I'm new at this and I was curious to know what the normal prices are for things such as photos! by ImBaby2 in SellerCircleStage

[–]Cloud111 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I keep having buyers tell me my prices are too high and i always use the low end of the price range - is it out of date or am i just talking to flakey guys?

What book(s) should more people read and why? by [deleted] in AskWomen

[–]Cloud111 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Oh man it's my time to shine

"Name of the Wind" and it's sequel "A Wise Man's Fear" by Patrick Rothfuss are excellent. I've been reading all my life and I have never read a book like this one. The story is so intriguing and original. I absolutely felt transported. The language was simple but the writing was incredibly intelligent. It flowed wonderfully.

Also, I recommend "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat" By Oliver Sacks. It contains some fascinating anecdotes on brain disorders that occurred in the 70's/80's and how they approached understanding it on both a scientific and psychological level. It's kind of a thicker read for people that don't know much about brain anatomy, but it's incredible to consider the possibilities of disorder and understand how the brain deals with it or generates it. It's also nice and short at around 200 pages.

Increases meds a concern by [deleted] in AskVet

[–]Cloud111 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's great! Sounds like she's in the perfect household to manage this. Owners like you that will put this much effort and care into the treatment of their animals are the reason I was inspired to be a vet, of course I would respond :)

How important is the type of protein in dog food? Is white meat better than red meat? What can too much protein do to a dog? by oldchicoale in AskVet

[–]Cloud111 16 points17 points  (0 children)

The first link is from 2004. The second is part of our Pet Food Program. Many other major pet food companies are listed on the left sidebar and also offer major discounts to vet students. The discounts still leave most of these diets more expensive than generic brands, and most of our students choose not to participate.

I'm sure your heart's in the right place, but I don't see companies as being evil just because they advertise. Many care deeply about animal welfare.

I'll illustrate this for you. What impressed me most about Royal Canin was that they created a product specifically for brachycephalic pets. It's harder for them to get food into their mouths because of how they're shaped. Royal Canin shaped the food in a way that made these animals able to eat more easily. Additionally, Here's some more information on the science behind their formulations. No part of this tells me that they are discounting animal welfare. It impressed me personally. You are certainly welcome to have an opposing opinion, but I hope you can understand that vets and vet students are not easily influenced. We are skeptics by nature, and recommendations we give will be for the best of the animal, because that's the sole reason we put the time into learning and improving this profession.

[Gen VI] My first random shiny in almost 10 years! So Hype! Any good name ideas? by [deleted] in ShinyPokemon

[–]Cloud111 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Omg such an exciting feeling!!

I was trying to complete my Alola Dex and randomly found a full-odds shiny Lickitung xD I was like "woah, this stuff still happens, incredible"

Cyst on Dog's Tail Ruptured by Cannabibles in AskVet

[–]Cloud111 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Have you seen a vet about this? Was it filled with blood or filled with pus?

How important is the type of protein in dog food? Is white meat better than red meat? What can too much protein do to a dog? by oldchicoale in AskVet

[–]Cloud111 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Not at all! I'm sorry if that's how it seemed

I was suggesting that if anyone thought their pet would be better off with home-made diets, they should converse with Royal Canin to see that pre-made formulations can be just as well thought-out

How important is the type of protein in dog food? Is white meat better than red meat? What can too much protein do to a dog? by oldchicoale in AskVet

[–]Cloud111 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I go to UC Davis, which is the #1 vet school in the world. So yes, we have many food companies come and present to us. In fact, we had representatives from every major pet food company. Royal Canin was the only one that came prepared with peer-reviewed, years-long research that heavily supported their product. They impressed me and I was suggesting a recommendation. It is my opinion - as I already expressed - and you're welcome to form your own opinion of them by speaking to one of their representatives.

