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Hydrolyzed diets: A solution for food allergies in pets

So the question is, what is a hydrolyzed diet? Basically, that's a diet in which the proteins in that diet have been hydrolyzed or broken down into their individual amino acids. The reason why that can be important is that the immune system often recognizes the proteins in a diet and that's what stimulates a lot of food allergies in pets. So if your pet is suffering from a food allergy, your veterinarian might recommend a hydrolyzed diet so that they are not as stimulated to that. The really important thing to understand is that when you're utilizing any prescription diet, if you give your pet anything outside of that diet, table scraps, treats, things of that nature, you're completely negating the purpose of that. So hydrolyzed diets are good for skin allergies or patients that have other sort of immune mediated disease processes of the GI tract like inflammatory bowel disease. So that would be a really great option. Typically, those are via prescription only so you'd have to chat with your family veterinarian about getting something like that.

A hydrolyzed diet is a diet in which the proteins have been broken down into their individual amino acids in order to reduce the risk of stimulating food allergies and other immune-mediated diseases. It is usually only available via prescription and should not be supplemented with table scraps or treats.

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A hydrolyzed diet is one in which the proteins have been broken down into individual amino acids. This can be important for pets with food allergies, as the immune system often reacts to proteins in the diet. By feeding a hydrolyzed diet, the immune system is less stimulated, reducing the likelihood of allergic reactions.

It's crucial to understand that when using a prescription diet, giving your pet anything outside of that diet, such as table scraps or treats, negates the purpose of the hydrolyzed diet. These diets are beneficial for pets with skin allergies or immune-mediated gastrointestinal conditions like inflammatory bowel disease.

Hydrolyzed diets are typically available only with a prescription, so it's important to consult with your family veterinarian to discuss the possibility of using one for your pet.

If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?

Advice to my younger self: Prioritize relationships

If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be? Well, for me, it would definitely be to take some time away from my academic journey to cultivate relationships with people, whether that be my family, my friends back home, or new people I was meeting along my journey. I spent so much time and energy committed to my career journey and academics that I really shut the outside world out because I was convinced that that was the only way to give it everything I had and be successful. And inevitably, I was successful and I'm proud of where I am, but in looking back, I realized that I could have continued to do all of those things while still carving out a little bit more time for the people around me. And it may have made it such that I had more people in my life at this point that I really had strong relationships with.

Take the time to cultivate relationships with people. It will enrich your life and make you successful in the long run.

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If I could give one piece of advice to my younger self, it would be to prioritize cultivating relationships with people. While I was focused on my academic and career journey, I neglected to invest enough time and energy into building connections with family, friends back home, and new acquaintances. I was convinced that dedicating myself solely to my goals was the key to success. Looking back, however, I realize that I could have balanced both aspects of my life. Taking the time to nurture relationships may have resulted in having more meaningful connections today.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

The Power of Keeping Your Word: The Best Advice I've Ever Received

The question is, what is the best advice you've ever received? And mine's pretty simple, came from my dad when I was very young. And he said, do what you say you're going to do when you say you're going to do it. And I've really lived by that my whole life. And it is a lesson about being dependable, not only to other people, but also having faith in yourself. If you're consistently the type of person that sets goals, makes a plan, and then you fulfill that plan, no matter how many steps it takes, then you really build up faith in yourself and more confidence. And that helps you to extend your goals and to really make progress. But also the people around you find you dependable. They know they can count on you. And that's extremely important. And I really kind of value that and attest to that in my success in life.

The best advice I've ever received was from my dad to "do what you say you're going to do when you say you're going to do it". This has helped me build up faith in myself and become more dependable, something that is important for both personal success and relationships.

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The best advice I've ever received is quite simple and came from my dad when I was young. He said, Do what you say you're going to do when you say you're going to do it. This advice has shaped my entire life. It emphasizes the importance of being dependable, not just for others, but also for yourself. By consistently setting goals, making plans, and following through on them, no matter how many steps it takes, you build faith in yourself and gain more confidence. This enables you to set higher goals and make progress. Additionally, being dependable makes others trust and rely on you. Their confidence in your reliability is crucial. I value this advice greatly and attribute much of my success in life to it.

Is it safe to have my dogs gallbladder removed?

Safe for your dog? Key factors to consider for gallbladder removal

The question is, is it safe to have my dog's gallbladder removed? And the answer to that somewhat depends on your dog's overall health and stability. Dogs that need their gallbladder removed most often need that done because of something called a gallbladder mucose seal. The gallbladder stores bile, which should be a thin fluid, but if the inner lining of the gallbladder becomes infected or inflamed, that thin fluid can become a thick gelatinous or jelly-like substance that blocks the flow of bile, creating an obstruction, and that can cause distention of the gallbladder and ultimately a fatal complication of gallbladder rupture. If the gallbladder mucose seal is found in its very early stages and your dog is otherwise very healthy, then removal of the gallbladder is fairly straightforward. Potential complications would be bleeding, bile leakage from the duct that is cut during the surgery, pancreatitis, which is inflammation of the pancreas, and that can lead to nausea, vomiting, regurgitation, and a prolonged hospitalization stay, and then overall risks just of anesthesia and infection. But a gallbladder removal is something that we do very frequently. If your pet is very sick because the gallbladder has ruptured or the bile duct is diseased or your dog has underlying kidney disease, heart disease, liver disease, things that will predispose them to anesthetic complications, then the risks can be much higher. So you want to talk about your specific dog with a boarded veterinary surgeon to figure out how significant those risks are for your pet and the things that you want to consider in making the decision in whether or not to move forward with that surgery.

