This one started as a continuation after the main episode wrapped up.

Heather Gibson and Dr. Lily just kept talking, and what came next was more honest and more direct than anything in the main episode. They got into the coefficient of inbreeding, a term becoming a bigger deal in the breeding world that Dr. Lily had never heard before, and why Heather made the controversial decision to move from purebred to mixed breeding for the sake of dog health.

Then Heather asked Dr. Lily about microbiome testing, fecal transplants, and why vets are still using metronidazole as a first line dewormer for puppies. That part got Dr. Lily fired up.

Shorter, a little more raw, and very much a conversation between two people from different corners of pet care who both care deeply about getting this right.

KEY INSIGHTS: 

✨ The coefficient of inbreeding measures how genetically similar a puppy's parents are. Lower numbers mean more genetic diversity, which generally means better health, stronger immunity, and fewer inherited diseases. 

✨ Pedigrees alone cannot tell the full story. Two dogs from completely different lines, even different continents, can still be genetically too similar. Companies like Embark now calculate this before a breeding ever happens. 

✨ Many purebred dogs are already mixed breeds, just from centuries ago. Golden Retrievers were originally Irish Setters, Bloodhounds, a Tweed Spaniel, and reportedly a dog from the side of the road. 

✨ Heather moved from purebred to mixed breeding because she saw health issues she did not believe could be resolved without more genetic diversity. It is not anti-purebred. It is pro-health. 

✨ Asking a breeder whether they test for coefficient of inbreeding is one of the most important questions a pet parent can ask and most never think to. 

✨ Metronidazole is wildly overused as a first line dewormer for puppies. Some puppies arrive at eight weeks already having had three or four rounds, leaving their gut microbiome already depleted before they ever come home. 

✨ Giardia can be cleared naturally without antibiotics. Dr. Lily has done it and trained vets to do it successfully with microbiome testing before and after to prove it. It takes more work but builds a far more resilient gut. 

✨ Not every dog needs a fecal transplant. Some improve with diet changes and the right supplements. But choosing supplements without microbiome data first can sometimes make things worse. 

✨ Fecal microbiome restoration does not require sedation or invasive prep. At Dr. Lily's clinic it is a gentle one to two minute procedure. Animals go home exactly as they came in. 

✨ Research takes an average of 20 years to move from a journal into standard clinical practice. Our pets do not have 20 years to wait.

 ✨ Testing the mother's microbiome before breeding could be one of the most impactful things we do for puppy health since her microbiome becomes the puppy's starting point for life.

RESOURCES:

Big Hearted Breeders: https://www.bigheartedbreeders.com Instagram: @bigheartedbreeders

Facebook: @bigheartedbreeders

YouTube:@Bigheartedbreeders

AnimalBiome: https://www.animalbiome.com

AHVMA Vet Directory: https://www.ahvma.org

Magic of Microbiome Course for Vets: https://theunicorn.academy

FOLLOW:

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Threads: @integrativepet

TikTok: @integrativepet

Youtube: @integrativepet

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Dr. Lily Chen:

Instagram: @dr.lilychen @the.unicorn.vet

Threads: @the.unicorn.vet

LinkedIn: Lily Chen, DVM, CVA

Before that puppy ever comes home to you, before the first walk, the first vet visit, the first time they fall asleep in your lap, there are six to eight weeks happening behind the scenes that will shape their health, their temperament, and their resilience for the rest of their life.

Most pet parents have zero control over what happens during that window. And most never think to ask.

Heather Gibson is the founder of Big Hearted Breeders, a certified pet nutrition coach who has spent over 12 years raising dogs and cats with a holistic wellness first approach. Before she was a breeder, she was a foster parent for over a decade, caring for children with severe trauma. It was watching her foster children heal through their bond with animals that set her on this path.

We get into what early neurological stimulation actually is and why it matters, what health testing should happen before breeding ever begins, how to tell the difference between a breeder who truly cares and one who is running a business, and why the relationship between breeders and vets is so strained and what we can do about it.

KEY INSIGHTS:

✨ The first eight weeks of a puppy's life happen entirely without you. What a breeder does during that window shapes the immune system, nervous system, temperament, and resilience for life.

✨ Early neurological stimulation, developed by the military and sometimes called the Superdog program, is done from day six to day 17. Research shows it builds a more robust immune system and a nervous system better able to handle change.

