Pet Doc Donna! A comprehensive holistic and herbal guide to healing your pet naturally!

Get to know a living legend! Dr. Richard Pitcairn was a pioneer, with his book, "Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats." Many of us used his book when their were no others. In this podcast, we get to know him: what motivated him to veer towards a more holistic path and we are introduced to specific helpful remedies as well as diving into what homeopathy is, how it originated and how it works. This naturally dovetails into a new way to see medicine, through the lens of energetic systems. I hope you find this podcast fascinating and can share it with your friends! #DrPitcairn #naturalhealth #holistic #holisticveterinary #veterinary #homeopathy #dogs #cats #energy #energeticmedicine #medicine 

In this episode, PetDoc Donna describes how to help and sometimes cure pets suffering from immune-mediated conditions. By identifying triggers, using acupuncture to shift the immune system's focus, correcting the biome, changing the diet, using herbs to tonify and balance, these cases can be cured within 6 months. We do not suppress symptoms or inflammation except in the case of thromocyctopenia and anemia when steroids may be critical to save the life of the cat or dog initially. Did you know immune-mediated problems are skyrocketing in humans and in pets? Inflammation is our greatest problem because it can literally destroy tissues within the body. By switching single protein diets once a month (treats to match), choosing and tweaking herbal approaches and acupuncture weekly, these cases can be some of the most gratifying because a cure is possible.  When symptoms are just suppressed, the condition is not cured and often the immune system cleverly finds way around pharmaceutical suppression.  #holistic #veterinary #immune-mediated #cats #dogs #PLE #PLN #DM #IBD 

Fleas are always teaching us how to be better caretakers by showing us our pets' weaknesses. As they are attracted to the weakest pet with the lowest vital force. Fleas generally like the tail base of your pet because it has the lowest vital energy. As soon as the pet ingests our vitamin/mineral mix (listen to that podcast to find out how to make it) as well as a raw diet with fresh organic greens ground into their food, the vital force increases and the fleas are naturally repelled. There are various topical preventatives but they generally are less effective without addressing the overall diet. Topical treatments such as Wondercide  and Dermascent essential oils treatments can be helpful in certain conditions. Drying agents such as Fleago, Fleabusters Diatomaceous earth or other environmental products can be helpful and unlike chemical flea "drugs, fleas cannot get resistant to these drying agents. Remember fleas are only on the pet 5% of the time. Most of the time, they are in the environment and difficult to detect. #fleas #fleaprevention #natural #naturalfleacontrol #holistic #veterinary 

Pikante is a 24 year old horse who had been getting sick with insulin resistance for many months causing him to be more lethargic, deposit fat all over his body and seem to head towards Cushings disease, thyroid disease and down a difficult metabolic pathway full of endocrine problems. But Kate, Pikante's person, put her thinking and researching cap on and changed his carbohydrate fat and protein ratios. He is now eating rice bran, teff and alfalfa pellets, taking Platnum performance and Insulinwise (supplements) and getting over 200 minutes of exercise per week. Kate's concentration was on keeping his nonstructural carbohydrates between 10-12% of his diet.  If possible he also gets his hay soaked for less than an hour to remove the sugars, but retain the calcium. Please comment and share if you have thoughts! Pikante's insulin went from 209 to less than 9, meaning the problem became under control, not with pharmaceutical medications, but with management of his diet. 

Join Dr. Donna's candid conversation about holistic veterinary medicine. How did Dr. Judkin's go from a conventional vet to a holistic one? What diseases has he helped? What is his medical philosophy and how did it evolve?  These are some of the questions approached in this interview. Just like PetDoc Donna, Dr. Judkins utilizes acupuncture, homeopathy and herbs but his concentration is on diet. When the dogs come into his practice they get to eat treats made from crickets (which are non allergenic) so he really is not afraid to try new things. An accomplished mandolin player, Dr. Judkins reminds young veterinarians about the importance of work/life balance and he has no plans to retire. #vetlife #veterinarian #holistic #holisticvet #acupuncture #work/life balance. 

