Join me, Greg Tilford as I speak with Dr. Gary Richter, "America's Favorite Vet" about current trends in natural pet care, the "green wave" of CBD and other cannabis products that seem to be popping up everywhere we look. Is it really safe for our pets? Does it really do all that we are told? How can pet owners differentiate between what is real, and what is hype. Join us for these and many other topics!
Join me, Greg Tilford as I speak with Dr. Gary Richter, "America's Favorite Vet" about current trends in natural pet care, the "green wave" of CBD and other cannabis products that seem to be popping up everywhere we look. Is it really safe for our pets? Does it really do all that we are told? How can pet owners differentiate between what is real, and what is hype. Join us for these and many other topics!
spk_0: 0:01
welcome to your vital pet. I'm Greg. One of the biggest challenges of finding natural and holistic solutions for your pet is with determining what Israel and what is just clever hype. And to make things even harder, we sometimes find amazing natural medicines, things that are undeniably useful, like camping. It's CBD being carried into the marketplace on a wave of misinformation and sensationalism by people who only want to make money. My guest today is a true healer who will help you separate fact from fiction during the process of finding integrative veterinary solutions. He employs and recommends things that don't just sound good but actually work. And he does so from a position of expertise, credibility, experience and, most important, from a deeply profound love of animals. My guess. Dr Gary Richter is a certified veterinary acupuncturist, certified veterinary chiropractor and certified veterinary herbalist. Having experiences an owner and medical director of both Western and integrative medical facilities, Dr Richter understands the benefits of both conventional and holistic treatment methods. His professional goal is to provide a center where pets can receive effective holistic therapies in conjunction with treatment and care from your general practice veterinarian, he also places great emphasis on the well being of the pet owner, knowing that a sick pet can cause great strain and strong emotions. He instills this understanding and his staff and works to ensure that both pet and owner treated with the utmost care and respect word winning. For over a decade, Dr Richter and his team have received accolades from the community, including America's favorite veterinarian and best veterinarian in the East Bay from Oakland magazine, You Spay Express and Caro in four television, Dr Richter's professional Interest or an emergency general practice, Alternative Care, Medicine and Wildlife Rescue. He has volunteered his time on the board of directors for the Alameda County Veterinary Medical Association. As the president, he has also served as the California Veterinary Medical Associations. Alameda County representative regarding Animal Disaster Planning Dr. Gary Richter is a graduate of the University of Florida, where the bachelors of science, a masters of science and veterinary medical science and a doctor of veterinary medicine. After graduating with honors, Dr Richter moved to the Bay Area in 1998. His expertise and past experiences include a full time emergency and medicine practitioner in Berkeley at Pet Emergency Treatment Service. A general practitioner at Berkeley Dog and Cat Hospital, as well as the owner and medical director of Montclair Veterinary Hospital, Dr Richter enjoys outdoor activities, traveling and vegan cooking. He loves to spend time with his family, which includes his wife, Lee, his daughter Abby, his dog, Sammy and Marty. And he's come on, owned by Frieda the Cat. Now, Dr Ryker is also an international best author of Amazing Book. Highly recommend the ultimate pet health guide. Dr. Jerry, thank you so much for coming on your vital pet today. It's really an honor to have you
spk_1: 3:18
here. It is my pleasure to be here. So, you
spk_0: 3:22
know, I've seen you work over the years. I've heard you speak, and one of the things that really impresses me the most is not just your 11 compassion of what you do, but the credibility and honesty and transparency that you offer and what you do. And you know where I believe we're living in a time right now where we have all this awareness that's just bursting forward. People are understanding that announce the prevention really isn't. The cure is it's not worth a pound of cure. It is secure, right? And so people are jumping on and you're learning more and more and they're becoming more informed on what they need for their animals. But they're running into all these different barriers, like my mind. Also, just jump right into the CBD, saying, You know, I'm an herbalist. Most people that know me know that I have been an herbal is for a very long time, and I'm I'm not just focused on one specific botanical butt, the principles behind the use of many of them. And I see hemp as an amazing plant with amazing characteristics and the potential just by virtue of the fact that it it addresses and supports a system of the body that we only discovered back in 1989 Ray under cannabinoid system. It has the capability of affecting health positively in many, many ways. But we have this giant sensationalist wave that is sweeping through the pet care industry and the human industry. At the same time. There's over 800 vendors of CBD for animals in the marketplace right now, and many if not most of them are pretty much on it for the financial right And you know what, Israel and what isn't about CVD. ITT's certainly amazing, er, but in your mind, it's not a panacea, right? It's something that needs to be considered a different way.
