The Holistic Approach

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helsonwheels

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helsonwheels

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We get ask a lot of questions on what food to feed my new puppy, vaccines, ticks, fleas, deworming or how much of a little workout should my pup get.... this link sums it well on how to raise a pup.....

5 Tips For Raising A Puppy
 

Vikinggirl

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For Dogs








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Allergies affect lots and lots of dogs. Just try googling ā€œdog allergiesā€ and youā€™ll get over 20 million results.
It can be really disheartening trying to solve your dogā€™s allergies. You can spend many months working with your holistic vet to get to the bottom of whatā€™s causing the allergies and then finding a way to eliminate them.
Whether your dogā€™s allergies appear in the form of itchy skin, ears or feet, or digestive problems like chronic diarrhea, allergy symptoms can make life miserable for both your dog and you.
Needless to say, pharmaceutical companies have come up with quite a few ways to medicate dog allergies. But you should think twice before using any of these drugs.
Why Avoid Conventional Treatments


Allergy symptoms are the result of an improper immune response, so conventional treatments usually involve drugs to suppress your dogā€™s immune function.
These can include steroids as well as anti-allergy drugs like Atopica or Apoquel. These are highly risky drugs that may reduce your dogā€™s allergy symptoms (sometimes only temporarily) ā€¦ but because they suppress your dogā€™s immune response, they can also increase his susceptibility to serious life-threatening diseases like cancer.
Holistic veterinarian Deva Khalsa VMD describes how these drugs work in her articles on Atopica and Apoquel. Be sure to read these articles before you consider using either of these drugs for your dog.
Conventional veterinarians also like to recommend expensive prescription dog foods for allergies. But according to veterinarian Meg Smart DVM PhD, these diets usually contain a lot of dubious ingredients.
One of these is hydrolyzed protein, another name for MSG (monosodium glutamate), which can cause brain damage. Hydrolyzed proteins have not been effective in fighting allergies in clinical trials, and have caused some dogsā€™ skin symptoms to worsen.

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Hypoallergenic prescription foods are also very starchy, making them likely to aggravate allergies; they use low quality oils that easily become rancid; and they contain fillers like powdered cellulose ā€” which is basically sawdust.
Dr Smart recommends preparing your own dog food so you know exactly whatā€™s in it.
So, if you donā€™t want to use suppressive drugs that may provide temporary relief but donā€™t really ā€œcureā€ anything, or feed expensive but poor quality prescription diets, what can you do to relieve your dogā€™s allergy symptoms?
Fortunately there are many natural solutions that can help. Here are some easy and effective allergy-relieving fixes for your dog.
Top 10 Allergy Fixes For Dogs

This listā€™s divided into two categories: first, foods and herbs to help relieve your dogā€™s overall allergy symptoms, and second, some topical fixes for itchy skin ā€” things you probably already have in your kitchen or bathroom cabinet.
# 1 Colostrum

Colostrum is naturally found in all mammalian motherā€™s milk. It plays a vital role in developing a newbornā€™s immune system and protecting him against disease.
But it turns out that bovine colostrum (extracted from cowā€™s milk) in supplement form can be very beneficial to adults as well. And one of the things colostrum can do is help with allergies.
DIYiItchySkinRemedies-Quote-1-285x300.jpg
Colostrum contains an ingredient called praline-rich polypeptide (PRP) that research shows can help eliminate or improve allergy symptoms. It does this by helping to control an overactive immune system that causes allergic reactions.
Itā€™s believed that PRP can also inhibit lymphocyte (white blood cell) and T-cell overproduction thatā€™s common in allergic reactions. PRP may also help create special cells (helper T-cells and suppressor T-cells) that suppress and switch off the immune response. PRP is also anti-inflammatory and can reduce histamine that triggers allergic reactions.
Bovine colostrum also provides your dog with antibodies to common allergens. These antibodies are built up over time in the cows as they themselves respond to the same allergens. When a dog takes a colostrum supplement, he takes in the antibodies contained in the colostrum and theyā€™re then available in his body to respond to allergens.
Giving Colostrum

Colostrum comes in powdered or capsule form. Itā€™s most effective when given on an empty stomach, but you can also use a little yogurt or broth. Use it for a month to start, then give as needed after that.



  • 1/3 tsp powdered colostrum per 25 lbs of body weight, twice a day

Or


  • Small dogs 1 capsule twice daily
  • Medium to large dogs: 2 capsules twice daily.



Read more about how colostrum can help your dogā€™s allergies.

