Vets Don't Always Get it Right

Many Vets Don't Deserve
Your Respect or Your Business

Many Veterinarians do not Deserve Your Respect or Your Business

puppy

Cindy and I have a veterinarian (Dr Rice - The Stillwater Vet Clinic in Stillwater Mn) who in our opinion can walk on water. There is no doubt in our mind that we could not find a better veterinarian anywhere in the country. Dr. Rice truly loves and cares about animals. I could write an article praising this man. His ethics, his professionalism, the way he cares about the welfare of animals is simply amazing. One only has to be around him for a few minutes to trust and like him. All I can say is he that he inspires me.

The unfortunate that Dr Rice is not them model to be used by all vets. In fact the sad thing is that he is a rare gem of a person.

It is my opinion the majority of Vets are financially motivated and morally corrupt. This is based on my experience with over the past 50 years of owning, breeding and training dogs.

I have little doubt that every person who enters Vet school does so with good intentions. I would guess that every young person who chooses a career in Veterinary medicine loves animals and wants to spend their life working with animals. A few maintain this compassion throughout their career. We happen to know and trust several people like this. They have our trust, they have our respect and we like to think of them as friends.

After all these years I have come to the conclusion that a Vet must earn our trust and respect. They are not anointed with it the day they hang a DVM behind their name. We no longer automatically anoint a person just because we walk into their office and they have a diploma on the wall that's says DMV.

Unfortunately our experience is that the majority people who become Vets don't deserve any respect at all. In fact far to many of them are incompetent prostitutes who should have their licenses revoked.

The fact is something happens to these people after they graduate from Vet school.

Many Vet school graduates turn into arrogant asses. They develop the GOD SYNDROM with egos the size of automobiles (you see this with human doctors too). Whatever happens don't question their diagnosis or their experience. They have Doctors of Veterinary Medicine (DMV) behind their name and you dam well better respect that fact.

The perfect example of this is seen when you ask a Vet about the all-natural diet. 98% of them will belittle the concept. A recent Vet conference in Las Vegas had a meeting on the all-natural diet. It focused on how to sell customers off of the concept. I.E. Pet owners are not qualified to understand the nutritional needs their dogs. Hmmmmm !! Most people do a pretty good job of feeding themselves, their children and their family. When Vets make comments like this in my book it's the same as calling their client stupid. Give me a break.

Many Vets become cynical because they graduate from Vet school and quickly find out that they will never get rich in this profession. So they try and prove that theory wrong by selling services that the pet owners don't need. They in effect become what I call a Veterinary prostitute.

There is a link on our web board from a TV station in Southern CA. that just did an investigation into Vets. They took the same animal to 10 different Vet clinic. It is Unbelievable what all of these vets recommended. No two were the same and a number of them were outright criminal in what they recommended. Maybe you should recommend your local TV station do a similar investigation.

Many Vets walk away from Vet school and never look back. They think there is little else to learn. When in fact they may have had 6 hours of training on canine nutrition and 4 hours of instruction on behavioral problems and dog training. Give me a break!! People who graduate from a 10 week basic dog obedience course at their local animal shelter know moore about training dogs than most Vets.

In most Vets mind the solution to most behavioral problems in dogs is found in a prescription bottle full of tranquilizers. The wouldn't understand the concept of pack structure and leadership is their practice depended on it.

Lets also point out the subject of vaccinations or I should say TOO MANY VACCINATIONS. In recent years it has become more and more apparent as more and more studies are proving that yearly vaccinations are not only not needed they are detrimental to the health of your pet. Read the article I wrote on Vaccinosis (reactions dogs have from being vaccinated)

Study after study can come out and major Veterinary Medical Universities have recommended new protocols (less vaccinations) yet ask your Vet what he thinks about yearly vaccinations. When they say this is all hog wash what you are seeing is a Vet that's more interested in your wallet than the health of your dog.

While we are on the topic of education lets point out that the majority of additional training most Vets get is provided by the drug companies or the dog food companies. Boy those are sure two respectable groups of people in my book. Once only needs to look at the recent dog food recall to verify their credibility.

Next time you walk into your Vets office look around. Do you see piles of Science Diet or Eucanuba? Two of the companies listed in the pet food recall. Do some research on these two brands of dogs foods. You may find out exactly what kind of garbage really goes into the bag. When you see this crap in a Vets office you know he gave up the ghost and cares more about your wallet than your dogs nutritional needs.

We get a lot of emails here at Leerburg. Cindy and I try and answer them all. On a regular basis we get emails from people who have had terrible experiences with incompetent Vets. I have included some of those emails at the end of this article. I am going to make a point of adding more of them.

The following are examples.

Dear Ed,

My name is Trevor and I'm in Biloxi, MS at Kessler, AFB. My wife and I recently purchased a GSD puppy from a local breeder. Unfortunately we did not realize the proper age to take him home and trusted the judgment of the breeder; he was just shy of 5 weeks, he is now going on 9 weeks. He is a great dog and we love him to death, but since we got him so young I want to make sure we go about training him the right way. He sits for us and comes when called most of the time but we are unsure of the best way to proceed in his training. I'm mostly concerned with staying and down, some of the basic stuff at the moment. I'm also concerned with his socialization, he is already showing some small signs of aggression (well I believe he is anyway) in the form of some random growling or barking when he doesn't want to do something and he seems to me, to be much more mouthy than normal for a GSD. I've grown up with the breed and don't remember them being this mouthy (it has however, been over 10 years since I've had a puppy). My vet had us leave him at her kennel for a day to have him around some other dogs and her techs said he picked a few fights (I felt like that Dad with the Juvenile delinquent son). Anyway my wife and I hope to have a family one day so I want to establish a good foundation as soon as possible and we want him to be as well adjusted as possible. Do you have any DVD sets? Or do can you recommend one or two videos to start out with? Or do you possibly know of any local trainers you would recommend? We have found a few and one is very nice but honestly it can get a little expensive very fast and I want to learn myself.
Sincerely yours,

Trevor

Ed's Answer

First of all, do NOT leave your dog somewhere to socialize with other dogs especially when you are not present, this is really bad advice! This is a sure fire way to promote dog aggression in a puppy! Most vets know basic medicine but they are not the right people to get training and socialization advice from.

What this Vet did was drop dead stupid. Actually amazingly stupid. Just about the time I think I have heard of a really stupid thing that Vets tell a customer to do I get an email like this.

Here’s the set I would recommend for you. http://leerburg.com/combos.htm the first one on the page would be suitable for your age pup.

I would recommend reading this article, http://leerburg.com/puppygroundwork.htm and looking over this directory of information.

I hope this helps.

Ed

E-mail:

Ed,

I had two 11 week old Chihuahua puppies. I just lost his sister to Parvo. I purchased the pups together from a breeder so they would have each other when I am not around. Unfortunately one of the puppies died from Parvo. Of course I am concerned about the other puppy getting Parvo. I am keeping a close watch on him and getting his vaccinations in a few days. My training issue is this: Both pups were great about not using the crate for peeing and pooping when they were together. Now that I only have one pup, he is peeing and pooping in his crate. Can this behavior be stress related?

Thanks in advance... it's been an emotional week.

Our Answer:

Before I address the training issue, I would caution you about getting a puppy vaccinated after it’s already been exposed to parvo. Being exposed to a disease and not becoming ill, is in effect a vaccination.

Giving a vaccine to a puppy whose immune system is dealing with a recent parvo exposure may be deadly. If your pup never becomes sick, he will likely be immune to parvo as he has received “nature’s vaccine” which is the best way to build immunity. Read our vaccinosis article.

Your pup may be suffering from a bit of separation anxiety, so I would offer him love, firm leadership and structure.

I recently finished a project I have been working on for years titled COMMON SENSE SOULTION TO HOUSE TRAINING PROBLEMS.

This is a 160 page e-book that that is based on how we house train pups in our home (I have bred over 360 litters in the last 45 years). It is also based on 10 years of emails on house training problems from people like yourself.

In my opinion this eBook is the best collection of information on how to house train a dog that’s ever been put together.

I have reviewed your email and this ebook along with my DVD titled YOUR PUPPY 8 WEEKS to 8 MONTHS will guide you through the issues you will face in solving your problems.

The Follow Up Email:

Thanks for getting back to me. I got your e-mail after that fact. I did take my puppy Buddy to the vet yesterday and he got his Canine Bord Vacc #Nasal and DHPP-C .