spk_1: 5:11
Oh, sure, Absolutely. I mean, as as as we both know, there is no panacea. Um, there is nothing out there that will fix everything and do everything. But, you know, when we look at, um when we look at the natural compounds that occur in cannabis and hemp on dhe CBD in particular, what we're looking at is a naturally occurring compound that has an incredibly wide range of physiologic activities and potential applications. Is medicine?
spk_0: 5:42
Yes, absolutely. And you know, from my perspective, you know, I'm one of those herbalists that always tells its audiences. His audiences said, You know, the whole plants always greater than the sum of its parts and, you know, and then in the CBD realm, we're talking about the entourage effect. I always call it the symbiotic relationships between what we used to consider the inner components of a plant in what we see is the active components. You know, the fighter cannabinoids we see is active, for instance, in cannabis, also beginning to realise by virtue how we have to intensely identify how these things work in the plant that, you know, we got ter Peens and we got flavonoids and what I'm really looking and they're required to, you know, make the whole plant do its magic. What I'm really looking forward to with em is when we start looking beyond the CBD in the fighter cannabinoids to the entire plant, I really think it do a heck of a lot more. Even though it does a lot with the CBD, richness contains its We're just scratching the surface at this point.
spk_1: 6:45
Yeah, you know, I agree. And, you know, I mean, I think it's you know, it's important for people when they look at when they look at whether or not it's whether it's CBD and hamper just, you know, herbal medicine in general. I mean the fact that these compounds occur in these plants that have medicinal benefit for for for animals and for people. I mean, it's not an accident, and it's not magic. It's co evolution is what it is. I mean, you know, people and animals have evolved for millions of years alongside these plants and and that is what you no way evolved eating these plants being exposed to these plants. And that is why that is why these compounds are effective in us is because we literally evolved alongside these things, you know? So you know any people you know? I think when you look at it through that through that lens, you can start to see why. Why, to your point that isolating compounds is not always the best plan, because what we really want to do is we really want our patients to have the benefit of that whole plant medicine that again we sort of co evolved with over over millions of years Now as it pertains to cannabis. There are so many fighter chemicals that that occur in cannabis. You know, when we just look at the cannabinoids themselves, you know, obviously CVD is is, you know, topic did your, um for for non hemp based cannabis, there's of course, TC. But beyond that, there is ah, host of what are currently being called minor cannabinoids, C v c c b g c B n. The list goes on and on, and and while the research is still in fairly early stages. You know, the pre clinical data that we have on a lot of these compounds is they also have profound physiologic effects. So, you know, the future of of of cannabis medicine is going to be, you know, with the, uh with the sort of selective breeding of cannabis plants to start to produce more of these minor cannabinoids Maur of the terp eats which also, you know, also have really amazing physiologic effects. I think you know, a lot of people when they hear that were Turpin. They don't really quite know what to do with it. But you know what? I often sort of tell people just for frame of reference for people who are familiar with essential oils, essential oils or Turpin's so effectively essential oils are Turpin medicine on and, you know, again, that's all part of that co evolution of how we all wound up on this planet together on you know, the future of the future of cannabis medicine is I mean it. It feels very much like a sky's the limit thing right now. Um, now that people are starting to understand what could be done with this plan. And now that over time, sort of the legal barriers are going to start to break down and the research will really be able to get going,
spk_0: 9:54
