Comments for Pet Plus http://www.petplusvet.com Pet Plus - Prevention Is Better Than Cure Fri, 18 May 2012 22:00:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Comment on What’s In Pet Plus? by Susanna http://www.petplusvet.com/53/whats-in-pet-plus#comment-503 Susanna Fri, 18 May 2012 22:00:45 +0000 http://pbs0027.powerblogservice.com/?p=53#comment-503 Yes, we've improved the formulation by adding bilberries and amazing prebiotics. There's more detail on the website about what's in Pet Plus and New Ingredients. Bilberries supply a fabulous range of micronutrients. I'm so pleased we managed to put them into the new formulation! Yes, we’ve improved the formulation by adding bilberries and amazing prebiotics. There’s more detail on the website about what’s in Pet Plus and New Ingredients. Bilberries supply a fabulous range of micronutrients. I’m so pleased we managed to put them into the new formulation!

]]> Comment on What’s In Pet Plus? by Tricia Bragg http://www.petplusvet.com/53/whats-in-pet-plus#comment-502 Tricia Bragg Fri, 18 May 2012 10:51:14 +0000 http://pbs0027.powerblogservice.com/?p=53#comment-502 Hi Susanna, Have you changed the formula in Pet Plus for dogs, as i have just started a new tub and it goes burgundy sort of colour when mixed in with meat and the last tub stayed brown? Hi Susanna, Have you changed the formula in Pet Plus for dogs, as i have just started a new tub and it goes burgundy sort of colour when mixed in with meat and the last tub stayed brown?

]]> Comment on Raw Food Diet For Dogs And Cats by Susanna http://www.petplusvet.com/894/raw-food-diet-for-dogs-and-cats#comment-501 Susanna Thu, 17 May 2012 20:10:39 +0000 http://www.petplusvet.com/?p=894#comment-501 The essential fats are omega 3 and 6. I have supplied those as flax for omega 3 and safflower petals for omega 6 in the Pet Plus. Olive oil has too much omega 9 in it which is fine for Mediterranean people, but not so useful for cats and dogs. Mayonnaise is full of dairy and all sorts of rubbish, so is not fir for any animal or human to eat, really. Butter is a saturated animal fat and would never be eaten in the wild by any animal, so is completely unsuitable as any part of anyone's diet, whichever species you are! However, butter is much less harmful than margarine, which is absolutely dreadful stuff and wreaks havoc in all bodies, so must be avoided at all costs. The essential fats are omega 3 and 6. I have supplied those as flax for omega 3 and safflower petals for omega 6 in the Pet Plus.
Olive oil has too much omega 9 in it which is fine for Mediterranean people, but not so useful for cats and dogs.
Mayonnaise is full of dairy and all sorts of rubbish, so is not fir for any animal or human to eat, really.
Butter is a saturated animal fat and would never be eaten in the wild by any animal, so is completely unsuitable as any part of anyone’s diet, whichever species you are! However, butter is much less harmful than margarine, which is absolutely dreadful stuff and wreaks havoc in all bodies, so must be avoided at all costs.

]]> Comment on What’s In Pet Plus? by Susanna http://www.petplusvet.com/53/whats-in-pet-plus#comment-500 Susanna Thu, 17 May 2012 20:04:23 +0000 http://pbs0027.powerblogservice.com/?p=53#comment-500 Isn't it amazing how sensitive we all are sometimes. I wish the world were GMO free. It's a terrible blight on nature really. I wouldn't touch anything GMO myself either. Sensible cat! There is nothing GMO or GMO fed in Pet Plus. I wouldn't even think of using anything genetically modified. I am completely against that wretched and completely unnecessary technological 'advance'. I'd give him raw organic chicken, rabbit, lamb, fish with liquidized organic greens, like grass, a little nettle and dandelion, broccoli, and so on, all mixed with 1/4 teaspoon of Pet Plus. When you use wild greens, make sure it hasn't been sprayed and that it isn't a poisonous plant. This is what I do for my own cats and dogs and they're really fit and healthy. There's a downloadable diet sheet here on the web site too. Isn’t it amazing how sensitive we all are sometimes. I wish the world were GMO free. It’s a terrible blight on nature really. I wouldn’t touch anything GMO myself either. Sensible cat!
There is nothing GMO or GMO fed in Pet Plus. I wouldn’t even think of using anything genetically modified. I am completely against that wretched and completely unnecessary technological ‘advance’.
I’d give him raw organic chicken, rabbit, lamb, fish with liquidized organic greens, like grass, a little nettle and dandelion, broccoli, and so on, all mixed with 1/4 teaspoon of Pet Plus.
When you use wild greens, make sure it hasn’t been sprayed and that it isn’t a poisonous plant. This is what I do for my own cats and dogs and they’re really fit and healthy. There’s a downloadable diet sheet here on the web site too.

