DEAR READERS: Dr. Karen Shaw Becker, noted veterinarian, has posted an alert at healthypets.mercola.com relating to pet food recommendations.

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association aims to act as an “educated, committed and collaborative global community of veterinary peers,” according to the group’s website. Dr. Becker writes: “WSAVA has 113 member associations and over 200,000 member veterinarians worldwide,” as well as a “Global Nutrition Committee that provides recommendations for selecting pet foods. Recently, Ryan Yamka, Ph.D., founder of Luna Science and Nutrition and the Guardian Pet Food Co., took an in-depth look at WSAVA’s recommendations and found them lacking. He determined they provide a false sense of security to anyone offering pet food advice based on the association’s criteria.”

For more details, go to healthypets.mercola.com.

Dr. Becker and I both recommend becoming a member of the Association for Truth in Pet Food (associationfortruthinpetfood.com), which is the only organization committed to holding the regulatory agencies accountable. I also recommend ordering Susan Thixton’s annual Truth About Pet Food List (truthaboutpetfood.com/the-list).

BOOK REVIEW: ‘BIG KIBBLE’

“Big Kibble: The Hidden Dangers of the Pet Food Industry and How to Do Better by Our Dogs” by Shawn Buckley and veterinarian Dr. Oscar Chavez

Every veterinarian in companion animal practice, every veterinary student and all people with dogs should read this book. It documents how a handful of multinational agribusiness-connected corporations recycle crop and animal wastes into highly profitable pet foods -- many of which are making our animal companions ill -- and they are still getting away with it, much like Big Tobacco did a few years ago on the human health frontier. These manufactured pet food monopolists profit even more by marketing “prescription diets” to correct many of the health problems in dogs and cats that result from them being fed these products in the first place.

This book is well documented and should help stimulate a long-overdue revolution in agriculture, and specifically in what we feed our dogs. The authors, who are also the founders of a new dog food company (justfoodfordogs.com), are enjoying the fruits of efforts by earlier writers and advocates to inform the public and improve pet nutrition. (A few of those previous works: “Foods Pets Die For” by Ann Martin; “Canine Nutrigenomics” by W. Jean Dodds, DVM and Diana R. Laverdure; and “Not Fit for a Dog!” by veterinarians Elizabeth Hodgkins, Marion E. Smart and myself.) It is also regrettable that they do not give any vegetarian recipes or mention the hazards of food-irradiation.

This new company is one of a growing number being supported by informed consumers who know that paying more for quality foods means paying less for health problems down the road. I spoke with the book’s co-author, Dr. Chavez, and was encouraged to learn that the company is also developing some biologically appropriate foods for cats, who have suffered in so many ways from the products from the Big Kibble pet food industry. For example, endotoxins from bacteria in the animal parts recycled into pet foods, along with mycotoxins from moldy grains, may cause intestinal inflammation, leaky gut syndrome, food allergies/intolerances and microbiome dysbiosis. This book does not index bacterial endotoxins, but covers enough about aflatoxins to make its point.

I would add another concern -- not a conspiracy theory, but reality -- about the link between the pet food and pharmaceutical industries. This is exemplified by the widespread TV advertising for pharmaceuticals, and by more and more veterinarians prescribing Apoquel for pets’ food allergies. Many vets rarely investigate what their animal patients have been given to eat, believing manufactured pet foods -- kibbles, in particular -- are safe for their patients to eat.

DEAR DR. FOX: I came across your webpage while searching for help for my 4-year-old chocolate Lab. For at least six months, my poor guy has had chronic diarrhea: It started as soft-serve ice cream consistency, but is now a watery/oily substance that he strains very hard to produce.

He has been to two different vets and has had multiple tests, food changes, steroids, antibiotics and probiotics. Nothing has made even a slight improvement in his bowels, but his ears have cleared up after previously having stinky, gooey discharge. His fecal tests show some white blood cells. He is in on Bravecto to stop fleas.

He is playful, will fetch a ball until you make him take a break, and drinks aggressively (but that is normal for him). However, he has not been eating as much as he used to, he drops some food out of his mouth while he is eating, and has lost a slight amount of weight.

