Dre Julie Beaubien M.V. - Veterinary Osteopathy and Acupuncture

Welcome

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This web site was created to provide you with information regarding alternative medicines: acupuncture and osteopathy. Those two medicines have been proven quite effective in the treatment of many diverse affections.

Bringing the body to a state of healthy balance, they can either be preventive or also be a part of a more conventional medical treatment. Both strengths and weaknesses of these medicines combine with other treatments to increase the patient's chances at a full recovery and a better life quality.

Clinic

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With all the possibilities being offered to you when it comes to veterinary medicine, it is sometimes hard to make the best decision for you animal. First of all, you have to know that veterinarians are animal health specialists, trained to identify all the options regarding treatment and to perform those treatments. They are thus the best option when your animal gets sick and, up to this date, are still the only legally authorized practitioners of either conventional or alternative medicine for animals.

It is false to believe that western and alternative medicines are in opposition and that you have to chose between one or the other.

I firmly believe that combining many types of treatments is the best possible medical approach. Why only get surgery, when you can combine it with pre-op and post-op osteopathy, acupuncture, homeopathy or physiotherapy treatments, helping the animal get better in a week instead of a month? Reciprocally, why only treat the animal with homeopathy or osteopathy when the fastest recovery would come from an antibiotic treatment?

Medicines can be used in synergism, to produce an result greater than the sum of their individual effects.

Osteopathy

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Osteopathy is over a thousand years old, but only recently have veterinarians started using it to treat animals.

It is Dr. Andrew Taylor Still who, in 1874, named this complex medicine after, just by using simple back manipulations, healed many children affected with dysentery. Many doctors and scientists continued Dr. Still's researches afterwards, creating a new kind of alternative medicine still evolving to this day.

Osteopathy takes root in the principle that only a perfectly physiologically balanced human being can stay healthy and fight external aggressions. When mobility restrictions appear, the body tends to try and compensate and therefore creates disorder in its micro-circulation and biomechanics. The osteopath then tries to diagnose the obstructions and, with precise manipulations, helps the body retrieve its original state of balance.

Reasons to try osteopathy are as diverse as the reasons to consult a regular veterinarian. Osteopathy can be used preventively, even if the animal presents no symptoms, but it can also benefit the animal grandly should symptoms such as limping, behaviour troubles, growth issues or chronic diseases (kidney failure, vomiting, otitis, acral lick dermatitis) appear.

However, conditions requiring surgery (fracture, hernia) or acute symptoms (bacterial, viral or fungal infections) have to be treated with regular veterinary medicine.

Acupuncture

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Over 5000 years old, acupuncture (from Latin “acus” (needle) and “puncture” (to pierce)) originated in China, where it was firstly used on horses, then on men and dogs. To this day, there are more than 300 points, referred to as acupoints, known on man and animal.

Acupuncture is used all over the world, both as principal form of treatment and as a complement to western medicine. Like osteopathy, it is considered a holistic medicine, which means it treats the animal as part of an ensemble, a whole, instead of treating a specific symptom.

Acupuncture adjusts and alters the body's energy flow into healthier patterns by stimulating the acupoints found along different pathways in the body, called meridians. The energy flowing through those meridians can be modified, by needling specific acupoints, to reestablish the body's original balance.

Acupuncture is used to treat many metabolic, nervous or locomotive affections. It stimulates the nervous, circulatory and lymphatic system as well as the immune system.

Canine Behavior

2010-11-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

Canine behavior : an increasing concern in pet owner's mind.

In our western society, dogs are now considered family members. It's why it is essential to understand canine mentality, to avoid conflicts between the animal and your family. Dog training schools are more and more popular, hence the many techniques and theories offered to rebellious dog owners.

I do not want to take position on any of those methods here, but want you to understand that the choice of one form of training over the other should strictly be based on the kind of relationship you want to have with your animal.

