This time around: how you’re being pushed into neutering, falsely; when Flagyl lost to fiber, mega dairies become death traps, and a remedy every ER needs and MORE. Let’s dig in, eh?
Removing Healthy Gonads.… to Avoid Cancer?
I just learned this is a selling point in vet medicine you’re likely to be hit with:
“We suggest you neuter King so he avoids cancer of his testicles.”
Seriously?
This is apparently a common ploy to move you to neuter (the generic term for gonad removal) your male dogs.
May is one of my Alpha students who brought this to my attention, and, in the words of one of my veterinary resident instructors from points South, I was “gob smacked!”
So, of course it set me to researching it, firing up my AI with:
“Is neutering male dogs being sold as a means of preventing testicular cancer?”
In short order, I was told it was “widely promoted” but there were only two links cited, both of them vet clinic sites, who, you know, probably SELL that service, so maybe, umm… conflict of interest?
I pushed back (you know you can’t take AI results at face value, right? I mean, they could be searching the sold out main stream media…)
“I seriously doubt testicular cancer is common. Have any data to substantiate that claim?”
Read on to see where this cancer actually ranks.
This is Logic?
Here’s the 4th grade thinking that’s behind the push:
“No testicles, no testicular cancer.”
Dang! Why didn’t I think of this??
But, seriously, that’s right up there with Angela Jolie having both of her perfectly normal breasts cut off to prevent breast cancer some years ago.
Truth Alert: Cancer is not prevented by taking away a normal body part that might “get” it.
Revisiting Cancer as Metabolic Disease
Dr. Thomas Seyfried came to our attention several years ago with a dog case reported to him from an owner who put her cancer dog on a keto diet, and a large mast cell tumor disappeared.
Now, this part is true: cancer is the #1 cause of death in dogs past middle age.
Seyfried has been furthering the work of an earlier researcher, Otto Warburg, who found cancer cells thrived on glucose fermentation.
So, food can either feed cancer or deny it sustenance, in simple terms. The woman putting her dog on a ketogenic diet in essence starved that mast cell tumor away.
Carbs turn into glucose. And they bind all kibble together, whether it’s called “grain free” or not.
And wolves don’t die of cancer. Hmmm…
What else contributes to the growth of tumors?
Vaccination. Since the earliest days of small pox vaccines, homeopaths saw the connection to cancer
Obesity (and inactivity) increases the risk of several cancers
Second hand smoke, strongly associated with lung cancer
Chronic, unresolved inflammation (like those rotten teeth I wrote about)
Immune suppression (like Apoquel is known to cause, cancer being the chief side effect, it appears)
So, The Question: How Common is Testicular Cancer in Dogs?
That’s what May asked, as she’d been prompted by her vet to castrate her dog.
It sure didn’t didn’t strike me as common, but I dug deeper to confirm my sense of it.
Here’s data showing, in order of occurrence, the types of cancers US dogs experience:
Common Canine Cancer Sites in the US (with Examples and Data Highlights):
• Skin & Subcutaneous
Typical tumors: Mast cell tumor, soft tissue sarcoma, histiocytoma, lipoma
Notes: Most common overall; highest claims in Nationwide data; Boxers at high risk for skin cancer
• Lymphoid System
Typical tumors: Lymphoma (this appears to be the commonest one Apoquel sends one into, per the hundreds of comments on my article)
Notes: Among top malignant diagnoses; breed and size effects; key endpoint in Golden Retriever Lifetime Study
• Spleen/Vascular
Typical tumors: Hemangiosarcoma
Notes: Leading cause of cancer death in Goldens; high claims in Nationwide data
• Oral/Oropharyngeal
Typical tumors: Melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma
Notes: Common malignant site in US claims; oral tumors prominent
• Bone
Typical tumors: Osteosarcoma
Notes: Major malignant burden in large breeds; Rottweilers at high risk
• Liver
Typical tumors: Hepatocellular carcinoma, bile duct carcinoma
Notes: Frequent in claims; Beagles at higher risk
• Mammary Gland
Typical tumors: Mammary carcinoma, adenoma
Notes: Less common in US due to spay practices; still important in intact females (but… those dogs were likely raised conventionally in addition to being intact, so: crap food, lots of vaccines, and poisons for every pest)
• Urinary/Prostate
Typical tumors: Transitional cell carcinoma, prostatic carcinoma
Notes: Consistent but lower incidence in claims data
As you can see, testicular cancer didn’t even make the top ranks.
Oops.
And don’t get me started on the other reasons vets toss out for good reasons to neuter males.
