My dog has allergies. Which remedy will help stop the itching? He eats a good quality dry food, but doesn't seem to like it. ANSWER: There are some wonderful remedies that can work wonders to stop chronic itching. Moducare by Thorne, Homeopet Skin and Itch Relief, Animals' Apawthecary Allergy & Detox Blend, to name a few. These are great formulas to give your dog relief while you are getting to the source of the allergy. Once you determine what is causing the itching and make changes, the allergy issue will resolve permanently and everyone will be happier. The first thing I recommend is to discontinue use of the dry food. While it may be considered a good quality food, this is very often the source of many skin and allergy issues, even though traditional veterinary approaches do not recognize it as such. The cause of this imbalance has to be something the dog is ingesting regularly. I talk with people every single day who are dealing with similar issues, and the base cause is almost always dry dog food - even the best dry food, because it's so difficult to digest completely. Here is some information from The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care:
“Most allergies in pets are caused by poor nutrition. Well-nourished animals don’t get allergies and animals that have them often get rid of them if they eat a well-balanced, natural, raw diet. This is not to say that the cure works quickly, for just as diet-related allergies are slow to develop, they are slow to reverse. … Cortisone and other drugs may mask or suppress allergic symptoms, but they don’t reverse them, and, over time, the condition of drug-treated animals usually deteriorates.”
“Even if your pet’s allergies seem unrelated to food, they are probably connected. Hot spots, skin eruptions, inflamed toes, anal itching, inflamed ears, lick granulomas, most digestive problems and several immune system disorders have their roots in diet. Because nutrition is such an important factor in treating allergies of all types, changing to a raw, natural diet is the single most important step you can take to improve your pet’s health. Once your pet is eating whole, natural foods, taking nutritional supplements and herbs that improve digestion and the activity of beneficial intestinal bacteria, drinking pure, uncontaminated water, dining from glass, ceramic or stainless steel dishes, getting the right kind of exercise, spending several hours per day exposed to natural light and enjoying a life of reduced stress, his or her allergic conditions should improve and gradually disappear. The other strategy most recommended by holistic veterinarians is the elimination of annual revaccinations.” So, to summarize, if your dog is not digesting his food completely, larger than normal particles get absorbed into the body, where the immune system interprets them as “invaders” or toxins, and creates inflammation – in the form of itching, paw licking, ear infections, IBD, bad breath, and other imbalances. Foods I recommend that are easy to prepare and super delicious and healing for dogs are: Sojos Complete - just add water and serve! Sojos Grain Free - add water and protein (meat, eggs, fish, yogurt) and serve. Allows for protein rotation. or home prepared food consisting of meat and vegetables. See Recipes and Product Review page for more info. WHAT ABOUT VACCINES? Are they really necessary? ANSWER: Most holistic veterinarians believe that one vaccine is adequate for the entire life of the animal. You can request a titer test from your veterinarian - this is a blood test that will determine whether your animal has active antibodies for the disease in question. If so, no vaccine is needed. Following is information not usually available to the general public: From Dr. Pitcairn's book: Vaccines are not 100% effective. Effectiveness is increased based on animal's health at the time of vaccine. Giving vaccines while animal is under anesthesia or ill is unwise! Even if vaccine takes, there are no guarantees that the disease will not occur. Vaccines may also cause acute disease or chronic health problems
Consider Before You Vaccinate 1. If you vaccinate with conventional vaccines, don't allow your vet to use anything but a killed vaccine (however, this option may not always be available). Modified live vaccines are considered the most dangerous by experts in immunology. They have the ability to replicate and then mutate in the body and are banned in Scandinavian countries. 2. Although it might be less expensive, do not vaccinate for several diseases at once. The rabies vaccine, especially, should be given separately from other vaccines. 3. If you vaccinate conventionally, consider using homeopathic remedies to counteract any potential adverse affects from the conventional vaccines. Jeff Levy, DVM, recommends that the appropriate nosode (made from the disease you are vaccinating for) be given immediately after the vaccination. The next day give Thuja 30C, followed one week later by Sulphur 6X for one week. In most states the only "required" vaccination is rabies. The appropriate nosode for this would be Lyssin 30C. 4. Don't vaccinate for feline leukemia. Dr. Levy has pointed out that there is a great deal of evidence that this vaccine is both dangerous and ineffective. 5. Don't vaccinate if an animal is in poor health, pregnant, undergoing surgery, or especially when also receiving a corticosteroid injection for allergies. Resources "The Case Against Immunizations" by Richard Moskowitz, M.D. Reprinted from the Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy and available from the National Center for Homeopathy. "A Shot In the Dark" by Richard Leviton. Yoga Journal, May/June 1992. If what medical historian Harris Coulter says in this article is true, we could be at the edge of an immunological abyss. The Immunization Decision: A Guide for Parents by Randall Neustaedter. „ 1990, North Atlantic Books, Available from the National Center for Homeopathy MY DOG HAS FATTY TUMORS. Is there anything I can do to eliminate them? According to The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care (GREAT BOOK!),