# 2 Quercetin

Quercetin is a flavonoid (a group of phytonutrients found in fruits and vegetables) that has antioxidant, antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties. Itā€™s been called Natureā€™s Benadryl for its ability to turn off histamine production and help manage inflammation and itching.
Histamines are chemicals that cause allergic reactions, and research has shown that quercetin prevents immune cells from releasing histamines. This means that quercetin can help reduce allergy symptoms.
Quercetin is contained in foods like green tea, broccoli, and apples so feeding these foods can be helpful. However, to really tackle allergies itā€™s best to give your dog quercetin in a more concentrated form, as a supplement.
Giving Quercetin

Quercetin supplements come in pill and capsule form. Quercetin supplements often come with bromelain, an enzyme that inreases the bioavailability of quercetin, making it more effective.
Quercetin is best given on an empty stomach. The recommended dose is 8 milligrams for every pound of your dogā€™s weight.


  • So for a 20 lb dog, youā€™d give 160 mg
  • Or for a 50 lb dog, 400 mg

Read more about quercetin.
# 3 Sprouted Seeds

The immune system starts in the gut so balancing gut bacteria is essential to help control our dogā€™s allergies. You can do this by giving prebiotic and probiotic foods.
Holistic veterinarian Dr Jodie Gruensternā€™s favorite way to do this is to give your dog sprouted seeds to protect against allergies.
Sprouted seeds contain highly bioavailable vitamins, minerals, enzymes and probiotics that support a dogā€™s healthy gut flora. The nutritional value of sprouted seeds is far greater than that of the unsprouted seed and the nutrients are more easily absorbed by the body.
Carnivores forage and we often see dogs eating grass. Itā€™s possible they intuitively know the value of eating the amazing nutrition contained in freshly sprouting seeds.
Sprouted seeds can provide the same probiotics and prebiotics a dogwould eat while foraging in nature, to benefit his own individual gut bacteria.
Feeding Sprouted Seeds

Well, let your dog eat grass when he wants to, of course! (Just make sure it hasnā€™t been sprayed with pesticides or herbicides).
But you can also buy sprouted seed toppers to sprinkle on your dogā€™s food.
Start out gradually and work up to 1 Tbsp per 10 lbs of body weight per day.
# 4 Nettles

Many herbalists recommend nettles to help manage your dogā€™s allergies and Dr Gruenstern uses them in her practice too.
In their book Herbs for Pets, Gregory Tilford and Mary Wulff explain that nettlesā€™ effectiveness against allergies may be due to their histamine content. They suggest that the effect is similar to the ā€œlike cures likeā€ concept in homeopathy: the plant stimulates the body to protect itself from an attack of allergens.
Nettles also contain quercetin (see # 2 above) which boosts nettlesā€™ anti-allergy effects.
Feeding Nettles

If theyā€™re growing nearby, you can pick nettles yourself but wear sturdy gloves because they sting! You can dry the herbs, or make nettle leaf tea, or, as herbalist Rita Hogan recommends, sautĆ© fresh nettles in a pan with coconut oil until tender, and add to your dogā€™s food.
You can also use nettle tincture, giving 2 drops per 10 lbs of your dogā€™s body weight per day.
Dr Gruenstern also likes to use cooled nettle leaf tea topically for itchy skin or even as a rinse for itchy eyes.
# 5 Licorice

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This is another favorite of Dr Gruensternā€™s. In Eastern herbal formulations licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) is a harmonizer thatā€™s been used by Chinese and Ayurvedic formulators for allergy patients for thousands of years.
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), licorice tonifies the spleen, benefits the Qi, moistens the lung, stops coughing, clears heat, detoxifies Fire Poison (boils, sore throat) and soothes spasms. A study of one licorice constituent, glycyrrhizic acid, showed that it has an antitussive effect similar to codeine.
Licorice can also relieve inflammation in the upper digestive tract, increase the anti-inflammatory effect of glucocorticoids and helps eliminate mucus from the respiratory tract. Just what the doctor ordered for allergy sufferers!
Giving Licorice

Tilford and Wulff recommend consulting a practitioner because dosage varies widely depending on your dogā€™s condition. However they suggest starting with 12 to 20 drops per 20 lbs of body weight twice daily, using a low alcohol licorice extract, or if using a tea, triple that dose.
If you canā€™t get any sleep because your dogā€™s scratching his itchy skin all night, try some of Dr Deva Khalsaā€™s recommendations for topical fixes for itchy skin. Many of these things are probably already in your kitchen or bathroom cabinet.
# 6 Green Tea

Polyphenols in green tea have an anti-inflammatory and antihistamine effect that can help soothe your dogā€™s inflamed itchy skin.
Make a very strong brew, let it cool, then and apply it to the itchy areas for three to 10 minutes to soothe them. Save the rest of the brew in the refrigerator to use later. You can also wet a green tea bag and apply it to the skin, especially for hives or reddened areas.
# 7 Aloe Leaf