The University of Arizona's Canine Cognitive Center issued their observations that dogs are smarter and live longer being fed once a day instead of more often and it's sent the pet world into a panic! I reviewed the findings. It's important to note they are only observations not a double blind study and have not been published or peer reviewed.  Also the oldest animals in my practice, dogs over 20 years old and cats over 23 years old are all fed twice a day.  This is an in depth discussion about transit time, pre and probiotics, immune and gut health and a review of some of the probiotics on the market today (I have no affiliation with them). Enjoy! #gut health #dogs #cats #rawfed #holisticfood #GIhealth

This interview is such a unique look into the early life of Dr. Judy Morgan, including how she became interested in holistic modalities, what were her early successes and how she sees the profession moving forward. Nutrition for dogs is her primary focus and she offers many ways pet folks can learn how to make food and see their pets thrive! Did you know a homemade diet, fresh and live foods can help your pet shed inflammation and actually move better and feel less arthritic pain? Learn more in this heartfelt interview. 

Greta is a nineteen year old kitty with quite a history. She and her person were homeless for 2.5 years, living in a tent in the cold one of Seattle's sketchy tent cities. She is one tough kitty!  Now, at nineteen, her person does acupressure daily to help her appetite and help balance the thyroid and kidney diseases. This balance is not easy and has cost the lives of many cats. On one hand, when you treat the thyroid, the blood pressure can reduce so much that the kidney disease appears worse and on the other, if you help the kidneys, the thyroid disease can worsen as well. For the hyperthyroidism, Greta takes just 1/4 tab of methimazole (conventional medication with side-effects) because of acupuncture and herbs (Thyrocalm, a human product with rosmaranic and lithospermic acids and the acupressure discussed in this video, her conventional medication has been low. Since methimazole is potentially quite toxic to the body (it's a chemotherapeutic but often necessary when radioactive therapy is not a good idea) our goal is to keep her levels as low as possible. The kidney failure is being treated with fluids, herbs acupuncture and now acupressure and is relatively stable now for over two years. Learn what we can do with combining holistic and conventional medicine! And share! Please support this work. We have very few ways to get the message out to you. (It is not supported by mass media and the pharmaceutical industry would rather you not know.) #hyperthyroid #kidneydisease #feline #cats #homelessness #acupressure 

In this podcast, I talk about the ways we use the vital force to help heal pets, not by forcing or suppressing inflammation, but rather by removing triggers of inflammation and using herbs and natural supplements to help tonify and vitalize the vital force.  Pet Doc Donna draws the comparison between this holistic, non-forced way of treating pets with chronic disease to elements of liberty horse training which also does not force. With no halter, bridle or ropes, the horse makes his or her opinions known (this can be difficult to process) and by learning about moving energy and being a fair leader, the horse will bond with us. In this way, we are much safer to ride, much safer when he is frightened by something, he knows we will keep him safe. Vitality and moving energy, as practitioners in this great giant world, with every case, we fine tune our hands, we learn how to move with the animal, toe and hoof or paw together. 

Whether your dog is licking at his feet because of allergies or stress, Pet Doc Donna will help you get to the bottom of the problem and give you holistic, natural tips to help your dog. 

Spinal problems go unnoticed for many pets. Learn three causes for common spinal and neck problems and how to recognize and prevent them. In this podcast, Pet Doc Donna adjusts three very different dogs. The first is a Japanese chin with seizures and spondylosis, the second is a stiff dog with shoulder problems and the third is a young dog that cannot lift her head normally.  All are cured quickly with chiropractic. 

No more excuses! Your kitty's mouth, heart, kidneys and immune system will thank you for it later!  Teach your kitty how to brush his or her teeth in a step by step, positive training fashion which will be more enjoyable for both of you!

In this podcast, Dr. Donna explores the strengths and the weaknesses of both conventional medicine and holistic medicine and how, in the perfect world, the two would be blended at every veterinary clinic to maximize successful outcomes for both acute and chronic conditions. When Knugget's person went to one conventional vet after another, because there was no infection, there was no answer for the dog. Faced with what to do next, she decided to try holistic medicine. Luckily, Dr. Donna has seen other cases like Knugget, young dogs with food allergies whose main reaction is severe and immediate blood in the urine. In one day after diet changes and herbal therapies, his urine became normal after weeks of looking like tomato soup.  Please join us as we discuss the case in depth and please share. There is a Youtube video coming out tomorrow if you wish to see more including what the herbs look like.  The short version: The diet, marshmallow root and yarrow tincture go a long way to treat the condition. 

