My dog has been scratching a lot and I want to bring her to the vet, but they will want to update her shots, which is something I don't want to do. What does one do, for ailments on their pets and the vets want shots to be up to date?

Question

Hi there, I was looking again at your website and saw the tv show that you have on there about vets. Unreal. Scary. I was wondering if you could give me some insight, my shepherd, is constantly scratching and licking her paws, she is also shedding more than I think she should be. The seasons have changed, so I don't know why she is shedding. She is a house dog, so maybe that could be one of the reasons? I may have to bring her to the vet, trust me I don't want to but she has a little hole in her skin and there is a scab that grew over it, so I want to get that looked at, but they are going to tell me that she needs her yearly shot.

Of course they won't look at her unless she has the shot because she has to be up to date. What does one do, for ailments on their pets and the vets want shots to be up to date? She is on Performatrin Ultra "Slim Care Formula with Salmon and Olive Oil. It has chicory, flaxseed, blueberries, yucca, vitamin E, omega 3 and 6, pro and prebiotics, sweet potatoes, kelp, green tea., with many other whole foods. I also give her 4000mg of Salmon oil. The vet is probably going to recommend a new food specifically for her scratching. I know you don't like store food, but I can't afford to feed my dog like you feed yours. So I tried to find her the wholistic food. Could you please tell me why she would be scratching and shedding. She is four years old. Thanks.

Accepted Answer

There are MANY reasons your dog could be scratching, and we are not health care professionals so we can’t diagnose your dog over the internet. It could be a thyroid imbalance, autoimmune disease, seasonal allergies, hormonal imbalance, vaccinosis, flea allergy or food sensitivity.

First thing to remember is that your vet works for you, and if you are bringing your dog into their office for a medical condition (skin problem) they should not be giving vaccines at all. It states clearly on the insert in the vaccine packaging FOR USE IN HEALTHY DOGS ONLY. I would make it clear to your vet that you will not be doing business there if they insist on vaccines when your dog has medical issues.

Here is a list of vets we have compiled to date, with the help of our customers. If you do not find a vet close by on our list, I would suggest doing a google search on holistic or homeopathic vets in your area.

Dogs do shed seasonally, but should not have scabs or be excessively scratching. The first thing I suggest is to change the dog’s diet to a higher quality food (raw if possible). If you can’t do a raw diet, at least get your dog on a human grade ingredient kibble with no fillers or grain. Sometimes just making the switch to higher quality food is all it takes to relieve the skin issues. I would also recommend Salmon Oil and Vitamin E, no matter what you are feeding. I would probably not give the food you listed, I see flaxseed in the ingredient list which many dogs have issues with. The other ingredients you listed sound ok, but when they are in a kibble they may not be available for the dog’s system due to the processing at high temperatures.

There are resources on this page that may help http://leerburg.com/feedingdogs.htm

Cindy