Aggression? BS. In fact, at least one study showed it increased in castrated males. My intact males growing up (n=3) were gentlemen, to a T.
Marking with urine? Sure, on walks. So? In the house? Cats, sure, but dogs? Not so much with even minimal training.
And population control? As I point out in my article Neuter or Not? And When? other countries don’t have the over population issues we do and neutering is not pushed or practiced as vehemently as it is in the US.
Finally, if, in the long shot case, your senior dog does get testicular cancer, guess what?
It’s a benign tumor, you can feel it (c’mere Jake, you know I’ll be gentle…) and it’s easily removable with the usual neutering procedure.
So, thanks for asking, May, I learned of yet another scam to alert my wise readers about.
Is Your Vet Punting on Diarrhea?
If you don’t use a homeopathic vet as your main practitioner, odds are fairly high any dog you bring in for sudden diarrhea will be given a round of Metronidazole (aka Flagyl) by Dr. WhiteCoat.
But, let’s dig a bit deeper, shall we?
Here’s some recent research showing that this “standard of care” is really no better than a fiber rich diet.
And, being an antibiotic, Flagyl is actually a detrimental treatment, in a larger sense.
Remember, our pets, like us, depend on having a healthy population of probiotic flora in their gut, the more diverse the species, the better.
Flagyl, like most antibiotics, is not fussy about who it knocks off, and that loss of diversity affects gut health, digestion, immunity, and potentially even behavior, as we know there’s a gut-brain connection.
From the research:
Metronidazole does not improve recovery compared with other treatments and negatively impacts the gut microbiome, contributing to dysbiosis, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, negatively altered metabolism, and delayed recovery.”
Now granted, this study was done to prove a fiber-added kibble diet would beat the drug in outcomes of acute colitis (inflammation of the large intestine), so here we go again with the conflicts of interest at work.
Here’s what appears at the bottom of the article to prove it:
*This study received funding from Royal Canin.”
Interestingly, this must be a reprint of an earlier article, as the comments from vets are all two years old.
And, the majority of them saw failures trying diet + probiotics without this drug, so returned to using metronidazole… and whacking the gut flora.
Fasting as a Fix
A disordered gut in a dog (vomited and/or diarrhea) will often resolve with gut rest, in my experience.
A fast on water and perhaps broth (any kind you care to make, from veggie to bone broth) for 24-48 hours will turn the majority of these around.
It’s no biggie for the animal, but owners (umm, that’s you…) have to get your mind right, realizing the wild cousins and wolf ancestors would naturally stop eating at regular intervals with zero negative health consequences.
In fact, evidence is piling up that intermittent fasting is a GOOD thing.
Homeopathy to the Rescue
As there are excellent results with homeopathic treatment, that would be my first choice to recommend.
But, as there are anywhere from 100 to 250 remedies for “diarrhea,” I can’t recommend a remedy here. If you were my client during my active practice days, I’d be asking all sorts of questions if you said, “My dog’s got diarrhea.”
What color is it?
Is it passing easily or is there straining?
Does it splutter on the way out?
Is there mucus or blood in the stool?
Describe the odor compared to normal stool
Any time of day/night you’re seeing it more often?
Etc, etc.
So, that’s how a professional homeopath would narrow down the choices and find a suitable remedy.
Once that was found, it wouldn’t take more than a dose or two to cure the diarrhea in most cases. (In my Homeopathy Short Course, you’ll read a neat case of Giardia diarrhea, cured while my client was in the wilds of the Rockies with her dog and remedy kit)
Finding a Good Homeopath
On my Recommended Resources page, I have lists of both No. American homeopathic vets and a more international group, the IAVH, along with a video on how I’d begin the sorting process.
Remember, like “holistic,” any one can call themselves a “homeopath,” so a bit of caution and some interviewing is always a good idea before settling on someone you’ll hire and spend time and money on.
But, most diarrhea is acute, meaning it’s relatively short in duration and curable with a smaller subset of remedies.
Acute veterinary homeopathy is what we are studying in my Vital Animal Alpha members group and my students would have some favorite acute remedies they’d know to give a try for diarrhea or any other acute illness.
If you want to be alerted when we open enrollments again, you’ll see a wait list by clicking that last link.
We’ll open once more before the year is out and we’d love to welcome you to the fold.
BIG Dairy Farming Deaths
One of the downsides of huge dairy farms?
What are they to do with all that manure?
The recents deaths of six (count em, 6!) farm workers at a Denver area dairy speaks to that issue.