]]> Comment on Feline Miliary Dermatitis by Susanna http://www.petplusvet.com/787/feline-miliary-dermatitis#comment-499 Susanna Thu, 17 May 2012 19:54:36 +0000 http://www.petplusvet.com/?p=787#comment-499 Thanks for your question. You could use natural anti-inflammatories to get the allergic over-reaction to calm down a bit, to buy you some time to eliminate the allergen(s). Aloe vera comes as a drink and as a topical cream / gel. Use it in both forms. Just rub it well into the inflamed areas, then he'll lick it off, but most will have been absorbed by then. Give him the drink by mouth usually by syringe. Omega 3 oils are also anti-inflammatory, so flax oil or a whole fish oil, especially krill oil. You'll probably be able to mix the krill oil with his food. Try feeding him on raw fish, whole. Not sure what's available in US, but here, I give mine mackerel, sprats, sardines...whatever small oily fish is in season. Parasites are repelled by B vitamins, so a source of B vits in his diet would be very helpful. We have Brewer's Yeast in Pet Plus for exactly that reason, as a flea deterrent. That'd be good for the other cat too. In fact, give them both oily fish too. Foodwise, you need to feed him food his system has never seen before, so again, fish would be good. There is often chicken in the lamb minces for the bone content, so read the label thoroughly. Rabbit is another useful raw meat and bone mince for them, but look out for added chicken there too. You can also buy frozen mice (snake food in pet shops) which I expect they'd love, especially if you tie a string to its tail and whizz it past his nose at speed! Also, make sure they have clean, fresh, chemical free (so filtered / bottled) water every day. We are all better off without those noxious chemicals which supposedly purify our water! The swollen lip could be the mental gland that's infected or inflamed. That might well subside with the aloe vera and omega 3 anti-inflammatory action. The trouble with steroids is not just the side effects, but also they just mask the symptoms and suppress the 'disease' process, so best avoided if you can, but on humane grounds, use it if absolutely necessary. Allergy testing is hopelessly inaccurate, so don't waste your money!! Check for other potential allergens, like washing liquids, carpet shampoos, laundry liquids, softeners, deodorant sprays. Use all natural household products. Have you decorated anywhere...paint fumes maybe...perhaps a neighbour doing stuff to a car or something. Farmer's spraying fields?? Let me know how you get on. Suzi Thanks for your question. You could use natural anti-inflammatories to get the allergic over-reaction to calm down a bit, to buy you some time to eliminate the allergen(s). Aloe vera comes as a drink and as a topical cream / gel. Use it in both forms. Just rub it well into the inflamed areas, then he’ll lick it off, but most will have been absorbed by then. Give him the drink by mouth usually by syringe.
Omega 3 oils are also anti-inflammatory, so flax oil or a whole fish oil, especially krill oil. You’ll probably be able to mix the krill oil with his food.
Try feeding him on raw fish, whole. Not sure what’s available in US, but here, I give mine mackerel, sprats, sardines…whatever small oily fish is in season.
Parasites are repelled by B vitamins, so a source of B vits in his diet would be very helpful. We have Brewer’s Yeast in Pet Plus for exactly that reason, as a flea deterrent. That’d be good for the other cat too. In fact, give them both oily fish too.
Foodwise, you need to feed him food his system has never seen before, so again, fish would be good. There is often chicken in the lamb minces for the bone content, so read the label thoroughly. Rabbit is another useful raw meat and bone mince for them, but look out for added chicken there too. You can also buy frozen mice (snake food in pet shops) which I expect they’d love, especially if you tie a string to its tail and whizz it past his nose at speed!

Also, make sure they have clean, fresh, chemical free (so filtered / bottled) water every day. We are all better off without those noxious chemicals which supposedly purify our water!

The swollen lip could be the mental gland that’s infected or inflamed. That might well subside with the aloe vera and omega 3 anti-inflammatory action. The trouble with steroids is not just the side effects, but also they just mask the symptoms and suppress the ‘disease’ process, so best avoided if you can, but on humane grounds, use it if absolutely necessary.