right? My my biggest concern is what happens in the interim. Yeah. I mean, the wave occurred so fast. I mean, the tsunami of CBD industry occurred so quickly that that secondary industries popped up around it. For instance, the analytics that are required to show that there is less than 0.3% T h c in the CBD product. All these labs popped up all over the United States practically overnight to serve this industry and for my own personal experience, developing my own products. I've found it. A lot of them are very biased toward telling the manufacturers what they want to hear in terms of ta see content part of the surface, you know, and the other part of the issue is that we don't have any central set of standards quality controls said in place for what should be in these products to solvents that should be used, pesticides that are allowable, and even a strain of deceit. The genome and a seed would be you know, for me, transparency to the source to the actual field, where these things were grown is very important. And then keeping track of the chemistry's of that plant and how they're manipulated in any way. For instance, you know, isolates. How do we get those isolates out? There's no requirement right now on an industry level to tell the consumer whether it be a vet, a veterinarian or a lay person, what the solvents are in that product and what the origin of those plants were. And it's happening so fast, Gary, that, you know, in my state, in the state of Oregon, we just finished our first year of grew in. And to give you an idea how fast a wave grew here is when people found out that they could legally grow hemp. Industrial have non th see bearing hemp. They didn't just plant a few fields. We planted 55,000 acres of it in the state of Oregon alone and the latest, the latest tally of that is upwards of 60% of that crop will be compromised because they couldn't even harvest it. And, you know, the environmental waste in its wake is left behind the analytics or just not existent. So you have all this product that's going out through all these market channels. If it gets out at all with very little history attached to them, of where it's coming from sitters, that sort of work needs to be done. I know I'll be involved in it, and you probably will be, too. But right now I think the important thing is trying to find credibility. And I think that's where you come in and people like you come in very
spk_1: 12:30
important. You know, you're you're so right. I mean, there's there's just a lack of regulation. There's a lack of standardization and truthfully, I mean, that's that's no different a situation with the entire supplement market herbal medicine market in general. But it's, you know, it's clearly ah, magnified issue when it comes to hemp and CVD because it's such a thing right now. And there's, you know, when there's so much money in it that that you know, there's there's no shortage of people out there that are, you know, that are trying to get on board the green rush as as they call right. So, um and and you know that's the problem is when there's a lot of money to be made, and there's always gonna be people out there that want to cut core. Ah, and that, you know, that is that is a concern. And I think that is where that is where, you know, number one, the consumer needs to bear some responsibility in in what they're purchasing because unfortunately, there is not that kind of oversight that there is safe in the pharmaceutical industry. Um, but also, you know, that puts responsibility on the medical professionals like you and I to educate people properly, to give people that kind of guidance so they know how to get a good product and what to realistically expect out of out of the out of a cannabis product,
spk_0: 13:52
right? Making informed decisions, you know. And that's my whole career has transformed from being a formulating herbalist and producer of herbal extracts to being an educator because it's so important for the person that picks up a product, whether it be CBD or something else to understand the basis and especially the best principles to apply them by you. No way. Both know that a lot of our challenge. I'm sure in a clinical setting, it's This is big is people that try to wiggle holistic medicine into an Al oppa thick paradigm. You know, we're gonna use We're gonna use milk thistle to two, deal with, uh, a re occurring toxicity exposure without taking out the toxicity experience. And it's an ongoing problem, but sometimes and especially And when we get into this sensational rush that we're getting with CBD the Green Wave, we really need to kind of look past and look at some of the science and listen to some of the things we don't necessarily want to hear. Like, there might be things in your product that you don't know about if there isn't transparency in the other. So I guess my message to people that are listening to this is do your homework and ask a lot of questions. You know, the comfort has to lie within you of whether or not you're getting products that actually contain what they're supposed to and whether or not they're safe for your animals. In your mind of CBD safe is it just general regarded as safe is something that could just be used pretty much with you should be medical product.