Keep an aloe plant in the house and you can use it for all sorts of skin ailments, from your own sunburns to your dogā€™s itchy skin. Or you can buy fresh aloe leaves at many grocery stores ā€” theyā€™ll keep for three days in the refrigerator.
The fresh gel contains enzymes that help heal itchy skin and decrease inflammation. These enzymes are only in the fresh plant and not in the bottled gel.
Slice the leaf open and apply the gel inside the leaf to itchy areas ā€” it will cool and calm the skin.
# 8 Baking Soda

Another common kitchen item, baking soda can work wonders in helping calm itchy or reddened, inflamed skin. These are both great recipes that you can use:
Baking Soda Paste



  • Mix 1 Tbsp of baking soda with a little water to make a paste.
  • Place it on itchy, reddened areas and leave it on for a few hours before washing it off.
  • This is very useful if your dog has itchy feet: place it between the toes or on top of the feet.
  • If it falls off onto your carpet, it wonā€™t do any harm ā€” just vacuum it up.

Baking Soda Spray



  • Mix 1 Tbsp baking soda with 8 oz water.
  • Put the mixture in a spray bottle and spray your dogā€™s skin as necessary.
  • Shake the mixture each time before using.

# 9 Witch Hazel

Witch hazel is high in tannins and can help reduce swelling and repair broken skin. Use organic witch hazel to soak a cotton ball and apply it to rashes or itchy areas a few times a day. You can also use witch hazel for itchy ears, and you can put some in a bowl and dip your dogā€™s feet in it if he has itchy paws.
# 10 Cabbage Leaf

This is an old time remedy to help remove heat and inflammation. Pound a cabbage leaf until the surface is broken and the juice oozes out. Hold the leaf on the inflamed area. The leaf will get warm as it draws the inflammation out. Remove after several minutes.
 
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helsonwheels

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I said it numerous times Iā€™m against any flea tick treatment we give our dogs. Yes I did give 2x advantage multi to Duke cause of losing hair issue but that sure stopped while back. I felt so guilty each time I was putting it on him. Hell with that I stopped. The holistic approach is 200% just as effective and it works!!!!

https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/toxins-flea-and-tick-treatments/
 

Mom of Tucker

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I appreciate the information you have shared. When Tucker was diagnosed with IMHA last month, the vet advised NOT to have him vaccinated, at least for a while. He indicated that perhaps he should only be vaccinated for Rabies. Fortunately he is not due for that for several months.

The rabies vaccine is a catch 22 situation for us though. Over a year ago, I lived in an apartment complex, and while walking Tucker on a leash, he bit a woman. (Long story) If he had not had a current rabies vaccine, they would have euthanized him. They insisted he be quarantined for 10 days, but I threw a big enough fit that they allowed me to "home quarantine" him. It was very traumatic, but I was thankful for having insurance and a current rabies vaccination.
 
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helsonwheels

helsonwheels

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I appreciate the information you have shared. When Tucker was diagnosed with IMHA last month, the vet advised NOT to have him vaccinated, at least for a while. He indicated that perhaps he should only be vaccinated for Rabies. Fortunately he is not due for that for several months.

The rabies vaccine is a catch 22 situation for us though. Over a year ago, I lived in an apartment complex, and while walking Tucker on a leash, he bit a woman. (Long story) If he had not had a current rabies vaccine, they would have euthanized him. They insisted he be quarantined for 10 days, but I threw a big enough fit that they allowed me to "home quarantine" him. It was very traumatic, but I was thankful for having insurance and a current rabies vaccination.

Depends where you live. For sure some states will be a law just like here in Canada only certain provinces will enforce it.
 

Mom of Tucker

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Depends where you live. For sure some states will be a law just like here in Canada only certain provinces will enforce it.

I live in Texas, so you can imagine, there is little leniency here.
 
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helsonwheels

helsonwheels

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I live in Texas, so you can imagine, there is little leniency here.

The way it works here in Canada they goes with how many rabies problems they have per year and the average of 5yrs. In Ontario itā€™s a law n in Alberta itā€™s not.
 

Mom of Tucker

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The way it works here in Canada they goes with how many rabies problems they have per year and the average of 5yrs. In Ontario itā€™s a law n in Alberta itā€™s not.

That makes the most sense, but I am sure it has to do with who is lining whose pocket.
 
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helsonwheels

helsonwheels

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helsonwheels

helsonwheels

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Sometimes Members ask me questions on natural products n I tell them the how n whats. Then it dawns on me....Go put the holistic links in here... like duhhhh me.... hereā€™s one on turmeric.

Turmeric For Dogs
 

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