Allergy testing is hopelessly inaccurate, so don’t waste your money!!

Check for other potential allergens, like washing liquids, carpet shampoos, laundry liquids, softeners, deodorant sprays. Use all natural household products. Have you decorated anywhere…paint fumes maybe…perhaps a neighbour doing stuff to a car or something. Farmer’s spraying fields??

Let me know how you get on.

Suzi

]]> Comment on Golden Retriever Health Problems by Susanna http://www.petplusvet.com/990/golden-retriever-health-problems#comment-498 Susanna Thu, 17 May 2012 19:31:32 +0000 http://www.petplusvet.com/?p=990#comment-498 Hi Ali, This is not an uncommon story. There are several factors at play here. Firstly, taking a puppy from its mother and litter-mates and home environment is very stressful for the puppy. They are then often vaccinated and wormed, adding even more stress to their immature little bodies, which often takes a few months to show up as some symptom or another. Golden Retrievers are also very prone to allergies. A shame really as they're such sweet, loving, friendly dogs. Amazingly enough, feeding the same food day after day, whether it's raw or processed, often leads to intolerance. Sounds like she had a fair bit of variety in her diet, but there was a theme of chicken in all of them, so maybe that was the final straw for her immune system. It'll be a long time before her immune system stops recognizing raw chicken as an enemy I suspect. So, the fish you've chosen is something her body has never seen before, so that's great. Various different fish types too is a good idea. Have you tried her with raw fish? I give mine mackerel / sprats / sardines about once a week. They eat it whole and raw, bones and all. Remember the stomach acid of the carnivore digests raw bones with ease. So I'd suggest trying some raw fish and see what happens. Stick with the vegetables and the Pet Plus. Maybe alternate the raw fish (as long as she's OK with the raw fish) with the processed fish for a while, even if she seems fine with the raw fish. Do everything gradually. Does she have filtered / bottled water to drink? That's another essential thing for all of us! Make sure she has a clean bowl of chemical-free water every day. Hope that's helpful. Suzi Hi Ali,

This is not an uncommon story. There are several factors at play here.
Firstly, taking a puppy from its mother and litter-mates and home environment is very stressful for the puppy. They are then often vaccinated and wormed, adding even more stress to their immature little bodies, which often takes a few months to show up as some symptom or another.
Golden Retrievers are also very prone to allergies. A shame really as they’re such sweet, loving, friendly dogs.
Amazingly enough, feeding the same food day after day, whether it’s raw or processed, often leads to intolerance. Sounds like she had a fair bit of variety in her diet, but there was a theme of chicken in all of them, so maybe that was the final straw for her immune system. It’ll be a long time before her immune system stops recognizing raw chicken as an enemy I suspect.

So, the fish you’ve chosen is something her body has never seen before, so that’s great. Various different fish types too is a good idea. Have you tried her with raw fish? I give mine mackerel / sprats / sardines about once a week. They eat it whole and raw, bones and all. Remember the stomach acid of the carnivore digests raw bones with ease.

So I’d suggest trying some raw fish and see what happens. Stick with the vegetables and the Pet Plus. Maybe alternate the raw fish (as long as she’s OK with the raw fish) with the processed fish for a while, even if she seems fine with the raw fish. Do everything gradually.

Does she have filtered / bottled water to drink? That’s another essential thing for all of us! Make sure she has a clean bowl of chemical-free water every day.

Hope that’s helpful.

Suzi

]]> Comment on What’s In Pet Plus? by Marion Horton http://www.petplusvet.com/53/whats-in-pet-plus#comment-496 Marion Horton Thu, 17 May 2012 14:14:59 +0000 http://pbs0027.powerblogservice.com/?p=53#comment-496 My cat seems to have developed an extreme intolerance to anything that contains genetically modified organisms, and also to anything that ate GMO food (for example GMO corn- or soy-fed meats). For this reason I have switched his diet to 50% raw organic chicken, which helps, but doesn't give him all the nutrients he needs. The other half of his diet consists of grain-free wet canned can food. I would like to switch him over to 100% organic and raw, and if possible use your product to complete his nutritional requirements. Does Pets Plus contain any GMOs or GMO-fed ingredients? If so, what percentage of the total ingredients do the GMOs account for? My cat seems to have developed an extreme intolerance to anything that contains genetically modified organisms, and also to anything that ate GMO food (for example GMO corn- or soy-fed meats). For this reason I have switched his diet to 50% raw organic chicken, which helps, but doesn’t give him all the nutrients he needs. The other half of his diet consists of grain-free wet canned can food. I would like to switch him over to 100% organic and raw, and if possible use your product to complete his nutritional requirements. Does Pets Plus contain any GMOs or GMO-fed ingredients? If so, what percentage of the total ingredients do the GMOs account for?

