Million Dollar Pet Pix

by Shawn Messonnier DVM, author of the award-winning The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats. Join over 5 million satellite radio listeners and listen to Dr. Shawn each week on his award-winning show, Dr. Shawn-The Natural Vet, on Martha Stewart Radio Sirius 112, Tuesday night from 7-8 PM CST.

Goal #1 - Preventing Disease
This goal seems simple enough; let’s prevent disease so that your pet never becomes ill. I would actually prefer to see healthy pets rather than ill ones. It’s obviously not practical or possible for a pet to never become ill, but we can do a lot to minimize illness. While vaccines may be appropriate at times, a holistic approach appreciates the fact that most of the diseases we see in practice are chronic degenerative diseases. Conventional medicine really does a poor job of preventing and treating these disorders, as it is better suited to treating acute problems like infectious disease.

by Shawn Messonnier DVM, author of the award-winning The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats. Join over 5 million satellite radio listeners and listen to Dr. Shawn each week on his award-winning show, Dr. Shawn-The Natural Vet, on Martha Stewart Radio Sirius 112, Tuesday night from 7-8 PM CST.

Dr. Shawn answers the age old question about people with allergies to pets...

The letter started, "Dear Dr. Shawn: Our family has a sweet cat named Doogie. While we really love him, our 12-year-old daughter was recently diagnosed with allergies, and it seems one of the things she is allergic to is Doogie. We do not want to give Doogie away, but is there anything we can do to ease our daughter's suffering?"

This problem is unfortunately quite common. Allergies to pets can be quite severe, and since family members are always in contact with the pet, relief is hard to come by for the sufferer. When the family pet is involved, a crisis situation often arises. No one wants to find another home for the cat, yet family members cannot suffer allergy attacks.

by Shawn Messonnier DVM, author of the award-winning The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats. Join over 5 million satellite radio listeners and listen to Dr. Shawn each week on his award-winning show, Dr. Shawn-The Natural Vet, on Martha Stewart Radio Sirius 112, Tuesday night from 7-8 PM CST.


Dr. Shawn Explains Ear Disease in Dogs & Cats

Ear problems are among the most commonly seen conditions in veterinary practices. Unlike the condition in people, where “earaches” involving the middle and inner ear are common, most of the ear problems in pets involve the outer or external ear canals. This article will take a look at some common ear problems in pets.

by Shawn Messonnier DVM, author of the award-winning The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats. Join over 5 million satellite radio listeners and listen to Dr. Shawn each week on his award-winning show, Dr. Shawn-The Natural Vet, on Martha Stewart Radio Sirius 112, Tuesday night from 7-8 PM CST.

One of the more common behavior problems for which I am consulted involves anxiety-related issues in dogs and cats. The problems range from simply being anxious when going to the doctor’s office or grooming shop, and thunderstorm phobias, all the way to severe separation anxiety.

by Shawn Messonnier DVM, author of the award-winning The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats. Join over 5 million satellite radio listeners and listen to Dr. Shawn each week on his award-winning show, Dr. Shawn-The Natural Vet, on Martha Stewart Radio Sirius 112, Tuesday night from 7-8 PM CST.

Whenever I discuss FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) with cat owners, they all express surprise (you mean my cat can get AIDS!?) Yes, cats do get "AIDS" but it is their own type of AIDS. This article will present the latest information on this deadly viral infection in cats.

Like HIV, FIV is classified as a lentivirus. It stays in the cat’s body for many years before clinical disease occurs. This means that like the condition in people, cats can harbor the virus (be FIV positive) but not necessarily have AIDS (the actual disease causing illness) for many years. While FIV is similar to leukemia infection (FeLV) in cats, FeLV usually causes death in most cats due to overwhelming disease within 3 years of diagnosis.

by Shawn Messonnier DVM, author of the award-winning The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats. Join over 5 million satellite radio listeners and listen to Dr. Shawn each week on his award-winning show, Dr. Shawn-The Natural Vet, on Martha Stewart Radio Sirius 112, Tuesday night from 7-8 PM CST.

Skippy, a 14-year-old poodle, was not acting like himself. He spent a lot of time sleeping and seemed disoriented when awake, standing in a corner and barking at the wall. Despite being housetrained since puppyhood, Skippy was occasionally starting to eliminate in the house instead of asking to go outside. His owner was worried that he might be developing what she referred to as "doggie Alzheimer's disease."

by Shawn Messonnier DVM, author of the award-winning The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats. Join over 5 million satellite radio listeners and listen to Dr. Shawn each week on his award-winning show, Dr. Shawn-The Natural Vet, on Martha Stewart Radio Sirius 112, Tuesday night from 7-8 PM CST. 
 

A common problem in (usually) older dogs (and sometimes cats) is a condition called urinary incontinence. Urinary incontinence means that the pet cannot totally control its ability to urinate. Typically, urinary incontinence causes a "leaky bladder." Clinical signs often seen include finding "wet spots" under the pet where it sleeps, and dribbling urine as the pet moves about.

by Shawn Messonnier DVM, author of the award-winning The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats. Join over 5 million satellite radio listeners and listen to Dr. Shawn each week on his award-winning show, Dr. Shawn-The Natural Vet, on Martha Stewart Radio Sirius 112, Tuesday night from 7-8 PM CST.

Atopic dermatitis is a genetic disease in which the dog becomes sensitized to environmental proteins called allergens. Breeds commonly affected include West Highland White Terriers, fox terriers, Labrador and golden retrievers, dalmations, and cocker spaniels. Allergic dogs develop allergen-specific IgE antibodies to a variety of allergens. These IgE antibodies interact with allergens the next time the pet is exposed to the allergens, resulting in a Type I hypersensitivity reaction in the pet's body.