I hope this does not hurt him. Now I am worried more than ever.

Our Conclusion:

This Vet who is either AN IDIOT or a PROSTITUE or BOTH !!!! This is incompetence at its best. Without a doubt this person should not be a vet. He or she is exactly the type of person I am writing this article about. They are an insult to their profession.

Do I sound negative here? Yes because I am disgusted with the Veterinary industry. They don't police themselves.

Nothing is more valuable than a good relationship with your vet. This article is not about all those great vets we use to help with the healthcare needs of our dogs. This article is about those less than ethical vets who are more interested in making money than practicing good medicine. It's also about those arrogant vets who think they know something about dog training and dog behavior when in fact they know little to nothing.

This is not to say that ALL vets are bad. My personal vet is not good, she is GREAT. She is honest about things that she does not know and she works with Cindy and I to help keep our dogs healthy. Unlike most vets, she is also open minded about the raw diet and alternative medicine. We are also lucky enough to have access to one of the most professional breeding specialists in the UNited States. I cannot tell you how lucky we are to have found this man and to be able to take our dogs to his clinic.

Send us your emails:

If you have horror stories about your local Vet - send us an email and we will add your email to this web page. We don't need to include your name or email address or the name of the Vet. The purpose of this web page is to make people do a little research about who they choose as a health care provider for their dog. New dog owners should not be sheep where the blind leads the blind.

Read the emails below and PLEASE CHOOSE A VET CAREFULLY!!! When you find a good Vet - covet him like a best friend. Recommend his to your friends and neighbors. Spread the news that you have found a gem and everyone should support this person.

Sue the Bastards

But if you have experiences like those below - my recommendation is the sue the Vet. Take him or her to small claims court or hire an attorney and let him do the work for you. In the state of Wisconsin you can spend $50.00 and sue in small claims for up to $5,000.00. Often times this does not cover the emotional or monitory loss involved but it will sure give the fool some unwanted advertising.

Question:

Hi Cindy,

I was extremely interested in feeding my puppy Embark from The Honest Kitchen…however when I suggested it to my vet he discourage RAW foods as he says that bacterial overgrowth is a major concern. He stated that you wouldn't’t feed your kids raw meats and dogs will have the same health issues with eating uncooked foods as people would have. I then mentioned The Honest Kitchen foods and he said he hadn’t heard of it…but when I told him that it was soft mixture he immediately discouraged it because of dental hygiene issues. He said that I would be hard pressed to find any veterinarian that would recommend a RAW diet or 100% soft diet.

After meeting with the Vet I left with questions on whether I should continue my thoughts of feeding the Honest Kitchen or stick with a high grade kibble?

Your thoughts and comments?

Eric

Cindy's Answer:

First of all, I would find a new vet. I worked as a vet tech for over 15 years, I have fed a raw diet since 1993 and your veterinarian needs to become a bit more educated. Dogs can tolerate bacteria that would kill us…. They lick their butts and eat deer poop, etc. with no ill effects.

I recommend the books we sell Raw Dog Food-Make it easy for you and your dog and Natural Nutrition for Dogs & Cats. Both of these books are excellent and cover many common concerns and misconceptions.

Our vet here in Menomonie, WI advocates a raw diet and there is a holistic vet in Blaine, MN that not only recommends a raw diet, she sells it also. I am sure there are many vets in the Twin Cities area that use a more holistic and natural approach to nutrition and medical care for your dog. I have used the vet in Blaine and she is awesome, she was thrilled to find out that I was a raw feeder..she said it’s the most important thing you can do for the health of your animals.

Whether food is hard or soft has nothing to do with dental hygiene, this statement just shows your vet's level of ignorance. Kibble is one of the worst things for dental health, dogs chew it and it coats their teeth. Dogs are meant to rip and tear chunks and swallow it, their teeth are not designed to chew little processed chunks of kibble. The HK products are lapped up and swallowed, not chewed.

I get really tired of vets that try scare tactics about a raw diet, when they aren’t even educated about it at all.

You need to make your own choices about what’s best for your own dog, I can’t do that for you. I did tons of research and waded thru a lot of information to get to where I am today and I am constantly learning and trying to find better ways to do things.

Ed's Answer:

Eric,

This may be one of the dumbest comments I have heard from a vet in the past years. Although there are a few more listed below. People like this are an embarrassment to well educated intelligent animal healthcare providers.

Question:

Ed,

We found your website in our crisis. We have our 1st Maltese teacup litter 9/15/08 and they began to lose weight at day 10. I must tell you that your formula has saved us! You have taken our little ones from the brink of death to now where they are back to gaining weight. I didn't realize how little calories the puppy milk replacer had. Not to mention the puppies really didn't like it. It was no wonder we were feeding them night and day and they weren't gaining a thing. They now put on at least 7g a feeding and absolutely love the milk. I can't thank you enough. The vet i used actually told me that you lose puppies sometimes. I just don't think that way.

From sugar, lexus, porcha, bently and the Smith's Thank you from the bottom of our hearts and paws as you have saved us. You are brilliant!!! And so is your formula.

Ed's Comments:

I will forever be amazed at how Vets prostitute themselves to ESPLAC (the ridiculous milk replacer they sell) It is terrible and I will guarantee you that more puppies die from being on it than live.

They should only have to read the testimonials on my web page for this home made bottle formula to see how well it works.

Just another reason to say "A vet has to earn respect - they are not anointed with it when they get out of college.

Ed Frawley

Feeding a Raw Diet

eBook

A VET WHO CALLED THE CHIEF BECAUSE THE HANDLER FED AN ALL-NATURAL DIET RATHER THAN PURINA DOG FOOD:

Ed,

I am a police K-9 handler. I recently switched my GSD over to a Raw diet back in January at the recommendation of a friend. Prior to this he was getting Purina Joint Formula at the direction of the vet. The dog just turned 2 and has NO medical issues. The food was donated by the vet through Purina because he is a working dog. Because of this I informed my Vet of the raw diet so they wouldn't wonder why I wasn't picking up food. (BAD IDEA). Long story short, I went to work last night and received a note from the Chief, stating that the Vets called him and are extremely upset that I am feeding raw. They have told him that I am "risking the towns investment." They further state that I am risking my health as well in regards to Salmonella. My argument to that is that a little bleach on the counter after preparation and normal cleaning will prevent this. I feel all their claims are bogus. I just got this dog last May and was having bonding issues with him. Believe it or not, I feel that since feeding the raw he is much more bonded to me and seems to be a very happy dog. He whines incessantly when he sees me coming with his food and does circles in the kennel. Not only that he looks great. I get a ton of praise about how good he looks when I do demos. The reason I am writing you is I was wondering If you have any information that I could share with my Chief or if you would be willing to speak with him about this if he wished to call you. It appears as if I am going to be forced to go back to feeding dry food. The Vets in town also give us free medical care for the dog. They made a statement to me a few weeks ago that they had a client that was feeding raw and asked that client to find a different vet.

Thanks for all your help. I have purchased numerous items from you and found them all to be helpful. The web site is great as well and many of the other handlers here in our state use it regularly.

Jim

Ed's Comments on a Unethical Under-educated Vet:

This Vet is a bleeding uneducated fool. An absolute fool. If there is ever a case that is an example of a Vet that has his head stuck in a 40 year old HOLE IN THE GROUND this is it. He does not deserve to be called a Vet.

I wonder how he explains the fact that wolves, Foxes and Coyotes have seemed to live for millions of years and have never seen a bag of commercial dog food.

I know there is nothing you can do about it.

You may want to tell your chief about my site. I was a k9 handler for 10 years, head of the WI police K9 training committee for 3 or 4 years, have bred over 350 litters of working bloodline GSD's for 30 years, owned dogs for 45 years and have MUCH MORE EXPERIENCE than this fool Vet.

This Purina food is just their normal crap food with glucosamine on it. A joke.

That’s like putting GLUCOSAMINE on a BIG MAC and telling families that this is healthier for their kids - healthier than what? DOG CRAP?

Natural Nutrition for Dogs & Cats

Question:

Ed,

I have an almost three year old German Shepherd born in Germany. Because of transportation, she received a lot of shots. I want to breed her and made the mistake of allowing the vet to vaccinate her for Rabies when she was four days from flagging. She started with a vaginal discharge which gradually spread throughout her mammary glands - a bad fungus with probably a staph aureus infection. After much deliberation and trials with the vet, I started my own therapy.

