“I don’t want to give my dog any unnecessary vaccines.”
Who does? thinks Doc Truli.
We get the point. You want a veterinarian and veterinary team that is thoughtful and specific about what vaccines they recommend for your puppy or dog and why. Unfortunately, many veterinary teams offer “customized packages.” You may pay less for the package and get more, but you may get vaccines you don’t need. For example, have you heard a friend say, “they told me it would cost more to take the bordetella vaccine out of the package. So I just went ahead and got it anyway.”
It hardly makes sense, does it?
Prescription for Care
Vaccines should only be administered to healthy animals. It says so on the package! Your veterinarian needs to consider your pet’s lifestyle, the prevalence of the disease in your area, the route(s) of transmission, the severity and forms of the illness, whether it is transmissible to humans or not, and the effectiveness of the vaccine.
Your previous experiences with certain diseases, your risk aversion (how bad will you feel if your dog caught a rare, painful, but preventable disease?), and your preferences for medicalization for your family will guide your decisions.
Rabies Vaccine
For instance, most people do not have personal experience with Rabies. (Most veterinarians do.) But the disease is deadly to humans, expensive and painful to treat in humans (if you know you have been exposed and get the treatment right away), deadly to our dogs and cats, horses, and most other domestic animal species. Rabies is relatively cheap to prevent. Veterinarians have a public health duty to society to help stop rabies from spreading.
There are possible side effects from the vaccine. They are statistically rare. They can be deadly. If you decline a rabies vaccine in case there is a side effect, you really cannot understand what you are risking for your pet and your family unless you have been through it before. If you have had rabies in your family, I bet you will want that vaccine. Like, yesterday!
The seriousness of the public health risk, the deadliness of rabies, and the ease of spread in wildlife populations are 3 good reasons it is the law to vaccinate domestic animals in the US.
Distemper Vaccine
Distemper is an often fatal dog virus. It spreads through secretions, especially snotty noses in crowded environments like some animal shelters. It causes a really high fever and pneumonia symptoms and if the dog survives, they have neurologic signs like seizures when they are older. The vaccine works well and the disease is bad. It is considered a dog “core” vaccine in the US.
Here’s a little-known reason why this vaccine is important: distemper mutates and crosses into other species than dogs. For instance, dog distemper virus kills sea lions really well. And we do not want that! You are helping other innocent animals when you provide protection for your dogs.
Parvo Virus Vaccine
Parvo virus is a very contagious dog virus that causes vomiting and bloody diarrhea. You carry the virus on your shoes and clothing and do not know you are bringing it home with you. Many infected puppies die from it. Adult dogs can get very sick. It is difficult to save them with or without intensive care in the hospital. The vaccine is effective and also considered a core vaccine for dogs.
Other Vaccines
There are several other common dog vaccines available in 2018. Parainfluenza, Hepatitis, Bordetella, Canine Influenza Types 1+2, Leptospirosis, Coronovirus and Lyme disease to name a few. They are considered non-core vaccines and should warrant an especially careful discussion with your veterinarian.
A Word About Thimerosal
Thimerosal is ethyl mercury. It is found as a preservative in some dog vaccines. If a vaccine says “preservative-free” on the label, it may contain minute amounts of thimerosal. If it says “thimerosal-free” it contains no thimerosal. Of course, we would like to decrease lifetime exposure to mercury in any ways we can control. Using thimerosal-free vaccines is one was to accomplish this.
Market availability and manufacturing change, so a list will not suffice to be posted here. Your veterinarian or veterinary technician can provide the information for you for the vaccines they recommend. Sometimes compromises must be made if a valuable useful vaccine is unavailable thimerosal-free at the time.
You can also ask the brand name and look up the “package label insert” for the product. They are usually posted online and you can read it for yourself.
-Doc Truli provides holistic house calls to the greater Tampa Bay area. Many, many clients call Doc Truli for an objective, thoughtful consultation about vaccines without recrimination or hard feelings.
“The best pet parents question the standard of care and want better for their loved ones,” Doc Truli.
