Paws, Reflect & Heal with Dr. Randy

Stop Giving Your Dog THIS Antibiotic!

• Dr. Randy Pet Vet • Season 3 • Episode 5

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For conscientious pet parents and pet owners, understanding the reality of leaky gut syndrome in dogs is critical to solving chronic health issues. Dr. Randy Aronson and Olivia Sacci dive deep into this often-misunderstood condition, explaining exactly what leaky gut is, why it's actually the root cause of problems like allergies, GI disease, behavioral issues, and even cancer, and how it allows harmful substances into your dog's system.

In this episode of Paws, Reflect & Heal, Dr. Randy challenges the conventional veterinary approach to GI issues, warning pet owners against the common use of the antibiotic Metronidazole for leaky gut syndrome. He outlines a comprehensive integrative strategy focused on reducing inflammation through diet and targeted supplements. Discover why comprehensive allergy testing is the first step, the specific type of anti-inflammatory omega-3 you should be using (and why common fish oil is often counterproductive), how B12 helps with SIBO, and the surprising environmental trigger that is showing up in pets even in dry climates: household mold. 
#LeakyGutInDogs  #HolisticPetCare  #PetAllergies  #DrRandyPetVet 

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Products and Resources I Recommend
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SPEAKER_00:

Dr. Randy here with my co-host Olivia Sache from the University of Arizona Vet School.

SPEAKER_01:

Hi everyone, it's good to be back.

SPEAKER_00:

Hey Olivia, nice to have you here. So we're going to answer a question from Elena in Florida about leaky gut syndrome.

SPEAKER_01:

Perfect. Our question today is: what is leaky gut syndrome in our dogs?

SPEAKER_00:

Leaky gut is a very, very important thing for us to know about in our dogs and cats. It's not uncommon, and it is actually the cause of a lot of problems that we see with allergy, with GI disease, even cancer, and believe it or not, behavioral problems.

SPEAKER_01:

I would know. My dog has it and you helped, you helped treat it. So what are some of the supplements or treatments for leaky gut syndrome?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, before we do that, let me just mention so leaky gut basically means that the small interfaces in our bowel open up and allow things into our system through the blood and lymphatics that we should not be incorporating. So our dogs and cats are eating things that basically get into their bloodstream or their lymphatics and then causes the signs that we see, whether it is allergy, whether it is GI disease. So let's go back to your question, which was me not hitting the microphone, but talking about supplements.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So I'm just curious, what can we do to help our dogs that have Lehiga syndrome? Is there diets that we can give them? Are there supplements, medications? What do you recommend?

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely. So uh diet and supplements are really, really important. I try to stay away from the medication. Um, I will mention one medication that is my real pet peeve, and that is using the drug metronidazole. Metronidazole is often prescribed for leaky gut syndrome. It does help with the GI signs, but it is an antibiotic that was created to eliminate all bacteria in our bowel.

SPEAKER_01:

So it's gonna kill the good things too, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely. And there are numerous papers that are now out saying that veterinarians really should not be using metronidazole. So let's talk about the supplements and the diet. So the way I approach this is um I do do a lot of times uh work on an allergy testing type situation for our dogs and cats. It can be a IGA uh test called Nutriscan, which our our listeners can get online uh from Nutriscan. It's some swabs that they will then be able to talk about what the dog or cat's food sensitivity is. Or it could be a blood test, which is even more comprehensive. I use VDI labs and it's an allergy test that will tell us exactly what foods and environmental allergens are causing them a problem.

SPEAKER_01:

So, how does eliminating the allergens help with the leaky gut syndrome?

SPEAKER_00:

That's a great question. So it's all about inflammation. We've talked about that before, but inflammation is the rooted this. If we can get the inflammation down in our dog and cat's body, we can get rid of the leaky gut syndrome. So then what happens is through these testings, we now pick a food that we know we're not gonna have a problem with. And we also make sure in our allergy testing that there's nothing environmental. I will tell you, one of the scary things about the last allergy test I've done here in Tucson is multiple animals showing up with a mold sensitivity.

SPEAKER_01:

I've been in a couple of those cases with you. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And then what happens is we tell the owners, well, you know, this is Tucson, it's the most dry place in the world. Go test your house, and every one of them have had mold in their house.

SPEAKER_01:

I remember you telling me that, and I was shocked by that information.

SPEAKER_00:

So getting to the supplements so we don't forget those. Um, I like omega-3s because I really want a source of anti-inflammatory moistening for the gut. I use an omega-3 and not a pure fish oil because fish oils are omega-3, six, and nine omegas, and nines are inflammatory.

SPEAKER_01:

So we want to- That's great information to have.

SPEAKER_00:

So we want to use an omega-3, preferably in a capsule that people are pinpricking. Why? Because in a bottled oil, as soon as you pump down or open oxygen gets in there and it does start to oxidize that oil.

SPEAKER_01:

And once we oxidize it, it's not as effective anymore.

SPEAKER_00:

It causes the animal to have to form what's called free radicals to scavenger that oxidized oil. Okay. Second is a lot of times I'll use uh methylcobalamine or B12. B12 is really uh helpful for S uh SIBO, SIBO, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, which is part of this whole syndrome, and it really, really helps their bowel.

SPEAKER_01:

So in leaky gut, they're also having an overgrowth of certain bacteria. Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay, interesting. And how does that happen?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, what happens is um the bad bacteria are kind of selected for, whether it's from their diet of too many inflammatory carbs in the diet or the wrong food, uh, and that continues to grow. Also, a lot of these animals have been on antibiotics.

SPEAKER_01:

Like the metronitizolesol.

SPEAKER_00:

Like the metronitazol we talked about, and that really selects for the the some of the harder bacteria to get under control.

SPEAKER_01:

And what Dr. Randy means by select is basically if you if you give an antibiotic, it's gonna kill off as much as possible, but it's only gonna leave the strongest behind. And so that's what the term select means, just for people out there that maybe don't know that. Very good. But that can be that can be really scary if you're only leaving the strongest microbes back.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. We also incorporate slippery elm. We also incorporate turmeric, all very helpful. But also another really big thing before we close is fiber. We really want to increase the fiber in our pet's diet, either using psyllium husk or inulin with pumpkin or sweet potato. Uh, that's the best way to get a lot of these under control.

SPEAKER_01:

Perfect. Well, thank you guys for joining us. Thank you, Dr. Randy, for all of that insight.

SPEAKER_00:

And you, Olivia.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you. I'm so happy to be here. Um, you guys can follow us both on social media for Dr. Randy. He's got a YouTube channel as well as an Instagram account. You can find him at at Dr. Randy PetFet. For myself, I have an Instagram at at Dr. Saatchi. Saatchi is S-A-C-C-I. Um, thank you so much. Please subscribe. You'll get information every week on how to help your pets.

SPEAKER_00:

And let your pet parents and guardian friends know about this information, the more the merrier when it comes to getting this information out. Thanks for joining us.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you.