spk_1: 15:32
Yeah, so? So I mean CBD as a molecule or or a hemp based product containing CBC. You know, setting aside any concerns about about, you know, tainted products or things in there that shouldn't be putting putting that aspect of it aside, CBD is an incredibly safe molecule. Um, we do have fortunately, we do have some veterinary research out there now specific to dogs. Um, and now, a study just came out literally just a few weeks ago looking at, um Ah, pharmacogenetics and cats as well. And you know, when one thing that we can say is the dose range in the margin of safety for CBD is enormous s o. The good news is, is it is going to be very difficult to do any harm with CBD.
spk_0: 16:21
Yeah, it would be. A lot of people wouldn't be able to afford to do harm with CBD.
spk_1: 16:26
Yeah, exactly.
spk_0: 16:27
I mean, if we could overdose. Yeah, If you could overdose, you wouldn't be able to afford to Yeah, that's good news. But I don't know if you hear these thieves. Ah, these enquiries as well. But every once in a while, actually, several times a week, I will get an email or a call from somebody that uses my products or reads my work or whatever. And they say, Hey, I'm using CBD in my dog and it makes him really lethargic and he starts to drool and has stupors at normal. And my response is probably not That kind of goes back to what we were discussing earlier. There might be th cnet product. It isn't disclosed or not even identified.
spk_1: 17:04
Yeah, you know that. And I think that's ah, that's a really good point. I mean, when we look at ah, when I look at like, some of these toxicology studies that were done and dogs would, you know, when dogs were given enormously high levels of CBD, you know, of the minor side effects that were reported excessive lethargy or sleeping, This is actually not among them. Uh, while clearly, CBD is a calming. Ah, calming molecule can help with anxiety. It's not going to make a dog or an animal sleep. So thus, um, you know, I think the presumption is is that that, you know, there may be something in that product other than CBD. Maybe there's a little more th see in there than the person Thanks for that is on the label. Or conversely, you know, it's it's always possible for any individual animal tohave an unusual reaction. But you know, your point is well taken that most of the time when people report that there's probably th see in that product,
spk_0: 18:04
right? Okay, we have to take a quick break. And when we get back, I'm gonna ask you some more questions about what some of the most pressing issues are surrounding animal health today. Sounds great. Be right back joined Dr Richter's exclusive pet parent community. It's designed for you to help you and your pet thrive, become a free member and gain immediate access to trusted advice and guidance from Dr Gary Richter, voted America's favorite veterinarian and winner of the Holistic Practitioners of the Year Award, a gathering of loving pet parents just like you who also seek expert help, advice and guidance. Dr. Gerry's exclusive tools and resource is only available to members and top notch products and recommendations exclusively designed to help your pet live the healthiest, happiest and fullest life possible. Go to www dot join my pet thrives dot com today, Dr. Gary, what in your mind are the most pressing issues surrounding animal health today? I know, I know. Nutrition's in the center of it. I know it's a huge question, but it's something I think that needs to be in the minds of all all the pet guardians out there. If we're going to find a solution, a lasting solution against chronic disease.
