Q&A With Dr. Randy - Your Pet Questions Answered - Paws, Reflect & Heal with Dr. Randy

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 00 (00:07):
Hi everybody, this is Dr.
Randy from Dr.
Randy PetFet.
Welcome to Pause, Reflect, andHeal.
This is the podcast thatcelebrates all of our pets'
wellness, lifespan, andlongevity.
We're going to start the showvery shortly, but before I want
to ask a favor.
If you're watching this episodeon YouTube, please hit the

(00:27):
subscribe button, like the show,and even leave a comment if you
would.
It helps us a great deal.
Also, you can follow me onInstagram at Dr Randy Petvet.
And if you'd like to receivehealth and wellness tips from
me, go to drandypetvet.com.
Right up at the top, you cansign up for my newsletter.
I appreciate that all verymuch.

(00:48):
Thank you and enjoy the show.
Today we're gonna do some funthings.
First, we're gonna talk aboutfacts that you may not know
about your cat and dog.
Number one, cats have avocabulary of different meows,
just for humans.
So cats rarely meow at eachother after kittenhood.
They develop meows mainly tocommunicate with their pet

(01:11):
parents.
Two, their whiskers are likeradar sensors.
So whiskers are deeply embeddedand can detect tiny air
movements, helping cats navigatein the dark.
This is often was used whencats were fural and lived in
caves or dens so that they knowthat they would fit inside the
cave or den and not get stuck.

(01:31):
Also, cats can rotate theirears 180 degrees.
So each ear has 32 muscles,letting them pinpoint sounds
with incredible precision.
Purring may help healing.
So the vibration or frequencyof cats purr, which is at about
25 to 150 Hertz, is known topromote bone density and tissue

(01:54):
repair.
And the last on cats is thatcats sweat through their paws
only.
So on hot days or duringstress, like at the vet, you may
notice their damp little paws.
This is very, very common.
We see it in our veterinpractice all the time.
Let's switch to our caninefriends, our dogs.
So dogs have a second nose.

(02:14):
The vulmar nasal organ, or it'scalled Jacobson's organ, lets
dogs detect pheromones andchemical signals humans can't.
Often in our practice, we use aproduct called adaptyl, which
is a canine pheromone product,very, very good in acclimatizing
a new pet into the household,getting dogs through stressful

(02:37):
situations like going into akennel, also thunderstorms or
firework type situations.
It can be very soothing.
And it's a smell that youcannot pick up, only the dogs
can pick up.
Dogs' nose prints are veryunique.
So just like humanfingerprints, each dog's nose
print is one of a kind.

(02:57):
Dogs can smell in 3D.
So they can detect scentsseparately with each nostril,
helping them track the directionof smells.
And also it's uh it's just avery, very useful in their
hunting situation.
Tail wagging direction matters.
So research as that researchhas actually shown that wagging

(03:19):
more to the right signalspositive feelings, while
left-sided wagging can indicatestress.
And lastly, dogs have dew clawsand it's a purpose.
So we don't like to see thesedew claws removed.
We've actually learned throughour rehabilitation training that
dogs dig in with these uh dewclaws.
So these extra toes help withgripping, climbing out of water,

(03:42):
and stabilizing at high speed.
Now you will see dogs withextra sets of dewclaws on their
hind and St.
Bernard's, sometimes Huskies.
We'll see them inNewfoundlands.
And many times these can alsobe getting in the way, they can
get damaged, they can get caughton fences.
So sometimes those will beremoved, but the front dew claws

(04:02):
should never be removed on adog.
Next, I'd like to talk about 10questions pet parents ask
veterinarians.
Of course, the first questionthat I always normally get is
what should I feed my pet?
And you we've had multiplepodcasts on this, obviously,
non-inflammatory foods, wholefresh foods are very important,

(04:25):
but they really need a balanceddiet.
So make sure you choose theright food for your pet's age,
size, and health needs.
And this is something you canconsult with your veterinarian.
Also, you know if uh thesupplements are a good idea, uh,
they should be discussed also.
You'll learn through mypodcasts and newsletters and QAs

(04:47):
that I do that I'm a big fan onfreeze-dried whole food or
lightly cooked foods orair-dried products.
And this will keep thecarbohydrate levels down, the
inflammation down in your dog'sbody, and really help uh in your
dog or cat's situation.
The next question that oftengets asked is what vaccines does

(05:09):
my pet need and how often?
So vaccines are here to protectagainst serious diseases.
Some are required for all pets,while others depend on your
pet's lifestyle.
And normally at PauseVeterinary Center, we make a
personalized plan for your dogor cat.
Now, I am a big believer in pettiters, vaccine titers.

(05:30):
Vaccine titer is a situationwhere we measure whether your
dog or cat is protected againstthe diseases we're going to
vaccinate for.
And often when we get aprotective titre returned to us
from Kansas State University, wewill not vaccinate them until
something in that titer wanes orsl or low gets lower.
People ask, well, what aboutrabies?