✨ After those first two weeks, good breeders move into daily socialization, introducing new sounds, textures, smells, and obstacles so the puppy's brain builds the neural pathways that say new things are safe.

✨ Health testing on the parents is non-negotiable. Hips, elbows, patellas, heart, eyes, and a full genetic panel to screen for recessive genes that two healthy dogs can unknowingly both carry and pass on.

✨ Colostrum is a window that cannot be replicated. If a puppy misses those first hours of mother's milk, they start at an immune disadvantage that is very difficult to make up. Ask whether all puppies were latched and fed immediately after birth.

✨ Weaning straight from mother's milk to kibble is a harsh transition for a developing gut. Even partial introduction of fresh food during weaning sets up a stronger microbiome for life.

✨ Routine deworming with metronidazole every two weeks means some puppies have had three or four rounds of gut-clearing medication before they leave the breeder. Dr. Lily recommends testing before treating rather than automatic deworming protocols.

✨ Ask any breeder whether they offer lifetime support and whether they will take the dog back at any point if something happens to the family. That answer tells you who you are working with.

✨ A puppy at eight weeks can only be awake for about 30 minutes before needing a long rest. Overstimulation is one of the most common reasons new puppies seem out of control, and most families are never told this.

✨ The vet and breeder relationship does not have to be adversarial. They share the same goal. Building bridges between those two worlds is better for puppies and better for families.

Resources: Big Hearted Breeders: https://www.bigheartedbreeders.com

Instagram: @bigheartedbreeders

Facebook: @bigheartedbreeders

YouTube: @bigheartedbreeders

TikTok: @bigheartedbreeders

Pinterest: @bigheartedbreeders

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Dr. Lily Chen:

Instagram: @dr.lilychen @the.unicorn.vet

Threads: @the.unicorn.vet

LinkedIn: Lily Chen, DVM, CVA

Episode 100.

I almost cannot believe it. When this podcast started, I did not know if anyone would listen. I only knew there were options out there, real and powerful ones, that too many pet parents never get told about. So I made a place for those conversations.

Tonight was different. No guest, no script. Just a live recording with a room full of pet parents who have been on this journey with me, asking the real questions, sharing what they have lived through, and reminding me exactly why this exists.

We talked about fecal transplants for IBD and when to start tapering off antibiotics like tylosin. We talked about ozone therapy and what it actually does inside the gut. We talked about the Qest4 scan, stem cell therapy for heart disease, UVBI, reference ranges that shift over time, and why a dog's liver values being high for 15 years might just be that dog's normal.

And somewhere in the middle of all of it, I said something I have been wanting to say for a long time. I am a little tired of the fighting between conventional and holistic. I do both. I sit squarely in the middle. And it was never for us doctors to decide. It is for the families to decide, and they cannot decide if they do not know the options exist.

Here is to the next hundred.

KEY INSIGHTS:

✨ Diarrhea and heart failure are not directly connected. Heart failure causes fluid in the lungs or belly, not the intestines. But pets in heart failure may be more prone to gut issues because the body is already working so hard.

✨ Seasonal flares and stress are real allergy triggers. A dog can have their food sensitivities fully managed and still flare because of pollen, environmental shifts, or the anxiety of their person being away.

✨ Quercetin with bromelain stabilizes mast cells, one of the biggest drivers of allergic reactions. It works best as longer term support rather than an in-the-moment rescue.

✨ Metronidazole has been overused for diarrhea for decades. Research shows it can damage the microbiome and sometimes it does not recover. Fecal transplant is often a better first reach.

✨ When a pet is on multiple gut medications simultaneously, FMT will be less effective but still worth doing. The goal is to build enough stability to slowly taper, starting with the antibiotic.

✨ Ozone before fecal transplant is not about killing bad bacteria. It breaks up biofilm so the new transplant material has a better chance to take hold.

✨ Reference ranges shift over time and are based on a sample population. Trends over time matter far more than any single value.

✨ When kidney values are elevated on bloodwork, 70 to 80 percent of kidney function may already be gone. Watching trends within normal range gives you time to intervene before that point.

✨ The Qest4 bioenergetic scan can test supplement compatibility, showing whether a product is addressing root cause, addressing symptoms, or is not a match for that pet.

✨ Stem cell therapy using amnion has produced dramatic results in heart valve disease, including reversal in some patients. It works best when introduced early in the disease process.