In my opinion, positive reinforcement methods are the best choice for family pets, since they are based on friendship and mutual respect and teach the animal to obey because he wants to, and not because he is afraid of you. Punitive methods are, I believe, riskier since, even if the results are faster, the dog often tends to develop anxiety and fear towards its owner. In this kind of relationship, trust is almost nonexistent and bad behavior tends to resurface one day or the other.

Here is a list of helpful books and links for owners wanting to learn more:

www.drsophiayin.com

Mon chien est heureux, 2009, Dr Joël Dehasse, éditions odile-jacob
Tout sur la psychologie du chien, novembre 2009, Dr Joël Dehasse, éditions odile-jacob
Low stress handling, restraint and behavior modifications of dogs and cats, 2009, Dr Sophia Yin
Un chien parfait en 7 leçons, Gwen Bailey
Pour les chats: Tout sur la psychologie du chat, 2008, Dr Joël Dehasse, éditions odile-jacob

Canine nutrition

2010-11-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

Canine nutrition: separating truth from fiction

For a few years now, people have been trying to improve their health by changing their way of eating. Biological food is gaining in popularity and processed food is now left behind in profit of more natural foods. Canine nutrition is no exception to this new philosophy. Many companies have started making, a few years ago, what they call "holistic dog food". But do we really know what is in those supposedly healthier foods?

The following contains informations regarding canine nutrition, some true and scientifically proven, some of doubtful veracity and even some completely false. It is offered to you here to help you make enlightened decisions regarding what you feed your four-legged friend.

First of all, you have to know that animal food is a billion dollar industry. It is regulated by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, who, among other things, decides what should be written as a description on food bags. "Holistic" has not yet been approved by the AAFCO. Therefore, the use of this word to describe dog food is not under any control and doesn't have a legal definition yet. Which means that for now, any company could write "holistic" on their food without it containing any natural or biological ingredients, or even more, without it being well-balanced for dogs.

Right now, only "USDA organic", used by American companies, is a recognized acronym.
However, in Canada, there isn't any equivalent. It is thus impossible to be certain the food is indeed biological, no matter what is written on the packing.

High Protein Percentage

Many companies state that a higher percentage of protein is beneficial for dogs, since they are culturally known to be carnivorous. In fact, studies on canine anatomy have shown that dogs are omnivores (a mix between carnivore and herbivore). Premolars (which cats are lacking, since they are strictly carnivorous) are used by dogs to crush grains, filled with omega-3, vitamins and amino acids, all essential to their metabolism.

Also, their digestive tract is longer than the carnivores' and shorter than the herbivores'. Since the digestive tract's length is directly related to digestion, it means that dogs can process cereals as easily as meat.

If the dog's diet is too rich in proteins, not only will he be lacking important fatty acids, but he could also have important medical problems.

Cereals

Solely based on human nutrition studies, the idea of removing corn and wheat from dogs diet has been promoted for a while. However, dogs can easily digest those cereals and they're not an important cause of allergies (less than 1%).

Unlike for humans, carbohydrates are not the principal cause of diabetes: obesity is. And since canine obesity is caused by fat in bad quality meat, not carbohydrates, it is perfectly safe for dogs to eat corn and wheat. In fact, corn is the most easily digested cereal by dogs, unlike potatoes, poor in vitamins and minerals. This is why cereals are the best ingredient to thicken dog food with. Even more, corn contains a lot of linoleic acid, which is very good for healthy skin.

Ingredient list

Many people rely on the ingredient list to choose dog food: if meat is the first ingredient, it surely means that there is a lot of meat in the food, right? Well not really. The order of ingredients on the list is determined by weight. Fresh meat contains water, which is what makes raw meat way heavier than dehydrated meat. So if the manufacturer measures meat's weight when it's still raw, meat will logically end up on top of the ingredient list. But the quantity of meat in the dog food will be lesser than the quantity of other ingredients.