(05:52):
Well, rabies is important inlicensing situations, but I
would explain to you that inHawaii or England, which are
rabies-free zones, your dog orcat could not get into those
areas unless they had aprotective titre.
So we really should be lookingat titers more often in our pets

(06:12):
than not so we can reallyeliminate that huge
immunological load of a vaccine.
Another question we get oftenasked is how do we prevent
fleas, ticks, and heartworms?
These parasites can cause veryserious illnesses.
And we recommend safe,effective preventatives.
Most of the time, this willusually require year-round

(06:33):
protection.
Many areas don't get enough ofa hard freeze to kill off
mosquitoes, so we really likeour heartworm prevention to be
year-round.
I'm kind of using more anall-in-all inclusive, kind of
chewable heartworm preventative.
It seems to work the best andis the safest.
Another question we get allasked a lot is should we spay or

(06:55):
neuter my pet and when?
So spaying and neutering canprevent certain health issues
and unwanted litters, of course.
And the best timing will dependon the breed and age.
I will tell you in dogs, Ialways like to see if we could
hold off neutering or spayinguntil 14 to 16 months due to the
fact that the dog's bone platesclose, and we really want them

(07:19):
to have that full growth beforepossible.
Many of my clients don't spayor neuter their dogs, and we we
don't really see a highincidence of breast cancer or
uterine problems or prostatecancer or testicular cancer.
So many times I think havingthose organs intact can really

(07:39):
be very helpful for thelongevity of our pets.
Another thing we get asked alot in the office is is a lump
or bump something to worryabout?
Well, not all lumps or bumpsare dangerous, but some can be.
And we can check them with asimple test to give you peace of
mind.
Often what is done is called anFNA or fine needle aspirate,

(07:59):
and we look for inciting cellsthat could be signs of
malignancies and may indicatethat this lump or bump should be
removed as soon as possible.
Many, many times removing aprimary cancer will prevent it
spreading to other places in thebody.
There is cancer like mast celldisease that can be treated
pretty commonly and easily, evenwith supplements, if it's

(08:20):
diagnosed and treated early.
Another question we see a lotor we get a lot is why is my pet
so itchy?
Well, itchiness is reallycaused by allergies, parasites,
or skin infections.
I allude to the fact that Ireally like to see us do a food
sensitivity test like Nutriscanor the VDI Labs allergy test,

(08:43):
and I'll couple that with abiome test to balance my dog or
cat's body.
Often, when these two tests areincorporated, we can pick a
good treatment plan as far asthe right food, the right
supplements, and avoid verycostly medications and also a
lot of secondary problems thatcan exist from those medicines

(09:03):
that are picked.
What about my cat's bad breathor my dog's bad breath?
Well, bad breath is really anindicator of dental disease, but
it also could be an indicatorof dysbiosis or imbalanced
microbiome.
Many times a dental cleaning isneeded to be done, and this is
something to compensate that badbreath.

(09:25):
I do like to teach my clientsand pet parents how to uh brush
their cat and dog's teethproperly, starting off with
kitten puppyhood, so we reallycan prevent some of these dental
problems.
I also am a firm believer indogs chewing hard products.
That seems to eliminate many,many problems.

(09:45):
And we do advocate uh uh frozenmarrow bones and things like
nyilabone that can really make abig difference.
But regular dental care at homecould really, really help.
There are some products likeProdenta, which is a powder you
can put in your food that doeshelp their breath and can take
care of some of the plaque andcalculus that's on your dog's

(10:06):
teeth or your cat's teeth.
Another question we get oftenis does my pet need blood work
or other tests?
Well, routine tests can catchproblems early, even before your
pet shows symptoms.
This helps us help keep yourpet healthy and treat issues
quickly.
What I like to tell my petparents is I always look for

(10:28):
kind of routine blood work sothat I can see trends.
So we may catch a kidney enzymethat's starting to rise before
it's actually a really badproblem and be able to do
supplements and food typerecommendations to keep that
from going into chronic kidneydisease.
So routine tests can be very,very helpful and often pick up

(10:49):
things that a lot of times wewon't see.
There is a blood test called apro-BNP test that looks at your
dog or cat's heart muscle, andit can tell us if that heart
muscle is being stretchedabnormally or causing problems
that we need to deal with.
So again, that's something thatuh I really think routine blood
work can really help, andfollow your veterinarian's uh

(11:11):
recommendations on that.
And the last, which I think isvery important, is is anesthesia
safe for my pet?
Well, modern anesthesia in ourvet in our vet practices is
incredibly safe.
We use all the same monitoringequipment and trained staff that
you would have in the humanhospital where we're doing blood
pressure, EKGs, oxygen, CO2monitoring, temperature

(11:34):
monitoring, uh, and we canreally follow this through the
gas types, anesthesias that weare using.
Gas is kind of a greatsituation now because basically,
if if we're there's an issue orthere's problems, we either
turn it down or off and we'redone, and the procedure can be
reversed at any time.
So we find that monitoranesthesia is a very, very safe

(11:56):
situation.
Maybe not used what you're usedto in the past.
So I hope you enjoyed these funfacts and the veterinary
questions.
We can elaborate more on askingme questions on my website, and
that's drrandypetvet.com.
If you again watching this onYouTube, please like us and

(12:16):
subscribe.
It really helps us a lot.
And we will also, on our Dr.
Randy PetFet site, be able tosend you emails and newsletters
and uh also Instagram atdrandypetfett where we post all
of these things for you for thefuture and to educate you
because that's my passiongetting you guys educated and

(12:36):
teaching you as much as Ipossibly can.
I appreciate you all so much.
Thanks for listening.

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