When you concentrate all that manure in pits (see the pic above, the dark rectangles up top are manure ponds, constructed just for that) disaster lurks.
The “expert” interviewed by CBS tells half the story (notice his downcast eyes, telling a story all their own…)
Yes, hydrogen sulfide is a poisonous gas, capable of rapid death when inhaled.
But no, the “real milk” dairy farms of 50 cows or so will likely never see these dangerous conditions nor experience human deaths.
Those smaller farms regularly spread their manure on their fields. Turns out, it serves the soil and the crops very well, as all the old timers have known since antiquity.
And, when you watch the CBS video (it may not be up for long, so watch it soon), you’ll see the Wham Bam Thank You Ma’am method of milking cows.
Hose those dirty udders down, slap on a machine (next to those filthy legs) and hope the bacterial count in the milk won’t trigger alarms and cause the milk to be condemned to cheese production vs fluid sales.
Immigrant laborers getting paid by the hour… how much do you suppose they are invested in the cows’ health?
Such conditions are common in California and where ever super sized herds are aggregated.
And, the level of disease and early death/culling in 1000+ cow operations is atrocious. Most cows only last for two years.
The Call to Support Small
I had the extreme good fortune to begin my veterinary career in a rural mixed practice in Wisconsin, my home state.
The average herd size we saw in one of the most dairy intensive counties of the Dairy State was 40 cows.
A couple had 100 cows, which we considered large in the 80’s.
A few had 10 or less.
Cows on these farms lived to be at least in their teens, some into their 20’s.
The family members milked those cattle, twice a day, rain or shine, every day. Mom, Dad, and older kids, while Grandpa usually fed the calves.
They knew the cows by name and could rattle off their mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers and the bulls they’d had their best offspring from.
If you’ve got concerns about the quality of milk coming from the store, you’re right on the money. Most comes from mega-dairies like the one above.
You’ll do far better to find local milk from a farmer you can actually meet, who will most likely be proud to show you his cows (most of the large dairies somehow have a law against fly over pictures, as a comparison).
If you opt for consuming it raw, you’ll get the greatest benefit, as the enzymes are left intact and the cream rises. Most who are “allergic” to milk will find the raw milk to be entirely free of symptoms once consumed.
Here’s the best source I’ve seen for raw milk of various species (in various countries!), give a click to visit:
Tasty Tip: ER Injuries
A recent article in Clinician’s Brief was on HBC pets (hit by car, aka “vehicular trauma,” as scientists feel bigger words are mo’ betta).
Vehicular trauma is a common presentation in the veterinary emergency clinic and the most common type of blunt force trauma in dogs and cats. Management of vehicular trauma cases can be complex and require advanced resources and care.”
Blunt trauma.
A perfect storm for all sorts of things going wrong, from blood leaking out of vessels, organs smashed, bones broken, and head injuries.
As I tried unsuccessfully to GIVE AWAY free homeopathic arnica from a well known homeopathic pharmacy when I practiced in Austin, I’ll alert you to its extreme usefulness in cases of blunt trauma like this.
This is, in fact, arnica’s forte: bruising blows.
And, unlike most homeopathic remedies, this one is very nearly a “one Rx fits all” for that condition.
My Alpha students all know it as the #1 remedy to at least start with when their animal receives an injury.
There may be different remedies to follow, depending on the case, but you’ll never go wrong starting homeopathic arnica in a case of acute injury.
I remember my first “owned” dog, Loopy the Basset Hound, coming home with a bruised eye and a limp, and we deduced from his direction of return that he’d sustained a car related injury.
I was 11 at the time, my family knew nothing of homeopathy (darn it!), and Loopy didn’t even see the vet, he just slept it off and slowly recovered. The red eye took the longest to clear, but it all would have resolved way faster and quickly set Loopy right had we reached for arnica.
How to Use Arnica for Injury
First, the potency. Every homeopathic remedy has its Latin name followed by a number. 30C is the commonest, meaning that remedy has been diluted from its crude herbal form 1 part to 99 parts of diluent for thirty rounds.
The next step up had 200 rounds of that 1:99 dilution, and is called 200C.
[For more details on this, and how to use remedies and some amazing case reports, be sure to take my low cost Homeopathy Short Course. Here’s a peek at the core curriculum]
I’d suggest buying a 200C of Arnica montana from any good homeopathic pharmacy (not Amazon, please, the pharmacies need our support). Your purchase will probably be online.
Pharmacy examples include: Hahnemann, Washington, Thompson’s (Toronto), and in UK, Ainsworth, Helios, and Freemans.
