Dr. Zac Pilossoph: Holistic Dermatologic Therapy For Pets With Allergic Skin Diseases | EP28

[00:00:00] In an age where more and more pets are starting to experience a mean dysregulation of a variety of ways,

[00:00:05] and the most common of it being a dermatologic symptomatic finding or pattern that we're seeing with these pets.

[00:00:13] Then no different to URI as humans who have a maintenance heron's kinacharietal regimen.

[00:00:19] I do believe that in this day and age that we do need to start having that for pets as well.

[00:00:24] And you know, and that maintenance regimen should be as holistic and all natural as possible

[00:00:29] so that it allows for opportunities in the future if there are a need for additional therapies that you can include them,

[00:00:37] but starting off holistically is definitely important and understanding that a maintenance regimen therapy for pets.

[00:00:43] It's not some crazy idea.

[00:00:53] Welcome to The Pet Care Report podcast by Pet Summits.

[00:00:56] Here's your natural dog health care host, Alora McKinley.

[00:01:00] G'day guys, welcome back to The Pet Care Report.

[00:01:04] Now allergies right now in Australia where I am at spring and our seasonal allergies are rampant,

[00:01:10] which you might be able to hear a little bit in my voice today.

[00:01:14] And now many years ago when we first moved to the country, my eldest dog Milo,

[00:01:18] he would run in the long grass and he would break out in hives every time and it was awful.

[00:01:24] And I know allergies is something many pet parents deal with today and so today we're going to be chatting about

[00:01:29] holistic therapy and maintenance for pets with allergic skin disease with Dr. Zack Philosophus

[00:01:35] and nationally celebrated integrative veterinarian and top aluminous of Tufts University veterinary school

[00:01:42] With a foundation in emergency and critical care, Dr. Zack's journey took him across America

[00:01:47] refining his approach and diving deep into holistic pet care.

[00:01:52] His commitment to bridging conventional practices with integrative medicine led him to the creation

[00:01:57] of naked pet, a pioneering platform design for pet parents and veterinarians seeking comprehensive

[00:02:03] wellness solutions. Welcome to the podcast Dr. Zack. Thank you. I'm really excited to be here.

[00:02:07] I really appreciate the invite so this is awesome. Thank you. Now before we get into our very

[00:02:11] topical discussion today, I know you've had a really exciting career. What led you to starting

[00:02:17] back at the beginning of the year? So yeah, so originally I followed the same kind of

[00:02:22] conventional medicine path as everyone else. So I went to general conventional vet school and

[00:02:28] in that school, I learned a lot of cool things and I initially went out into practice

[00:02:34] and was still learning pretty comprehensively in the first couple of years but I also

[00:02:40] became kind of frustrated right away with feeling a bit limited in not only what I felt like we

[00:02:48] had available but more importantly, the questions that a lot of veterinarian, I mean,

[00:02:53] a lot of pet parents were asking that a lot of veterinarians didn't know the answers to and for me,

[00:02:57] that was something that I became frustrated with versus like kind of just brushing it off. So

[00:03:01] it kind of stems from a little bit of this almost anxiety that I was like, I can't answer

[00:03:06] these pet parents questions and slowly started to research things that was able to over

[00:03:13] course of a couple of years become comfortable with some of the things that I was being asked on

[00:03:17] a frequent basis. And then finally after three or four years, I really figured out that this

[00:03:22] is something I find a lot of passionate in addition to the Western medicine practices that I had been

[00:03:28] trained on. And so through some friendships and through some experiences that not all of them

[00:03:36] worked out I guess in the end but learned a lot from then I was able to put together some of

[00:03:40] this knowledge as well as an experience factor that you know, I'm grateful for those those

[00:03:45] opportunities I had and put together naked pet which is right now it's a bit of a quasi,

[00:03:50] little mix of about two or three things. We do a lot of dermatologic pet care obviously and then

[00:03:56] we do a pretty comprehensive integrative medicine platform that you know,

[00:04:02] several options for pet parents. So you know, it's almost kind of been an expression of experiences

[00:04:09] and knowledge that I grew over time. Again like I said stem through this frustration that I really

[00:04:13] couldn't answer a lot of pet parents questions and now I feel like I'm more equipped for that.