I was a registered medical technologist and reversed my own severe case of fibromyalgia which was initiated by appendicitis at the age of seven and overdosing of penicillin which caused a reaction. So I did with her what I did with myself and that is to strengthen her immune system which was broken down by the vaccinations.

I would strongly recommend that anyone facing this double infection not to start with the antibiotic because that is a fungal derivative which will make the fungal problem worse. Start with treating the fungus. Amazingly, I had a lot of success without using the Malaseb baths like they tell you every week. Chlorophyll kills fungus so I gave her Yeast Defense, Chlorella, Spirullina, Barley Green, and Olive Leaf and I would rotate them. In addition, I gave her probiotics to re-establish her intestinal flora because that flora has much to do with her immune system and the bacteria are destroyed with stress. She had biological stress. I made an ear wash of Olive Leaf tea which seemed to help her ears. I gave her a lot of human grade things like Nordic Naturals Omega 3, some CoQ10, etc. Fungus, uses certain nutrients to build up their cell walls and compete for that same nutrient which is used by the Schwann cells to build up the myelin sheath that covers the nerves. So bad fungal problems can lead to neurological problems such as balance and coordination, etc.

Anyone dealing with fungal problems or vaccine problems needs to strengthen the immune system because that is what has been attacked and it is the immune system which will fight off the disease. I reversed my own neurological problem which involved balance and coordination, etc. This does work.

Donna

Ed's ANSWER concerning this bad advice from a Vet :

This is sad.

Any Vet that vaccinates a female in season is a friggin IDIOT !!! They should lose their medical license.

EMAIL FROM A VET:

I will try not to make this too long.

I came upon your web site accidentally and must say I am FLOORED by the incredibly rude, uneducated, barbaric advice you give people who ask you questions! These people are wanting honest, intelligent, accurate, educated answers to they're questions. Instead you give them WRONG answers, combat everything with SARCASM and foul language (ie. "your vet is a dumb ass") and obviously are one of the most unethical, dimwitted, SO CALLED breeders I have ever come across!

I will not lavishly praise myself as you are so incline to do, but I will let you know that I have been a licensed DVM for 27 years, and advise you to discontinue breeding, and giving any advice.

Producing over 300 litters in 25 years (or 350 in 30, depending on which post you happen to reply to) DOES NOT MAKE YOU AN EXPERT IN TRAINING, BREEDING, NUTRITION, OR VETERINARY MEDICINE!!!!!!

I am ANGRY people like you are out there doing what you do.

Find another "career" and leave the advice to the professionals!

Seairra

ED'S RESPONSE:

Thanks for the nice e-mail. I will put this on my web site under emails that make me laugh. I am also going to start a section on DUMB ASS VETS – your email will be the first one in that section. I forgot more about dogs last week than people like you learn in a lifetime.

Ed Frawley's Philosophy on Dog Training

eBook

Vet Recommends Stapling Stomach as a Normal Preventative Procedure

Mr. Frawley:

I have a four month old female german shepherd. I am feeding her a combination of Royal Canine kibble in the am and the dehydrated food I ordered from you in the pm.

I have taken her to the vet two times and both times the vet has told me how common bloat is and how devastating it would be to lose my dog to this malady. She strongly recommended surgery to sew her stomach in place promising that my dog will never get bloat.

I take precautions and I don't allow exercise for two hrs after eating. I am concerned she is appealing to my emotions vs this being a logical precautionary step to take.

I would appreciate your opinion on this surgery if you have the time to respond.

Thank you,
Paula
Atlanta

Ed's Answer:

To advise this for a dog that has never bloated is insane.

Find another Vet. If your dog has never bloated and this Vet is recommending this procedure as a preventative measure the Vet should lose her license to practice Veterinary medicine. If this is indeed what happened you should stop using this vet's services and report her to the state licensing agency.

This is one of the worst cases of bad medical advice that I have heard.

QUESTION on Puppy:

Dear Mr. Frawley,

I love your web site and am currently using your training video to train my puppy. I know you addressed too much exercise on your video, but I was wondering how long I can walk my puppy for? Every night my daughters and I go on an hour long exercise walk with our 2 6-year old female german shepherds. We walk at a semi fast rate (not that fast power walking). We stop halfway and rest for about 20 minutes. Our 5 month old male german shepherd puppy wants to come with us. We do walk him on little walks, but I think that this evening walk is too much for him. We let him come the other night and about 2/3 though he became tired. So I was wondering how old do you think he should be before we let him go on an hour long walk and how long of a should he have at his current age?
Also I wanted to thank you for your health info on your web site. When our puppy was younger he became ill with coccidia. I took him to the vet and the vet said he probably had parvo even though he tested negative for it and wanted to go ahead and treat him for parvo. I was fairly certain he had coccidia after going though your web site. I asked him to test him for it and he said it wasn't coccidia. I became insist ant that I wanted a lab test for it so he ran one and sure enough it was coccidia. He then got the treatment he needed and the vet gave him the same medicine and the IV under the skin treatment that you showed. He became ill very rapidly and I think if the vet would have treated him for parvo first, the delay may have cost him his life, so thanks again for putting so much informative info on your site.

Best regards,
Annie

ANSWER and Comment on Vet 's Behavior:

Thanks for the kind words.

I would be careful about taking the 5 month old with you on your walks.
That's a long way. Wait until he is a year old. It's just not worth the risk

I get real tired of a lot of Vets. People think they are always right and too often - way too often - they are wrong. I would not use this vet again. Don't vaccinate this dog again. Read my article on Vaccinosis.

Vaccinosis

eBook

QUESTION on Dog that Died:

Hi Ed,

I'm hoping you can help. My husband and I purchased a GS last Jan from a breeder in RI. He gets the puppies from Germany. This dog was so amazing. We just loved him. Last week he passed away. He was just three weeks shy of his very first birthday. So very sad. He woke us up in the middle of the night sick. Throwing up but very little. We thought he might have ate something. He was sick most of the night and through out the morning. We went right to the vet when they opened and waited to see a doctor. They took some x-rays and saw nothing. Said his heart rate was fine. Said he might have ate something that didn't agree with him and it probably would just pass. Gave him the hydration sac and some pain med. You could tell he was tired and uncomfortable but he was still walking and drinking. Two hours later he took a turn for the worst. We could not get to the hospital quick enough. He went into cardiac arrest on the way. We still can not believe it. He was are life. The autopsy said that he had a twisted intestine. The vet said one end to the other. Nothing could have been done. Once it happens that is it. She said he hung on for a long time and was probably throwing up to try and reverse it. Please help me understand.
I can't find much info on the internet, our breeder is doubtful. Please tell me have you heard of this, how does it happen, is it in the bloodlines?

Thank you!
Anne

ANSWER:

Anne,

Before I got to the part of the email that explained the autopsy I knew it was a twisted bowel.

This vet missed it. In my opinion it's a case of an incompetent medical provider. It should have been the first thing they suspected and not the last. I would pass this email on to this vet and never use the vet again. They don't deserve your business.

I don't know what causes a twisted bowel and have never had one in my dogs but I know many who have.

I am sorry for your loss. I have a web page dedicated to people who have lost their dogs. You may find some comfort there.

Rainbow Bridge Poster

COMMENT on Vet Giving a Dog Prozac:

Hello Ed,

I am the Fidelco guide dog handler who wrote to you a few months ago thanking you for all the wonderful information on your web site. I have a story to tell you that you just won't believe!!

I have always enjoyed training dogs but I certainly don't consider myself to be an 'expert'. I was talking to a lady on an airliner a few weeks ago and she told me the most incredible story. She has a large dog that is uncontrollable when they come home from work. The dog jumps all over them and just goes nuts. (OK, here is the incredible part.) The lady took her dog to the vet and the vet gave it PROZAC!!!! Well, apparently this helped a little but the dog still got too excited when they came home, so the vet increased the dose! The dog also paced the house at night and was destructive. I asked the lady about their lifestyle. She and her husband work and the dog is alone during the day. I couldn't help but groan.