]]> Comment on Raw Food Diet For Dogs And Cats by online diet plans http://www.petplusvet.com/894/raw-food-diet-for-dogs-and-cats#comment-491 online diet plans Wed, 16 May 2012 08:10:16 +0000 http://www.petplusvet.com/?p=894#comment-491 What about fats? Olive oil, mayonnaise and butter? What about fats? Olive oil, mayonnaise and butter?

]]> Comment on Feline Miliary Dermatitis by jweakman http://www.petplusvet.com/787/feline-miliary-dermatitis#comment-490 jweakman Tue, 15 May 2012 12:54:34 +0000 http://www.petplusvet.com/?p=787#comment-490 I realize this is an old posting, but I'll leave my question anyway since it's related, in the hopes that you can still answer: I adopted my male cat a couple of years ago from the Humane Society and I've been feeding him raw ever since. I use Nature's Variety, which is readily available frozen at my local pet store. Fall 2011 he started to lose patches of hair and get scabby and very itchy all over. I should mention that I had also adopted a second cat the year before. Anyway, I took my boy to the vet and she immediately diagnosed an allergy to something--he didn't appear to have fleas but she wanted me to put him on flea meds anyway and she also gave him a steroid shot. I was sceptical, but I went home and inspected our female cat, and to my surprise, she did have a few fleas on her. So I started the flea meds, and a couple of weeks later I had to bring him back for a follow-up steroid shot. By that time he had developed a swollen bottom lip, which my vet said made her think it was more than just fleas. But we first had to be rid of the fleas to be sure. Eventually we did get rid of all the fleas and things seemed to be going okay for awhile. Until--two weeks ago the swollen lip returned. Uh oh. Now, I know my vet had said if it came back it would be time for an elimination diet. I am very frustrated because he's always eaten raw food (my vet doesn't approve of that, BTW). If I take him back to her, I'm sure she's going to suggest some Science Diet garbage and I don't want to go that route. I am working under the assumption that this CANNOT be a grain allergy because his food has always been grain-free. I am also assuming that it's a chicken allergy, because that is one of the most common allergens and also the variety I've fed him the most often (probably too often, in retrospect, I should have been rotating more frequently). So, I have switched to the lamb variety for now. I realize I may have to stick it out for awhile before I see an improvement, assuming I have targeted the right allergy in the first place. I don't like the risk attached to the steroid shots, but do you think he should have another one, to get his allergies calmed down a bit? Or will his swollen lip eventually go down on it's own once the chicken works it's way out of his system? I wish there was a way to allergy test him, instead of shooting in the dark, but if there is my vet doesn't offer it. I realize this is an old posting, but I’ll leave my question anyway since it’s related, in the hopes that you can still answer:

I adopted my male cat a couple of years ago from the Humane Society and I’ve been feeding him raw ever since. I use Nature’s Variety, which is readily available frozen at my local pet store. Fall 2011 he started to lose patches of hair and get scabby and very itchy all over. I should mention that I had also adopted a second cat the year before. Anyway, I took my boy to the vet and she immediately diagnosed an allergy to something–he didn’t appear to have fleas but she wanted me to put him on flea meds anyway and she also gave him a steroid shot. I was sceptical, but I went home and inspected our female cat, and to my surprise, she did have a few fleas on her.

So I started the flea meds, and a couple of weeks later I had to bring him back for a follow-up steroid shot. By that time he had developed a swollen bottom lip, which my vet said made her think it was more than just fleas. But we first had to be rid of the fleas to be sure. Eventually we did get rid of all the fleas and things seemed to be going okay for awhile. Until–two weeks ago the swollen lip returned. Uh oh. Now, I know my vet had said if it came back it would be time for an elimination diet.

I am very frustrated because he’s always eaten raw food (my vet doesn’t approve of that, BTW). If I take him back to her, I’m sure she’s going to suggest some Science Diet garbage and I don’t want to go that route. I am working under the assumption that this CANNOT be a grain allergy because his food has always been grain-free. I am also assuming that it’s a chicken allergy, because that is one of the most common allergens and also the variety I’ve fed him the most often (probably too often, in retrospect, I should have been rotating more frequently).