[00:04:17] That's so cool and it sounds like it's just going to keep growing as you gain more knowledge and

[00:04:22] create more products. Now today we're going to be chatting about allergies. Can you give us a quick

[00:04:26] rundown of what allergies are and what symptoms a dog might display if they are suffering from

[00:04:31] allergies? Yeah for sure and you know, I'm confident that so many pet parents are also very

[00:04:38] very aware of these symptoms as well because you know kind of like you mentioned in the beginning

[00:04:42] is that this is really the most common thing we're seeing in the veterinary clinics right now is

[00:04:47] this the symptoms of some type of allergic disease. And so you know when it comes to you know

[00:04:54] skin and ears, anguans, toes etc. You know we're going to see primarily the symptoms that a lot

[00:05:00] of people are struggling with at home with their pets you know at their side so you know predominantly

[00:05:05] the first thing we usually see is some itchiness and irritation. We'll see you know redness of the skin

[00:05:11] a lot of time is redness without any little bumps or or postures we call them like little

[00:05:16] almost like little dots or anything of that nature on a skin usually it's just like this mild

[00:05:22] redness. The reason I mentioned that is because a lot of times when we see that it will actually

[00:05:26] think that it may be an infectious cause for us so allergies usually we don't see that we'll just

[00:05:29] see some redness. A lot of times we'll almost see some some scarring from the chronic itching that

[00:05:36] we can see you know them going through over several months which can lead to even some bleeding

[00:05:41] of the skin so a lot of times you know those are the main things we'll see is itching redness and then

[00:05:45] sometimes what we call excoriations or self trauma that exists from from those first two signs.

[00:05:51] Such a tough one such a common thing these days too. So can you explain then what the difference

[00:05:55] between holistic maintenance therapies and how it differs from conventional treatment for pet allergies?

[00:06:01] Yeah absolutely so the way in which we're trained a lot in conventional medicine is very

[00:06:07] sound on the diagnostic side of course so we are you know we're trained comprehensively on how to

[00:06:12] work through the problem solving aspect of I'm figuring out if this is actually an allergy which

[00:06:18] a lot of times is really like a rule out diagnosis essentially so you know once we check for things

[00:06:22] like bacterial infections or fungal infections or parasites you know fleas and etc and other

[00:06:27] parasites etc. Even chemical irritants that maybe run the house then you know once we've come to

[00:06:32] the idea of allergies then in my opinion I feel like we actually are very limited because of the

[00:06:37] fact that the three or four medications that we've used over the course of years so maybe decades

[00:06:44] these medications are good at controlling the symptoms that we often see that you know we just

[00:06:51] kind of mentioned in the question earlier but they're not really figuring out the root cause or

[00:06:56] addressing the root cause in my opinion so the root cause of allergies is an immune dysregulation

[00:07:02] and a hyper immunity to things that really aren't dangerous to the body but it actually is confused

[00:07:07] or thinks it is so if we think about that then the goal or the approach to treating these allergies

[00:07:15] you know more in a holistic fashion would be to number one you know doing a lifestyle modification

[00:07:19] or a lifestyle analyzation and then modification of the things that maybe could be promoting inflammation

[00:07:25] and then at the same time addressing the organ specifically that's having this comfort or having

[00:07:30] a problem which is the skin which is actually the part that I saw not being addressed as much as

[00:07:36] I felt like it was necessary you know what we see tons of holistic veterinarians and integrated

[00:07:40] veterinarians that really do an excellent job of promoting the idea of reducing inflammation

[00:07:46] from the inside out but at the same time if you look at humans that are dealing with immune mediated

[00:07:51] skin conditions or that are dealing with autoimmune conditions of the skin you know which

[00:07:56] humans get allergies just like us a very equal component of that treatment plan is the dermatologic

[00:08:03] topical therapies that they're using so that was you know I think that that's a component that

[00:08:08] we're yet to start including and that's kind of what was my drive to again start naked pet in one

[00:08:15] way or another. So then what type of allergic skin conditions benefit the most from a holistic