In 2019, the New York Times published a short article which became a megaphone for the big pet food companies which have largely controlled the narrative about DCM in dogs and made large profits in the wake of this continuing controversy. Veterinarians have pushed their narrative but here we both recognize the merits of understanding nutritional DCM on the dog community, but at the same time, try to discuss the topic without profits to gain or agendas to push. Veterinarians have lumped all homemade dog and raw dog feeders as "non-tradiitional," meaning not feeding one of the four foods they promote, but actually raw food can have more bioavailable non-synthesized taurine and vitamins to help its absorption than any kibble in a bag. The trick is to learn to feed muscles that move--heart tissue, turkey thigh rather than breast and non-factory farmed meats. Factory farmed meats come from animals that are not moving, therefore the taurine level is low. Heart disease in pets is on the rise today so Dr. Karen and Dr. Donna discuss potential causes and cures. DCM is not a valvular disease, it's a disease causing the heart muscle to be flaccid, therefore, your veterinarian cannot necessarily hear any abnormalities through the stethoscope. 

Anxiety is a huge problem these days in our cats, dogs and horses (and humans). Dr. Donna has coined her approached DAPER. This stands for distance, amino acids, positive interactions, exercise, reducing treats. She combines styles of training and observation to recommend this approach despite considering it controversial and counter-intuitive. When our pet whines or cries we run up to hold him or her or we feed treats thinking we are distracting the pet, when really we may be creating more stress and anxiety through our actions. In the first step, we may allow the pet to be several feet away from us and use our voice cues or even gentle humming or soft music to calm from a distance. This way the pet learns "self-soothing." Note: this is different from ignoring his or her needs. Once there is a moment of calmness and quiet, then we can approach and touch and reward the dog. This way we are reinforcing the behavior we want rather than the stressful behavior. Many dogs may have anxiety due to nutritional deficiencies--amino acids such as theonine, tryptophan, taurine. B-vitamins especially thiamine and minerals such as calcium and especially magnesium can all provide a calming effect in the brain and many of our kibble fed dogs may not have enough of these in a bioavailable, non allergic form (note: synthesized amino acids can be highly allergic and thus not absorbed well). Because of this, we see a relationship between food-reactivity and behavior-reactivity. Raw fed dogs with additional B-vitamins and trace minerals (see my video/podcast on making your pet's vitamins) are very helpful. Positive interactions may mean different things to different folks. When the dog cries or whines due to stress, we tend to run to the dog and cradle him. I do not necessarily think this is positive. Sometimes we do this because we need this interaction, we are lonely or sad and we need to create a dependency on us. This may be difficult for pet caregivers to hear but all our actions and inactions the pet will read. I like to pet the dog and say "Good dog" or "Good kitty" when the pet is doing something I like, like sitting quietly or being respectful of others. The pet learns best by our voice, positional and modes of direct soft or rigid interaction. The pet may not learn well by getting treat rewards, unless the timing of those rewards is precise. Food can confuse dogs and cats. And the most anxious thing to hear from the person is, "It's okay, It's okay, It's okay," repeated over and over in a fast, breathless high pitched tone. To the pet, this is translated to, "Oh boy, I better get out of here fast!"  

French bulldogs are prone to IVDD (disc herneations), allergies and skin infections, ear infections and cysts and heart-base tumors as well as other problems. In this video, we talk about 10 year old Maximus, a Frenchie with all these problems and more (chronic cough and anxiety) as he sleepily looks at the camera. He becomes very sleepy with his acupuncture needles already in place because of the endorphins and enkephalins the needles release. Frenchies do well with the holistic management of their chronic diseases. Please share with your Frenchie friends! 