spk_1: 19:22
Yeah, you know, And that that really is That is the question. Ah, that that as medical professionals we need to consider, um, and and as I tell, nearly every person that comes into my office, you know, without a doubt, the single biggest thing that people can do to keep themselves or their pets healthy for us, long as possible is make sure that they're eating optimal nutrition on. And, you know, you know, you mentioned a little bit earlier that, uh, you know that that that Allah Patrick medicine has a tendency to say, put an animal on on a liver supporting supplement without actually dealing with the underlying problem. You know, this is what we're dealing with with nutrition is we're chasing all these diseases. Chronic inflammation, arthritis, gastrointestinal issues cancer. We're chasing all this stuff down and and in many cases, not actually realizing what the root cause of these things are. And so much of it comes from nutrition. I mean, we all know intuitively that that the closer that we eat to a fresh, whole food diet, the more healthy we are. The less processed food we eat, the better off we are likely to be. But for some reason, the pet food industry doesn't see it that way. Right? Um and and, you know, the pet food industry is constantly pushing kibble. They're pushing canned foods, which by design and by definition, are highly processed foods that contain all kinds of chemical compounds in there that are not doing our pets any favors. And there's a loss of nutrition in the process. When these things were made at incredibly high heat and incredibly high temperature, there's a lot that gets lost in the process. So So you know the problem number one from from an animal health perspective, is we need to get these pants off of highly processed foods because that's in many ways, the root of all evil. Uh, you know, and that's that's a conversation that I literally have with nearly every client that comes into my office. Um, some people get it. Some people don't. You know? I mean, as I often tell people, you know, the dry food and canned food really only exists for one reason, and it's for our convenience. It was never about what was good for our pets, no matter what the pet food companies tell you, and they full well know it. Uh, you know, the studies were pretty clear. Um, so So that is one clearly very large aspect. Ah, you know of a challenge that exists in veterinary medicine. And then I think the I think the other big challenge for me on this this kind of goes across the board for the Western medical community is is Western Medicine has a tendency to have a very narrow view of of what counts as legitimate medicine. Ah, you know, I mean, for starters, I mean, from a Western medical perspective, you know, most doctors in order for them to do a treatment or offer some sort of therapy, it has to be something that sort of you know, came through a veterinary school came from a pharmaceutical company. Um, and that's fine. And that's great. But But, you know, I think the problem that we have is is is the profession is very reticent to look beyond that box on. You know, if you just if you just take a moment, you know, to do some research and to be clear, I am not a person in my practice that that will start offering a treatment unless there is really solid scientific basis behind it. Um, you know so to me, I mean, holistic medicine is not burning sage and waving crystals. I mean, it's it's science on. And, you know, I spend I spend more time sort of poking around on Pub Med and looking at scientific studies then than I probably should really admit. But But the point is, is that even from a Western medical perspective, if some of these folks would just take the time and look at the science that's out there for things that are maybe a little bit outside the purview of conventional Western medicine, they would find that there's a whole lot of treatment options for their patients that they may not be employing and, you know, that's that's kind of what led me down the path of of integrative medicine is you know, when I started seeing that I was able to improve conditions and fix problems that with purely Western medicine, I was not able to do I mean, all of a sudden, like the whole world opens up to you that you know Oh, my God. There's an entire facet of medicine that nobody ever told me about in vet school. And And, you know, the reality is is, once you start going down that path, you don't go back,
spk_0: 24:15
right? Yeah, I know. Once you go past due to the hole the game of suppressing symptoms. Yep. And you get into the game of actually curing disease and seeing the body correct itself. I mean, that's the most amazing thing is it comes with the reality and the respect of the bodies capable of doing things better than we can. We just have to support it.
spk_1: 24:39
It's true. And I and I often tell my clients that you know, we don't always have to know exactly how to fix what's going on with your dog. Your dog knows better than we do right? How to fix itself. All we need to do is get them the nutrients and get them the therapy that they need and let them do the rest. It's the beauty of working with a biological system is you don't absolutely have to know how to fix everything. Sometimes you just need to give him a little nudge in the right direction, and they'll take you the rest of the way.
spk_0: 25:09
Absolutely so I guess a good place for people to start would be with your book, which is wonderful, absolutely wonderful. And, uh, you know in your book the Ultimate Pet Health Guide, you examine traditional medicine from multiple cultures alongside modern medical techniques. And you describe the best a complementary care in the best of conventional veterinary medicine, right alongside, you know, and so very integrative approach. And again, it's transparency that I'm not writing a book on voodoo and and, you know, throwing chicken bones in the middle of the floor. I'm talking about integrating science with into a more holistic realm, you know, to me, holistic, holistic medicine simply means that we're taking in broad picture. We're looking at all aspects and everything that is at our disposal in in terms of healing. And that includes al empathic medicine that includes surgical intervention includes everything. And you know, in my mind for many, many years, veterinary profession has kind of left that off. And, you know, a lot of it plays into what happened with pet food. You know? I mean, the American Association feud control officials, and you know that the powers that be that allow what is allowed in the pet food and how it's labeled in such that is antiquated, way back into you know what? Mid 19 hundreds for millennium. And back then, you know, everything was kind of pushed to veterinarians along that guide line and traditionally in vet school, if that's came out of school with two weeks of training at best and nutrition, you know, and so and so people like you, Dr reinventing the wheel, so to speak. And I really appreciate it. And your book is amazing. Told me about you have a new website, the new service out to tell me about that.