I love my dog, and I am baffled as to what to do or try next. -- T.S., Tulsa, Oklahoma

DEAR T.S.: There are many possible causes for your dog’s intestinal issue. Giardia in the guts must be ruled out, since it is quite commonly picked up from infected dogs in parks and from water contaminated by infected wildlife. The anti-flea and tick medication could also be the problem: Bravecto is reported to cause diarrhea in dogs and cats. So can the lectins in some legume ingredients (such as peas and lentils) in grain-free chow.

Try giving him a tablespoon of aloe vera liquid before meals, and feed him three small servings a day of my dog food recipe (posted on my website). Be sure to add some unsweetened shredded coconut.

Keep me posted on your progress. A fecal infusion (microbiome transfer) from a healthy dog may be the ultimate solution. Chronic loose stools can lead to malnutrition and many health complications, including allergies, if there is gut inflammation.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: Currently, over 90% of corn, cotton and soybean acreage in the United States is planted with genetically engineered seeds. Most of these GE seeds are either herbicide-tolerant (HT) or insect-resistant (Bt, short for Bacillus thuringiensis, the bacteria used to treat the seeds). If seeds are both HT and Bt, they are called “stacked.” Soybean seeds with stacked traits are currently not commercially available in the United States but are being imported from Brazil. In addition, over 90% of the U.S. canola crop is engineered to have some level of herbicide resistance.

This means corn, soy and cottonseed cake and oil, and canola oil -- all variously incorporated into farmed animal and manufactured cat and dog foods -- can contain herbicide residues and Bt insecticide. These contaminants may disrupt the gut microbiome, leading to multiple health problems.

With climate change leading to increased rainfall and higher moisture content of certain crops, corn may be more susceptible to fungal infection or mold that can produce toxins like aflatoxin. Aflatoxin, when ingested, can cause lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea and jaundice from liver damage. According to the National Institutes of Health, aflatoxin is associated with liver cancer in humans.

Bt may reduce insect-transmitted fungal infections in stacked corn, but spraying crops with herbicide to accelerate drying prior to harvesting (also done with conventional wheat and other cereals) creates additional food and environmental contamination.

Aflatoxin contamination is one of the most frequent cause of pet food recalls, second only to salmonella from contaminated farmed animal ingredients. Just this past October, pet food maker Sunshine Mills recalled products (mainly dog and cat kibble) containing excessive aflatoxin levels. These products were sold under the following brand names: Champ, Family Pet, Field Trail, Good Dog, Heartland Farms, Hunter’s Special, Old Glory, Paws Happy Life, Pet Expert, Principle, Retriever, River Bend, Sportsman’s Pride, Sprout, Thrifty, Top Runner and Whiskers & Tails. Affected lot codes were 3/April/2020, 4/April/2020 and 5/April/2020.

Corn has no place in cat foods. To help reduce health risks to both human consumers and companion animals -- as well as avoid costly recalls and potential legal liability for the manufacturers -- all corn, soy and other ingredients in pet foods should be certified either organic or GMO-free.

DEAR DR. FOX: A friend was going to give me some information about using garlic to keep ticks and fleas off dogs. He swore by it. But he died from a heart attack, so I never got him to explain the details to me. -- D.R.H., Hanna, Oklahoma

DEAR R.H.: Sorry to hear about the demise of your friend. Garlic is a potent herbal product with many health benefits, and it is generally believed to help ward off fleas and ticks. I advise one finely chopped clove of garlic (about the size of your index fingernail) per 30 pounds of the dog’s body weight, mixed in with one meal every three or four days. Given without food, garlic will harm the lining of the stomach. I always advise combining garlic with nutritional yeast (NOT baker’s yeast): 1 half-teaspoon per 30 pounds of dog.

Garlic should not be given to cats, or to some dog breeds such as Akitas and shibus, because it can cause hemolytic anemia. Onions will also do this to cats and some dogs.

