From the beginning  of life free radicals in the form of airborne, food and water toxins begin to destroy healthy cells and tissues.     Providing healthy air,  food and water  may require extra work but will greatly reduce toxin and free radical damage.    The most healthy diets are free of toxins,  provide nutrients that support  liver function and detoxification, and avoid nutrients that lead to a leaky gut syndrome.      Broadly speaking dogs and cats should be fed a homemade, rare/raw  meat, no grain diet.     Ideally, the meat should be organic and grass fed while veggies should b e organic, colorful and steamed or grated.   If homemade diets are not an option for you then  feed a high quality commercial diet that is over 40% meat by dry weight and contains a minimum of grain.    It is impossible, even for a veterinarian,  to determine the percent meat in a commercial diet by simply looking at the bag.      You must call the company and ask the nutritionist this question,  “On a dry matter basis, what percent of the food is meat protein”.    Understand that grains and veggies also have protein so the percent protein on the bag does not tell you how much is meat protein.     Finally, adding supplemental digestive enzymes, probiotics, trace minerals and omega fatty acids to either a commercial or homemade diet will plug many of the nutritional holes resulting from poor farming practices and commercial processing of food.  Regretfully, because of space limitations we can not go into all of the other factors that must be considered when choosing the optimal commercial diet.    Therefore, you may want to go to my website Doc4pets.com and click on  the nutrition heading for a much more comprehensive write up on pet diets.

Next to good nutrition regular dental hygiene is the most important thing owners  can perform  in order to provide their  dog or cat a longer healthier life.   Because tartar  is a breeding ground for bacteria, by keeping tartar to a minimum fewer bacterial toxins will get into the blood stream and damage the liver and kidneys.    Daily home dental care combined with a yearly professional dental prophylaxis will make a hug difference in the health of your pet during his or her senior years.  

We all live in a toxic world and as hard as we may try we can’t elimininate them all.   However any effort we make to minimize our pets exposure to environmental toxins will pay off big time in terms of extending their life.   Environmental toxins involve such hazards as household cleaning products, lawn pesticides,  radon, cigarette smoke, paint fumes, fumes from no stick cooking utensils,  automobile fumes, poisonous plants, rat poisons and spilled antifreeze.      Keep in mind that pets are much closer to the ground than we are and therefore more exposed to many environmental  toxins.    Bird owners should know that their feathered friend is much more sensitive to airborne toxins and therefore every effort should be made to keep them away from fumes resulting from paint, no stick cook ware, tobacco smoke,  house hold deodorizers and even fireplace fumes.     If you must apply weed and insect killer to your lawn try to use organic products keeping in mind that if you apply non organic chemicals  than pets that get outside will walk through the grass and then lick the residual chemicals off their feet or ingest these toxin  when they nibble on the grass.   There are now a number of companies that manufacture non toxic home cleaning products that can replace those toxic products you many now be using.   Once again space restraints limit this discussion on environmental toxins so if you have further interest to learn more please visit my website Doc4pets.com  and go to my blog and look through the archive of articles till you find the ones involving environmental  toxins and detoxification.

Avoiding toxins is one thing but getting rid of them once already in the body is a whole different issue.    Toxins accumulate in our pets body slowly and without producing symptoms until the concentration of toxins destroys enough tissue to produce outward disease.   Of course the idea is to be proactive and get rid of these toxins before symptoms become obvious.      The process of detoxification can be accomplished in several ways ie. homeopathy, herbal, and nutritional.      I recommend all my patient go through a homeopathic detox twice yearly.     Most toxins are also free radicals that steel electrons and damage vital tissue.   Adding a number of antioxidants to the daily diet will help neutralize these free radicals, prevent cellular damage and  provide additional years of normal function for important organ systems.     Vitamin C,  Vitamin E,  Selenium, Alpha Lipoic Acid, and resveratrol  are examples of nutritional antioxidants.   Milk Thistle,  Burdock  root,  and            are herbal anti oxidants.