Email DrTruli@VetVMD.com any time of day or night to find out appointment availability for your area. (Doc Truli understands these pet concerns keep us up at night. She will get back to you in the morning!)
“Is there a blood test for cancer in dogs?”
“I hear this question all the time. I used to have to say no.” says Doc Truli. “Now there is a clinically available test.”
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories in California have adapted blood tests from human medicine for dogs. They have spent 11 years working on the technique and validation of the tests. For 4 years, they have offered a test for veterinarians to prescribe in their practices in the US.
Cancer Blood Test for Dogs
The test is called the InCase Wellness to screen for markers of possible cancer. The procedure is a simple blood draw for your pet. The veterinarian must then process and prepare the sample specifically for the testing. The InCase Wellness tests for TK1 cancer marker, CRP (C-reactive protein) inflammation marker, and your veterinarian can request a Vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is sub-optimal or low in 75% of the dogs tested. It is easy to fix and retest to make sure you have not given too much. (Vitamin D3 causes gastrointestinal distress, kidney failure and death when it is too high.)
Cancer Remission
The TK1 and CRP tests can be used to identify when a dog is in remission. It is testing especially useful in lymphoma cases and many other types of cancer. The tests can also be used to detect if a dog is coming out of remission before the dog feels sick again.
You can read more about these stunning and helpful cancer tests for dogs at vdi labs.
-Dr Truli provides VDI testing such as the InCase Wellness, Cancer monitoring tests Vitamin D3 testing in a comforting house call environment.
Call, email or text for appointment availability. Provide your name, phone number, street address, and a brief description of your pet’s diagnosis or current problem.
Leave a message and the doctor will call you back in 24 hours or less: 877-378-7854.
Text 813-714-7863 and Dr Truli will text.
Or email DrTruli@VetVMD.com and Dr Truli will email back.
Pet Oncology House Call Care Part 4: “What do I feed my dog with cancer?”
If you are reading this after Christmas 2018, I bet you skipped to this article to read first. Right?
This is the big question. What do we feed dogs and pets with cancer? Most people who have done a little bit of internet research are interested in a low or no-carbohydrate diet for their cancer patients.
The basic answer is: science does not have a consensus about what we should feed dogs. Especially dogs with cancer.
What is the Deal With Carbohydrate and Cancer?
The deal is, there is some research to show that cancer cells can use carbohydrate energy faster and better than the body can. Especially high glycemic index carbs like sugar, fruit juice, white bread and processed grains and sugars. These are items that should be minimized in the diet anyway. It is no surprise that it may be even more helpful to minimize them in a compromised cancer patient.
The idea is to starve the cancer by feeding mostly protein and fats. There are some issues with this. One issue is the fats may be difficult for your dog to digest. In Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) theory, most, if not all, cancer patients have compromised digestion. You must be cautious of replacing carbohydrate calories with fat calories. You do not want to trigger pancreatitis or diarrhea.
One issue with protein is frankly, it is the most expensive source of calories. This may not matter for a 10 pound (4.8 kg) Chihuahua. It can be devastating for a family with a 100 pound (45 kg) Rottweiler who eats 3 pounds (1.7 kg) of meat a day. Carbohydrates are filling, provide fiber for probiotics to flourish in the gut, and are usually affordable.
Improve the Diet
“I suggest you focus on improving your dog’s diet, not perfecting it,” says Doc Truli.
Nutrient calculations vary from crop to crop, year to year anyway. Dogs vary from week to week in their absorption and metabolic rates. You should have expert veterinary advice to chose a diet or make a balanced home-cooked recipe for your dog.
How do You Find a Veterinary Nutritionist?
Nutrition Specialists
There are less than 100 veterinary nutritionist in the United States. Most of them work in agriculture, the food industry or government. Some of them work in University Veterinary training programs and have appointments with clients or consults with veterinarians in their home state. Some veterinarians have personalized training in nutrition They are not specialists, but they offer more guidance than just selecting an appropriate prescription diet.
The American College of Veterinary Nutrition bestows Diplomat status on qualified veterinarians. This specialty requires years of Internship and Residency training, peer-reviewed publication and rigorous examination. It is a specialty just as Surgery or Internal Medicine is a specialty.