First I suggested that when they return home they ignore the dog. Don't greet it at all, no eye contact just walk past it and wait five minutes and then greet the dog when THEY decide to. This sets the pack order and the dog will react to them rather then the other way around. Second I suggested that they take the dog for a long walk every night. The dog needs exercise and it isn't getting it alone all day so it roams at night. If they can't do that then they should find another home for the dog. Oh I also suggested they FIND ANOTHER VET! Like I said, I am NOT an expert but I certainly know more then this vet! Have we become such a neurotic culture that we are now drugging our dogs to solve our problems?

See what I mean, I told you it was unbelievable!

Jody

QUESTION on Breeding Dog:

Hi, I have a shitzu bitch that is 15mnths old and is going to be in heat for the 3rd time in about a month, she is starting to mount her toys so I know it is coming. My vet told me a while ago that is I let her go onto heat the first time to plan to breed her or her chances of ovarian or uterin cancer are dramatically increased. Is this true? Also, is she too young to breed? I appreciate your feedback

Julie

ANSWER:

She is too young to breed. The earliest I have ever bred a dog is 18 months and most of the time its 24 months (and I have bred over 350 litters)... they are just not mature enough mentally or physically to deal with a litter. Find a new vet – the one you have is a fool. That was stupid advice from a medical person who needs more training because he lacks experience.

QUESTION:

Hello,

I found your web site. today by searching on hip dysplasia. We just found out that our 4 year old German Shepherd has shallow hips which has caused advanced arthritis in her hips. She has had 1 shot of Adequan, and the vet sent her home on Rimadyl, but I quit giving it because it seemed to make her worse. I have been looking for other alternatives to medications like Rimadyl, and I noticed that you carry Yucca. The vet says that we won’t need to give an oral supplement of glucosamine because that’s what Adequan is. I was wondering if you would recommend the Yucca in addition to the Adequan? Have you ever used a product that contains MSM, and would you recommend that? Are there any other supplements that you would recommend that would help to alleviate the arthritis pain?

Thank You,
Jennifer

ANSWER:

This is a stupid vet – find another one . The longer I am in dogs the more IDIOT vets I see. Rimadyl is a terrible drug – just use aspirin. Keep the dog THIN– you want to see a definition between loins and hips – SWIM the dog as much as possible, This muscles the legs up without stressing them.

If it were my dog I would be feeding an all-natural diet.

Raw Dog Food

COMMENT on Vet Advice:

Hey Ed,

I own Sheba, the female out of CJ and Snickers. I wanted to let you know she is doing very well. She's a quick learner, loves food and has incredible prey drive, and can't get bite my hands enough.

The reason for my email is that I just got back from the vet and almost everything they said contradicts what I've learned from you.

To start off, he called the raw food diet 'Garbage' and said that it would be 'taken off the shelves' in months. He said that pups can get salmonella and that its incurable if they do.

Also, I am going to Lake George, NY on a camping trip 4th of July weekend. I asked if they thought i should bring Sheba, they said its probably not a good idea, which it probably isn't because of diseases and so fourth..

I told them the only reason i really wanted to bring her is because i will be away for almost 5 days and didn't want to leave her home because i will be training in personal protection and only i could take her for walks or play or pet her.....

They said it would be a good idea to let others play with her so she doesn't grow up to bite people when she's older despite the fact that she's a working dog.

Do these people know what they're talking about or what??? I'm by no means an expert and have studied the 14 or so DVDs I bought from you closely, but as you said there's no way to learn everything on the first shot. I've watched a few DVDs 2-3 times and have taken notes, but what they told me doesn't add up.

I know you get a ton of emails so thanks for you time.

Sincerely,
Flu

QUESTION:

I have 5, 11wk old French Bulldog puppies. I found your site and raised them on your formula their mother got really sick and almost died. Mastitis. So she was in and out of Vets for weeks. I took my puppies in for their first shots and 4 days later they were all sick blowing fluid out of theirs nose and shaking there heads. Vomiting and sometimes diarrhea. This was three weeks ago. First my Vet put them on Clavamox drops. That didn't do it now Temaril-p and Baytril they have been on this for 3 weeks now and are not getting any better. In fact they are not having a good day today they are all really quite and have been sleeping most of the day not active at all......I am very worried about them and VERY stress out over this. I cant sell them sick either. Can you help me is there anything else that can be done for them besides meds vitamins something to help boost their immune system.........please help me I'm scared.

Thank You,
Shelley

ANSWER:

Tell your Vet I recommend a law suit against him and the manufacturer of the vaccine.

I am very serious about this. Unless people hold vets responsible nothing will change.

QUESTION:

Hello Ed,

I wanted to ask you a question about x-rays. I was talking to my Vet to get a estimate on my GSD 1 year old x-rays and he gave me a estimate that it will cost well over $600.00 to $700.00 to get it done for her and was naming off so many things that needs to do with my GSD and said that he would need to take at least 5 to 6 x-rays of her then send it off to a Radiology person to read the x-rays. Does my Vet really need to do allot of things to get a x-ray does on a dog to check for Hip Dysplasia.

ANSWER:

This is 100% BS. Find a new vet. We pay $85.00 for an X-ray.

This vet is a scam artist. Please pass this along.

Question:

Hello!

I was just looking at German Shepherd puppies when I decided to click on your Vaccinosis page. I read the whole thing from top to bottom and I can't tell you "Thank you" enough! I work for a vet, and he recommends that puppies get shots at 6, 8,12, and 16 weeks. I personally never saw the point in it! Last year, I got a Border Collie puppy in February that was 6 weeks old. I took him to the vet that I now currently work at when he was about 12 weeks to get him dewormed. He informed me that I was "WAY OVERDUE" to get him his DA2PP shots. I basically said, "Do whatever it is you feel you need to do." I had NO idea about the risks to vaccinating puppies! The day after his first shot, he was VERY lethargic. I though he was going to die. He would not eat, would not drink, was vomiting, his stool was runny... He was not a happy camper. I called the vet, and he said that he will be fine, he probably just ate something. He was not the hyper little Border Collie that I had for the 6 weeks before... I had a feeling it was because of the vaccination, so he did not get another one. Finally, after about 3 weeks of feeling like this, he started to get better. He was once again my happy puppy! He turned into an awesome dog... I swore I would never have another dog that wasn't a Border Collie... (And here I am looking at German Shepherds :) ) But a few months ago, he was not quite a year old, my collie died. Everyone thinks he got hit by a car, but he had no sign of trauma, and he just looked like he was sleeping under a tree... Not to mention, we live in a very rural area where there is not a lot of traffic, and he had over 180 acres to run on... It was not likely that he would choose a road... Do you have any ideas if something could have happened that late after the time he was vaccinated? Again, thank you for your article. I am never vaccinating another one of my dogs! It is nothing but a waste of time and money!

Thanks :)

Ed's Response:

Many times the reactions to vaccinations don’t show up until weeks, months and even years after vaccinations. So while I can't tell you why your dog died, I can recommend that you tell this vet I think he is a prostitute and he should pull his head out of his ass.

Question:

Thanks so much for responding. She is now constipated and still won't burp. She is not showing any signs of dehydration, but she is constipated. I think the antibiotic had something to do with it. The vet agreed with me and I have stopped giving it to her. I was feeding her the goats milk mixture on the Leerburg web site, but then got chastised by two of the vets at my vet office for using it and told to put the puppy on puppy replacement. They told me I should never feed any animal with another animals milk. So, I took her off the goats milk and put her on puppy replacement. The puppy replacement I'm using is in powdered form, so I have been adding more water just in case. She's gaining weight, but her stools are now very hard and it hurts for her to pass them. Any suggestions on what I can give her as a laxative? I read on another site about giving a constipated puppy Karo syrup to help. Any suggestions would be great. Thank you so very much.

Karrie

Cindy's Response:

What? Look at the ingredients for the puppy milk re placer the vets sell (which is crap by the way) Do you honestly think it’s dog milk??…. I never cease to be amazed at the stupidity of vets. Goat milk is the milk of choice when you need to supplement puppies.

Use our formula and add extra water. Karo syrup does nothing for constipation, it’s just sugar.

Question:

I got a call today from my vet. I had my dog vaccinated from rabbis about 2 weeks ago. The vet's office called today and said the vaccination they gave my dog had expired. They say their computer did not indicate the vaccination had expired and they mistakenly gave it to the dog. They are asking me to bring the dog back in so they can re-vaccinate for rabbis. I asked lady who called if this was harmful for my dog to be vaccinated so soon after the initial and she indicated it wasn't. Obviously, I am in no way asking you to be responsible for the health of my dog...but I am curious if you have ever ran into anything like this before.