The process of detoxification is enhanced by supporting those organs which are most instrumental in removing toxins from the body.    Of those organs the liver is the most important.     Dimethylglycine, SAM-E, MSM, Detox Kit and liver glandular are a few examples of  nutraceutical which support the liver.

Constant emotional stress can steel years from Excessive emotional stress is truly a toxin in that stress stimulates the sympathetic nervous  system which inturn causes inflammation, tissue damage and free radical damage..   Early obedience training will go along way in reducing emotional stress  because a well behaved dog   is a contribution family whereas a dog that misbehaves, bitesl, barks excessivel or destroys family property  will result in repeated reprimands and in family upsets and discontentment.     If behavior training has failed we can provide homeopathic, herbal , and  nutraceutical s that will calm the dog hopeful end unacceptable behavior.  

Regular exercise is an important part of maintaining good health because it not only helps to main a slim muscular appearance it also relieves boredom and allows the pet to get rid of pent up energy that otherwise might be vented by destructive behavior such as chewing on shoes, furniture or lamp cords.   Walking or jogging with your dog is great for both of you.     Playing fetch the ball or Frizbee  are other  fun activities.   Agility training, hunting and visits to the dog park are additional approachs to getting rid of energy and reducing unwanted behavior.   Exercising with your pet is a great way to strengthen the human animal bond

Chiropractic care is something most pet owners never consider until their pet is lame or injured.    However   semi annual  proactive spinal adjustments are important not only in maintaining a healthy neuromuscular skeletal system but is also very effective in keeping internal organs functioning properly.

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We need to accept unfortunate truth that we and our pets live in a toxic world that is constantly trying to steal a little bit of our health .     The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the psychologically stressful  nature of our lives continually threatens our health and that of our pet.     Consequently,  none of us are healthy as we might believe.   We are all carrying a toxic load in the form of both chemicals and psychological stress.     On top of this, as a result of poor farming practices, and food processing techniques,  the food that we and our pets eat  is almost always deficient in essential nutrients  like trace minerals, essential  fatty acids, digestive enzymes, and antioxidants.    Unfortunately, these deficient nutrients are essential in helping our pet’s body mount an attack to remove these toxins and cleanse our bodies.    The point is that we are all toxic to some degree and probably becoming more toxic every day.     The problems is insidious and each day little by little  our health is being stolen from us.    Since it is impossible to totally avoid toxins in our day to day life,  what we can do is  slow down the toxic degeneration of our bodies by minimizing exposure and following a program of detoxification.   In the following paragraph I will briefy  mention the important steps a pet caregiver can take to help their pet live a longer and healthier life.   I apologize for not having the space to go in to much detail but  If you are interested in a greater depth of understanding you may visit my website  Doc4pets and then click on my blog.    

Maximizing nutrition and minimizing toxins in your pet’s food can be accomplish best by feeding your dog or cat a homemade, meat based diet either raw/rare or lightly cooks .      Of course organic ingredients and grass fed meat are best for your pet  if you can afford them.    Whether homemade of commercial,  diets should contain at least 40% meat by dry weight.  Avoid grains and feed colorful steamed (not raw) veggies which contain lots of antioxidants.     Grains tend to be hard for carnivores to digest and promote the development of a “Leaky Gut Syndrome”  which  allows intestinal toxins to leak into blood stream  and  overwhelm the livers ability to cleanse the blood.    Soaking food ingredients in hydrogen peroxide or  grapefruit seed extract will help reduce external toxins that might be present in the food.    Adding digestive enzymes supplements to the pet food will maximize availability of the nutrients while at the same time  minimize the likelihood of  food allergies.