Florida
In Tampa Bay, Florida, you an schedule a house call consultation with Dr Truli. Nutrition is the practice of veterinary medicine, so remote consults with a veterinarian you and your dog have not met are not appropriate. If you live in Florida and cannot see Dr Truli, the University of Florida Vet School Integrative Medicine department has 2 nutritionists who will consult with your veterinarian to design a custom feeding plan for your dog.
Worldwide
You can also search worldwide at tcvm.com under “Resources” and “Find a practitioner” and the key shows you which veterinarians are certified in TCVM Food Therapy.
–Dr Truli provides holistic house call vet services to Tampa Bay area, Florida. Specific advice about whether or not your dog needs carbohydrate restriction is provided after a thorough evaluation.
Read more tomorrow about a simple blood test that can help diagnose cancer in dogs or help to tell if your dog is in remission or coming out of remission.
Call, email or text for appointment availability. Provide your name, phone number, street address, and a brief description of your pet’s diagnosis or current problem.
Leave a message and the doctor will call you back in 24 hours or less: 877-378-7854.
Text 813-714-7863 and Dr Truli will text.
Or email DrTruli@VetVMD.com and Dr Truli will email back.
“I love the house calls. But what can I do between visits to make my dog better?”
Yesterday we learned dogs can have nice, relaxing acupuncture in their own home to treat cancer symptoms like pain, anxiety, not eating and weight loss. Have you heard of medical massage for dogs?
Medical Massage for Dogs – Tui-na an mo
What? Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine has adapted an ancient art and practice of medical massage called Tui-na an mo (pronounced twee-nah-on-mow). It means – generally – push, pull, grasp, pinch. For thousands of years, people had known and figured out how to feel better through the power of touch.
Categories of Canine Medical Massage
Different categories of touch affect the body in known and specific ways. There is pushing, pressing, rubbing, patting, pinching, pulling, swinging, stretching, carrying and wrenching (like what the chiropractor does!) Dog cancer patients respond well to the massage therapy. However, one dog may like pressing-type techniques and another dog loves having their backside above their tail rubbed.
While there are no books for Tui-na for pet owners, there is a nice book called Acu-Dog: A Guide to Canine Acupressure by Snow and Zidonis. There’s an Acu-Cat and Acu-Horse, too!
How is Medical Massage for Dogs Different than Petting my Dog?
Massage Benefits the Massager and the Massagee
In some ways they are similar. When you pet your dog, both your dog and you release bonding hormones, happy, relaxation hormones and neurochemicals, slow and calm your heart rates and generally have a sense of well-being. This effect goes both ways. You help your dog and they help you.
Massage Technique and Dose
***A big note of caution: do not massage the cancer itself or open sores or infected areas.
The differences between medical massage and petting are the technique and the dose. The dose if the pressure and the time amount of the application of the massage technique.
You can learn fundamental massage techniques that relax your dog, help digestion, and help lower pain and anxiety. You can practice with your dog several times a day.
Dr Truli will test and discover what techniques your dog accepts and likes. She can then teach you 1 or 2 per session that you can practice until you and your dog become comfortable.
-Dr Truli provides vet house call services to the greater Tampa Bay area
Tomorrow we will learn more about Carbohydrates and Cancer
Call, email or text for appointment availability. Provide your name, phone number, street address, and a brief description of your pet’s diagnosis or current problem.
Leave a message and the doctor will call you back in 24 hours or less: 877-378-7854.
Text 813-714-7863 and Dr Truli will text.
Or email DrTruli@VetVMD.com and Dr Truli will email back .
“I don’t even know if I want my dog to have chemo. What else can I do?”
Yesterday, we learned your dog was diagnosed with cancer and you want to know what more you can do for them. You learned you can make a palliative care comprehensive plan, you can treat your dog with real food, and you need specific lifestyle advice from a trained veterinarian.
You know the animal hospital is offering more testing or follow-up testing, supportive care like intravenous fluids and injectable medications, medications to control nausea, vomiting, increase appetite, reduce stomach acids, handle pain. Once they have outlined the diagnosis and the future outlook, the veterinary oncologist offers radiation therapy, surgery or chemotherapy. Or maybe they have nothing positive to offer in your particular dog’s situation. But you just know there is more you can do.