Thanks again.
Mark

Ed's Response:

Your Vet is incompetent - find another vet and tell them why. If you love your dog the last thing you should do is re-vaccinate this dog. It is amazing this fool would suggest doing this. I have a section for STUPID VET ADVICE on my web site. I am going to add this to that web page.

The rabies vaccine causes a lot of Vaccinosis. Read the article on my web site.

Question:

Mr. Frawley-

I have been an avid reader of all your materials and discussion boards. I have also purchased videos and merchandise from you-obviously I respect and trust your guidance. I am hoping you might have a suggestion for me.

I have a 3 1/2 year old GSD. This dog has always been very active and has run with me on a daily basis. I started to notice a slight deviation in stride. It did get worse so he could barely put weight on his leg. I immediately took him to a highly respected vet hospital where they did an exam and x-rays. He has mild arthritic changes in his elbow (he is on Cosequin) and has some changes in his long bone (fuzzy areas). They diagnosed him (or suspected Pano).

I immediately checked his protein content in his food and put him on Deramaxx.

This has been going on in the same front leg for over a month without any improvement. Have you done any research on what works for this condition? I realize you are not a vet but with many years working with these animals I figured you may have some advice for me.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am anxious to get my dog feeling well again!

Kathryn

Answer:

I personally have never heard of a dog of 3 ½ getting pano. I may be wrong but I think your Vet is way way off base here. Pano is an issue dogs growing too fast – at 3 ½ the dog is already stopped growing. So this makes no sense.

There are a lot of things that can cause dogs to go lame – lymes, an injury etc etc. But at 3 ½ not pano. I would go to this vet – ask for copies of the x-rays and tell him you want to take the dog someplace else for a second opinion. If you have access to a veterinary college – take the dog there.

Kind Regards,
Ed

Another Question:

Mr Frawley-

Thank you so much for your thoughts. I have never heard of a dog Axel's age getting this disease so I was skeptical of the diagnosis-especially when there seems to be other disease processes that appear the same on x-ray.

I am also very skeptical because I have had my dog on natural dog food since I purchased him and it seems this helps eliminate the prospect.

We have Michigan State close by so I will take him there this week.

I truly appreciate your thoughts!

Kathryn

Answer:

Get your x-rays from this vet or they will make you redo new ones and that’s not cheap.

Please let me know what you find, I will find this interesting.

Kind Regards,
Ed

Thanks:

Thank you so much for your e-mail as it prompted me to get a third opinion. I took my dog to Michigan State Vet Hospital today-needless to say (as you predicted) my dog does not have Pano. He was misdiagnosed last week. The docs at State said they found NO evidence of Pano and his symptoms did not match.

I left my dog there and he will have surgery tomorrow. He has bilateral fragmented medial coronoid process (elbow dysphasia). The one elbow has a fragment in the joint...the other has not broken off yet. They said that by having surgery it will slow the degeneration process down some. We opted for this route as I would like him active for as long as possible. The CT scan made it look obvious!

I guess this shows how important elbow x-rays of imported dogs are. We put so much worry on the hips....

It amazes me because the original diagnosis was from one of the most reputable places in Michigan!

Again-I appreciate your e-mail as it gave me the extra info I needed and the shove that got me to our answer. It is rare that people with limited time like yourself actually cares enough to read e-mails and answer them!

Kathryn

Ed

I have a 4.5 month old rare breed puppy named Maija. She's a nordic spitz type and should attain an adult weight of 45-50lbs. I've had her for about 2 months, and I've seen 3 different vets so far. After reading your page on Vets, I thought I would share my experiences with you. First, a little info on my pup. She comes from a breeder who I believe is conscientious and dedicated to bettering the breed. The breeder provided me with a packet of info about caring for the pup, training, feeding, crating, etc. She included full pedigrees, OFA certifications and PRA testing results on both parents. Additionally, she gave me the vet records for the pup - basically everything from birth through microchipping and deworming was documented.

First Vet: The puppy got car sick on the way home and there was a healthy, wriggling round worm in the mess, so we stopped in the local vet's office for a dewormer. I tried to show the vet the pertinent info I had from my breeder re: deworming and vaccination, but the vet wouldn't even look at the info. She didn't mark anything in the file re: Maija's previous (albeit brief) medical history. Ok, so strike 1. While we were there, I asked a few questions about diet and vaccinations. The vet wanted to give the 7-way and rabies vaccine all together at 16 weeks. She told me the county required those vaccines to be administered at that time. I said, "really? I just called the county last week and they said rabies needs to be administered anytime in the first year." She stammered a bit and said, "it's just good practice to protect the puppy early. After all, you don't want your dog to die from something you could have prevented." I decided right then this wasn't the vet for me, but I was stuck there while she prepared the dewormer, so I asked about recommended diets. She told me Science Diet is the best thing I can feed my puppy b/c it's owned by a group of veterinarians. I said, "you do know Colgate-Palmolive owns Science Diet, right?" No, she insisted I was mistaken. There we have strike 3. Enter the Second Vet.

Second Vet: At 12 weeks, we found a different vet to administer the DP vaccine. The vet kept talking about dealing with Maija as a large breed puppy. I corrected him a few times to ensure he knew she is definitely NOT a large breed dog, but each time I did so the vet gave me that look - you know, the one that says, "oh, you poor, uninformed little person." Then we argued about vaccinating for Lepto. I didn't want it, he wanted to know why, I told him this breed reacts, he insisted I should just give her a benadryl shot along w/ the vaccine... It wasn't pretty. He wanted to give her the full adult shot, and I was very uncomfortable with it. I finally won the argument, sort of. I only wanted Distemper and Parvo, but they only have the combo shot, so we ended up with DHPP. He wore me down on the vaccination and I felt like an idiot. At least I held out on the lepto. The next issue centered on food. I am feeding Nature's Variety pre-made raw food. I didn't mention I was feeding raw, but he wanted to know what brand I'm using. He said he's never heard of them and they are therefore not a good company. He told me I should feed a big brand name diet from a grocery store b/c the big companies have vets on staff and scientific studies to back their products. I just smiled and left, wondering where I would find my next vet.

Third Vet: At 16 weeks, I went to yet another vet for the last DP vaccine. They were all set to give her the 7-way adult shot plus rabies, even though I was very specific on the phone that I did NOT want these vaccines. This vet was a little more reasonable about Lepto, but he still argued with me about it. He said he gives it to almost every dog he sees and never has a problem, but then he told me he treats a lot of cases of Lepto. I suggested his vaccine isn't protecting against all the strains in the area, and he finally just said it was my choice. He then launched into a lecture about my breeder doing me a disservice by suggesting I wait until at least 6 months of age before vaccinating for rabies, and that the internet is a terrible place for people to find information about vaccination, diet, and general pet care. He used that expression several times - so-and-so is doing you and your dog a terrible disservice... He was intent on giving Maija that rabies shot, but I held firm. Of course we wound up with DHPP again b/c they don't offer separate injections. This is contrary to what I was told on the phone. I am not delighted with the combo shots, but it was important to me that I get the distemper and parvo taken care of and I had yet to find anyone in my area who didn't do the combo shot. Needless to say, I left this vet wondering again where I would find the next one.

One final note on all three of these vets - I expressed to all of them that this is my first puppy and I am interested in showing her, which means I haven't yet made a decision about spaying her. They all told me I needed to spay her right away unless I felt ribbons and titles were more important than her health. I just can't get over the amount of guilt these folks lay on a person. I don't think there is anything wrong with taking a few months (or more) to decide if this dog is going to be a show dog. Many phone calls later, I found a holistic vet about 30 miles away. She recommends raw diets and titering dogs. I am glad I found her and we'll be visiting her for Maija's rabies shot in a couple of months. Hopefully this will be Maija's forever vet. I was getting pretty discouraged for a while. After all of this, I am wondering if you happen to have any articles on how to shop for a good vet? I tried asking questions on the phone, but the people who answer are basically clueless and/or tell you whatever you want to hear so they can book the appointment. It's very frustrating. I realize vets don't have time for free interview appointments, so what is the best way to evaluate the practice and decide if you want this person to care for your pooch? I'm sorry this is so long - it's cathartic to be able to vent to someone who agrees that vets are not the holier-than-thou creatures they would have you believe they are. Between the guilt and the condescension coming from the vets, it's very difficult to feel confident I'm doing the right thing for my puppy.