So, I have switched to the lamb variety for now. I realize I may have to stick it out for awhile before I see an improvement, assuming I have targeted the right allergy in the first place. I don’t like the risk attached to the steroid shots, but do you think he should have another one, to get his allergies calmed down a bit? Or will his swollen lip eventually go down on it’s own once the chicken works it’s way out of his system? I wish there was a way to allergy test him, instead of shooting in the dark, but if there is my vet doesn’t offer it.

]]> Comment on Golden Retriever Health Problems by Ali http://www.petplusvet.com/990/golden-retriever-health-problems#comment-489 Ali Tue, 15 May 2012 11:44:29 +0000 http://www.petplusvet.com/?p=990#comment-489 Hi Susanna, Just read this lovely story about Chester. I wonder if you could give me some advise for my 16 month old Golden Retriever, Daisy. Daisy was fed on a raw food diet of minced meat and bone with blended vegetables, along with chicken wings by her breeder, and we continued to feed her the same. However, after a few months Daisy started to develop diarrhoea and goopy eyes. I started to give Daisy Petplus in the hope that would help and tried a different brand of food, switching from Prize Choice to Natural Instinct, but still the diarrhoea continued. I was worried as Daisy was losing weight, so took Daisy to see our local vet. He recommended switching to a dried dog food for dogs with sensitive digestion. I did some research online and eventually decided to try Orijen 6 Fish dried food. Within 24 hours Daisy's poo was normal for the first time in several weeks and the goopy eyes cleared up. Daisy has remained on the Orijen 6 Fish with blended vegetables and Petplus, alternating with Sainsbury's tinned wild alaskan salmon with blended vegetables and Petplus. She regained the weight she had lost and has suffered no further bouts of diarrhoea and no goopy eyes. It seemed that the key to keeping Daisy diarrhoea and goopy eye free, was to feed her only fish, vegetables and Petplus. I recently thought I would try Daisy on raw meat again as I wasn't really happy with her being on dry food. I introduced just a teaspoon of raw mince and bone into her regular food, which I then increased slowly to 1 dessertspoon of raw meat and bone. Unfortunately, when I increased to the dessertspoon of raw meat, her diarrhoea returned. As soon as I went back to the fish and vegetable diet, Daisy was fine again. I wonder if you could give me some advise on what could be going on here, and whether you think I should persevere with trying to get Daisy back on the raw meat, bone and veg diet, or just continue with the fish and veg diet on which she seems to be happy and healthy. Many thanks, Ali Hi Susanna,

Just read this lovely story about Chester.

I wonder if you could give me some advise for my 16 month old Golden Retriever, Daisy.

Daisy was fed on a raw food diet of minced meat and bone with blended vegetables, along with chicken wings by her breeder, and we continued to feed her the same. However, after a few months Daisy started to develop diarrhoea and goopy eyes. I started to give Daisy Petplus in the hope that would help and tried a different brand of food, switching from Prize Choice to Natural Instinct, but still the diarrhoea continued. I was worried as Daisy was losing weight, so took Daisy to see our local vet. He recommended switching to a dried dog food for dogs with sensitive digestion.

I did some research online and eventually decided to try Orijen 6 Fish dried food. Within 24 hours Daisy’s poo was normal for the first time in several weeks and the goopy eyes cleared up.

Daisy has remained on the Orijen 6 Fish with blended vegetables and Petplus, alternating with Sainsbury’s tinned wild alaskan salmon with blended vegetables and Petplus. She regained the weight she had lost and has suffered no further bouts of diarrhoea and no goopy eyes. It seemed that the key to keeping Daisy diarrhoea and goopy eye free, was to feed her only fish, vegetables and Petplus.

I recently thought I would try Daisy on raw meat again as I wasn’t really happy with her being on dry food. I introduced just a teaspoon of raw mince and bone into her regular food, which I then increased slowly to 1 dessertspoon of raw meat and bone. Unfortunately, when I increased to the dessertspoon of raw meat, her diarrhoea returned.

As soon as I went back to the fish and vegetable diet, Daisy was fine again.

I wonder if you could give me some advise on what could be going on here, and whether you think I should persevere with trying to get Daisy back on the raw meat, bone and veg diet, or just continue with the fish and veg diet on which she seems to be happy and healthy.

Many thanks,

Ali

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