House call vet acupuncture
Acupuncture Benefits for a Dog with Cancer
Acupuncture can boost energy, promote appetite, treat vomiting, and most importantly, treat pain, anxiety and insomnia. That sounds useful for a cancer patient! Acupuncture uses FDA-approved sterile single-use medical devices called acupuncture needles inserted by a trained, licensed veterinarian to achieve the benefits you want for your dog.
Acupuncture in the House Call is Fun and Relaxing
House calls are perfect for acupuncture! Your dog can sit on the floor, lie on his favorite spot on the sofa, rest on the lanai in the sun. Your other pets can lie side-by-side for support if they are good like that. You can take a break from your work-at-home job, make a cup of tea and sit with your dog and Dr Truli for the therapy. Your dog makes natural endorphins, gets a happy high, releases natural opioids into his system and generally falls asleep during the acupuncture treatment.
What You Can Expect from Acupuncture
Acupuncture has a cumulative effect on the body. This means the more often your dog experiences the acupuncture treatment, the better his body will respond.
“The brain recruits more areas to help with successive acupuncture treatments.” says Doc Truli.
Cancer patients benefit from 8-16 sessions in the first 4-8 weeks of treatment. Oncology acupuncture treatments are scheduled every 3-4 days for the first month or two. Once the body is stabilizing, the new food is accepted, and the medication and/or supplement protocols are stable we often go to an every 2-4 weeks protocol.
-Dr Truli offers holistic house calls for pets in the greater Tampa Bay area
Read more tomorrow about Massage Therapy to help Canine Cancer Patients
Call, email or text for appointment availability. Provide your name, phone number, street address, and a brief description of your pet’s diagnosis or current problem.
Leave a message and the doctor will call you back in 24 hours or less: 877-378-7854.
Text 813-714-7863 and Dr Truli will text.
Or email DrTruli@VetVMD.com and Dr Truli will email back .
“My dog has been diagnosed with cancer and I want to know what else I can do.”
A cancer diagnosis for your pet is scary. The uncertainty. The stories from friends and family. The expense. Let’s face it, we do not need a reason to deny, doubt, or wish a cancer diagnosis was incorrect or exaggerated. The guilt about not having pet insurance. (Only 3 out of 100 Americans have pet insurance. You can dispose of that guilt immediately.)
Beyond the Specialty Hospital Part 1
If your dog is diagnosed with cancer, a referral to a veterinary oncologist is often useful. These veterinarians are board certified internal medicine specialists with further training in oncology. They know the breeds and the odds. The know the strange and the usual. They also know brand-new research and they often are the lead investigators studying new drugs and treatments. Their opinions are useful and worth every dollar invested.
However, they are not palliative care experts. They are not nutrition experts. Nor are they lifestyle coaches. If your pet has cancer or suspected cancer, you could use all three of these advisors! A well-educated, experienced holistic or integrative medicine can help you with palliative care plans, nutrition and lifestyle and physical medicine enhancements or alternatives to your oncology plan of treatment.
Palliative Care for Pets
Palliative care means care that makes someone feel better. Palliative care is not intended to cure the patient. It is intended to make whatever time remains the best quality possible. The first veterinary textbook in the new hospice and palliative veterinary care specialty was published in February 2017. Hospice and Palliative Care for Companion Animals: Principles and Practice by Amir Shanan, Jessica Pierce and Tamara S. Shearer is a wonderful guide for veterinarians to help their patients.
Nutrition and Food as Medicine for Canine Cancer Patients
“She’s in remission already! I asked the oncologist how long we need to continue chemotherapy. She didn’t know what to say because she’s never seen a dog go into remission so fast,” said Heidi from South Tampa, Florida.
Dogs love food. We can always find ways to feed them healthier. If they are undergoing chemotherapy, we can manage the most common side effects of chemotherapy. We can help the body make formed stool, keep the appetite up and keep the muscles and body strength up throughout the chemotherapy regimen.