Thanks,
Becky

Comment:

Hello, I was reading your site about bottle feeding after our new vet told us that the mother had an infection and her milk was toxic. I have been feeding the pups every few hours and they are doing great. They were born on Tuesday. Now I am writing to you because our normal vet refused to see us after we were 20 minutes late, but we couldn't get another appointment for a few days and our female is panting and pacing and not eating. So we called a new vet and took our female and the two pups in, the new vet gave our female an X-ray to make sure their weren't any more pups, and then gave her a shot of antibiotics, a uterin enima, and a prescription for daily antibiotics. That was yesterday, today our female is still panting and we thought it was because she is stressed out that her pups are taken away from her. We call the new vet and they said she needs to be hospitalized and on IV and that she is in pain from her infection. We called our normal vet and we can't get in until Monday, and we called another vet and we cant get in until next week. I was just wondering if you have had any experience about females acting this way or having infections and what can I do?

Comment:

Hello,

I am so glad I found your site. You are god sent. My story is that a neighbor allowed her huge mastiff to get pregnant paid all the fees for stud service. Well on 07/21/08 this very large dog had pups not a clue what to do. Did not remove sacs nothing no cleaning. Just ran away. I have always supplemented with goats milk. These pups were not doing well at all, all dehydrated and looking terrible. Of course she took them to our lovely only large breed vet who said let them pass. She brought them back home and the goats milk was not cutting it as they were looking worse by the hour. We tried yours and all are doing well. They are a week old now, I know we are not out of the woods. But keeping them going for a week with no mom is a huge thanks to your formula. Thank you so much.

Kathy

Question:

Hi there,

I have a puppy that I found that was dumped on the road and I picked her up. I took her to the vet and the vet told me that she is 6-7 weeks old already. Then I came home and looked on the internet because she doesn't even have teeth yet. The vet gave her the rabies injection. I am going to another vet tomorrow to get a second opinion because it is very hard to believe that she is a 6-7 weeks old yet. Her eyes are open, but she is still not steady on her feet. Is there anything really bad that could happen to her if she's not as old and already got the injection.

She also won't drink the bottle very well that I brought from the vet. I am using powder formula that the vet sold me for her, but now that she doesn't take that well. I don't know what I must do.

Thanks,
Katie

Answer:

This Vet is an incompetent ASS. Don’t ever go back to him.

Feed this pup my home made bottle feeding formula. You can try a bottle or you can give it in a bowl and dip her nose in it. If the Vet didn’t kill her with the vaccinations she should be OK with this formula (read what others have said).

Read what I have written about Vaccinosis.

I am going to put this email on my web site page for Vets.

If the pup does OK with this formula I would recommend the following two DVDs:

Your Puppy 8 Week to 8 Months
Basic Dog Obedience

Kind Regards,
Ed Frawley

Question:

My boxer puppy is 3 weeks old. I have been bottle feeding him for 1 week using the leerburg formula. Not only does he seem to love it, he seems to be a very healthy and alert puppy, especially for 3 weeks. I took him to a vet for the first time. The vet asked what I was feeding him, I told him the exact ingredients etc. He boldly stated that he had never heard of it and knew nothing about the formula, and the best thing to feed him was the formulas you get from the pet store. He said they have all the vitamins, etc. a puppy needs. Not being a doctor or a nutritionist I had no rebuttal to his statement. I would like to know if there is any kind of documentation proving that the Leerburg formula is better than the formulas you buy at the pet stores. I want the best for my pup, but I am not an expert and right now all I have is a vet telling me to use an off the shelf product. I really believe the Leerburg formula is better but I need something other than a fat, healthy, little puppy. So down the road if there were any problems, my know it all vet can't say "I told you not to feed that formula to your puppy." Thank you for all your helpful articles, I don't know what I'd do without them. I also must say I'd love to be able to put the vet in his place and let him know that school for a doctor should never be limited to what was taught in the classroom. If you never heard of something maybe you better look into it. I'm sure at one time all the people using wooden wheels never heard of rubber.

Thank you.

Answer:

I am always impressed with KNOW-IT-ALL vets. The depth of their training, or lack thereof, spills out of their mouths when they make stupid statements like this fool did. In fact I will add this email to the web page I did on stupid vets.

If you want to know the difference in this formula and his "pet store" garbage - read the many testimonials on the bottle feeding page. Look at the ones where people's pups were dying with that crap and how the pups bounced back after switching.

To be honest I can't imagine anyone looking at the ingredients in this formula and not seeing that even on the listed ingredients that this is better - much less how the pups think about it and the weight they gain on it.

If you want to risk your pups life you can prove this by switching.

Do me favor - print this out and send it to this Vet. He can thank his lucky stars that you never send his name and address.

Kind Regards,
Ed Frawley

Question:

Hi,

I just ordered 3 videos-(Dominant Aggressive Dogs, Basic Obedience, Establishing Pack Structure), in addition -2 arm protectors, a snap closed waist belt and some leashes and a collar.

I need your help if you would be ever so kind to provide advice.

I have a Dalmatian - I will try to keep it short and stay to the primary concern.  He is 2 years old, we rescued him when he was a few months old. When he was a puppy he was very sweet but as he has grown up he is more challenging.

He was diagnosed 2 days ago with defensive (keep away) aggression, impulsive redirect aggression, food aggression and attention seeking. She started him on Prozac 20 mg a day- he is 60 pounds. She wants to move him to 2 tablets next week. If you had told me years ago that I would agree to a dog on Prozac I would have probably said not likely.  I love animals, particularly dogs. Having him on a mood altering drug does concern me but perhaps he does need it?

Below is what has led me to this point.

Primary Concern:

Unpredictability and Aggression - He snapped at my face about 1 year ago when he was asleep and I startled him.  He startles easily. This past Christmas he snapped at my mother in law. She was sitting in the chair that he and I normally sit in at night (not that this makes it acceptable behavior).  He is no longer allowed on the furniture I use a baby gate to keep him off of the sofa. This past week he actually bit a neighbor's hand when we were walking and he reached down to pet his head before I could tell him not to.   He does not appear to "trust' or like people petting him (including his owners) unless he initiates it which is infrequent. He does not like his paws and/or ears touched either. When he gets anxious he runs and gets a toy shakes it and growls. It almost seems to be his security blanket.

Occasionally he will growl and show teeth at his food bowl.  At this point I would not bend down to take a bone or treat from him as I should be able to but now I am a little anxious about it. During walks, you can't tell which dog he is going to show aggression toward. With some dogs he may be okay one time and not the next.  We use to take him for socialization but until we can be sure of his actions, that has been brought to a halt.

At my vet visit day before yesterday the behavioral specialist had us do some evaluation things, sit, stay, "good boy" ,reward, etc. He did a good job until the last 30 minutes. He was in a small room with us for 4.5 hours and had to just lie there most of the time. The last time we did the sit, stay then reward he attacked the food that was in my hand as opposed to just taking the treat gently --all other times he was perfect with this exercise. He does not do these things all of the time; but he is unpredictable, and this behavior makes me uncomfortable.   I have tried using commands and rewarding once he obeys, using a squirt bottle or throwing chains on the floor to get him to obey. These suggestions came from "Bark Busters" trainers that come to your house. Occasionally they work for a couple of seconds, but overall he continues, does not respond and is unaffected. He does not come when called unless he thinks he is getting a snack which can be a problem in specific situations.

I use a prong collar to walk him. Initially he was great, but he is starting to even challenge this slightly now - walking out front. No way at this time I can use a regular collar.

During Vet visits, since they discovered his allergies (about 6 months ago) they now give him a shot every other week; consequently his visits have become extremely challenging. He barks in the waiting room pulling from point A to point B and they have to hold him down and/or muzzle him to do anything at all even a minor exam.  The shots may have contributed to his seemingly mistrust of people. This also prevents the doctor from doing a thorough exam.   Eventually I am concerned they will not want to treat him as they are a little apprehensive.

Jeter in not an attack dog but he is of concern and I need to get him out of the biting and re-enforce the pack structure. I need help before my next vet visit. Can you tell me what things to focus on and do over the next week? I do not want to think about what he could possibly be headed for according the vet. I love him too much!! I would be ever so grateful.

