Heartworm medication is a slow-release insecticide!
Heartworm can only be transmitted by mosquito, so if you live in a climate where mosquitoes are inactive in the winter, you do not need heartworm protection during those winter months, no matter what your vet may recommend!
According to Dr. Pitcairn’s Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats, 65% of all drug reactions reported and 48% of all reported deaths caused by drug reactions were from heartworm preventative medicine.
Dr. Pitcairn’s recommendations for natural prevention of heartworm:
“Feed a completely natural, preferably organic,
raw food diet fortified with raw garlic and liberal amounts of yeast.
Keep your dog indoors in the evenings and at night.
Use a natural insect repellant when outside.
Keep in mind that well-nourished animals will have their own
natural resistance to fleas, ticks and mosquitoes,” as Dr. Pitcairn further explains:
“..wild animals are quite resistant to the parasite. That is, they get very light infestations and then become immune. Another factor is that an estimated 25 to 50% of dogs in high-heartworm areas become immune to the microfilaria after being infested and cannot pass heartworms to other dogs via mosquitoes. Finally, after being infested by a few heartworms, most dogs do not get more of them, even though they are continually bitten by mosquitoes carrying the parasite. In other words, they are able to limit the extent of infestation.”
“All this points to the importance of the health and resistance mounted by the dog itself. If we care for our pets so as to maximize their health, their resistance to parasites and disease will be much higher.”
“Wild animals like coyotes thrive in the very same conditions, even without preventive drugs. The major difference is lifestyle - fresh, raw foods, plenty of exercise, no drugs, and no toxic flea products.”
The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care tells us:
“Heartworms thrive in America’s canine population because our dogs’ depleted health makes them good hosts. However, if your dog sleeps indoors or on a screened porch during mosquito season, does not take prescription drugs or receive annual vaccinations, eats a well-balanced, raw diet supplemented with vermifuge herbs (which repel insects as well as internal parasites) and wears natural insect repellents outdoors, he or she is at low risk even if you live in a area with a high incidence of heartworm disease. In North America, the highest rates of infection are in the southeastern Atlantic and Gulf Coast states.”
“Natural heartworm prevention consists of two parts: (1) protecting your dog with nutrition and vermifuge herbs on the inside so the heartworms that enter her bloodstream can’t thrive, and (2) repelling mosquitoes on the outside so the dog isn’t infected in the first place. All of the strategies described for the prevention of internal parasites are appropriate for dogs who live in heartworm areas, especially the use of black walnut hulls and wormwood.”
And from The Nature of Animal Healing (Martin Goldstein, D.V.M):
“Only a small percentage of dogs who get heartworm die of it, especially if they’re routinely tested twice yearly for early detection. Even in untreated dogs, after a period of uncomfortable symptoms, the adult worms die. The microfilaria do NOT grow into adult worms on their own. To reach the next stage in their life cycle, they have to be sucked back out of the body by another mosquito, and go through the other stages of their maturation process within the mosquito. Only when that mosquito alights again on a dog and bites it can the microfilaria reenter the bloodstream with the ability to grow into adults. The chances of a microfilaria-infected mosquito biting your dog the first time are slim. Of it happening to the same dog twice? Very slim. And after two decades of pervasive administration of heartworm pills in the U.S., the chances of your dog contracting heartworm in most parts of this country even a first time are slimmer still. Early in my career, I saw and treated hundreds of cases of heartworm disease, most with routine medication, yet witnessed only three deaths (the last was in 1979). By comparison, we’re seeing cancer kill dogs on a daily basis. To my mind, the likelihood that toxicity from heartworm pills is contributing to the tremendous amount of immune suppression now occurring, especially in the cases of liver disease and cancer, is far greater and more immediate than the threat of the disease they’re meant to prevent.”
Products to consider instead of traditional heartworm meds: The Anibio Tic Clip, Only Natural Pet HW Protect (herbal preventative - vermifuge herbs), Only Natural Pet Herbal Defense Spray and Shampoo (essential oil base repellants). All available at www.onlynaturalpet.com. I’m sure there are other products out there. These are the ones I am most familiar with, and that I know to be effective.
February 20th, 2009
Give your companion pureed raw fruits, nuts, greens and vegetables, such as:
spinach celery carrots apples bananas blueberries and other berries broccoli kale lettuce dates figs green beans beets zucchini cucumbers parsnips sweet peppers peas sweet potatoes sprouts wheat grass. herbs such as burdock dandelion nettle, mangos watermelon cantaloupe peaches plums figs dates apricots, raw nuts such as walnuts and almonds
AVOID ONIONS GRAPES RAISINS CHOCOLATE CITRUS
ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS are essential! For joint health, brain development, and skin and coat nourishment, essential fatty acids also carry toxins out of the body.
* Every single day!
* It’s good to rotate oils.