✨ A 20 minute sniff walk provides mental stimulation equivalent to roughly one hour of physical exercise. Letting the dog lead the sniff rather than pulling them along is one of the most effective enrichment tools available.

✨ The microbiome can be imbalanced from puppyhood, often traced back through generations. Testing early, before symptoms appear, gives the most time and the most options.

FOLLOW:

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Dr. Lily Chen:

Instagram: @dr.lilychen @the.unicorn.vet

Threads: @the.unicorn.vet

LinkedIn: Lily Chen, DVM, CVA & The Unicorn Vet

A study landed on my desk a few weeks ago and I have not been able to stop thinking about it.

If you have a puppy, a young dog, or you know someone who does, this minisode is for you. It is about parvovirus, one of the scariest and most deadly diseases in young dogs, and a new study showing exactly what can be added to the standard of care to give puppies a better shot at survival, and at a fraction of the cost.

The study, a double blinded, placebo controlled trial out of Ohio State University, looked at fecal microbiota transplant, also called microbiome restoration therapy, added on top of standard hospitalization for parvo. Not instead of it. The results are hard to ignore, and so is the part of the story about cost, because for many families, cost is the difference between treating their dog and losing them.

I am sharing this now, before you ever need it, in the hope that you never do. But if you do, I want you to already know this exists.

KEY INSIGHTS:
✨ Parvovirus destroys the gut lining and wipes out the beneficial bacteria living there. That terrain, not just the virus itself, is largely why puppies crash so fast.
✨ Fecal microbiota transplant, FMT, works by reintroducing healthy, screened donor microbiome material into the sick puppy's gut to rebuild that destroyed terrain, rather than only fighting the virus directly.
✨ In the study, the treatment group received one rectal FMT infusion at admission plus two weeks of oral capsules, in addition to full standard hospital care. The placebo group received saline enemas and blended kibble capsules, also alongside full standard care.
✨ Puppies who received the real FMT recovered faster, had shorter hospital stays, and needed fewer medications. Shorter ICU stays alone can mean thousands of dollars in savings for a family.
✨ There were zero adverse events from the FMT treatment, even in puppies who were among the most immunocompromised patients a veterinarian will ever see.
✨ More than a third of the placebo group had to be pulled from the study early on ethical grounds because those puppies were deteriorating too quickly. None of the puppies receiving the real FMT were pulled from the study.
✨ FMT did not act as an antiviral. It did not reduce viral shedding or change the immune response to the virus directly. What it did was support the body's own ability to heal by restoring the gut terrain.
✨ The commercially available FMT material and oral capsules used in the study cost at most a few hundred dollars, a fraction of the cost of extended hospitalization, and is something any veterinarian can access today.
✨ The biggest barrier to wider adoption is not the science or the difficulty of the procedure. It is hesitancy around something newer to conventional practice, even with solid published data now behind it.
✨ Asking your vet whether they offer fecal transplant or microbiome medicine is one of the most powerful things a pet parent can do to help bring this option into more clinics.
✨ Building a strong, diverse gut microbiome before disease happens is the next layer of this conversation. Prevention and proactive gut health remain the long term goal.

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Dr. Lily Chen:
Instagram: @dr.lilychen @the.unicorn.vet
Threads: @the.unicorn.vet
LinkedIn: Lily Chen, DVM, CVA

No Script. No Filter. Detox with Oprah's Vet, Dr. Barbara Royal.

This episode is different from anything we have done before. No interview, no host and guest dynamic. What you are about to hear is two integrative veterinarians sitting down together, rolling up their sleeves, and workshopping the single most overwhelming topic in pet health right now. Detox.

Dr. Barbara Royal has over 30 years of integrative veterinary experience, is the founder of The Royal Treatment Veterinary Center in Chicago, and treats planet Earth as her largest patient. She and Dr. Lily go organ by organ, liver, kidneys, gut, skin, lymphatics, lungs, and the nervous system, naming the specific herbs, supplements, and products they each reach for.

They get into the hard stuff too. What to do after vaccines, how to think about flea and tick preventives, why some detox protocols make pets worse before they get better, and why year round chemical use rarely makes sense outside high risk regions.

This conversation became the foundation for two detox guides for pet parents, linked in the show notes below.

KEY INSIGHTS:

✨ Detox starts before the supplement. Real food, filtered water, daily movement, and a lower toxin home matter more than any product added on top.

