NATURAL PET CARE BLOG

How to Rebuild Your Dog's Gut Health After Antibiotics

gut health Sep 01, 2026

Key takeaways

Antibiotics clear out harmful bacteria, but they take beneficial bacteria down with them. That imbalance is called dysbiosis.
After antibiotics, dogs can develop loose stool, vomiting bile, gas, itchy skin, or a recurring infection.
A full gut rebuild covers four areas: repopulating good bacteria, healing the gut lining, feeding the microbiome, and supporting immune function.
Full recovery usually takes anywhere from a few weeks to a few months of consistent support.

A dog who just finished antibiotics and is now dealing with loose stool, gas, itchy skin, or a new infection is showing a pattern that holistic veterinarian Dr. Katie Woodley sees constantly in practice. Antibiotics can be lifesaving, but they also reshape the bacterial population living in a dog's gut. The gut can recover fully. It just needs the right support to get there.

Why antibiotics disrupt the gut microbiome

Antibiotics are necessary for serious infections, and Dr. Katie prescribe

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HPP Raw Pet Food Safety: Myths, Science, and Brands

pet nutrition Aug 28, 2026

By Dr. Katie Woodley, integrative veterinarian and founder of The Natural Pet Doctor

High-Pressure Processing, or HPP, is a nonthermal food-safety process that uses intense pressure to reduce pathogens without cooking raw pet food. A common commercial protocol uses approximately 87,000 PSI, although the exact pressure and treatment time vary by manufacturer and recipe.

When properly validated, HPP can achieve a 5-log reduction in targeted organisms such as Salmonella, pathogenic E. coli, and Listeria monocytogenes. It generally preserves overall nutrient composition, but it can affect enzyme activity, bacteria, texture, color, and protein structure.

Key Takeaways

What is HPP? A nonthermal safety process that uses intense pressure. Some raw-food manufacturers use approximately 87,000 PSI for three to four minutes to achieve a 5-log reduction in pathogen load.

Is HPP food still raw? HPP does not use sustained external cooking heat, so the food remains uncooked and is generally
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Why Does My Dog Keep Having Diarrhea? Causes, Gut Testing & What to Do Next

gut health Aug 21, 2026

Written by Dr. Katie Woodley, Holistic Veterinarian and Founder of The Natural Pet Doctor

If your dog keeps having diarrhea that improves and then comes back again, there's an important question to ask:

Why does my dog's gut keep becoming inflamed?

Recurring diarrhea in dogs can be associated with intestinal parasites such as Giardia, changes in the gut microbiome, food-responsive disease, digestive dysfunction, chronic enteropathy, intestinal inflammation, stress, and other gastrointestinal or systemic conditions.

And if your dog is also experiencing mucus or blood in the stool, vomiting, appetite changes, or weight loss, I don't want to simply keep reaching for another probiotic or changing foods without understanding why these symptoms are happening.

As a holistic veterinarian who has spent years working with dogs and cats with chronic gut problems, my approach is to gather information first and then use that information to determine what the individual pet's gastrointesti

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How to Make a Dried Herb Garden for Cats: A Holistic Vet’s Guide to Herbal Self-Selection

cat health Aug 14, 2026

What if, instead of trying to hide one more supplement in your cat’s food, you gave your cat a few organic dried herbs to explore—and let them choose what they wanted?

Written by Dr. Katie Woodley, BVSc, cVMA, GDVCHM, CVNN

Quick answer

A cat herb garden is a collection of organic dried herbs placed in separate piles on a towel or blanket. Your cat can choose whether to sniff, rub against, roll in, rest beside, nibble, or walk away from each herb. It provides sensory enrichment and gives you a chance to observe which plants interest your cat that day.

This is different from a traditional garden. There is no soil, planting, or watering involved. Dr. Woodley recommends using about one tablespoon of each organic dried herb, leaving enough space between the piles for the cat to explore each one individually.

This practice is often connected with zoopharmacognosy, the study of how animals interact with substances found in nature in response to physical or emotional needs.

In...

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When Should You Run Functional Gut or Microbiome Testing for Your Pet?

gut health pet health test testing Aug 07, 2026

Written by Dr. Katie Woodley, BVSc, cVMA, GDVCHM, CVNN
Last updated: August 6, 2026

The Quick Answer

Functional medicine testing for pets may be helpful when a dog or cat has recurring digestive or skin symptoms, improves only temporarily with supplements, has a history of repeated antibiotic use, or has completed an initial veterinary workup but important questions remain.

Functional gut tests and microbiome tests can provide information about intestinal inflammation, digestive function, immune activity, intestinal barrier markers, and bacterial imbalances. However, these tests do not diagnose every disease and should not replace veterinary examinations, bloodwork, urinalysis, parasite screening, imaging, or emergency care.

If you have a cabinet full of half-used probiotics, digestive enzymes, herbal formulas, powders, and supplements—but you still do not know what your pet actually needs—it may be time to stop guessing.