Next in importance is minimizing house hold and yard toxins that your pet could be exposed to .    Because our pets are closer to the ground than we are they are more exposed to toxic  chemicals.  Non toxic  home cleaning supplies are now easy to obtain..   If  pesticides are used  in the house or yard make sure they  are non toxic to your pet.    Check you garage and basement for chemicals your pet can ingest.   Have your basement tested for Radon.     If you have a bird don’t cook with non stick utensils as these items can be toxic to them.     Don’t smoke inside your house and don’t jog with your pet by busy streets where car fumes are more likely to be inhaled.

Routine dental care is extremely important in reducing your  pets toxic exposure.    Dental tartar is a great breeding ground for bacteria and bacterial toxins which are easily absorbed into the general circulation and which then damage the liver, kidney, heart and lungs.   The importance of  home dental care and a yearly professional  dental exam, cleaning and polishing is next, only to good nutrition in its importance to  your pet’s good health.

Finally,  see your veterinarian at least once yearly.   Senior pets should be seen twice yearly.    He or she can advise you on how  to prevent contagious viral and bacterial toxins.    Early detection of intestinal parasites such as roundworms, whipworms, hookworms and tapeworm can minimize damage done by these parasites.    They can also detect blood parasites such a heartworm disease and recommend ways to prevent these intestinal and blood parasites.     Blood and urine testing can help detect disease before and symptoms  become apparent.   At Woodside we are now carrying a homeotoxicologic “Detox Kit” which contains remedies to be placed in the pets drinking water and is used for one month twice yearly.  

Take the time , ideally once weekly, to give your pet a health evaluation which includes a home physical exam and careful observation of the animals breathing, urinating, and defecating.    When you look at your pet check for a bright energetic personality,  a good weight for the breed, a shiny hair coat, an absence of odor,  a good appetite, a firm daily stool,   effortless breathing, defecating, and urinating.

In conclusion don’t assume your dog or cat is perfectly healthy just because your pet is not displaying obvious symptoms.      Toxins are constantly  undermining your pet’s  health and damage may develop slowly and unnoticed until enough injury occurs to cause organ failure.    Therefore, be vigilant, proactive  and never take your pets good health for granite.

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Feed a high quality, higher fiber, low protein diet prescription diet available from all veterinarians–

or — feed a home made kidney diet by following a receipe that we  make availablet to our patients. The diet will decrease the formation of waste protein toxins, discourage obesity and reduce the work load of the kidney.

Encourage your dog or cat to drink more by providing lots of fresh water throughout the day.  Doing this will promote proper hydration while at the same time flush the kidney and reduce accumulating protein toxins.     Adding Celtic sea salt to the pet’s food will encourgage drinking, provide trace minerals he or she are likely to be deficient  in, and alkalinize the animal’s body   Checking the pet’s blood pressure is recommended, especially when adding salt to the diet,  to help detect hypertension.       

Make sure your dog or cat receives a regular dental prophylaxis to reduce oral bacteria  which are injurious to the animals kidneys, liver, and heart.  Home dental care is probably more important for pets than for humans.                                

Supplement your dog or cat’s diet with anti-oxidant enzymes, vitamins, minerals,  and glandulars to reduce tissue injury by free radicals and to stimulate natural immunity.  Omega 3 fatty acids, Coenzyme Q10 and alpha lipoic acid  are 3  important supplements that promotes kidney health.  Homeopathics that can be placed in the pet’s drinking water are also beneficial.   Of course it is better to begin these supplements early on in life before the kidneys have received significant damage and symptoms become apparent.   Strategically detoxifying the body with special homotoxicologic and nutritional formulas is an important adjunct to treating kidney disease and most any other disease in the body.

Starting these same supplements after kidney damage or kidney failure have been detected will help conserve the remaining kidney cells but will not restore the cells that have died.    

Have your veterinarian perform semi annual blood and urine testing to monitor your dog’s kidney function and to provide an early warning system for the development of other degenerative disease.  Recently a new urine test, the ERD micro albuminuria test, has become available.  The ERD test requires only a small amount of urine and can detect kidney disease much earlier than blood tests.  Any dog or cat over the age of 6 years old should be routinely tested with an ERD test because not only does it detect kidney disease but  it is also a screen for inflammatory disease of many other organs.

