Old Dog Food

What gives pet food its shelf life? You may have noticed that dry pet food is labeled for about a year after you buy it. What you may not know, however, is that it’s good for a year, as long as the bag is unopened. How do the manufacturers do that? By adding natural or chemical preservatives, and by sterilizing the product. The only way that dog food lasts without spoiling is because it’s sterile and sealed in a vacuum.

This leads a lot of people to believe that the pet food that they buy can last a long time in the bag. And it can – as long as you don’t open it! Pet food is greasy to the touch because it’s sprayed with fat. Once you open the bag, air, bacteria, and fungi get in, causing oxidation of the product, a.k.a. rotting.

“But the food still looks okay!”

 We can’t see the damage that is occurring as the food deteriorates on a microscopic level. Dry pet foods are so processed that it takes them a long time to physically change as they rot. A common experience is washing the dog bed that has some kibbles stuck to it, and having the dog food go through the washer and dryer and come out looking just the same as it did before.

“But it still smells okay!”

Human noses are relatively insensitive. If our pets turn away from their food, we probably shouldn’t add things to it to make them eat it. They can smell mold and toxins better than we can. There’s a reason why we don’t have drug- or bomb-sniffing people.

“But he still eats it!”

We need to be smarter than our pets, if we’re going to be the ones filling the food bowls. Most of the time our pets only have access to the food we offer them, and it’s up to us to make sure that it’s the highest quality, cleanest stuff that we can provide. Sporadic vomiting or loss of appetite can be signs that the food has gone bad in spite of its appearance.

If you’re going to feed kibble, don’t buy a bag larger than the amount you will use in one week. Once you open the bag, place it in an airtight container that is not plastic, because plastic absorbs grease and odors. Make sure the lid is closed tight between feedings. Even better, feed your pet a homemade cooked or raw diet made from fresh or frozen ingredients each time. It may seem harder than scooping kibble out of a bag, but with experience it gets quicker and easier, and the rewards are worth the effort!

The Secret of Anal Glands

What are the anal glands? They are two little secretory glands located just southeast and southwest of your dog’s or cat’s anus. They are sometimes referred to as anal sacs, but I had to stop calling them that after I found out that clients thought I was saying “anal sex”.

What are these glands producing? The secretion is normally a light brown watery liquid that comes out every time your pet poops. It is a pheromone rich substance that is the reason that dogs and cats smell each others’ rear ends. The chemicals in the fluid tell them how tall the other dog was and what size shoes he wore.

Why do the anal glands get plugged up? Why does your dog scoot on its butt across the floor? The duct that conducts the fluid to the outside of the body is tiny, roughly the diameter of a pin. If the consistency of the secretion changes and thickens, the fluid can’t escape. The lining of the gland continues to produce the fluid, and the animal’s rear end becomes more and more uncomfortable, resulting in scooting, itching, and chewing at the area. So much fluid can build up that the gland can rupture right out the back end of your pet.

It’s important to know that not all dogs or cats will display these symptoms! Some dogs will simply stop barking, or stop jumping up on the furniture. Cats may groom their backs excessively. I have seen dogs that were carried into the hospital, their owners convinced they had Lyme disease, and it turned out that their anal glands were so full that they were apparently too uncomfortable to walk!

What makes the anal glands flare up? Like the ears, the anal glands are outposts of the immune system. They are part of the gastrointestinal system. The bulk of the immune system lines the walls of the large intestine, in large areas of lymphoid tissue called Peyer’s Patches, or GALT (Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissue). Trouble with the anal glands is often the first sign of an immune system disruption.

Dogs and cats with anal gland problems should be put on a natural raw or homemade diet, given appropriate supplements to support intestinal detoxification, and should not be vaccinated any more. Surgical removal of the glands is not recommended, as the animals will still have immune system problems. The surgery often does not put a stop to the associated behaviors (scooting, itching, etc.), and the underlying cause can be much harder to cure.

The Mystery of Ear Infections

Last week we saw 2 dogs that had severe fungal (yeast) ear infections. Some of you might have dogs that experience chronic ear infections. You may be constantly monitoring, cleaning, and medicating one or both ears. You may even have been told that these infections are a symptom of allergies, and perhaps you have tried antibiotics, antihistamines, steroids, and/or hypoallergenic prescription diets for your dogs. Some dogs with severe, chronic bacterial infections may even have had an ear ablation, in which the ear canal is surgically removed in an attempt at a final solution.

The medical term for these ear infections is otitis, and most commonly otitis externa, or inflammation of the outer ear canal. In conventional medical practice, a sample must be taken from the ear canal to examine the organisms present. The thinking is if we can just find out what organisms are predominant in the ear canal, and kill them, then all will be well. You just gotta love the germ theory. It makes things so simple.

If only life worked that way. The ears are actually outposts of the immune system, along with the anal glands. Both will often flare up together, so if your dog has an ear infection, you might want to get those anal glands checked, even if your dog is not scooting or showing other signs of rear end distress.

Why is this? When the immune system is disrupted, and the detoxification systems of the body cannot function normally, your dog’s body will attempt to clean house any way it can. Mucous membranes, such as the lining of the ear canals and the delicate lining of glands are one avenue that the body will utilize to remove toxic debris out of the internal milieu.

The word “infection” is somewhat of a misnomer. The yeast and bacteria have not arrived from a distant location and landed in your dog’s ear. They are normal inhabitants of every millimeter of our skin, and they are vital to a functioning immune system. The real solution to ear infections is to rebuild and reorganize the immune system, while restoring normal detoxification processes, so that the body does not need to continually produce this repulsive discharge.

The two most important changes you can make to help with ear infections are to improve your dog’s diet and stop vaccinating it. The best diet is a varied, no-grain, raw food diet. We also recommend that you stop vaccinating your allergic dog immediately. Vaccines are extremely disruptive to the immune system. Both processed pet food and vaccinations are common causes and perpetuators of allergy symptoms.

Further treatment of ear infections involves targeted nutritional supplements and individualized homeopathic remedies for your dog. We often add cranial-sacral therapy, Reiki, and acupressure to speed healing.

Help is available, even for the most chronic of conditions. Given the correct assistance and support, you’ll be amazed at how your dog’s body can heal itself!