✨ The liver does roughly 80% of the body's toxin processing. Milk thistle, dandelion, and turmeric are foundational, and mushrooms support liver function too, despite the myth that mushrooms are hard on the liver.

✨ Kidneys actually need more high quality, digestible protein, not less. Good protein turns on dormant kidney tubules and helps filtration.

✨ Probiotics should be rotated, not used the same way every day. Alternating two multi-strain probiotics through the week builds more diversity than sticking with one.

✨ Fiber is not one size fits all. Pumpkin and sweet potato add sugar along with fiber. Rotating chia, psyllium, and flax works better than relying on the same fiber daily.

✨ Fecal microbiome transplant is one of the most transformative tools in both doctors' practices. Banking a pet's own stool before antibiotics allows that same healthy microbiome to be restored afterward.

✨ Over bathing strips the skin's natural oil and microbiome barrier, often making skin problems worse. Spot bathing the affected area is usually better than washing the entire body. ✨ Chickpeas carry some of the highest glyphosate residue of any conventionally farmed ingredient. Many pet treats use chickpeas as a base.

✨ There is no flea, tick, or heartworm preventive approved for human use because all have been deemed too toxic. When chemical prevention is genuinely needed, use it only during the active season for your region, not year round.

✨ Detox should never be aggressive in a sick or fragile patient. A worse reaction is a sign to slow down, not push through. Cancer patients can crash if detox is mobilized too quickly.

✨ A 3 minute daily massage routine, spinal circles, full body strokes, and limb strokes toward the heart, supports lymph movement and costs nothing.

RESOURCES:

Barbara Royal, DVM, CVA, CVNN, FACVBM

The Royal Treatment Veterinary Center: https://www.royaltreatmentveterinarycenter.com

College of Integrative Veterinary Therapies: https://www.civtedu.org

Animal Diet Formulator: https://www.animaldietformulator.com

Book: The Royal Treatment: A Natural Approach to Wildly Healthy Pets

Instagram: @royalvet

📥 Free Guide: The Royal Unicorn's Whole-Pet Detox Guide

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Dr. Lily Chen:

Instagram: @dr.lilychen @the.unicorn.vet

Threads: @the.unicorn.vet

LinkedIn: Lily Chen, DVM, CVA & The Unicorn Vet

Who Is Really Behind the Pet Health Advice You Are Getting

Every piece of pet health advice reaching you through media, whether it is a food recommendation, a sponsored post, a TV segment, or a YouTube video, somebody paid for it to get to you. The question worth asking is whether it was paid for by someone who wants your pet to be healthy or someone who wants your money.

Lara Shannon is a certified dog behaviourist, pet food nutritionist, and host of Pooches at Play, now in its tenth season on Channel 10 in Australia. She also created Animal SOS Australia, documenting the mental health crisis inside the veterinary profession. Here is what stopped me. In Australia, Lara funds her own TV show and pays the network to air it. For ten years she has walked a line between keeping sponsors happy and keeping the message honest.

We talk about a kibble company that claimed on national TV their product fixes the gut microbiome, why Australia has zero pet food regulations, what Dr. Lily found when she tested kibble diets for toxins, the anxiety epidemic in pets on both sides of the Pacific, and a shelter crisis where 90% of animals are no longer being adopted.

This one is going to make you think differently about where your information is coming from.

KEY INSIGHTS:

✨ Every pet health recommendation you receive has a funding source behind it. That does not automatically make it wrong, but it is worth asking who paid for it and what outcome they want.

✨ Australia has zero pet food regulations. Companies are self-regulated and can make almost any health claim without evidence to back it up.

✨ A kibble brand ran a national TV ad claiming their product improves the gut microbiome while raw feeding companies had to fight through endless approvals to get basic claims through.

✨ Dr. Lily tested kibble-fed pets and found consistently high levels of glyphosate and mold toxins. A major pet food company responded that levels were within the acceptable range for people. Pets are not people.

✨ Adding fresh food to the bowl can change everything. Lara's friend had a fussy anxious dog with skin issues who never touched his kibble. One change and he inhaled it. Dr. Lily had the same experience with her own dog.

✨ Anxiety in pets is rising on both sides of the Pacific. Pets mirror our stress and nervous system. When we are rushing and anxious, our animals go up a level.

✨ Itchy skin and gut issues are connected to behavior. If a pet is uncomfortable, it shows up as anxiety and reactivity. Rule out the physical before addressing the behavioral.