Answer:

I will start off by saying that I am deeply disgusted by vets that prescribe Prozac as a treatment for what is most likely a leadership and training issue. I would understand if this dog had been through all alternatives first, but he’s only 2 years old. Most vets have no business advising anyone about training and prescribing Prozac for a young dog with dominance issues is like putting a Band-Aid on a cancerous tumor. You may not see the tumor, but it’s still there! I feel that this borders on malpractice.

At 2 your dog is just becoming a mature. I would predict that the problems you are seeing are the result of the way you live with your dog. When dogs act like this they lack leadership from their owners. In other words their owners don’t understand how important pack drive is in how they raise their dogs.

Owners of dogs like yours underestimate the genetic power of "PACK DRIVE" Pack structure is not something new and it is not optional, and if you don’t provide the structure and leadership a dog NEEDS then he or she will behave as canines have for thousands of years and will structure your family and household their own way. Your dog is not behaving badly out of spite or stubbornness; your dog is simply being a dog, a dog that needs some guidance and rules. Every one of the behaviors you describe in your dog are NORMAL dog behaviors. These are behaviors they do with each other to keep what they have (food, couch) Your dog is not in need of medication for this, he’s in need of structure and training. These issues always escalate if not dealt with properly.

If you want to fix a problem like this you can but it takes some work. The videos you ordered are exactly what I would have advised. Until you receive them I’d start with our Groundwork program.

This dog needs all of his free time controlled, 100%. He doesn’t get anything for free and he is never off leash unless he is in the crate. This may take weeks or longer but you’ve allowed him to do his own thing for almost 2 years and the problems are not going to go away overnight.

If you change the way you live with him and develop the attitude of a leader, I think you will see big changes in your dog. If you are worried about being bitten during any of this training, then we recommend a muzzle for the dog.

Work on the ground work starting right NOW and if I were you, I’d find a new vet. We have a list of vets that has been compiled by our customers and you can see it here. We are providing this list as a service; please do your own research into any health care provider you choose for your dogs.

If you can give me more info on your dog’s vaccine history and what you feed him I may be able to give you some direction on the allergy issue. The tests done in a vets office for allergies are a waste of money, IMO. I think your dog may have a variety of issues going on here, and one feeds the other. This is why I would recommend a holistic vet that looks at the whole dog and doesn’t prescribe Prozac for things that are NORMAL dog behaviors.

If I seem a bit harsh, it’s only because I am an advocate for the dog and I don’t believe your dog is receiving the correct care from this vet.

Cindy

Thanks:

Cindy,

Thank you so much. I can tell you that I emailed you because I was very unsure of the prescription medicine and although I have the best intentions I am sure that I have led to this behavior since I treat him too much like a child and not enough like a dog! I rescued him and I want to provide a good life for him, my animals ARE my life I love them dearly and I would fight tooth and nail to avoid ever euthanizing a dog!!!

I will get started right away and advise of the progress...thanks so much for reconfirming my thoughts direction and belief!!! I don't mind harshness I DO MIND talking Prozac and euthanized dogs!!!

Wanda

Question:

Dear Cindy,

In Jan, I adopted a 9 week old female GSD puppy from an abuse case in CT. She was been treated for giardia, wormed and given first set of shots. She was very small and thin. I started her on the Chicken Soup kibble and can food as I tried to read about the raw diet (I had never heard of such a thing).

She was brought to the vet countless times for her puppy shots, deworming. She had very little appetite except for cat food and her own stools, some vomiting and diarrhea at least once a day. I changed her food a few times (I always mixed with what she had been eating) trying to find something she would eat and keep down and not poop out so quickly. She would seem excited to eat it for about 3 days, then turn her nose up. She continued to lose weight.

Blood work was run. Her albumin was low (1.9). total protein was low (3.6),moderately anemic, urinary tract infection , high white count (17), basophils high (170).

They put her on amoxicillin and metronidazole. She weighed 15.9 at 16 weeks. I started feeding her cooked ground beef and rice which she ate and rarely vomited, still some very loose stools. In four days she gained ¾ pound.

They ran her pancreatic enzyme looking for insufficiency, but that came back normal, though her B12 was low (161) and folate high (15.4). Now we’re just waiting to see if antibiotics work. Vet said next we could look into liver functions.

I’ve spent over $600 in just vet bills and I feel like we are clawing in the dark. Any ideas? I am taking her to another vet for second opinion next week. Thank you for anything you can suggest. I don’t know what to feed her. How long can she eat a diet of beef and rice?

Thank you,
Lisa

Answer:

I think part of her failure to thrive may be from revaccinating a sick puppy. Do you know why the vet continued to vaccinate a puppy that has these issues? In my opinion, it’s criminal! When a dog actually HAS giardia, it’s because the immune system is depressed. This is a dog that should absolutely not be vaccinated again.

I’d find a holistic vet, here is a list that has been compiled by our customers and you can see it here. We are providing this list as a service; please do your own research into any health care provider you choose for your dogs.

I’d talk to a holistic vet about diet and how to help build up the system from all the vaccine damage. I don’t know that I would even bother with another allopathic vet and if you do and they mention giving her more wormer or another vaccine, I would run out of there immediately.

As for the diet, I might suggest boiled white meat chicken (no skin) and overly cooked rice for the short term. You almost want the rice to be mush. This could tide her over til you can see a decent vet. Chicken tends to be more bland and easy to digest. If she’ll eat it maybe you can add a spoonful of canned pumpkin to her food, that’s PLAIN canned pumpkin, not pie filling. Its full of fiber and good for helping firm up the stools.

I might also suggest a spoonful of plain (NO SUGAR) yogurt with active culture or kefir. This will add some beneficial bacteria to her gut. We also offer probiotics in powder form if she won’t eat yogurt.

It’s also possible that the medication is contributing to her loose stools. Amoxicillin can cause lack of appetite, diarrhea and vomiting.

There is a lot going on with this pup, and hopefully a good vet can help you get it sorted out.

Keep me posted.

Cindy

Comment:

Hi Ed,

I want to tell you about a Dutch Shepherd pup that was dumped on me. I manage a retail pet shop and was approached by a man who asked if I was the girl with the Dutch Shepherds. Upon answering "yes" I was told he had a 5 mo. old pup in the car and if I didn't take him he was going to the pound next.

What else could I do? I took the scared little pup and named him Tattoo. I found that he had several homes in his short life and had never been vaccinated. For two weeks Tat flourished. Not wanting to jeopardize my pack, I made the appointment for his vaccinations. He was vaccinated with a 4 in 1 and given lepto. When I came home later that night I found he had thrown up in his kennel. He looked a little depressed. I went right to the vet the next morning when he would not eat or drink. They did an X-ray and said there was nothing notable and asked if he ingested anything that could have obstructed him. I said NO. He was given something for nausea and we went home. That night he was so dehydrated that he was take to the E Vet and was given some sub cu fluids. He threw up water on the ride home. The next morning it was straight to the vet again and when his barium series showed no passage from the first part of the stomach, surgery was recommended. I trusted the vet, and not my instincts, probably the worst decision I made in my life. Upon opening him up no magic plastic or sock was found. He would still not eat or drink and looked like hell when I visited him for the next few days. Where was my super high drive pup? I looked in his eyes and saw the pain and suffering. His Parvo test came up positive. Convenience allowed his diagnosis be parvo, not a reaction to vaccines. However, battling parvo and surgery over a vaccine reaction was not too much for him to handle.

On day number 8, while walking him on his visit, he saw another dog and started barking. This was the first sign that I was going to get my obnoxious pup back. Still not eating, with proteins dropping and anemia rising, I was told to take him home since he just kept pulling out his IV's. Two days later he started to eat.

Today Tattoo is doing excellent, much better than my wallet ($3500). He is acing his obedience and is performing like a natural. Under the tutelage of my ring sport trainer I know he will be a champion! And you better bet I will be telling the story of how I almost lost him to vaccines!

My vet still wont blame the vaccines!!!!!!!

Susan

Ed's Comments

I have never heard of a vet who admitted that the vaccinations he has given were the cause of the dog getting sick. The majority hid behind the diploma on the wall and claim the problem is something that you did or something the dog got into.

And they wonder what people like myself - who have over 40 years of experience in this business lack respect for them.