spk_1: 27:04
Yeah, So we've recently launched my pet thrives dot com on and really what that website is about. It's about providing, you know, ah, forum for pet owners because, you know, you know, both one of the reasons why, uh, why only what? Why I wrote the ultimate pet health guy is because is because, you know, there's a limited number of people that I can see in a day. Um and you know, I mean, for people who are sort of not geographically either near me or near a veterinarian that practices holistic medicine, reliable and trusted information on that on that topic can be can be difficult to come by. And, you know, people who don't have a real solid medical background. It is. It is not surprising that it could be difficult for folks to sort of parse out what they're seeing on the Internet. From the standpoint of what's really what's height, what's you know, somebody tryingto sell s o. The goal here was to be able to provide, you know, so trusted advice from from myself and other colleagues like me to give people that kind of support that they need when they're looking for expert advice and guidance to help their pets on dhe and really just too, to give people a place to go where they know that the information that they're getting is number one reliable and number two not biased. From the standpoint of you know, I'm telling you this information because I'm trying to convince you to buy a product,
spk_0: 28:39
right? That's great. You know, I was just looking through your course. Ultimate pet health care 101 And folks, it's It's about as comprehensive is anything you need to get the basis of education to move forward in finding a more holistic and natural solution for your pets. It's really a nice resource. And I can also tell you, because I know that that Gary is too modest. It's very affordable as well. It's a really good deal, and it's obvious that he's putting it out there for the sake of education, not just getting rich. It's really nice. Sure, Dr Gary, it's been absolutely wonderful having you on my show. Is there anything else you want to add or anything you pressing that you hope to get out to the world today?
spk_1: 29:23
Um, you know, that's a That's a great question. And and you know what? I would you know what I would like to impart people with is is, you know, realize that Ah, you know that that medicine and health care is is really best looked at as a preventative exercise whenever possible. You know, I think it's very much in in in in human nature to not think about stuff like that when there's nothing active going on. Um, because that's just how we are. I mean, many of us don't take ourselves to the doctor unless we start feeling sick. Um, but if we take a proactive approach to health care with our pets starting with nutrition on working our way from there on whether or not that means, you know, appropriate nutritional supplementation, whether or not that means taking a real hard look at things like vaccines, flea and tick, preventative, heartworm, preventive, all of which have legitimate medical benefit, but all of which are sort of over prescribed, an overused by the profession. Speaking in generalities, you know, we need to start looking at what are the long term effects of what we're doing both good and bad on again. Proactive approach. Any time that you can, that you can treat something or prevent something naturally, that is always gonna be preferable to reaching to a pharmaceutical. But again, I you know, in my practice, I would absolutely not hesitate to reach for a pharmaceutical when it's necessary to refer an animal for surgery when it's necessary. So you know, I would urge people keep an open mind on and follow the path that that is both the most effective and most benign path that you can follow for both your pet's health care and your own
spk_0: 31:17
well said Very well, said Dr Gary Richter. We confined you at my pet thrives dot com That is your new website. People can get this great training. It's great information
spk_1: 31:27
that is correct. And if they if if people want to join, they can just go to join my pet. Thrives dot com
spk_0: 31:33
Awesome and for sure, people, I mean the ultimate Pet Health Guide. Breakthrough, Nutrition and Integrative Care for Dogs and Cats by Dr Gary Richter Highly recommended Dr Gary, Thank you so much for joining us today. I hope that you'll come back and be with us again real soon.
spk_1: 31:49
I would love to thank you