[00:08:21] approach? When it comes to allergies and pets you know cats and dogs the most common stimuli for

[00:08:28] that would be a reaction to foods mostly food proteins like you know they're found in every day

[00:08:36] you know conventional products that we feed them all the time the second would be an environmental

[00:08:42] reaction and then the third which is least likely but easiest to usually kind of rule in or out

[00:08:47] is a hypersensitivity to like the saliva proteins in certain parasites specifically flee so we'll see

[00:08:54] so you know once you rule those out and you know the first one out I mean the the flee

[00:09:00] sensitivity if you check for fleas and you make sure that you're not have fleas in your pets then

[00:09:03] really we're dealing with those primary two was the food sensitivity indoor in environmental

[00:09:08] and again there's a process to try and figure out if your pet is struggling with water both of

[00:09:12] those and then how to address them. Yeah so then if a pet parent wants to take a holistic approach

[00:09:17] where should they start? Yeah so I mean it's it's it's debatable right how many how many humans

[00:09:23] deal with allergies the whole life right it's really difficult you know we I feel like a lot of

[00:09:27] times we almost we make it sound like it's so simple like you know address the diet and then

[00:09:32] address you know these other things and you'll be fine it's really not you know it's it's difficult

[00:09:36] because there's so many components you have to do and so the first one I really start with you

[00:09:40] know because I do this a lot now this year since starting to get pet we we really break it down as

[00:09:45] digestible as we can and so you know we I really break it into like four components so the first

[00:09:51] one and which is the easiest to do is really to survey the environment that the animals in right

[00:09:57] and look for certain stressors or look for certain stimuli that could be causing there to be a

[00:10:02] problem and so you know the common things we see indoors for example are you know these synthetic

[00:10:06] plugins dryer sheets certain detergents things we may be using on the floors or to clean you know

[00:10:14] carpeted surfaces or even their dog beds you know there's a lot of chemical irritants that

[00:10:20] you know maybe don't cause what we think of like with an irritant like a burn but it can cause

[00:10:25] over time chronic stimulation and aggravation so that's usually the first area where we start

[00:10:29] is looking for things that may be can be correlative to causing the skin to be a bit just a bit

[00:10:34] uncomfortable and continue to be dysregulated the second is the one that's you know you know

[00:10:39] pretty much like I said everyone everyone at least in the integrative holistic space usually

[00:10:43] covers very comprehensively which is addressing the gut health and that makes a lot of sense because

[00:10:49] somewhere depending on who you read the 70 to 80% of your immune system is in your gut and

[00:10:54] is responding and then traveling through the rest of the body so gut health is obviously paramount

[00:11:00] and profoundly important to address and you know being in the clinic I see lots of dogs that are

[00:11:06] on standard kibble diets and they live healthy live or they live long lives like you know I can say

[00:11:12] it's healthy but I you know I they live long lives and they're fine but we're and that's great but

[00:11:17] we're finding more and more pets nowadays that are not living comfortably and so I think that

[00:11:21] it's becoming more and more relevant that we really need to address diet and and include as much

[00:11:27] fresh species appropriate foods as we can in order to set the groundwork for immune modulation as

[00:11:34] well as trying to reduce the body's hypersensivity to these antigens that it's not tolerating so

[00:11:41] you know figuring out which proteins your dog is not or cat I guess your pet is not tolerant of

[00:11:46] and then finding a fresh whole food diet for me I'm not I'm really impartial to you know the

[00:11:51] lightly cooked versus the raw you just have to obviously you know be careful in terms of the

[00:11:57] processing of it and the handling of it but for me as long as it's fresh whole food

[00:12:01] as best as you can and even if that means cutting you know the kibble on half and doing 50-50

[00:12:06] or doing 75-25 for me the best you can do is really all I want from you know my pet parents so

[00:12:12] so we work through that as the second phase the third phase is going to be you know my favorite

[00:12:17] obviously the topical side so part of that I feel is like neglected the most and so you know

[00:12:23] understanding that the products we put on our pets are going to equally stimulate this

[00:12:27] disregulated immune system just as much as you know what we're putting down there you know into their