One of the questions I receive most often is:

“How...

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Dog Gulping & Licking at Night? Hidden Acid Reflux Signs | The Natural Pet Doctor

gut health Jul 31, 2026

The Natural Pet Doctor | Written by Dr. Katie Woodley, DVM (holistic veterinarian)

Quick answer

If your dog keeps gulping, swallowing repeatedly, or licking their lips at night, it can be a quiet sign of acid reflux — even if your dog never actually vomits. Reflux happens when stomach contents move backward into the esophagus, and routine bloodwork usually looks completely normal because it isn’t designed to detect it. The key is to look for a pattern (hard swallowing, lip licking, floor or grass eating, nighttime pacing, gagging, or bringing up small amounts of fluid), track the timing around meals, and start with gentle foundations like smaller meals, a small bedtime snack, and soothing herbs such as slippery elm — while ruling out the red flags that need a vet right away.

Key takeaways

Reflux can be "silent." A dog may swallow, gulp, or lick instead of vomiting.
Normal bloodwork doesn’t rule it out. Routine panels don’t test for acid in the esophagus or gut motilit

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Why Your Dog’s Allergies Keep Coming Back (+ Natural Remedies That Actually Help)

allergies dog allergies May 18, 2026

If your dog has been itching for months — or years — and nothing seems to work long-term, this post is for you. You have probably tried switching proteins, done an elimination diet, tried the medicated shampoo, the prescription diet, the antihistamines. Things improve for a while — then the itching comes back. The ear infections return. The paw licking starts again.

This is not bad luck. And it is not because you are doing it wrong.

It is because chronic allergic disease in dogs is not a skin condition. It is a systems breakdown — driven by gut dysfunction, immune dysregulation, and barrier failure — and treating the skin without addressing these underlying drivers will always yield only temporary results.

In this post, I am going to walk you through the science behind why dog allergies keep coming back, the clinical framework I use to identify the root drivers in every chronic case, and the natural supplement protocol that addresses those drivers rather than just suppressing t...

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Cruciate Ligament Injury in Dogs: Natural Treatments Without Surgery

joint health peptide therapy pet health pet supplements senior dog May 08, 2026

If your dog was just diagnosed with a cruciate ligament injury, you are probably staring down a very expensive surgery recommendation and wondering whether you have any other options.

The short answer is yes. You do. But understanding those options requires understanding what cruciate ligament disease actually is, why it happens, and what the body needs to heal.

In this post (and in the video above), I'll walk you through what cruciate ligament disease really is, why the rupture is never the beginning of the problem, the nutritional deficiency most vets never test for, the exact natural protocol I used with my own dog Finn, and what I would add to that protocol today.

I'm Dr. Katie Woodley, holistic veterinarian and founder of The Natural Pet Doctor. I help pet parents stop chasing symptoms and start working on root causes — especially with chronic conditions that aren't improving. Joint disease is one of the areas where I see the most reactive thinking, but also where ...

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Dog Dementia Symptoms: The Real Cause of Cognitive Decline (and What Actually Helps)

dog dementia Apr 24, 2026

Is your older dog pacing at night… standing and staring at walls… or getting stuck in corners like they've forgotten where they are? Maybe they're suddenly more anxious or clingy — or they've started having accidents in the house again. A lot of people are told, "That's just aging." But for many dogs, it's actually cognitive dysfunction syndrome — the canine version of dementia — and it often starts years before anyone says the word.

In this post (and in the video above), I'm going to walk you through the 4 hidden root drivers inside the body that quietly change the brain over time — and then share the specific foods, supplements, and testing that can help your dog feel more present and settled again.

I'm Dr. Katie Woodley, holistic veterinarian and founder of The Natural Pet Doctor. I help pet parents stop chasing symptoms and start working on root causes — especially with gut health, skin issues, and chronic conditions that just aren't improving. Cognitive decline is on...

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IBD and Bile Vomiting in Dogs and Cats: Root Causes, Testing & Natural Treatment Plan

gut health Feb 13, 2026

When Nothing Is Working for Your Dog or Cat’s Gut

A holistic roadmap for IBD in dogs, chronic vomiting, bile vomiting, reflux, gallbladder sludge, and mystery gut issues — with testing + supplement dosing by weight.

If you’re here because your pet’s symptoms keep cycling and you feel exhausted, worried, and stuck — you are not alone. This guide is designed to give you a clear starting place without overwhelming you.

Quick symptom checklist: this guide is especially helpful if your pet has…

Bile vomiting (yellow foam), especially mornings/empty stomach
Acid reflux, lip-licking, gulping, regurgitation, eating grass
Chronic diarrhea, soft stool, mucus, or recurring IBD flares (dogs)
Greasy stool, gas, bloating, “food just isn’t digesting well”
Gallbladder sludge or suspected bile flow issues
Itching + GI symptoms together (often linked through inflammation + microbiome imbalance)
Your pet flares when you try probiotics or new supplements

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