I have a small handful of Vets I respect. They know why they are.

Email:

I am in Camarillo, CA. and need to know if there is a good orthpedic vet. to take my dog to for HD x-rays? My vet., which is a general vet. wants to charge me $750 + to x-ray my dogs hips and after looking at your website I don't know what to do. I don't have that kind of money to start out with.

Could you recommend someone?
Thank you so much,
Charlene

Question:

Hello,

I had my first (and last) litter of pups on Thursday 7/2. I had a total of 6. Today 7/7 I have a total of three left. I am a very emotional person since I can't have kids I consider my dogs my babies, I didn't intend on breeding my dogs but it just happened. I have been to the vet er three times this week and I am 700 dollars in the hole to pups that I am not even keeping (so my husband says). They had there tails docked because they are rottweilers. The vet is telling me the other vet I took them to didn't leave the clamp on long enough so I have them on an antibiotic for an open wound. Also I am giving them injections under the skin every twelve hours to keep them hydrated, they eat 6-9ml every 2 hours of esbilac and are loosing weight, they seem to have a sugar problem to because the vet keeps giving them dextrose and I have to put kayro on there tongue, I have been doing this twice a day, they have not defecated in almost 48 hours and the vet doesn't seem to worried about this. I have only slept 12 hours since they were born 5 days ago and I am almost loosing my mind, stimulating them isn't working and momma doesn't have mammary glands to produce milk for them so its up to me, PLEASE if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them, they all are around 330 grams of weight and not getting bigger.

Nicole

Answer:

Read the article on my web site on bottle feeding – READ THE EMAILS FROM PEOPLE THIS ARTICLE HAS HELPED.

Espelac is a useless product. I don’t mean a little useless – its dog shit useless. Use my home made formula – then sit back and watch what happens. Do it exactly like I outline. If the pups are dehydrated – add a little more water.

Depending on the dogs current situation you may have to continue sub-que fluids. I cannot tell you to stop this and I have no idea what conditions you are facing.

Regards,
Ed Frawley

Thanks:

You are a life saver, I am on the fourth feeding since 1am when I ran to walmart to get everything I needed, they have all defecated and are trying to stand on their back legs (I guess they don't know there not supposed to yet,) there tongues are pink and skin is falling back down better than it has in 5 days, I added a little more water to the recipe to hydrate them a little more since they were on the IVs and this morning I didn't give them their injection because they looked fantastic. My female that was in the worst shape of her life seems healthier than the other 2, (I am keeping her I just can't part with her we have been through allot this week) I am concerned with one thing, I am feeding every 3 hours know and they are eating 18 ml this is way over the daily amount you recommend for an 8oz pup, is that ok, The vet called me this morning to check on them, once I told them I changed them to a homemade formula, she basically said OH NO put them back on the esbilac, you are not helping them you are hurting them, well I am not going back to that vet again.

Thanks again,
Nicole

Question:

Hi Mr. Frawley,

I know that you must be getting hundreds of emails and sorry to keep you busy. I have a 15 month old toy poodle who has been diagnosed with hip dysplasia based on the attached x-rays. Looking at your website, I believe that these x-rays are not good quality, and I was wondering if you could give me a feedback on them. The vet is recommending surgery and, because of the poor quality of the x-rays, I am not quite sure if I agree with the vet's surgery solution.

Appreciate your feedback.

Thanks,
Asli

Answer:

Your Vet is an absolute crook. A HANDS-DOWN THEIF.

He needs to learn how to position a dog for a hip x-ray. This positioning sucks.

I will add this email to web page I have done on incompetent vets.

Regards,
Ed Frawley

Question:

Hi Mr. Frawley,

Sorry to bother you, as I'm sure you get lots of emails about the subject.

We recently purchased a 4 month old German Shepherd. We took her to one vet within our 48 hour time limit who said the dog was fine. On the 10th day we took her to another vet because she wasn't eating or acting right. Immediately the second vet said her hips were horrible, that she has hip laxity, dropped hocks, and poor confirmation. We are at a loss what to do as our family has already bonded with her, and our 48 hours are up with the breeder. We don't want her to be in pain. I've enclosed very poor pictures of the xrays. From your website I'm not sure that the positioning is very good on these xrays, and the exposure on the films doesn't appear to be very good either.

Thank you so much for your time, we really appreciate it!

Sincerely,
Amy

Answer:

Amy,

Your second vet is a scam artist. Please pass this comment along to him – or mail him my email.

The positioning on these goof balls x-rays is terrible. He needs to go back to school and learn how to take hip xrays.

I will add your email to my web page on VETS THAT DON’T DESERVE RESPECT.

Regards,
Ed Frawley

Email:

I would like to start off by telling you my story. I live in Concord, NC. I had a four year old pit bull named Kila who just had her 3rd litter of puppies. Here is where the story gets interesting a day after having the pups Kila became very aggressive (this is a dog I raised since a pup that is trying to bite me). We had to have her put down. I got your recipe for the formula off the internet to bottle feed my pups. A week into there little lives they started dying painful deaths one at a time. The vet said your formula probably killed them the egg yolk gave them salmonella. So in turn I believe you should take your puppy formula recipe off your web site. So no one else has to have the horrible week and the loss off money I had. I lost around $1200 just in puppies. Not to mention having to see all the little puppies suffer and die.

Thank you,
James Revis
jrevis@live.com

Ed's Response:

James,

Let me tell you something. Your vet is an idiot and you’re not far behind the fool. You are a first class JERK. You killed your dog because she was maternal. You are not only a dumb ass you are a first class jerk.

In the last 35 years I have bred close to 400 litters. So I have a tad bit of experience with breeding dogs – probably a hell of a lot more than your idiot vet.

Just to let you know – it is not that uncommon for females (even females that fools like you raise from a puppy) to become aggressive for a period of time after they whelp a litter. There are many reasons for this happening. Some just do it while others become aggressive because the owners are dumb asses that do not provide a calm quiet safe location where the mother can be by herself. They always get over it. It take a little time but they get over it.

With that said there are idiots and dumb asses (like yourself) who just go off and kill the female.

As far as the puppy formula goes – puppies have about as much chance of dying from FRESH egg yolks (and salmonella in them) in my formula as you do in winning the lottery. Read the testimonials to the formula. You’re the only person who has ever written me such a stupid email. I have a web page on my site for idiot vets - http://leerburg.com/vets.htm

I also have a dumb and dumber web page – that's where I put your email because this is the most ignorant stupid email I have received in a long long time.

If you want some advise James – get out of the breeding business and stick to eating and breathing because that seems to be the only thing you are qualified to do.

Regards,
Ed Frawley

Question:

Dear Cindy

You had helped me a lot with the videos you recommended to me with my Belgian malinois puppy. But now I have another dog problem, I rescued a male border collie, he is awesome!! he was already trained to herding cows, so he is really a lot of help at the ranch, but he is showing aggression to other 2 male dogs, both are neutered already, I took this one to the vet office today for castration and he told me he will lost his herding ability or interest, so I didn´t. What do you think? Does the electronic collar could help me with this problem? he is very fast, so I just can´t be there when he is attacking the other dogs, and he was showing aggression to me ifI try to do something about this. I can´t put him on a kennel, he is a BC !!!and he is very sweet with people and with the other dogs. I am desperate.

What should I do???

Any suggestions about material and videos??

Thank you so much for your ALWAYS wise advice,
Gloria

Answer:

Neutering has no bearing on aggression or working ability, (assuming this dog is already mature) neutering won’t solve the aggression problem, but it also won’t change his desire to herd. Completely WRONG information.

If you spend some time reading this section on dog fights, you’ll see that your problems are very common. I’ve received 6 or 7 emails just today from dog owners with very similar problems.

Why can’t you put him in a kennel? I don’t understand what being a border collie has to do with this. He is a dog, a dog that needs some leadership and rules. Breed and how nice he is with people doesn’t change the fact that he is showing inappropriate aggression to the other dogs.

Start with our groundwork program.

Pack Structure for the Family Pet

Dealing with Dominant & Aggressive Dogs

The electric collar does have a place in this training but not until you’ve established leadership and rules. We have an excellent video on how to use the collar, Electric Collar Training for the Pet Owner.

We also have a number of free ebooks that may interest you.

I hope this helps.

Leerburg Dog Training eBooks

Leerburg

Dog Training Podcasts

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