Lifestyle Coaching for Canine Cancer Patients
“I know she is weak and tired. Should my dog sleep all day, or should I encourage him to get outside and sniff around the neighborhood?” asked Jon from St Petersburg, Florida.
“This is a common question I get asked all the time with my cancer patients,” says Doc Truli, holistic house call vet for the Tampa Bay area. “Every pet needs their healthcare provider to help their human design guidelines for how much to rest, how much to ‘push it,’ whether to get a young dog to invigorate an older dog, whether to re-arrange parts of the house to keep the cancer patient comfortable and the grand-kids safe from the crabby chemo patient.”
Holistic house call care gives you the comprehensive planning and the guidance and check-ins and check-ups to give you peace of mind that you are doing everything you can to help your dog and the pace and adjustments are just right.
-Dr Truli
Dr. Truli provides holistic vet house call services to the Tampa Bay, Florida area.
Call, email or text for appointment availability. Provide your name, phone number, street address, and a brief description of your pet’s diagnosis or current problem.
Leave a message and the doctor will call you back in 24 hours or less: 877-378-7854.
Text 813-714-7863 and Dr Truli will text.
Or email DrTruli@VetVMD.com and Dr Truli will email back .
Read more about dogs and house call cancer care tomorrow!
Arthritis feels better with acupuncture
The World Health Organization recognizes acupuncture as a scientifically-based treatment for many human ailments.
The criteria for inclusion in the report were determined in Cervia, Italy in 1996 by the World Health Organization.
Alternative Lump Removal for Dogs
So your dog has tiny bumps and lumps. The vet says you can leave them if they don’t bother your dog. Then the hairbrush clips one and it bleeds a little. But it stops and nothing changes. Then one grows on the paw and your dog licks at it. Then one grows on the top of your beloved’s head and your hand catches on it every time you put your dog on the head. Which is every day. Probably every waking hour that you are home. (What can I say? Our dogs are spoiled!)
Still you think, it is not worth another trip to the vet. You already had the lumps checked. They are “nothing.” or “adenoma-like” or papillomas or warts, or, something you don’t say out loud for fear of pronouncing it wrong. So what else can be done?
Cryoablation Surgery
If a lump is tiny. If it is not cancerous. If your dog will sit still for a minute or two. If the lump is on the skin and not under the skin, cryoablation may be a good option for you.
What is cryoablation surgery?
The quick answer: cryoablation is freezing the lesion to kill the cells. They slough off and the lump is gone in about 2 weeks. Or very nearly gone.
The bigger answer: cryoablation uses a proprietary, highly optimized formulation of refrigerated gases for your medical professional to use in an outpatient setting to freeze a lesion down to -70°C (-94°F). Basically, the veterinarian gives a lump frostbite. This can be done in a house call!
There are custom size directing cones and buds to apply the freeze that fit many different size dogs and lesions.
Who qualifies for cryoablation surgery?
Any dog with unwanted skin lump(s) that are noncancerous
Elderly dogs with higher than normal anesthesia risk
Families with a dog with lumps that do not want anesthesia, drugs, or scalpel or laser surgery
How long does cryoablation surgery take?
The freezing procedure takes 3-6 seconds. The unwanted skin lump or tag will continue to freeze for several minutes after application of the freezing gases.
What is cryoablation surgery recovery like?
The lesion(s) likely swell for a few days. Then they begin to ooze a little clear, odorless material. Then they form a crust (scab) that you must leave in place to form a biological bandage. The crust falls off in about 2 weeks.
How much do I need to budget for cryoablation surgery?
This is a medical procedure performed by a trained, licensed veterinarian in the comfort of your home. You must be a registered client, with a current physical examination so that the doctor can assess your dog’s suitability for cryoablation. The procedure itself generally costs $150 to get started with the first lesion. Additional lesions can be treated in the same day. For example, a recent patient had a house call, physical exam, cryoablation of 3 lesions and that cost under $500. (Surgery generally costs around $500 just for the anesthesia-related expenses.)
Call, text or email Dr Truli for an appointment!
