Why Our Dogs Are Not Getting Better

By Dr Cathy Alinovi, DVM.

Pet owners often feel discouraged when their efforts to improve their pets’ health—spending money, researching, and trying various “tried and true” solutions—fail to yield positive results. This frustration stems from a deeper issue that can be better understood through Dr. Francis M. Pottenger Jr.’s groundbreaking study on cats, which explored the impact of diet on health across generations. While based on cats, the results absolutely apply to our dogs – and all domestic species.

Dr. Pottenger’s research, conducted between 1932 and 1942, involved over 900 cats divided into groups fed different diets. Some groups received raw meat, raw milk, and cod liver oil, while others were given cooked meat and processed dairy products like pasteurized milk. The findings were striking: cats fed raw diets maintained robust health, strong immune systems, excellent bone structure, and healthy reproduction across generations. In contrast, those cats fed cooked food developed severe health issues such as skeletal deformities, organ dysfunctions, and reproductive problems. These problems worsened with each successive generation.

One of the study’s most profound conclusions was that poor nutrition caused genetic deterioration over just a few generations. After only five generations of consuming processed food, the cats suffered irreversible health declines. However, the study also revealed hope: restoring health required the same five generations of optimal nutrition.

This principle applies directly to pets today. Over the last two decades, practices such as feeding low-quality food (food which the pet owner has no idea has low quality ingredients), excessive vaccinations, and aggressive medications, have lead to genetic alterations which have result in deteriorated animal health. These factors often lead to genetic changes that cannot be easily reversed. These are itchy dogs who just won’t stop itching no matter what medicine is given, dogs who develop cancer at an early age; the examples abound.

To restore pet health, it is essential to focus on breeding for wellness and making informed decisions about nutrition and care. For example:

• Vaccination Timing: While unconventional, it’s critical to realize that vaccinating puppies at six weeks is problematic because their immune systems are not fully developed until around 17 weeks. (Maternal antibodies last for 16 weeks – this is a critical period of time.) Early vaccinations can alter their genetics and compromise their long-term health. Additionally, vaccines are often administered in uniform doses (its 1ml, no adjustment permitted) regardless of the animal’s size (4pounds to 200 pounds, it’s all the same), which can further harm their well-being.

• Nutrition for Mothers: Pregnant and lactating mothers are often fed poor-quality food despite the mom’s critical role in nurturing healthy offspring. Proper nutrition during this stage is vital for producing healthy puppies or kittens.

Mandates requiring breeders to vaccinate puppies and kittens before selling them aim to curb unethical practices like puppy mills but fail to address the root causes of poor pet health. Instead, these mandates increase costs without solving underlying issues. Puppy mills continue and now contribute to ill health due to these vaccine mandates.

The solution lies in responsible breeding practices that prioritize long-term health over convenience or cost-cutting measures. This includes avoiding unnecessary vaccinations (and defining a necessary vaccine can be a contentious topic as there is a tremendous amount of money made vaccinating all of these puppies and kittens), harmful chemicals, and low-quality food while focusing on optimal nutrition and care for pets across multiple generations.

By committing to five generations of pristine care—including biologically appropriate diets and minimal exposure to harmful substances—we can begin to reverse the damage done to pets’ genetic lines and restore their overall health and vitality. It’s taken 5 generations to create these dogs who don’t get better no matter what treatment they receive – they are always a pleasure to have with us – but sometimes, societally, we need to accept responsibility for why this happened in the first place.

Dr. Cathy Alinovi, natural pet wellness and holistic veterinarian. Learn more about how you may be overpaying for “healthcare“ and over medicating your dog at www.healthypawsibilities.com.