Happy New Year! I’m revisiting another episode from the Wear Wag Repeat archives today to help ring in the new year. For this episode, I’m looking back at my conversation with Dr. Judy Morgan of Naturally Healthy Pets. On Episode 62: Using Food Therapy To Help Your Dog Live a Healthier Life, we discussed what type of food we feed our pets. The interview I did with Dr. Morgan is a special one as the episode has been recently selected by the Dog Writers Association of America as a finalist in the Podcast category for their annual competition!
In this episode, you’ll hear from an integrative veterinary medicine expert on how the right foods can help your dog live a longer, happier and healthier life. If you’re interested in learning more about pet nutrition, check out episodes 60, 57, 35 and 20. At the end of this conversation, you’ll also get inspiring advice on the entrepreneurship journey that we’re all on.
Using Food Therapy To Help Your Dog Live a Healthier Life
Dr. Judy Morgan is a best-selling author, speaker, and certified veterinary acupuncturist, chiropractor, and food therapist. She currently operates two award-winning veterinary hospitals that offer an integrative approach combining holistic medicine with traditional Western techniques.
In her effort to educate pet owners, she is an author of four best-selling books on holistic pet care and feeding, along with hundreds of blog posts and articles reaching millions of pet owners worldwide. She also has a line of pet supplements called Naturally Healthy Pets which is available on her website and Amazon. She lives with her husband, Hue Grant, along with their six rescue spaniels, four adopted cats, eight chickens, and four horses.
(00:00) Intro
(01:15) Introducing Dr. Judy Morgan
(03:53) What is an integrative approach to pet health
(08:16) Advantages of making your own dog food or dog treats
(13:05) What is the superfood for dogs
(20:35) Food therapy as part of the cancer treatment
(26:26) What natural ways there are to protect our pets from parasites
(35:32) Where to find Dr. Judy Morgan
TORI: For those who don’t know, what is an integrative approach to pet health?
Judy: So a lot of times we think about medicine as being traditional medicine that we’ve been exposed to from an American perspective. And that’s what the majority of veterinary clinics offer. And then we have the other side of the fence where there are holistic doctors who might practice acupuncture, chiropractics, food therapy or homeopathy. Those things that are not part of mainstream traditional medicine.
In integrated medicine, we take the best from both worlds and put them together. I don’t shun traditional medicine. There are some things I avoid as much as possible, but we don’t shun that. But when we get into some of these longstanding chronic problems, traditional medicine runs out tools in their toolbox. When we’re trying to have the body heal from within and we look at the whole animal, a holistic approach is key.
TORI: You share a lot of recipes. What are some of the advantages of making your own dog food or treats?
Judy: It’s really interesting because many of my clients are vegans, but I will not design vegan diets for dogs or for cats. We’ve run into way too many health problems trying to do that. So I look at my vegan clients and let them know it’s already prepackaged and pre-ground so they can just put some gloves on and get it into a ball. I have a very popular recipe that’s gone pretty viral. It’s called a pup loaf and it’s a super simple crockpot recipe.
TORI: How are you using food therapy as part of cancer treatment for dogs?
Judy: We just designed a diet for a dog to treat cancer. The dog went into remission, but then he came back out of remission and cancer became active again. They started doing chemo, so they’re using traditional medicine. But now, the dog developed kidney failure. So the traditional oncologist said to put the dog on this specific prescription diet for kidney failure. That diet was going to treat the kidney disease but make the cancer worse.
So we’re always looking at it from the perspective that you can’t ignore the cancer problem to treat the kidney problem, and you can’t ignore the kidney problem to treat the cancer problem. You have to look at the animal as a whole. So we redesigned the original diet to address both problems. From an integrated standpoint, we’re using the best of both sides of medicine.
TORI: It’s almost summer and ticks seem to get worse every year! Are there natural ways to protect our pets from parasites?
Judy: I don’t use any chemicals on my dogs and I haven’t for years. We use essential oil sprays and apply them daily if I know my dogs are going to be in a tick-infested area. Fall tends to be a bigger time for fleas. With seven dogs and four cats, you get a bunch of fleas in the house. But we haven’t had to resort to chemicals. We give everyone a bath in essential oil flea and tick shampoo as well as spray them with flea and tick sprays. We just kept repeating that cycle every week. And within a few weeks, no more fleas.
TORI: What advice do you have for entrepreneurs who are just starting in the pet industry?
Judy: Entrepreneurs have visions and then those visions become a passion. And if you’re passionate enough about it, you will not let anything stand in your way. When I started doing holistic medicine and getting into food therapy, I started looking at what’s going on in the pet food industry as well as with over-vaccination in my industry. With the chemicals, it became very clear to me that I could not sit down and shut up. I had to be the voice for our pets. Somebody has to stand up for these guys.
Once you have a clear passion and drive, don’t let anybody stand in your way. And that is what entrepreneurs do. Once you get one thing going, then other things open up.
FIND Dr. JUDY MORGAN:
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