[00:12:32] guts so naked pet when I was putting that together was we had two main priorities the first was

[00:12:40] 100% transparency the so pet parents knew exactly what they were putting on their pets and number

[00:12:45] two was as naturally derived as possible because when it comes to the maintenance of pets that have

[00:12:51] allergies in my opinion the predominance of them can all rely on natural products is just the

[00:12:57] frequency in which we use those whether we're trying to maintain a dog to be comfort or comfortable

[00:13:01] or if we're trying to address a flare-up where they're uncomfortable um so uh that's the third

[00:13:07] and then the fourth and is understanding what kind of um I guess immunizations are preventatives

[00:13:15] that we're we're also exposing our dogs to every day which are technically you know medicines

[00:13:20] that are supposed to protect them but at the same time there is a large growing body of opinions

[00:13:26] that um overuse of these products can also cause immune dysregulation so everything in moderation

[00:13:32] and and using it for the goal in which it's intended for um and you know what I'm talking about this

[00:13:37] I'm talking about specifically like vaccinations preventatives etc um using those as um in which

[00:13:42] they were intended in order to protect an animal um and the best way possible but avoiding

[00:13:47] the opportunity for it to cause harm in the long term. Yeah definitely with pepper and searching

[00:13:54] for more non pharmaceutical options to deal with their allergies is there anything that they can do

[00:14:00] maybe if their dog's getting a rash um due to allergies is what kind of things can they do

[00:14:06] to help their dog? Yeah sure exactly so um when we're dealing with flare-ups again you know there's

[00:14:12] there's so many components that could deal with that and the first part again is always kind of

[00:14:17] problem solving figure out what could have caused this flare-up is this you know something that could

[00:14:20] be just you know a food that they got exposed to and um they're intolerant of it and we just need

[00:14:26] to kind of detox them for a couple days or is this something where you know we're seeing a pattern

[00:14:30] over the course of months the years that this is you know the time of year where they have this

[00:14:34] environmental reaction or you know there's other things that can cause but in general um when we

[00:14:38] are dealing with a pet and we do want to try as natural as possible um which again like I said I

[00:14:44] do think that that is a realistic goal for for most pets not all but most that we can control them

[00:14:50] control their symptoms as well as addressing the root cause holistically that first off again

[00:14:56] you know like I said I'm always going to come back to the idea that um topical therapies is super

[00:15:00] important so um whether it's you know naked pet products or another product that you heavily

[00:15:04] research and you're looking at that label start to finish both active and inactive ingredients um

[00:15:09] trying to detox the skin from um the inflammation that's there at present especially if it's a local

[00:15:15] eyesight um and then there are some supplements and nutraceuticals that I work with my

[00:15:19] pet parents as well that can help um in the same manner that we you know use pharmaceuticals so for

[00:15:25] example there are natural histid and histamine um products that will use if we need so class

[00:15:31] example is a corset in supplement um nettles is another one that some people like to use and

[00:15:37] I really love Omega's and promoting uh a proper omega 3 to 6 ratio where you know we're about

[00:15:42] that 4 to 1 ratio of 3 to 6 um again omega 6s aren't all bad but it's the ratio that's important

[00:15:49] for sure when it comes to this so Omega's are super important in that and then you know there's

[00:15:53] a couple of other products that I'll often rely on so like CBD for example a full spectrum

[00:15:58] CBD product and making sure again the sourcing is um important with all of these but um if it's

[00:16:04] a full spectrum CBD product it's another example that can work so um specific only flare-ups it's

[00:16:08] addressing the topical side and detoxing the skin um at that site as well as um trying to promote

[00:16:15] a level of healing at that site and then we do have some supplements that I'll often rely on that

[00:16:19] can help in the heavy majority of pets get through a flare I'll plug that yeah and in terms of

[00:16:24] topical products you mentioned that the ingredients are really important what kind of ingredients

[00:16:28] are we looking for yes so there's there's really a bunch honestly you know when it came to when

[00:16:32] I was trying to formulate um these with my partner um who helped me do that then and they're

[00:16:38] they're I mean nature has provided so many different options for that that sense so you know each

[00:16:43] product that we made through NIGAPET has a different specific function so it's really meant to be

