First holistic vet appointment

Twice

My Bully Gave Me Wings
Feb 3, 2012
2,686
311
Woodbridge Township, NJ
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Abby (my Sweetie Head 10.24.11-11.23.12) and Otis
first, Abby has gained another pound. 25 pounds of pure Abbitude © :D

I liked that he recognized the difference in normal reference ranges and puppy ranges. The doctors have all been telling me that Abby's phosphorous and calcium levels are high. At her last blood test her phosphorous level was 10.6 (normal range is between 2.9 - 6.6). I saw that and though OMG that's bad!! But not really because different labs have different normals. The last set of blood tests we ran had normal phosphorous range at 5.1 - 10.4. Now all of a sudden 10.6 doesn't seem so high at all. But wait, there's more :laugh: Puppies have naturally high phosphorous so the "normal" that they've all been using is only "normal" for an adult dog. NOW 10.6 is normal. (does your head hurt yet? lol welcome to my nightmare :p )

I liked that he was honest about other products. He wanted me to start giving her renal support supplements from some Dx company that, of course, he had a shelf full of. I told him that she was already getting renal support vitamins made by VetriScience. He got on the internet, pulled up the ingredients of what I'm giving her and told me "wow, these are actually better than the ones I have". I appreciated that honesty.

He gave me supplements to support her liver and pancreas. Hopefully that will break the spike in nitrogen we're seeing in her blood.

He gave me this calming stuff. He says the best way to boost her immune system is by keeping her calm and stress free. Abby gets her food handed to her, she has other people to clean up after her, to play with her when she wants, she gets to sleep when and where she wants. How much more stress free can her life be! lol I took the calming aid because it's human grade, if anyone has stress its me! :D 4 drops in the water bowl twice a day for dogs. 1 drop on the tongue up to 4 times a day for people.

He told me no more baths for her? Said something about bathing removing essential oils. I'm supposed to brush her with this wire brush every day to stimulate blood flow and remove dirt. I don't know about all that. I'll do the wire brush thing (that I'm really surprised he didn't try to sell me, they had a bunch of them hanging on the wall) She sleeps with me and I don't allow stinky things in my bed. That's one of the reasons I'm still single.

He wants her to try chiropractic. I know it helps people so logically it would help an animal too. But has anyone here actually tried it?

He says that I have been feeding her very well EXCEPT that I cook her eggs. Apparently when I cook the eggs I take the most digestible protein source and make it completely un-digestible. So I'm supposed to be giving her raw egg whites. But not really because he wants her on raw food all together. I was given the option of either buying his pre-made patties or he would give me the recipe so that I could make my own. The price on his patties I think were reasonable. It breaks down to about $2.00 per pound.

My concern is that Abby doesn't handle meat protein well at all. That's why she eats vegetable protein and egg whites. I told him this and he swears that won't happen with this stuff. It's not just ground meat. It's organ meat, bone meal, blood (yuck) green tripe (double yuck) and vegetables. I bought the small package to see how she does. I'll watch for the shivers to start, if they do I'll know right away this stuff ain't workin. But he wants me to give her 1 patty a day. Half in the morning, half at night. I gave her half last night and she looked at me like "where's the rest?".

This guy is a past president of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical and the NJ Veterinary Medical Associations. He's been in practice almost 30 years, has studied in both India and China and I still know something that he doesn't. No way is half of that little patty thing going to be enough for Abby head!

(edit... if this should be in either the health or nutrition forum, please move it.. I wasn't sure where it went)
 

LaurenA

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Nov 17, 2011
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She sleeps with me and I don't allow stinky things in my bed.
:lmao:

I had to read the part about the phosphorous levels a couple times. I have not idea how you keep all of that straight!
I'm glad little Abby gained weight and is doing well! It will be interesting to see how these holistic treatments help her, I hope you start seeing some positive results soon!
 

Mack-N-MatildasMommy

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Apr 3, 2011
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Yay Abby!! The phosphorous part was a bit confusing but as long as it is good that is all I need to know. Good luck on the Holistic part. It seems you found a good vet. let us know how the raw part goes. Maybe you can share the recipe if you decide.:heart:
 

karenben

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Apr 18, 2011
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honestly its the best thing you can do for her is both raw and holistic ,keep us up to date,karen
 

bullmama

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Sounds like a very interesting visit, loads of information to absorb! Can you fill her up with your veggie mush or will that be too much?
 

ChanelnBrutus

Snookie ain't got nuttin on me!
Feb 6, 2012
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Glad the visit went well! Hope everything goes well! You are doing an amazing job!
 
OP
Twice

Twice

My Bully Gave Me Wings
Feb 3, 2012
2,686
311
Woodbridge Township, NJ
Bulldog(s) Names
Abby (my Sweetie Head 10.24.11-11.23.12) and Otis
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I had to read the part about the phosphorous levels a couple times. I have not idea how you keep all of that straight!
Yay Abby!! The phosphorous part was a bit confusing but as long as it is good that is all I need to know.
It's ALL very confusing. She can only have 1g of protein per pound of body weight. That one is easy. She can only have 20mg of phosphorous per pound of "projected adult weight" (and I'm supposed to know that HOW?) Then I have to balance the phosphorous with calcium at a rate of 1.0 P to 1.3 C but only if her BUN and CREA are within or close to normal range. The numbers fluctuate so I have to adjust the calculations. There's different formulas for %'s of sodium and fat too. As worried as I am about giving her meat protein again, I almost hope that it works so I can throw the calculators and scales out the window.
Sounds like a very interesting visit, loads of information to absorb! Can you fill her up with your veggie mush or will that be too much?
He basically confirmed everything that I went in there knowing but I was thrilled that me mentioned her liver and pancreas function, no one else has until now. Her amylase value is consistently high which could indicate early pancreatitis. Conventional treatment practices say not to treat certain things until they reach a certain level. When her PCV dropped from 34 to 30, they told me they don't treat for anemia until that number hits 20. I'm not comfortable sitting around waiting for some magic number to appear before taking action and apparently, neither is he. He told me that I could continue to give her veggies but he would prefer I give her quinoa. I looked at that in the store last night. They want 6.99 for a 12oz box. My checkbook prefers the vegetables. :)
 

NigelsMom

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Oct 21, 2011
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So happy to hear you found a better vet - hopefully he will work out and all his directions will work for Abby!
Keeping both of you in my thoughts and prayers - hoping for great results!
 

Biogirl71

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Nov 5, 2010
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Abbitude - love it! Describes your little firecracker perfectly! And It sounds like you found a really caring and helpful vet. Yay!
 

izstigspunks

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Always good to hear that your visits went well. I actually saw a post on renal failure on the RawChat group. Will forward it to you soon, have to step out for a bit at the moment.
 
OP
Twice

Twice

My Bully Gave Me Wings
Feb 3, 2012
2,686
311
Woodbridge Township, NJ
Bulldog(s) Names
Abby (my Sweetie Head 10.24.11-11.23.12) and Otis
  • Thread Starter
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  • #13
Always good to hear that your visits went well. I actually saw a post on renal failure on the RawChat group. Will forward it to you soon, have to step out for a bit at the moment.

I'd love to see that. Thanks :)
 

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