lifethreatening infections. All too often, though, these drugs are used incorrectly, resulting in extra expense and potential harm to the animal (by destroying helpful bacteria). They can also cause side effects such as vomiting, diarrhea and allergic reactions. The most common side effects I see from the long-term use of antibiotics are a lack of improvement in the animal, as well as secondary yeast infections. I frequently see animals, usually with chronic skin diseases, that have been on antibiotics for months to years, even though many of them do not even have a diagnosed disease! Worst of all, the overuse of antibiotics can encourage the
28
animal wellness
development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. A study1 done at the Cold River Veterinary Center in North Clarendon, Vermont showed that out of six ear swabs taken from patients, all had bacteria resistant to one or more antibiotics. Meanwhile, 78 percent of urine cultures also had antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Why antibiotics don’t always work There are several reasons why animals may not get better while taking antibiotics:
Incorrect diagnosis: Only bacterial infections respond to antibiotics, so it’s important to determine that the disease is actually caused by bacteria before using them. For example, most doctors use antibiotics to treat cats with lower urinary tract disease, even thought most cats
do not have bacterial infections of the bladder. The cats improve, leading everyone to believe the antibiotic cured them, when that is not the case.
Underlying medical problems: Animals with allergies and thyroid disease often have chronic bacterial skin infections. Until the underlying problem is diagnosed and treated, the skin will continue to get infected and the animal will require ever-longer doses of antibiotics.
Wrong antibiotic: No antibiotic works all the time. If the prescribed antibiotic does not work, the diagnosis needs to be reassessed, or a different antibiotic may be needed.
every day or two with the appropriate product, you minimize the number of days he needs to take oral antibiotics. In my practice, animals who are bathed frequently only need oral antibiotics for three to four weeks (the minimum time needed to treat a skin infection) rather than the four to eight weeks often required for animals that are not bathed. Products containing chlorhexidine, povidone iodine, ethyl lactate, and benzoyl peroxide are often useful.
Vaccines
It may seem odd to be discussing vaccines, but in treating skin infections, there are immune-boosting products that are basically “vaccines” against the staphylococcal bacteria
Wrong dose: Even the right antibiotic won’t work if it is not dosed correctly.
Wronglengthoftreatment:Antibiotic therapy can’t be stopped just because the animal seems better. Doing so will often caused a relapse from bacteria that weren’t killed but just dormant. I often see this in animals being treated for skin infections. Antibiotics for skin infections require a minimum treatment time of three to four weeks. However, many doctors reduce this to two weeks in an attempt to reduce costs (antibiotics for a large dog could easily run $50 to $100 or more for three to four weeks of treatment). Unfortunately, the dog relapses after temporarily improving and requires a second round of antibiotics, which ultimately costs more than if the dog had been treated properly in the first place.
Your Dog Can Have His Day... Again!
DGP ™
Dog Gone Pain ™
Revitalizing Supplement For Dogs
Aches and pains reduce your dog’s enjoyment of life and our enjoyment of their company. Let DGP™ (Dog-Gone Pain) help your dog become the same carefree and playful member of the family he or she used to be‚ and wants to be again.
Battling bugs with complementary therapies
■
Supports joint function
■
Enhances mobility and demeanor
■
Brings out the “puppy” in your dog
Noticeable results in just one week!
In certain circumstances, natural therapies can be used in place of antibiotics.
Topical decontamination Topical therapy, such as antibacterial shampoo, is extremely helpful for skin infections because it treats the animal on the outside as well as the inside. Antibacterial shampoo therapy does several things: • Moisturizes and rehydrates the skin • Removes bacteria
FREE! Tr y DGP, RISKtails, Call for de ACKET P FREE SAMPLEature. and liter 4-7 7 70. Call 888-88 4 Ext. 25
• Removes odor • Removes crusts and scales • Flushes out hair follicles
560 Bradley Parkway Blauvelt, NY 10913 Nature and Science For Better Health
www.Doggonepain.com
Most importantly, by bathing your animal animal wellness
29