Removal of the gallbladder is fairly straightforward, however potential complications such as bleeding, bile leakage, and pancreatitis can occur. If your pet is very sick or has underlying medical conditions, the risks may be higher. It is best to speak to a boarded veterinary surgeon to determine the risks for your specific dog.

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The safety of removing your dog's gallbladder depends on their overall health and stability. Gallbladder removal is often necessary due to a condition called gallbladder mucoseal, where the inner lining of the gallbladder becomes infected or inflamed, leading to a blockage in the flow of bile. If the condition is caught early and your dog is otherwise healthy, the removal procedure is typically straightforward.

Potential complications of the surgery include bleeding, bile leakage, pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), and general risks associated with anesthesia and infection. Gallbladder removal is a common procedure, but if your dog is already very sick due to gallbladder rupture, diseased bile ducts, or underlying health issues like kidney, heart, or liver disease, the risks can be higher.

To determine the significance of these risks for your specific dog, it's important to consult with a board-certified veterinary surgeon. They can provide a thorough evaluation and help you make an informed decision about whether or not to proceed with the surgery.

Is there anything we can do to help prevent our dog from having another ACL injury?

Preventing ACL Injuries in Dogs: Stabilize and Maintain a Healthy Weight

The question is, is there anything that we can do to help prevent our dog from having another ACL injury? And there are some things you can do to decrease the risk. It's just important to understand that unlike in people where the ACL tear is primarily because of a trauma related incident, in dogs most of the time it is because the anatomy of their knee predisposes them to an ACL tear. Because of that, anatomy is symmetrical, meaning both hind limbs have a knee. Both of those knees are equally predisposed to tearing. And so about 60% of dogs that tear their ACL on one knee go on to tear the ACL in the other knee at some point in their lives. The only things you can really do to decrease that risk are, number one, if your dog tears an ACL on one side, surgically stabilize that knee so that they go back to bearing equal weight on both legs. Because if they're limping, then not only are they not putting weight on their injured leg, they're overloading their healthy leg, thus increasing the risk of an ACL tear on that side. And then additionally, the other thing you can do is to decrease the dietary intake and keep your dog at a lean body weight. So stabilizing the knee if injured can help prevent it from tearing on the other side and keeping your dog at a lean body weight. Both can decrease the risk, but ultimately in dogs this is an anatomy-based injury and so unfortunately it's quite common to tear it on the other leg at some point in their lives.

To help prevent your dog from having another ACL injury, you should stabilize the knee if it is injured and keep your dog at a lean body weight. Additionally, understanding that the anatomy of their knee predisposes them to ACL tears is important.

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To help prevent your dog from experiencing another ACL injury, there are a few measures you can take. However, it's important to note that unlike in humans, where ACL tears are often due to trauma, in dogs, the anatomy of their knee makes them predisposed to such injuries. Both hind limbs have knees that are equally susceptible to tearing, and approximately 60% of dogs who tear their ACL on one side will likely tear it on the other side at some point.

To decrease the risk, the first step is to surgically stabilize the knee if your dog tears an ACL on one side. This ensures that they can bear equal weight on both legs. Limping and not putting weight on the injured leg can lead to overloading the healthy leg, increasing the risk of an ACL tear on that side.

Additionally, maintaining a lean body weight for your dog can help decrease the risk of ACL injuries. By managing their dietary intake and keeping them at a healthy weight, you can reduce the strain on their knees.

While these measures can help decrease the risk, it's important to remember that ACL injuries in dogs are primarily anatomy-based. Therefore, it is unfortunately quite common for dogs to experience ACL tears on the other leg at some point in their lives.

My dog peed more times than normal on our walk today. Is this something to be worried about?

Excessive dog urination on walks: when to worry

My dog urinated more times than normal on our walk today. Is this something that I should be worried about? Well, in short, a one-time scenario is probably not a definitive factor for whether or not there's an issue in your dog, but if you're progressively noticing that happening more and more often, they're posturing to urinate many times as opposed to emptying their bladder one or two times, then that is something that should be evaluated because that's called palachyuria, where they're urinating frequently, and that can be an indicator of a urinary tract infection. So if you're noticing it more than just that one time, that would be indication to get your dog's urine evaluated by your family veterinarian, and they can look for evidence of bacteria in the urine to determine whether or not a UTI is happening.

If your dog is urinating more than usual, it could be a sign of a urinary tract infection. You should take your dog to the vet to get their urine evaluated.

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My dog urinated more times than usual during our walk today. Should I be concerned? Well, if it's a one-time occurrence, it may not necessarily indicate a problem. However, if you notice this happening more frequently, with your dog posturing to urinate multiple times instead of emptying their bladder once or twice, it could be a sign of polyuria, which is frequent urination. This could be an indication of a urinary tract infection (UTI). If you observe this behavior consistently, it would be advisable to have your dog's urine evaluated by a veterinarian. They can check for the presence of bacteria in the urine to determine if a UTI is present.

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Dr. Elizabeth Thompson decided she wanted to be a veterinarian in 2nd grade after watching an episode of “Emergency Vets” on Animal Planet. She says, “I knew then that vet med would be the best way to impact the lives of both humans and animals alike due to the critical impact animals have on human quality of life.” Years later, Dr. Thompson graduated Suma Cum Laude as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Kansas State University. Originally from the San Francisco Bay area, Dr. Thompson moved to North Carolina in 2014 for her surgical residency at North Carolina State University. She is trained in all areas of surgery, including small animal soft tissue, orthopedic and neurologic. She has additional training in wound management techniques and minimal invasive surgical techniques.

Neither AnyQuestion nor its Experts provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment or otherwise provide professional healthcare services.