Recent scientific literature out of Europe has shown Infrared laser therapy to provide beneficial effects in both kidney and liver disease. 

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Woodside Animal Clinic is a unique, very personal,  one doctor practice where, for over 35 years, Dr. Simon has been healing dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, rodents, and reptiles with both conventional and alternative medicine.  Dr.  Simon is the author  of 4 pet care books and he writes a monthly pet care column in the Mirror newspaper.

Woodside Animal Clinic  sees pets from all over the greater Detroit Michigan area including Royal Oak, Berkley, Huntington Woods, Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, Detroit, Hazel Park, Madison Heights, Warren, Centerline, Clawson,  Troy, Sterling Heights, Southfield, Birmingham, Bingham Farms, Franklin, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Novi, Wixom, Brighton, Livonia, Plymouth, Commerce, Ann Arbor, Ortonville, Waterford, Union Lake,  Rochester,  Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, Utica,   Romeo,  Windsor, and Toledo.

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Since I began practice over 40 years ago the incidence of cancer in companion animals has increased dramatically.     Unfortunately, veterinarians diagnose cancer in dogs, cats, birds, ferrets and rodents on a daily basis.   Some of the  more  common cancers seen in dogs and cats are mammary tumors, skin tumors, bone tumors, squamous cell tumors,  sinus tumors, anal gland tumors, lymphosarcomas, mast cell tumors, gum tumors, hemangiosarcomas of the spleen, and testicular tumors.    Birds develop more cancer than any other species of animal on the planet.   In my opinion the increased incidence of cancer is a result of the polluted environment our pets live in and the poor quality,  mineral deficient soil we grow our crops in.   Furthermore,  the hormones, antibiotics, and parasiticides we feed our food producing live stock ends up in  the commercial dog and cat food  we give our pets.   There is little  doubt that the poor quality of our pets air, food, and water results in overstimulation of their inflammatory processes and suppresses their immune system.    To add insult to injury we then  process our commercial pet food and add more toxins in the form of coloring agents, artificial flavorings, texturizers, and preservatives.

Any time you notice a lump or swelling on your pet have it promptly checked out by your veterinarian.    Although veterinarians can often make a good guess as to whether the lump is benign or malignant he or she can never be certain without first obtaining a biopsy sample.   The biopsy may be obtained with a needle, key punch device, biopsy forceps or  by excising the whole growth or a portion with a scalpel blade.    When the biopsy is taken with a needle and syringe it is called “an aspiration biopsy”.   Although  aspiration biopsies are perhaps the most common approach to identifying malignancy  they do provide more chance for misdiagnosis because of the small size of the sample.    Any new growth should be biopsied even if it looks like a benign fatty tumor.    Benign fatty tumors (lipomas) can not be visually distinguished from malignant mast cell tumors.     At a recent oncology seminar I attended the speaker made the following very important point:   “Do not wait to see if a growth continues to grow before trying to determine whether it is malignant with a biopsy”.

Of course there are many cancer growths which can not be seen because they involve internal organs.   Cancers like hemangiosarcomas of the spleen, may get huge before they produce obvious outward symptoms.  Below are what many veterinary sources consider to be possible signs of cancer.:    weight loss for no apparent reason, loss of normal appetite, bleeding from a body opening like the nostril, a foul odor from the mouth, difficulty eating and swallowing, difficulty breathing,  non healing wounds, lameness that persists..

So what can we do to protect our pets from cancer or treat them once they are diagnosed with it .    Of course,  keeping your pets in optimal health by providing them a healthy diet, environment and life style, and plenty of exercise is the foundation for a strong immune system .   Please visit my website Doc4pets.com for details on how to choose a healthy diet.   As for a healthy environment, this would include minimal exposure to poisonous plants and  chemical toxins on the grass, in the house, and in the garage.   Radon levels in the basement should be checked.   Don’t smoke around your pet

With regard to  healthy life style,  this  should include plenty of companionship and minimal stress.    Stress do to isolation can suppress a pets immune system and make him or her more susceptible to cancer.    Exercise can be  in the form of jogging, fetching, or competitive sports  such as “fly ball”.   