Remedies that I recommend in combination with a diet change: Dr. Harvey's MultiVitamin, Mineral and Herbal Supplement - an excellent whole food supplement! And, Violet leaves are a traditional treatment for all types of tumors - add a violet leaf infusion or finely minced fresh leaves to food and apply a violet leaf poultice or compress to the tumor. HOW CAN I HELP MY CAT? Feline with Inflammatory Bowel Disease My cat is 9. She has been a hairball vomiter most of her life. She has been losing weight over the past year and increased vomiting. She has recently been diagnosed with IBD via symptoms and abdominal ultrasound. She was switched to Natural Balance Duck and is on Prednisolone, Metoclopramide , and Pepcid. My other cat has had IBD for 7 years lower IBD and I have used GI support, other fiber supplements, and maintain him with Prednisolone. Do you have any products that could be used to help with digestion, motility, and malabsorption. I am a registered vet tech and am looking for natural supplements to compliment western medicine. Thank you for your time and opinion. ANSWER: Absolutely the best advice I can give for resolving Inflammatory Bowel Disease and accompanying conditions is to switch to a simple whole food diet. That means eliminating all dry and canned food. Why? Dry and canned foods have been heated to high temperatures, which destroys all enzymes and many of the most important vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other phytonutrients in the ingredients. The heating process also binds the proteins and carbohydrates, making them much harder to digest than raw or home-prepared food. Simple, but true. Having spoken over the years with hundreds of people about digestive disorders in cats, the common denominator in 99% of these cases is dry food! Sadly, this is something that is almost always overlooked by traditional veterinary medicine or even made worse by the recommendation of yet another dry or canned food or one of the horrible prescription foods. Add on antibiotics and steroids and you have a never ending cycle of misery for the dog or cat that can go on for years, if not for the entire life of the animal. I recently spoke to someone about their cat who had been experiencing chronic diarrhea and steady weight loss for more than six months. At my recommendation, the cat was switched overnight from dry/canned food to raw and dehydrated meat, and the problem resolved within days. Prior to this, she had been switched from one dry/canned food to another with no relief. After the transition and rapid recovery, her owners hastily switched back to canned food and the problems resurfaced. This 8 year old cat is now on an exclusive diet of raw and dehydrated food, supplemented with greens, and is doing very well. The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care recommends (for a 10 lb cat): 1/4 lb raw chicken or game hen with bones (include the liver when available) 1 pinch of powdered seaweed (kelp, dulse, etc) 1 tsp - 1 Tbs finely minced fresh wheat grass, collard greens or other greens 1 tsp - 1 Tbs finely minced, pureed or pressed raw carrots, peas, beans or other vegetables Or, for breakfast: 1/2 c warm raw milk, yogurt or kefir 1/8 tsp cod liver oil or other fish oil (alternate oils daily) 1 Tbs fresh, raw carrot juice Also suggested: "offer raw watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, mango, banana, avocado or other raw fruit. Encourage your cat to eat a variety of fresh, raw foods, no matter how unlikely this may seem." For foods that would be healing, easy to digest and species-appropriate, I recommend Stella & Chewys Freeze Dried Patties. Best to rehydrate before serving. Each patty is about the equivalent of one can of cat food. Cost is about $1.00 per patty. This is fantastic, species appropriate food that most cats love. I mix up a blend for my cat that makes enough for 2 or 3 days worth of meals. In a jar, I crumble several of the patties (either beef or chicken - my cat likes both). Then I add a raw egg yolk, some Dr. Harvey's MultiVitamin, Mineral & Herbal Supplement and some essential fatty acids. This is quite economical and super good for cats. Other things that I use intermittently in the "blends" I make in a jar: Dr. Harvey's Power Patty - also very popular with felines Complete Natural Nutrition Real Food Toppers - wild salmon! Nature's Variety Freeze Dried Diets ZiwiPeak Dehydrated Food
These foods may seem a little expensive, but their nutritional value is infinitely more healing and bio-available than any dry or canned food, and they are digestible, species-appropriate foods. |
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