Ear infections are common in dogs and cats. Young animals can have ear mites and without a microscope, the infection can look very much like a yeast infection--a dark or black waxy discharge. Your veterinarian should be initially consulted for treatment. This podcast is focusing on recurring ear infections that are either yeast or bacteria in origin, resulting from a biome or microflora imbalance. This imbalance can be caused by food allergies (commonly grains, other carbohydrates, dairy, chicken, beef, fish or fish oil), occasionally by environmental allergies, getting water in the ear or eating carbohydrates irrespective of food allergies. It is critical that you pay attention to what you feed your dog or cat in the hours or day prior to the onset of the infection. It's important to rotate the protein once a month to prevent hypersensitivities. Dogs and cats should not need regular ear cleaning if their immune system and microflora are balanced. At the end of the podcast, I give the listener a natural cure for aural hematomas, an viable option to surgery, which is to rub food-grade castor oil into the inner ear flap once a day for five days, massaging the oil into the hematoma. It can take up to 14 days for it the ear hematoma to subside completely and it's important to treat the underlying infection but it's an excellent option to surgery because there is no scar tissue, otherwise known as cauliflower ear, that occurs once the hematoma subsides. 

Dr. Michael Lemmon has been a holistic veterinarian for fifty four years and just before he set out to retire, I interviewed him. We discussed ways to prevent veterinary burn out, how to connect with a higher force, keeping spirituality at the core of practice. We also discussed some of his favorite ways to treat cats and dogs holistically and how he and others founded the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Lemmon is an extraordinary person who can focus on the positive and carry an open-minded spirit and a zest for infinite learning. My favorite line of this podcast is, "Nature is the greatest temple." What is Dr. Lemmon doing in retirement? Using the book and movie, "Back to Eden" as a motivational and educational template, he is going back to gardening, to permaculture. We will all miss him so much. 

There are three major causes of anal gland diseases in dogs. First, genetics and anatomical configuration affecting anal gland expression. Second, food allergies and other causes of Damp Heat or stagnation, constipation and other patterns of disharmony often caused by too many carbohydrates and other food allergies. Third, a diet that lacks the correct fiber levels or contains too much bone. Anal gland material should be liquid in dogs and cats, or close to it and not pasty, bloody containing pus. They provide a way for animals to spread their scent in nature. Problems can cause excess scooting, licking and pungent discharge, require emptying very often or abscess causing an exterior wound. Correct management is important to prevent these problems. There is a serious disease causing the body to attack it's own anal gland causing a fistula. This is very common in German Shepherds but not common in other breeds and the information provided above does not necessarily help these perianal fistulas but later I will address autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases in particular. There are also anal gland carcinomas, tumors of the anal area which can make expression difficult. #analglands #fiberfordogs #dogs #abscesses #holisticvet #holistic #naturopathic #naturopathicpetdoc #rawdietssolveanalglands #analglanddisease #expressanalglands

In the Chapter, "The Lost Art of Urinalysis," I describe two young dogs whose lives turn around once we isolated their individual pattern of imbalance causing a high urinary Ph in Lola, the Newfoundland and severe hematuria (blood in the urine) in Coco, the Aussie-doodle. If conventional veterinarians primarily looks at causative bacteria, they can miss some of the main imbalances which give rise to infections in the first place. In my book, Zen and the Art of Caring for Pets, I shine a light on various issues in our profession, two seemingly unrelated problems: One is veterinary burnout and the other is the lack of safe therapeutic options in chronic care. But by using botanical therapies and diet, patients can make miraculous recoveries. Clients are happier and in turn, veterinarians can experience a more fulfilled life dream to help animals. This chapter really emphasizes one difference between holistic and conventional medicine-whether you focus on the bacteria or virus or you focus on the immune system, that innate ability we all have to fight disease. If you or someone you know has a pet with chronic urinary issues, this podcast may be of interest to you. Please subscribe to my youtube channel and give me a review on Amazon if you can! More information is available on my website www.nwholisticpetcare.com. #urinarytractinfections #urine #canine #dog #UTI #sterilecystitis #cystitis #naturopathicpetdoc

Learn how to use holistic principles like clicker training to help your kitty learn that normal procedures such as nail trims and pilling can be positive experiences instead of a perpetual fight (which cats always win). Learn how to read your cat's coat and check for hydration as well as how to clicker train for success with SubQ fluid administration, nail trims, blood draws, anal gland expression and pilling. If you think about it, why should cats trust us? How can we teach them that trusting us will help them live longer and happier lives and keep your veterinarian safer and healthier too. #veterinarian #feline #cats #pillingcats #clickertraining #clickertrainingcats #DrDonna #Naturopathicpetdoc #traincats #caringforcats #wellness