Only Natural Pet Pure Icelandic Salmon Oil - or other fish oil blend, such as Ultra Oil Skin & Coat Supplement with Hempseed Oil
Wonderful!
1 tsp per 20 lbs of body weight/day
GREENS are loaded with enzymes, vitamins, and minerals! They make food they are added to more nutritious and digestible, and are very cleansing and, thus, healing.
Excellent for all dogs and cats, and especially those that are healing or out of balance:
Animal Essentials Organic Green Alternative or Dr. Harvey’s MultiVitamin, Mineral & Herbal Supplement (my personal favorite - fantastic ingredients!)
Or fresh, pureed greens!
Watch your dog or cat glow!
Rotate the greens you use!
DIGESTIVE ENZYMES make food much more bio-available, and assist the pancreas in the digestive process.
In the wild, canines and felines would eat raw, enzyme-rich foods, never having to divert their own healing enzymes for digestion.
Since our canine and feline companions eat cooked and processed food in our
human society, it’s only fair to replenish these important nutrients every single day:
Animal Essentials Plant Enzymes & Probiotics or Prozyme
Enzymes - not just for digestion!
Enzymes create cellular repair!
Since your companion has a short, acidic digestive system,
doesn’t it make sense to feed wholesome, nutrient-rich food?
When you think about the last meal you prepared for your beloved companion…
Was it packed with nutrients and whole, fresh ingredients?
Or was it dry food from a bag?
What kind of food will your companion eat the next time?
You decide.
You can CREATE HEALTH for your dog or cat!
June 21st, 2008
Observe your dog both while she eats, and immediately following the meal. Does she enjoy his food and chew it well? Does she eat every bite and lick the bowl?
Afterwards, take notice!
Does she rub her face on the carpet or chew her paws?
Does she have runny eyes or nose, vomit or otherwise exhibit distress?
If you observe face rubbing, paw licking or other forms of distress or imbalance immediately following a meal, then the food you are feeding is not working! These are signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction, and you need to change the food you are feeding immediately.
My dogs do not itch! They are comfortable in their bodies. My friends and co-workers all have dogs that do not itch or have chronic ear infections! A dog or cat that is well-nourished and balanced does not itch, scratch, or otherwise show discomfort after eating.
Yet, as a nutritional consultant, I talk with people every week whose dogs or cats have been chronically itching, scratching and living in misery for their entire lives!
THIS IS COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY AND EASY TO RESOLVE!
We simply need to supply the appropriate foods!
IT’S THAT SIMPLE!
We treat our animals the way most of us treat ourselves.
* Processed food for every meal
* Drugs to treat our symptoms when illness inevitably strikes
* More drugs if those don’t work!
* We turn all responsibility for our health over to a medical professional who prescribes food from a bag.
Dogs and cats are not people! Most of the time they do not need prescription drugs to resolve their imbalances. Almost all canine and feline imbalances can be resolved with the proper nutrition. It’s true!
Please, please, please if your dog or cat is itching constantly, or in any distress of discomfort due to food, do not continue to switch from one dry food to another . Some dogs and cats simply cannot digest dry food! Nor should they have to! Please nourish your companions and switch to a diet of meat, vegetables, and greens!
Thanks!
May 23rd, 2008
My Rant for today:
DRY FOOD ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH!
IT’S OK TO FEED SOME GOOD QUALITY DRY FOOD,
AS LONG AS YOU ENHANCE THE FOOD.
BY NATURE, DRY FOOD IS DIFFICULT TO DIGEST AT BEST.
NO ENZYMES, NO LIFE. BUT DOGS AND CATS DO LIKE IT.
AND I BELIEVE IT DOES HAVE NUTRITIONAL VALUE.
BUT CONSIDER THIS…..
THERE ARE TWO BOWLS OF FOOD
ONE IS FILLED WITH CHUNKS OF CHICKEN, A RAW EGG,
PUREED RAW CARROTS, CHOPPED APPLE AND SOME ALFALFA SPROUTS.
THE OTHER IS FILLED WITH DRY FOOD.
WHICH BOWL OF FOOD WOULD YOU SELECT
TO NOURISH AND REJUVENATE YOUR COMPANION?
WHICH BOWL WOULD BRING MORE JOY?
A BALANCED COMPANION
IS COMFORTABLE IN HIS OWN BODY.
VERY, VERY COMFORTABLE.
A BALANCED ANIMAL MOVES JOYFULLY, SLEEPS DEEPLY
A BALANCED ANIMAL AGES GRACEFULLY, WITH COMFORT
MAYBE A LITTLE SLOWER, BUT STILL BALANCED
PLEASE NOURISH YOUR COMPANION,
ESPECIALLY AN AGING DOG OR CAT.
BLESS EVERY BOWL OF FOOD YOU SERVE.
May 15th, 2008
I’m so excited to welcome you to my blog about creating health for ourselves and our animal companions!
May 13th, 2008