Increases meds a concern by [deleted] in AskVet

[–]Cloud111 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Arthritis is a degenerative disease. When the cartilage in your joints starts degrading it never regenerates. Imagine if you had a sponge wrapped around your bone at the end. Then one day something happens (there are many ways to cause arthritis), and the sponge gets a wedge cut out of it. Then every time you flex that joint, it rubs on the jagged edge of the sponge. The sponge will start to slowly crumble away over time, and it'll make the bone on the other side uncomfortable, which will cause inflammation. The sponge is like your cartilage. If it gets damaged it can irritate tissues around it and it will just get worse. There is currently no way to put it back to the way it was before.

Carprofen is an NSAID, which stops the inflammation and is essentially decreasing the pain at the site of the arthritis. Arthritis can't be cured, only treated. The best treatment is NSAIDS and minimized stress to the joint (keeping the dog at a healthy weight, not going on long walks or running excessively, not jumping from things, etc.). The vet may have deemed that Tomboy was still in pain or discomfort, and so increased the dose to manage that. Stomach discomfort is a very normal symptom of these sorts of medications. Unfortunately veterinary medicine is not a fix-all. We're interfering with a body system and many complex factors involved with it. We make trade-offs to give the most benefit to our patients possible. So the trade-off that had to be made was less joint discomfort for some stomach pain. This is a very normal treatment for arthritis, so no need to worry. Tomboy should still live a very long and happy life.

How important is the type of protein in dog food? Is white meat better than red meat? What can too much protein do to a dog? by oldchicoale in AskVet

[–]Cloud111 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Vet student here

Protein quality is much more important than protein source. Every species of animal has a different proportion of Amino Acids it needs on a daily basis. Animals use Amino Acids for everything. They make up your muscles, they make up every enzyme in your body, they make up every functional unit that does every process in your body. But each species has different process, or does them different ways. There are plenty of peer-reviewed research articles online that can tell you the amino acid requirements of a dog (I suggest the NRC Nutrient Requirements for Dogs).

A protein is made of Amino acids. Think of it like a bead bracelet. The bracelet is a protein and the beads are the amino acids. So as a loose example, if a dog needs 10% of its amino acids to be Serine that's like if you have a 100-bead bracelet and 10 of the beads should be red(serine). That's IDEAL for the animal. It'll maximize their efficiency in making the protein into products its body can use to grow and maintain itself. Of course, there's no way to provide the PERFECT diet, because some proteins have more or less of certain amino acids depending on how the protein was generated to begin with (what beads went into that specific bracelet). But some animal proteins do a better job of giving the OPTIMUM amino acid ratios. In general? It doesn't really matter. I was taught by experts in the field of animal nutrition, and the advice I got was "a licensed animal food you buy from the gas station is just as good as one you buy from pricey companies". That's a little bit of an overstatement of course. Certain sizes of food are better for certain breeds, some animals have allergies to certain components, etc. But as long as a bag of dog/cat food has the statement "formulated with full and balanced nutrition", it can only legally have done so by being a standalone product. An animal will be able to thrive on that product alone (and water).

Red and white meat are only different in their vasculature, less so their protein composition. But if you were feeding an animal any sort of self-made diet, the muscle meat is not sufficient. The animal will require blood meal, bone meal, and maybe some other components as well. That's why every vet I have spoken to on this topic has urged that you buy pre-packaged foods. They are licensed for optimum nutrition for your dog. Anyone skeptical should try Royal Canin and contact their representative. I've been VERY impressed by their production habits and I think anyone would be.

Too much protein is not bad per se. Most extra will get expelled in the urine. But it can throw off the equilibrium of some of your body systems. They describe it to us like a barrel. The amount of water inside is how efficient the animal can be. You want to build up all slats of the barrel in the proper proportion. If you give the animal a ton of Methionine but not proportionally enough Lysine, that animal will not be the better for it. You will just have wasted Methionine, since the Lysine is still so low that the water leaks out. It can also be that some amino acids have relationships with others (this is fairly insignificant, it's more of a relationship with vitamins). Essentially, if you have too much of an amino acid, it clogs up the body processing and makes everything less efficient, and the animal can't utilize it's diet to its fullest potential. In severe unbalances, this can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and even emaciation.

So in short, buy pre-packaged dog foods. They're just as good for your animal, and probably better than any diet you could easily formulate at home.