Holistic Pet Care Ideas
CHAMP
Liquid Castile Soap for Dogs
We make our own Castile shampoo bars and Liquid
Castile soap for our pets. Commercial brands are designed
to please a human but are far too heavily scented for the pets.
In addition, SLS is the basis of most all brands and it is that same
irritant that strips their natural oils and causes hot spots and dry
skin conditions. Then the dog owner is spending wads more
money on topical medicines for the resulting conditions!
CHAMP was invented
for Ringo and he has been a happy shampoo guy since. There is
a micro amount of lemon essential oil-enough for their sensitive
noses and vegetable glycerin to promote a healthy coat and happy
pooch!
Click here to see why
not to use human shampoo on dogs and the best natural liquid
soap line for them!
Keeping Them Safe
(Remote Collar)
Most dogs need to
"run" and not just be walked. It is tough to produce a fenced
in yard, and I often wondered about electric fences.
(Too much of a pain.) I found the best way to allow Ringo to
"rule" and run was to buy him a remote collar. It was
the best $250 I ever spent and this gadget has a limited lifetime guarantee.
It is also water proof. You hold the remote, and if the
dog starts going out of bounds, you say "no" or a consistent
command. If they fail to listen, you then give the dog a "tone"
they do not like. More so, if they are not listening to
"no" and a little shockeroo if they are really about to
chase a jogger, poodle, what have you. DO watch the training
tape that comes with it--as you must be consistent with your
commands and prudent with the use of the unit. The shock is no
big deal-I tired it on myself first. I laughed. It does
get your attention. Ringo rarely needs it now after some 10 uses
because he thinks he is going to "get it" when I say "NO." He
comes right back no matter what his mission was going to be.
And it allows him to be "him."
My range is 1,000
yards and if you are going to drop the money--just drop the money.
Slightly less expensive is 250 yards. You can always lend this
to friends and new dogs you bring in. As I said, you do not
need it much after a month of use--but I take it along if we are
going to new places, such as a dog park. He may loose his manners.
I KNOW the unit saved me a ton of training fees alone, and some
liability associated with Ringo running at large. Plus, he
gets great exercise I just cannot accomplish on a leash.
Innotek should
call it "Insta-Behave."
Click here to see the Innottek ADV-1000 system I bought Ringo and
other "Sports" collars.
Eating Possible Toxic
Things
Our philosophy is you should not have to "pay" to learn good pet
care. In The London Apothecary I talk at length about
"Activated Charcoal." It can come in a gel cap and should
be a staple in your pharmacy. It also helps greatly if
your pet (or child) may have been poisoned. Case in point,
Ringo ate something in the bay when I was swimming with him.
He reacted badly and Lord knows what he ate. Good thing he
threw up several times in 30 minutes before I got the drift.
That is a good start. He hit the grass and I hit the
activated charcoal putting 4 gel caps in little cheese hot dogs.
If nothing else this would tide him over to get to the vet and
absorb what toxic stuff he may have consumed. Often, getting
to the vet and hoping they are even available, is the worst part. I
also steamed up some rice with chicken broth to hope that also
absorbed "whatever." Typically inducing vomiting is best
before going for absorption measures. But it has to go in a hot dog or good luck to you.
The Teeth
My former
pets were adopted and spared from being out to sleep for no good
reason. I had no clue of dog care. Having their teeth
cleaned by the vet once a year, is a first good move. Oral
hygiene or lack of a leading cause of disease. Pets too!
Ask any dentist. Ringo came back white as snow and it was $70
well spent. I guess they sedate them to do the job.
The Ears
When your whole dog seems to "reek" it could be just the ears.
Lift them up and have a sniff. It may knock you down. I
put one drop of tea tree oil in both of Ringo's ears about once a
week and massage down into the ear. He hates it--but
has learned to trust me. We swim a lot.
But simple sweat can make for a great environment of bacteria in
their ears.
Healthy Coat
Judea Bentley, one of our editors from Nebraska
suggests to put a teaspoon of coconut oil in a canine's food for over all good
health and a nice coat. I put a tablespoon of flax seed oil
in Ringo's food each day for a great coat.
Bowel Movements
Keep an eye on
regularity. If Ringo does not "put out" a good part of what he
consumes per day, I get concerned. One week he missed three days
and I whipped out Glycerin suppositories. Inserted a few
gently with some natural wax jelly. This helped greatly and he let
loose. Infants can be the same way. When I used to fly a
lot, I took my infants with me. I noticed they got "uptight" due to
change of environment and would hold for days. That is when I
learned the glycerin trick. Very cheap to buy also.
It is prudent to feed
them high quality dry dog food. I do spoil him and throw a gravy
on. If you did not know it--turkey is NOT good for dogs as well as
chocolate. Most people do not know this. For dogs having a
hard time--until you can see a vet for on going issues--it is canned
pumpkin!
Add canned pumpkin to every meal. The
dosage can range from 1/8 tsp for a small dog to 1/2 tsp for a large
dog, depending upon results. Start with 1/4 tsp for a medium and large
dog, increasing the amount depending on stool results.
Tick Removal and
Infestation
I knew this much because
I had a lovely girlfriend pass away from Lyme disease. We were
horseback riding years ago--and she got bit by a tick. She soon
became ill, and lived for about six years. I just never got over
what a simple tick can do. That was upstate NY.