[00:16:49] a regimen similar to like humans have heron skin care regimens right like I would say nine out of 10

[00:16:54] humans every single night before they go bad they have you know a face washing regimen right or

[00:16:59] you know we have a shower regimen that we we do our hair specifically right and you know so the

[00:17:04] products are gonna be I mean ingredients are gonna be the same pretty much as as the humans

[00:17:07] I've with pets and I find it very interesting that we a lot of times think that you know pets and

[00:17:12] humans are completely different and there are some obviously some ingredients that you know

[00:17:15] or specifically food ingredients that you know maybe pets can't get in and humans can't adjust but

[00:17:21] when it comes to topicals it's it's it's really a very similar game and I know that because

[00:17:27] actually the person who helped formulate NIGAPET from a she formulated products for the human

[00:17:33] space for 30 plus years and so the the formulas that we use for NIGAPET are really about 80 80 to 90

[00:17:40] percent at least right now our first phase you know we're gonna have a second phase of products

[00:17:43] to come up with our first phase are about 80 to 90 percent the same formula that she's used in

[00:17:48] human medicine space for for decades so so if you look at our ingredients again if you go through

[00:17:54] it you're gonna see a lot of essential oils that are commonly discussed that have anti inflammatory

[00:17:58] properties there are a few that we that she's actually she's very smart woman so she has found

[00:18:04] several through you know her training as well as her knowledge and her experience in and

[00:18:09] studying over time that are a bit unique which I do think that they are they do help substantially

[00:18:16] more than I think some of the common ones we talk about but you know overall the the ingredients

[00:18:22] that we're seeing are are talked about all the time I think in this case it's just a matter that

[00:18:27] we took them we took a lot of them and just put them into one formulation instead of you know being

[00:18:31] talked about one here one there one there and having to like buy all these other things to put

[00:18:35] into one kind of topical air regimen scanarinskin fried it in yeah yeah and not under the

[00:18:41] tight to gauge the effecting the effectiveness to say if a holistic approach is helping you know

[00:18:47] that's actually a great question to tell you truth because and I think it's very subjective because

[00:18:53] it really depends on who you're talking to in a lot of ways I and I just say that because when

[00:18:58] I was growing up right as a you know before I was a veterinarian we had a dog that had horrific

[00:19:04] allergies and was just super difficult to watch and you know we we would gauge at that time very

[00:19:10] differently as to when she was comfortable when now we're looking back I honestly feel like she

[00:19:14] was uncomfortable every day her life and it's said say that but you know this was before I knew

[00:19:19] kind of these other additional options and so you know I wish I would have had the knowledge I

[00:19:25] have now with her and you know she we did the best we could for her but now our gauge of what's

[00:19:30] a successful control of allergic symptoms at that time you know would be very different than what I

[00:19:35] was kind of expecting now and so the reason I say that is because every dog or every pet is going to

[00:19:40] be different in terms of you know what we're able to kind of control and to mitigate in their life

[00:19:47] of having allergies because you know every every every case is going to be very different and so

[00:19:53] you know obviously ideally the goal you know the hypothetical goal would be to you know keep them

[00:19:59] comfortable in a way that they're not itching and scratching and that they're they're not

[00:20:02] kind of hurting themselves through this process you know for the majority if not the entire year

[00:20:07] now be great staff but you know when it comes to you know a flare-up or something you know like

[00:20:13] the first time of the year where you know we're seeing these symptoms if it's environmental for example

[00:20:17] then you know usually we try to give it at least a couple of weeks on the holistic therapies and if

[00:20:24] we can't get it controlled in that sense then you know the reason why pharmaceuticals exist is for

[00:20:28] that specific situation right is to kind of address symptoms in the moment and to get us try

[00:20:34] to get us back to a state of neutrality and then we can use holistic again on the long-term

[00:20:38] main inside so I think it's important for us to be aware that you know pharmaceuticals aren't the

[00:20:45] enemy they just need to be using the proper way and you know coming from someone like me for

[00:20:49] example I'm not a 100% holistic veterinarian I work actually in emergency rooms for the majority

[00:20:54] of my clinical work so I'm using pharmaceuticals every single day and I'm you know helping to save

[00:20:58] animals using pharmaceuticals so pharmaceuticals are not the enemy it's just about using them at the

[00:21:02] right time point with the right duration that can help Pat and then once we get the pharmaceutical

[00:21:09] benefit out of the way then we can again reestablish a holistic maintenance regimen

[00:21:14] so good to have a balanced approach isn't it's really beneficial for for the dogs and so for those

[00:21:19] dogs that have flare ups let's say it's seasonal it's a particular grass maybe should owners start

[00:21:25] before the season even commences or should they just treat it as it comes?