By-products

In nutrition, by-products don't have a very good reputation because they are associated with bad quality. That is a complete misconception. Poultry by-products consist in viscera, undeveloped eggs (eggs are the best protein source, since there are 100% digestible and 94% bioavailable), neck and legs. In the wild life, viscera are the favourite meal, not only because they are very appetizing, but also because they are extremely nutritive. It is also believed that by-products contain even more proteins than the product itself.

Food preservatives

Preservative food additives are used to keep oils and fats from oxidizing. If none was added to the dog food, it would have to be kept in the refrigerator and eaten in the following week. Since most dog owners store dog food at room temperature and keep it for sometimes months, preservatives are essential to prevent oxidation. Many studies have shown that BHA (a common food preservative) is very efficient in very small doses, not more than 200 ppm (par per million). It has also been demonstrated that a dose of 13,000 ppm is still safe for dogs, which is more that 65 times the recommended dose.

Baking vs. Extrusion

Extrusion is modern way of cooking dog food very quickly and with less heat, which helps preserve the food nutriments, since they are destroyed by intense heat. Extrusion is used for most manufactured dog food and has been proven to increase the quality of the food. So when manufacturers claim their food is oven-baked, it is often just part of a marketing plan and doesn't offer any nutritional benefit.

Raw food

Raw food is a controversial issue in the veterinary world. However, BARF (Bio Active Raw Food) was invented by a veterinarian. And if it is true that for some dogs, raw food is easier to digest, it is also true that not everyone is meant to feed their dogs uncooked meat.

You have to understand that choosing to cook meat is not only a flavor issue. Cooking is a good way of eliminating bacterias like salmonella, E.coli, listeria and others. Even if salmonella isn't very harmful for dogs' digestive system, they still carry the bacteria for 14 days after ingestion and can defecate it in their feces. In that case, danger is more important for humans living with the dog, especially kids, seniors, pregnant women and immunocompromised people. In Quebec, 93% of raw chicken based diets are contaminated with salmonella. The kind of raw food you choose is therefore really important and avoiding chicken is a good idea.

A good diet is a healthy balanced diet. There are many recipes you can cook at home for your dog, but it takes some time and is a hard routine to maintain. It is also expensive to buy all the necessary ingredient of a healthy diet. Unfortunately, studies have shown that animals living on a raw food diet usually lack important vitamins and minerals, tend to have an excess of energy, fat, phosphorus and calcium and are more at risk for dental fractures and infections.

Conclusion

It is very hard to take the right decision concerning your dog's nutrition and we still have a long way to go before we can completely rely on dog food regulation. For now, the safest bet is to consult with a professional, since his expertise in canine nutrition can help you make the best choice. Ultimately, there is nothing more important than improving our furry friends life quality and longevity.

For more information on animal food recipes:

www.balance-it.com

www.hylarywatson.com

www.petdiet.com

References:

Association of American Feed Control Officials - section IV - Pet Food
Walker, et coll. 1994 J. Nutrition 124; 2672 - 2676
Murray SM, Fahey GC., Merchen RN, et al. Evaluation of selected high - starch flours as ingredients in canine diets. J Anim Sci 1999; 77; 2180 - 2186
USDA Nutrient database for Standard Reference Numero 13; 9/22/2003
Hill D.A. Specialty: Considerations and use. Kvamme J.L. phillips T.D., Eds. Pet Food Technology. MT. Morris, IL: Watt Publising, 2003; 88 - 92
Freemen LM., Michel KE. Evaluation of raw food diets for dogs. Jam Vet Med Assoc 2001; 218; 705 - 709, 1553 - 1554, 1716
Raw Diets: What a nutritionist thinks you should know, C.A. Kirk, DMV, PhD, ACVN and ACIM, Proceedings, NAVC 2008
Susan G. Wynn, DMV, ACVIM, 2002
Marley 2006 JAVMA
Lauten, Smith, et al. ACVIM, 2005
Roudebush and Cowell, Vet Dermatology 1992