Garlic inhibits blood clotting, which can help in cases of thrombosis. It was used during WWI as an emergency antibiotic and antifungal wound treatment. Along with ginger, it helps clear lung congestion and has antiviral properties. Garlic also has antioxidant- and immune system-boosting properties, as well as helping to lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol. It is one of nature’s greatest gifts indeed!

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: Anti-fur demonstrations need to make a comeback, considering the rising demand for such animal products -- especially in Asian countries, which now receive much of what is “harvested” in North America and Europe.

Hundreds of thousands of caged mink have been destroyed in several countries because they contracted the COVID-19 virus from infected workers. These mink then infected other workers, along with cats and wildlife near some of the fur farms. Mink are either being quarantined or “depopulated” in the U.S., Canada, Russia, South Africa and all over Europe, to date.

The crowded conditions on mink and other fur farms, and the stress on the animals from their lifelong cramped confinement, are not only grossly inhumane, they create ideal conditions to establish zoonotic (animal-to-human) diseases. But the fur industry is profit-driven, and prohibition is a political hot potato. It is up to consumers to say “no.”

They should also say “no” to any furs and skins from wild animals -- like baby seals -- who are clubbed to death, and the millions of others who are trapped and snared, such as beaver, coyote, fox, bobcat and pine marten. Trapping and snaring (death by strangulation) is not only extremely cruel, it is also indiscriminate, often catching non-target species.

These non-target species can include people’s cats and dogs, and even endangered species such as the Canada lynx, of which there are 50-200 left in northern Minnesota. To prevent the latter, the Center for Biological Biodiversity filed a lawsuit in December against the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for allowing trapping and snaring methods that do not include “lynx exclusion devices” in the northern part of the state -- the last stronghold for the federally protected lynx.

Globally, wild animals now represent about 15-20% of all furs used in the trade. In North America, the largest producer of high-quality wild furs, the proportion is closer to 50%. Species include muskrat, beaver, raccoon, marten, fox, coyote, bobcat and lynx. Smaller quantities of wild furs also come from Russia (sable), Europe (fox), South America (fox, nutria) and other regions. Many of these species provide environmental and public health services by controlling rodent populations that can harbor plague, Lyme disease and other illnesses.

Most fur sold globally comes from farmed animals, such as mink, foxes, raccoon dogs, rabbits and chinchillas. To preserve the pelts, animals on fur farms are killed by inhumane methods, such as gassing and head-to-tail electrocution. An additional source of fur for the apparel industry comes from street-harvested cats and dogs in some countries, their fur being dyed and patterned to look like it came from a wild animal. It may be sold as faux or synthetic fur.

It is unlikely that the U.S. government, or any other, will ever move to prohibit the export of wild furs and other wild animal products and parts until a new paradigm of global trade is established -- one based on international agreements over animal and environmental protection. Yet this is ultimately in the best interests of public health and a sustainable economy, which depend upon a healthy ecosystem and optimal natural biodiversity.

Consumers can facilitate such change by voting with their money and refusing to purchase any fur garments, accessories or products.

ABOUT CANINE INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE

Canine inflammatory bowel disease can be caused by bacterial infection/dysbiosis, which can cause chronic vomiting and diarrhea with intestinal inflammation. But some dogs and particular breeds may be suffering from sensitivity to proteins called gliadins, which come from the gluten in their diet, especially wheat.

Grains are still an important source of various minerals, nutrients and beneficial fiber in dogs’ diets, so gluten-free grains and other sources of fiber should be provided. These include teff, sorghum, quinoa, amaranth, whole-grain brown rice, wild rice, buckwheat, millet, chia, flax, tapioca (from cassava root), uncontaminated organic oats (meaning, not milled with wheat) and unsweetened shredded coconut.

Dogs with intolerance to glutens are comparable to people who suffer from Crohn’s and celiac disease. Human nutritionists have reported that while corn (maize) is one of the most commonly consumed grains in the gluten-free diet, it could be responsible for persistent mucosal damage in a very limited subgroup of celiac patients. This same issue may well apply to some dogs and cats.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)