[00:21:29] no absolutely that's very important to bring up for sure so you know if you're if you're

[00:21:34] able to predict when your pet symptoms are are commonly arising especially if it's environmental

[00:21:41] then no absolutely it's very important to not only start a topical heronskin care regimen

[00:21:48] prior to that in order to get the skin in a state of balance as best as possible but at the same

[00:21:54] time there is you know a second component to that which is actually in my opinion as important

[00:21:59] is detoxing the body through certain supplements so you know especially like I said if you're able

[00:22:04] to predict it there's a couple of supplements we often use that will help to detox the gut detox

[00:22:10] deliver and can help to almost neutralize a lot of free radicals that are throughout the body

[00:22:17] that actually will shift the reaction your body has with inflammatory stimuli so so that is

[00:22:25] actually something that's a great point to bring up because if you and it's not something that

[00:22:29] everyone can do but if you can predict the that time of the year when it's most difficult then

[00:22:33] absolutely 100% I would definitely be starting to kind of ramp up your your regimen and also

[00:22:39] having some of your rescue supplements on board as well as considering you know a detox protocol

[00:22:44] and I know you would make it you at naked pet make um shampoos don't you?

[00:22:50] yeah so yeah we have six products right now one is a shampoo one is a conditioner slash deodorizer

[00:22:56] we have a natural insect repellent we have a natural itch relief spray a silver hydro salt

[00:23:06] spray which is an antimicrobial probably one of the best antimicrobials you can you can get on

[00:23:11] planet earth that's all natural and then a interjuvenator which is you know in humans akin to like an

[00:23:17] anti wrinkle or anti-aging cream but in reality it's an antioxidant cream so it's really great for

[00:23:22] kind of the last component I mentioned a bit prior where we are seeing some scarring or seeing some

[00:23:27] excurations or scratching that they're getting that's the one I use for those situations so

[00:23:31] the reason I mention it is because some vets I know recommend washing their dogs if they do

[00:23:37] suffer from topical issues can we wash our dogs much to help with allergy?

[00:23:43] yeah so there's definitely a theory about that that bounces around that you know dogs can't be

[00:23:49] washed more than a couple of weeks at a time like every three to four weeks and that's true because

[00:23:55] and in the sense of the products that are commonly used for skin which are very harsh and have

[00:24:03] ingredients in them that would not be really safe to behave more than you know once every three to

[00:24:09] four weeks and so that theory does play out in my opinion is to be appropriate for those

[00:24:15] products and those are the only ones really that we've you know that veterinarians are using

[00:24:18] in the clinic and so but at the same time if we shift the idea of baiting them with something that

[00:24:25] is all natural that's not going to be heavily synthetic or harsh on the skin is not going to wipe

[00:24:31] out the microbiome that exists there is not going to dry it out excessively that theory does not

[00:24:38] actually make sense there and so the reason why I say that specifically is not only because of

[00:24:44] the products that we make it naked pet but one of the best things you can do for an animal that has

[00:24:48] severe environmental allergies is just called local irrigation so um washing them daily with just warm

[00:24:56] water to help reduce or remove the antigens that's on their skin that's between their toes that's

[00:25:00] in their ears or on their butts wherever they're itchy is a super helpful um practice that you

[00:25:07] can integrate into an animal's life that that has environmental allergies but when it comes to bathing

[00:25:12] specifically you know that theory again doesn't make sense when we're talking about products like a

[00:25:16] naked pet product because they are not going to have harsh chemicals that are going to dry out the

[00:25:21] skin reduce the microbiome cause um you know cause exacerbation to the the immune system that's

[00:25:29] existing there they're only gonna help it so in that sense when I have a pet parent come through

[00:25:34] naked pet through the holistic the telehealth side we do a lot of times have a detox plan that

[00:25:40] we have ready in case they do have a flare up well well um they three times for the first week two

[00:25:44] times for second week one time third week and then maybe we can get back to our two to three

[00:25:48] re-requederman yeah can you share any success stories that you've had through naked pet?