✨ In Australia, 90% of shelter animals are currently not being adopted while surrenders keep rising due to cost of living. Shelters are over capacity.

✨ The veterinary profession has one of the highest rates of burnout and suicide of any profession. Lara advocates from outside the profession because sometimes that outside voice carries differently.

RESOURCES:

Lara Shannon: https://www.larashannon.com

Pooches at Play: https://www.poochesatplay.com

Instagram: @larashannon @poochesatplay

Linktree: @larashannon @poochesatplay

Books: Eat, Play, Love Your Dog and World of Dogs available in the US

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Dr. Lily Chen:

Instagram: @dr.lilychen @the.unicorn.vet

Threads: @the.unicorn.vet

LinkedIn: Lily Chen, DVM, CVA

What If Your Dog Could Live to 25 w/ Dr. Gary Richter

Your dog's cells are aging right now, and by the time you notice the stiffness, the slowing down, the gray around the muzzle, it has already been happening for years.

Dr. Gary Richter has spent over 25 years in integrative veterinary medicine asking what else is possible. He is the author of Longevity for Dogs and Longevity for Cats, founder of Ultimate Pet Nutrition, and right now he is building PetMetrics, a wearable biometric monitor for pets that works like an Apple Watch crossed with veterinary medicine.

This conversation goes places I did not expect. We start with the three things that matter more than any supplement or technology for your pet's longevity, and they are free. Then we get into what is available right now that most pet parents have never heard of: UC-II collagen, Adequan, plasmalogens, and peptides like BPC-157. And then Dr. Richter walks me through gene therapy research that can literally instruct aging cells to go backwards.

He said something that stuck with me. It is not at all out of the realm of possibility that pets living well over 20 is going to become the norm.

After this conversation, I believe him.

KEY INSIGHTS:

✨ The three most important things for your pet's longevity are diet, exercise, and lifestyle. They are free. No amount of stem cells, peptides, or gene therapy will overcome a body not getting the basics right.

✨ Most pets are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D even when eating a good diet. Test before supplementing, especially vitamin D as too much can cause kidney failure.

✨ UC-II collagen is significantly more effective than glucosamine and chondroitin for joint support, yet most pet parents and veterinarians have never heard of it.

✨ Adequan is one of the most underutilized tools in small animal medicine. Dr. Richter cannot keep it on the shelf. If your pet has arthritis, ask your vet about it.

✨ Plasmalogens are fatty acids that are an integral part of cell membranes and decline as pets age. Low levels are linked to organ failure, cognitive decline, and neuropathy.

✨ Peptides like BPC-157 are being used for gut support, tissue healing, muscle repair, and cognitive support. They are just beginning to enter mainstream veterinary medicine.

✨ PetMetrics is a wearable device in development that will monitor your pet's heart rate, respiration, sleep, and activity levels in real time, flagging problems before they become emergencies.

✨ Pets are hardwired to hide illness. By the time symptoms appear, a disease process has often been going on for far too long. Early detection changes everything.

✨ Yamanaka factors are a set of genes that can literally tell mature cells to go backwards in age. Researchers at Harvard are actively working on controlled applications for both animals and people.

✨ Aging is not magic. It is biology. If we can make it run faster through poor lifestyle choices, it stands to reason we can make it run slower through the right ones.

✨ Loyal's longevity drug targets insulin-like growth factor as a function of aging. Dr. Richter says if clinical trials show it is safe and effective, he will use it in his practice without hesitation.

📥 Download our free Longevity Guide with all the supplements and modalities mentioned in this episode.

RESOURCES:

Dr. Gary Richter:

Instagram @petvetexpert

Holistic Veterinary Care: https://www.holisticvetcare.com

Ultimate Pet Nutrition: https://www.ultimatepetnutrition.com

PetMetrics: https://www.petmetrics.com

Prodrome Sciences (plasmalogens): https://www.prodromesciences.com

FOLLOW:

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Dr. Lily Chen:

Instagram: @dr.lilychen @the.unicorn.vet

Threads: @the.unicorn.vet

LinkedIn: Lily Chen, DVM, CVA

Why a Good Probiotic Is Not Enough and What Your Dog Actually Needs for Real Gut Health w/ Billy Hoekman

If you have ever told your vet your dog is already on a good probiotic, this episode is going to make you think differently about that.