Conventional treatment of pets diagnosed with cancer include surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy.   Alternative approaches include organic raw meat diets, liver support and detoxification,  intravenous vitamin C, antioxidants therapy, herbal  formulas, acupuncture, and immune stimulants.

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Dr. Simon is the owner of the Woodside Animal Clinic in Royal Oak, Michigan where, for 30 years, he has been treating dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, ferrets, rodents, iguanas with both conventional and alternative medicine. 

He is the author of 4 pet care books and writes a monthly column for the Mirror newspaper.

Woodside services the Oakland, Wayne, and Macomb county area including the cities of Berkley, Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, Madison Heights, Hazel Park, Southfield, Birmingham, Troy, Warren, Clawson, Sterling Heights, and Farmington Hills.

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 Next, be aware that our food supply whether plant or animal has become polluted by food production practices that add toxins to both our pets and  our own already nutrient deficient food supply.  These toxins get into both our food and our pet’s food in the form plant insecticides, plant fungicides and as hormones, antibiotics and parasites that are fed to our food animals.  To add  insult to injury manufacturers then add other potentially dangerous chemicals to our food in the form of coloring dyes, chemical flavorings and preservative.   Finally, commercial pet diets that sit too long in the warehouse develop toxins in the form of rancid fat.   Water pollution is a source of additional toxins that result from industry contamination and attempts at water purification.    The air our pets breath and the soil our pets walk on are sources of additional toxins.  Airborne toxins can be a result of car and industry exhaust, cigarette smoke, out gasing from new carpeting or photocopiers.  Plant, grass, weed, tree pollens, and biting insects can also be classified as toxins.   The pets yard may become  another source of  toxins if lawn chemicals are used.  Worm eggs, fleas, ticks and dangerous bacteria are somewhat different types of toxins that can be found in the yard  or dog parks.  Finally, we should not forget about household toxins such as those found in the trash can, garage floor, under the sink, or in the basement.  Even drugs and vaccines may be consider a source of toxins if the pet is over immunized or develops a reaction to a medication.  

Psychological and physical stress can be looked at as a different form of toxin. .  Excessive stress suppresses the animal immune system and can exhaust the adrenal glands. Psychological stress can result from abuse and punishment, lack of human companionship, and lack of  training resulting  in an adversary relationship with their owner.  Stress also results from  loud noises such as fireworks, lack of sunlight, lack of shade and ventilation with heat stress as a possible outcome, and lack of warm housing during the winter.   Asking a dog to hold its urine for an excessively time is very stressful.  It may surprise you that not providing your pet an opportunity for exercise is also a form of stress.

The final cause of disease is a genetic defect which can show up as physical birth defects, congenital organ  disease, allergies, immune deficiencies and autoimmune disease to name just a few.  The health of our genes and immune system determines how successful our pets will be at dealing with nutritional and environmental toxins and with stress.

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Woodside Animal Clinic is a unique very personal one doctor practice where, for 35 years, Dr. Simon has been healing dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, rodents, and reptiles with both conventional and alternative medicine.  Dr.  Simon is the author  of 4 pet care books and he writes a monthly pet care column in the Mirror newspaper.

 Woodside Animal Clinic sees pets from all over the greater Detroit area including Royal Oak, Berkley, Huntington Woods, Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, Detroit, Hazel Park, Madison Heights, Warren, Centerline, Clawson,  Troy, Sterling Heights, Southfield, Birmingham, Bingham Farms, Franklin, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Novi, Wixom, Brighton, Livonia, Plymouth, Commerce, Ann Arbor, Waterford,  Ortonville, Union Lake,  Rochester,  Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, Utica,   Romeo and Flint.

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