Get a couple vials, keep one in the kitchen, and another in your glove compartment.
Each vial will have a bunch of pellets, usually big fat BB sized globules.
And a label with a general direction you can ignore if a loved one is grossly injured.
If your animal is immobile and looks a wreck, load up for the ER, but give Arnica 200C before loading and a couple more doses on the trip and another upon unloading.
A dose? One big fat BB. (Remember, we’re ignoring that general label, which often says 3 pellets every 8 hours or some such. As this is energetic medicine, a pellet or 10 pellets will have the exact same effect, so no need to waste them).
Drop the dose into Sadie’s cheek pouch. She doesn’t need to swallow it for it to start it’s healing work.
Post Exam
If you’re released and Sadie’s sent home, you can continue Arnica every hour for the first few hours, then every 3-4 hours, and then, especially as you see her pulling herself back to normal, just a couple doses a day for a few more days.
If she’s got to stay, I’d ask the ER docs to do this for you, assuring them there will be no interference with what ever they choose to do from their side: surgery, meds, you name it.
Some will, some won’t, but for those who won’t, bring your tube of arnica when ever you’re allowed to visit, and sneak a dose or two in. You’ll only be helping hasten the healing.
The Gateway Drug
In the HSC curriculum, you’ll see this term for one of the early lessons.
Arnica montana is truly a “gateway drug” in homeopathy, as it often has miraculous effects in any acute injury.
It’s a remedy I’ve longed to see in every ER world wide, whether veterinary or human.
That train of hope seems stuck in the station, so take it upon yourself, and stock up for first aid use at home.
You can thank me later.
p.s. If you’ve got success stories from using this remedy, the comments await you! We want to hear about it!
Along the Natural Path
The wanderers are pretty much everywhere, snatching up patches of grass, shuffling through garbage if there’s no grass close by, and remarkably, getting enough to eat to keep their bodies fit.
Cows, bulls, rarely buffalo (because they’d get in too much trouble, perhaps, with their hard headedness?) will even be seen on city streets, like in Delhi.
We call a small village home where I live, and gates prevent their wanderings within the ashram itself, but this trio is just outside the gate where my morning bike ride starts most days.
The cow on the far left is suffering “pink eye,” as the dark stream down her left cheek belies. There’s a small face fly whose season must finally be nearing its end, but they are a determined bugger. I’ll be riding down the road, pushing 8 mph, and one will pester my head or ears, as if the wind from my forward motion is nothing. Brush him away, he’s back, again and again.
I saw a mongoose within our walls this morning, as I looped around our streets, not wanting to chance what looked like an imminent rain shower. Talk about shyness of humans. You’ll never see one for long, as they see you first and start looking small and heading for a hidey hole.
Fierce little dudes with cobras, but I only know that from Youtube videos. At least in my environs, they play a very rapid disappearing act.
When we got talking about milk in a prior issue, I mentioned mine is from buffalo, which can brag about having twice the protein and butterfat as the cows have. Someone asked in the comments if I meant a bison. No, these guys above are nearly as common as cows in India, and they do love a good soak, even if it’s from the farmer giving them a good washing on occasion.
And, you’ll see these egrets given full bodily access to pick off bugs, explore the ears, and generally do their symbiotic duty where ever they see fit.
Where ever you call home on the planet, I hope you’re outside and exploring regularly in Nature. It’s always been a life saver for my sanity. The combo of biking exercise in the early morning sunshine while my intermittent fasting period runs down to breakfast is my favorite time of day.
Till next time, let us hear what resonated for you in the comments below.
Will Falconer, DVM
"They" are definitely promoting spaying as cancer-prevention.
Not so serious, but I remember taking my border collie with double dew claws on her back legs, to a vet who recommended removing the claws because they might get caught in something. I pointed out that I might very well get my fingernails caught in something yet I didn't want them removed and didn't think the risk of anesthesia was worth it. He seemed taken aback. By the way, she lived to be about 12 and NEVER caught a dew claw in anything!
I started my career at 15 in a no kill shelter. We were taught to repeat the mantra spay and neuter prevents cancer in general. Mammary cancer in females and testicular cancer in males. As well as pyometra. I went into veterinary nursing (allopathic) and this was message was repeated in school and by every doctor I knew. When I switched over to natural medicine ~14 yrs ago I learned there was no scientific evidence to back it up. It was simply a tactic for population control and maybe a profit motive at this point.
There was however evidence by then of the enormous harm altering the hormones of an animal does to their health long term. Contributing to the rise in cancer and joint disease.
Altering God’s perfect design never worked out well for anyone.