Billy Hoekman is back. He is Vice President of Nutrition and Communication at Green Juju, and he has been in pet nutrition for 15 years. The last time he was on the podcast, the probiotic line was still in development. Now it is out, the clinical research is done, and the results are worth talking about.

We get into why microbial diversity matters far more than finding the right probiotic strain, why the Amish kids Billy works with on farms in Pennsylvania do not have allergies, and what that tells us about our pets living in our clean modern homes. He also shares why every single one of the longest-lived dogs in recorded history had one thing in common.

And then there is the clinical research. Two months, 47 dogs, and results that honestly surprised even the lab. Gut inflammation normalized in 98% of the dogs. The body's ability to detoxify improved by 57% on average. And the symptom improvements showed up exactly where you would expect them in real life.

If your dog has allergies, skin issues, anxiety, or gut problems, this one is worth your full attention.

KEY INSIGHTS:

✨ A good probiotic is not a category. It is a principle. Your dog needs microbial diversity from food, fermented products, the environment, and supplements that reflect what nature actually provides.

✨ The Amish kids Billy works with on farms in Pennsylvania do not have allergies. They are barefoot all summer, swimming in ponds, surrounded by animals and soil. Constant microbial exposure is not a coincidence.

✨ Every one of the longest-lived dogs in recorded history slept outside. Our sanitized modern homes have removed something important from their lives.

✨ True health is resilience. If your dog is fine only on the exact right diet and supplements but falls apart the moment something changes, that is managed health, not true health.

✨ Green Juju's probiotics are grown from whole fermented foods: kombucha, wild fermented vegetables, and raw milk from an Amish farmer in Pennsylvania. The soil probiotic contains 500 plus naturally occurring species.

✨ Beta-glucuronidase, which measures how well the body detoxifies, dropped by an average of 57% in two months across 47 dogs.

✨ Calprotectin, the marker for gut inflammation, normalized in 98% of the dogs. Nine started with high inflammation. At the end, 45 out of 47 were in normal range.

✨ Symptom improvements tracked by size. Large dogs: panting and lethargy. Medium dogs: gas and diarrhea. Small dogs: anxiety and excessive licking. If your small dog seems anxious and licks constantly, that may be a gut issue.

✨ 44% of dogs showed a reduced immune response to gluten. When the gut heals, immune overreaction to many things starts to come down.

✨ Dr. Lily rotates her fecal microbiome restoration patients through Green Juju's Soil, Farm, and Leaf probiotics as part of her standard post-protocol.

✨ You can run your own case study. Order a gut health test from Innovative Pet Labs, start a probiotic, and retest in two months.

RESOURCES:

Green Juju: https://www.greenjuju.com

Instagram: @greenjujukitchen

Facebook: facebook.com/greenjujukitchen

Clinical Research:

email [email protected] or [email protected]

Innovative Pet Lab: https://www.innovativepetlab.com

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Dr. Lily Chen:

Instagram: @dr.lilychen @the.unicorn.vet

Threads: @the.unicorn.vet

LinkedIn: Lily Chen, DVA, CVA

Charlotte Speller spent 15 years as a dog behavior trainer before becoming a veterinary physiotherapist. And the thing that changed her path was something she kept seeing that nobody was talking about.

Dogs labeled as difficult, grumpy, or reactive who were actually in pain. Not a behavior problem. A body problem. Nobody had caught it yet.

That observation sent her into physiotherapy, where she now combines her understanding of animal behavior with hands-on physical rehabilitation. She works with post-surgical recovery, chronic arthritis, and dogs who have been told there is nothing more that can be done.

We talk about the subtle signs most pet parents miss, why your dog hesitating before jumping in the car might matter more than you think, how a tiny wince across her own dog's face turned out to be the first sign of osteosarcoma, and why she wants to make herself redundant by getting to dogs before there is ever a crisis to fix.

This is a conversation about prevention, about paying attention, and about what happens when we stop waiting for things to get bad before we ask for help.

KEY INSIGHTS:

✨ Dogs labeled as grumpy, reactive, or difficult are often in pain. Behavior changes can be the first and only sign that something is wrong physically.

✨ Watch for what has changed, not what is dramatic. Hesitating before jumping in the car, avoiding slippery floors, taking themselves off to a new spot to lie down, not wanting to be touched. These are the early signs.