[00:25:53] oh yeah we've had we've had tons of them so you know it's not just allergies that we do and we do

[00:25:58] we have about seven or eight consults that we do right now we try to do like targeted stuff so it's

[00:26:02] not just like a free-for-all with any questions you have but at the same time not every pet has one

[00:26:08] you know has one problem at one time so um but for the most part I'd say you know we have

[00:26:12] we've had a few pet parents come through that did our holistic um puppy class they come through

[00:26:18] when their pets somewhere between eight and 12 weeks and I love a really love starting pets out

[00:26:23] right from the start in terms of getting them on holistic regimen so those have been really great

[00:26:27] I've been able to you know kind of follow with those those pets and those pet parents for several

[00:26:31] months now even even at a distance you know some of them some of them are across the country so

[00:26:35] you know I don't get to see them personally but even so it's been great to follow up with them and

[00:26:39] you know from what the pet parents report back they've had a lot of great success um on the dermatologics

[00:26:46] the allergy consult we've had you know probably the that's probably our most common one that we do

[00:26:51] um you know we've had a few pet parents get through the toughest times of the year very successfully

[00:26:58] and you know only if if at all have to use the farm circles they were relying on every single day

[00:27:04] only use them once or twice and that's just through one console um you know we've had a couple we've

[00:27:09] had a couple of um pet parents come through that have done our senior telehealth um console which

[00:27:15] is a time where I also love because I feel like a lot of people say oh my dog's old and you know

[00:27:20] they're just getting old they don't you know they're just gonna have to deal with this stuff and

[00:27:23] that's just part of getting old and I definitely did not subscribe to that theory I think that at

[00:27:27] any point you can kind of modify an animal's life to promote longevity and happiness as

[00:27:33] maximal as possible so um I've definitely had a few that I've been really successful there and then

[00:27:39] I actually have a few nurses that I work in hospitals you know when I'm traveling

[00:27:45] as a vet that have bought the products and I've been able to actually talk to them in person

[00:27:48] and so far everyone's actually really those the nurses are very they're very passionate about

[00:27:54] having naked pets so so far it's been going great you know I've had of course every you know

[00:27:57] I've had only we've had hundreds of hundreds and hundreds of sales and hundreds of consults I've

[00:28:02] had you know transparently about two or three pet parents that didn't really see an improvement so

[00:28:08] but um you know when we when we have that effect then you know obviously well at least for me

[00:28:13] I'm very driven to them you know regroup with them and you know we'll make a plan B that we can

[00:28:17] maybe modify again more so there's always options I feel like and sometimes it's almost like

[00:28:23] people feel helpless and there's nothing there's nothing else we can do and so you know at least

[00:28:28] for me I'm very driven to to refute that theory and and do the best possible because there's always

[00:28:33] we can always make a plan B and see if we need to. There must be so rewarding to see you know

[00:28:38] what impact these products that you created has had on dogs lives that's amazing and so for pet owners

[00:28:44] that want to maybe win conventional medicine and trial a more holistic approach some vets march not

[00:28:50] be open um to this idea where would you recommend that these owners start? Well you know and

[00:28:57] it's very difficult right because especially you know when I'm working through a telehealth

[00:29:02] position that you know the goal is to work with your vet as much as you can because in the end

[00:29:07] the veterinarian and you are the ones that have the legal relationship with your pet but at the same

[00:29:12] time even in that equation you're the one that's going to have the last kind of say with your pet's

[00:29:19] health because you technically are the owner so veterinarians are here to make recommendations in my

[00:29:25] opinion and the best recommendations they can with the knowledge that they have if you have knowledge