Dr Sandra Truli Springer, VMD, CVA, CVFT, CVTP provides house call holistic services to the Tampa Bay Area. Please contact the doctor with your name, address, and request for your pet to discover scheduling availability. Dr Truli’s practice is 100% house calls. These consultations are thorough, reassuring and professional. Dr Truli will evaluate your dog and discuss cryoablation with you. If cryoablation surgery is a good choice for you, she will be prepared to perform the medical procedure in the initial consultation visit, with no need to reschedule. Email DrTruli@VetVMD.com or Text (877) Dr Truli | (877) 378-7854.
House Call Acupuncture for Pets
Seeing is believing. These pets are enjoying their acupuncture treated provided by Dr Sandra Truli Springer. Dr Truli (as she’s known to her patients) is a Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist (CVA.) CVAs are granted to licensed veterinarians only. The Certification is rigorous and includes 130 hours of continuing education, 30 hours of internship with experienced acupuncturists, and formal Clinical Case Reports.
Needles in neck and legs are hooked up to the electro-acupuncture machine to treat paralysis
Acupuncture for Miniature Schnauzer Intervertebral Disc Disease and Hemiparesis
This Miniature Schnauzer was suddenly paralyzed on his right side by a bulging intervertebral disk in his neck but he could still feel pain stimuli in his toes. Standard medical advice was painkillers and 4-5 weeks of cage rest. After 3 acupuncture treatments spaced 3-4 days apart, he is standing up, sitting, and sometimes rocketing across the living room before tripping on the right side.
Acupuncture is clinically proven to help speed recovery from intervertebral disc disease and to help with pain relief.
You can see how he lays on his side for the treatment. Normally, he is super playful and silly. He feels so relaxed from the acupuncture that he settles and sleeps for his treatments. One-third of acupuncture patients sleep through the treatment.
See the pink needle in his hind foot?
Acupuncture for Sudden Onset Bloody Diarrhea in a Miniature Poodle Puppy
This little guy had bloody diarrhea. He is usually a rambunctious, playful puppy. He fell asleep during his acupuncture treatment. His condition resolved with one acupuncture treatment consisting of one needle placement.
One-needle acupuncture is a new technique to veterinary acupuncturists in the United States. Dr Bruce Ferguson introduced Topographic Acupuncture to veterinarians studying at the Chi Institute in Reddick, Florida in Spring, 2017. Dr Truli is one of the first veterinarians in the United States to learn Topographic Acupuncture from Dr Ferguson.
This advanced system of acupuncture takes physical examination findings, symptoms, and history of the pet to determine which one to three acupuncture points on the body will be most effective at relieving many or all of the pet’s symptoms.
How can this be? Well, the acupuncture points are organized along lines of fascia and connective tissue. Approx 85% of the acupuncture lines also follow pathways of nervous system structures like nerves and spinal cord. But not all of them! They are interconnected in specific, known patterns. Knowledge of those patterns, combined with the physical examination allows a specially trained and experienced veterinary acupuncturist to treat your pet with very few needles.
How do you know it is working? Your pet may relax, yawn, fall asleep. sigh, stretch out, and we can see the relaxation and pain relief. Restricted joints, like hips that do not flex and bend will bend or extend, often within minutes of the start of treatment. Dr Truli can demonstrate for you in your house call where your pet is experiencing lack of proper mobility or flexibility or pain, apply the acupuncture needles, and then demonstrate return to normal or near-normal function. This system of Topographic Acupuncture is especially useful for sensitive, fast-moving, older, or pediatric patients as it is not over-whelming to them.
Doc Truli Helps Australian Cattle Dog Without Touching the Ear
Ever wonder if there is any hope at all for a pet who does not let anyone touch their ears? Doc Truli explains at VirtuaVet.com how it may be possible through Traditional Chinese Medicine to help an otherwise hopeless case. Go to Doc Truli’s Inspirational Pet Medical Story.
If you would like integrative care for your pet in your home, please contact Dr. Sandra Truli Springer today. She sees patients in house calls all over the Tampa Bay area. Phone: 877-378-7854 or email DrTruli@VetVMD.com