✨ Noise sensitivity can be a pain signal. If a dog that was never bothered by loud sounds suddenly becomes anxious around noise, the body may be bracing because sudden movement hurts.

✨ Charlotte's dog Brutus showed one single wince when asked to jump into the van. That was the first sign of osteosarcoma. It is that subtle. Please do not feel guilty for missing things this small.

✨ A step that is six inches high is roughly the equivalent of a dachshund climbing pyramid steps. We never think about how our home environment is physically taxing on small dogs with every single trip up and down.

✨ Nobody ever taught our dogs how to move properly. They just fly up and down the stairs, jump off furniture, and we never think to build the strength and body awareness that would protect them.

✨ Physiotherapy offered as a last resort, after medications have stopped working, is heartbreaking. Charlotte describes getting dogs into her clinic who could have been helped years earlier if she had been part of the plan from the start.

✨ When the first anti-inflammatory is prescribed, that is the moment to also bring in physiotherapy. One manages symptoms. The other works on the root cause. They should always go together.

✨ Prevention is the goal. Charlotte said something that stayed with me: you go to the gym not because something is wrong, but because you want to stay healthy and functional. Why would we not think the same way about our dogs?

✨ Before your vet appointment, send a video. It gives your vet something to work with immediately instead of spending the whole visit trying to describe what you are seeing at home.

RESOURCES:

Charlotte Speller

Lead the Way Physio: https://leadthewayphysio.co.uk

Facebook: Lead the Way Physio and Behavior Training

Instagram: @leadthewayphysio

Email: [email protected]

FOLLOW:

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Dr. Lily Chen:

Instagram: @dr.lilychen @the.unicorn.vet

Threads: @the.unicorn.vet

LinkedIn: Lily Chen, DVM, CVA

Three big stories on my mind right now that I think every pet parent should know about.

Story one: Chewy just acquired Modern Animal, a tech-forward veterinary chain with 29 clinics. That means the same company selling your dog's food, supplements, and medications now also owns the vet clinics seeing your dog. Is that great news or scary news? Honestly, both.

Story two: Loyal is developing a longevity drug for senior dogs that promises to extend healthy life by about a year. The FDA cleared a major safety hurdle in January 2026. But here's the thing: we already know how to give most senior dogs more good time. Lean body weight, good nutrition, exercise, sleep, connection. These things are powerful. So why are we reaching for a pill?

Story three: New allergy drugs are hitting the market. NUMELVI and Zenrelia are JAK inhibitors that stop the itch sensation. But they don't fix the underlying immune issue. And one of them came with an FDA warning that dogs could die if vaccinated while on the drug.

I bring these up not to scare you, but to help you think critically about what's happening in pet care right now and what questions you should be asking.

KEY INSIGHTS:

✨ Chewy now owns 47 veterinary clinics after acquiring Modern Animal. That's a lot of vertical integration and a lot of incentive to recommend their own products.

✨ Ask your vet who owns the practice. You'd be surprised how many clinics that look independently owned are actually backed by corporate or private equity groups.

✨ Always keep a copy of your pet's medical records and lab results. It helps when you need care somewhere else or have multiple providers.

✨ Loyal's longevity drug LOY-002 targets age-related metabolic dysfunction in senior dogs 10+ years old and weighing at least 14 lbs. It cleared FDA safety approval in January 2026.

✨ We already know how to extend most dogs' lives by a year or more: lean body weight, good nutrition, exercise, sleep, and connection. A study from 22 years ago proved this.

✨ The goal can't just be more days. The goal is more good days and quality days.

✨ NUMELVI and Zenrelia are JAK inhibitors that stop the itch sensation in allergic dogs. They don't fix the underlying immune issue.

✨ Zenrelia came with an FDA warning: do not vaccinate dogs while on this drug. Pause the medication for 28 days to 3 months before vaccinating. Some dogs died after being vaccinated while on the drug.

✨ Allergy drugs buy you time to work on the root cause. They should not be relied on forever because chronic immune issues can lead to more serious problems like cancer later in life.

✨ Corporate consolidation in veterinary medicine has actually slowed in 2026, which makes the Chewy-Modern Animal deal one of the biggest recent moves.

FOLLOW:Integrative Pet Wellness Center: https://integrativepet.com

Instagram: @integrativepet

Dr. Lily Chen: @dr.lilychen @the.unicorn.vet

LinkedIn: Lily Chen DVM, CVA

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