[00:29:32] of something different and whether you're a veterinarian is not yet at the same kind of education on

[00:29:38] that side as you are then you know it really is your power to take your pet's health among this

[00:29:45] into your own hands and that doesn't mean that you know you have to completely leave that that

[00:29:50] behind and change vets etc but an open conversation about why you're trying this stuff and why you would

[00:29:56] prefer to try this at least you know initially and then if it doesn't work then we can come back

[00:30:00] to some type of plan B that maybe the vet has presented to you then that's important it's just

[00:30:05] important about having a calm open engaged conversation and you know same as if you would want to

[00:30:10] have with your doctor right no different like if you know they want to put you on a medication you're

[00:30:14] like I really would try I'd really like to try this first if it doesn't work then I'm happy to

[00:30:18] consider that it's the same with your pets veterinarian it's you know just about raining calm

[00:30:22] because you know raining remaining calm is a super important component of that and then you know

[00:30:27] just being open with them about why you're wanting to try this and you know and and being open to

[00:30:32] that if it doesn't work then you know I'm happy to consider your plan as well yeah and I guess

[00:30:37] it doesn't hurt to to maybe go find a holistic vet and get a second opinion um and get support that way

[00:30:44] that would be ideal right it's hard to find a lot of them you know honestly we're not it's not a very

[00:30:48] big population at present but if you can then then at the same time as well you can have more than one

[00:30:53] veterinarian you know for your pet so you know if each one provides value then absolutely that's

[00:30:58] a that's a good point to bring up you you can find a holistic vet hopefully that maybe helps with

[00:31:03] that whether it's in person or if it is you know through through virtual means yeah yeah um so

[00:31:08] then what's your number one tip if the pet parents to take away from this episode today what would

[00:31:13] you recommend well my one recommendation would definitely be that in an age where more and more pets

[00:31:19] are starting to experience immune dysregulation a variety of ways and most common of it being

[00:31:25] a a dermatologic symptomatic finding or pattern that we're seeing with these pets then no different

[00:31:32] to your eye as humans who have a maintenance heron skin care regimen I do believe that in this day

[00:31:38] and age that we do need to start having that for pets as well and you know and that that maintenance

[00:31:43] regimen should be as holistic and all natural as possible so that it allows for opportunities in the

[00:31:49] in the future if there are a need for additional therapies that you can include them but starting

[00:31:55] off holistically is definitely important and understanding that of maintenance regimen therapy

[00:31:59] for pets is not some crazy idea it actually my opinion is vital to maintaining their health

[00:32:05] amount of today lovely thank you so much for joining us today do you know if our pet parents

[00:32:15] do want to find you where can they find you yeah absolutely so obviously you know Nika Pat has

[00:32:22] a website so it's you know nyk ed pet dot com so there is why in there we made a little special

[00:32:30] and so Nika Pat is you know pretty much where we can find all the stuff that I've been talking about

[00:32:34] you know for the last half hour or so and you know I'm pretty active on social media with

[00:32:40] doing a lot of collaborations such as this so my you know an Instagram you can you can find me on

[00:32:46] Facebook you can find me and at the same time on on naked pets website as well as on naked pets

[00:32:54] social media platforms we I do also have a link tree that you can find not only things that I

[00:33:02] personally formulate but other companies that I have personally interviewed and looked up their

[00:33:08] certificate of this analyses etc and that I've created this little what I call as our preferred

[00:33:13] partner circle that is also a great way to also find other products that I do believe pet parents

[00:33:18] can trust when they are looking for to put together a holistic regimen for their pets lovely

[00:33:23] that's great and we'll put some links in the show notes so our listeners can find you pretty easy

[00:33:28] and I did take a quick look at your Instagram I noticed you do quite a lot of live videos so lots

[00:33:32] of educational content there that our followers can dig in and listen on to lovely thanks so much

[00:33:39] for joining me today Dr Zach is a pleasure to have you on yep absolutely seems you appreciated

[00:33:43] so much thanks and for our listeners um we needed to follow subscribe leave a review if you found

[00:33:48] something interesting this helps us to reach more pet owners who also might benefit from this

[00:33:53] information and I'm gonna see you next time