If you feel a "foreign" bump on any
animal, take a close look at it. Could be a wart or a mole--but chances are
better it is a tick. Some do not look "black" or "brown" they are so far into
the skin. Understandably now, I am the tick terminator. They
are sure gross.
I was remise to
say "you do not pull them out!!!" And "to heat a metal object with a lighter so it is really hot (I use my
BBQ skewers) and gently touch the back of the tick. He WILL
let loose and then you can smash him up good."
First of all you do
not want the contents of any tick on you. I found out
after the first article I wrote--finding one--it was really the
"mother load" and Ringo was the official host for the 2006 Tick
Olympics. I did not know what I was up against.
Further reading showed you do not burn the tick or smother them with
oil. You are supposed to pluck them straight out with a piece
of toilet paper and flush the tick down the toilet. Try to
take the head with you, and put an antibiotic ointment where the
tick bit.
I did not know one tick lays 10,000 eggs and those
suckers can live a year or more without a dinner. It is the
babies you cannot see that pose the biggest threat. This is
worse than lice or fleas. In Florida
we have mainly the Brown Dog Tick. It does not prefer people,
but they can take over Rome. It also does not tend to carry Lyme, but if you get bit it can carry some other awful flu like
germs that can lay dormant for months or years, You have to
assume if you find one, you have a small country of guests.
My Strategy was to
spray the darn house using a professional ($90--but he was due to
come anyway for overall quarterly bug stuff) and wash every darn
linen (they were in our linens) and I did not believe that.
Pest guy made me wash everything and he was correct. Then,
most important, get Advantage or Front Line from your Vet. It
is pricey but Hartz and other OTC does crap and smells awful.
Advantage is applied
along the spine and gets into the blood system. The Ticks die
on the dog and do not jump off--going after you. So, my pest
guy also told me to keep the dog (host) in the environment as
normal. If we remove the dog, any newborn ticks will seek us.
This all worked, but included another spray 7 days later to be sure
and constant attention to keeping grass cut and such. For the
first time in seven years, I let my grass go an extra month and this
seemed to be the first issue that started it all. My lawn guy
had been in the hospital.
I need to mention
neem oil and tea tree did not help. As much as I am a
naturalist. It is a good preventative measure, but not post
tick infestation. I washed Ringo twice with straight neem
and it killed maybe half. Also, the family had to seek medical
as we feel we were all bit. That includes two weeks of
whatever your doctor gives you. In our case Augmenton, the
best broad spectrum antibiotic and Flagyl to cover what Augmenton
does not.
Pet Healing Balms
Sandy
Maine, author of many
herbal related books including
Clean
Naturally: Recipes for Body, Home and Spirit
suggests using a glycerin soap base with Calendula, Comfrey and Golden Seal root
to help heal canine wounds. Essential Oils are very powerful, as we
are now just learning, and we suggest you purchase the book above that has the
exact formulas for "Cloud's Healing Soap." (Cloud is the
name of Sandy's pet.) Sandy also has a cute and practical natural flea
collar recipe, among many other great recipes, that is made up of Essential
Oils
such as Peppermint, Geranium and Rosemary, but as we said the exact amounts are
very important when dealing with Essential
Oils. I prefer a few drops of Tea Tree and Bulgarian Lavender
Essential Oils in my healing salves for Ringo, in a coconut oil base
because coconut oil is natural antimicrobial and antibacterial.
Healing Bone
Trauma, Hip Dysplasia and Authur-itis
Most of us have heard
Glucosamine and Chondroitin are excellent
anti-inflammatories (for
people too) and we
often dodge for the high end pet food that contains trace amounts.
My vet told me the cheapest and best way to offer this is
to buy the people tabs and stick them in a hot dog. (I call this
the torpedo method--since the cheese hot dogs look like a torpedo.)
Ringo gets one every AM.
Thyroid and Estrogen Issues
There are pills or can come in liquid form
to take that can contain Omega-3, Omega-6, Biotin for example. A
television show suggested sesame oil from the grocery store. My
vet suggested peanut oil that can even be bought in a gallon sized
container at the grocery store when I bulked at the expensive pills I
could have gotten instead. I opted for the peanut oil since it
was the cheapest since we have to buy Thyroid and Estrogen pills for
our dog. I don't measure but it is a teaspoon or slightly less
I mix right in with the dog food each time. I feed my dog three
times a day. My dog had constant rashes. After giving her
the peanut oil, her skin problems have been cut 95%! Her fur is so
soft now. I was told if my dog got stomach upset to start with a
small amount but my dog, Sara, had no problem. Sylvia
Your Pet Medicine Cabinet
Beyond Activated Charcoal Caps, a four ounce
jar of Coconut Oil (to wipe down ears,) and a dropper bottle of
Tea Tree Oil, Glucosamine
and Chondroitin Capsules, you should have
Acepromizine (a prescribed item.)
This is a good sedative in case of emergencies such as needing to calm
the pet to remove something they are not allowing you to remove. In
this rare instance, you can also brush their teeth and et more
cooperation. I am required to use it to sedate my pet if we stay
at a hotel due to hurricane evacuation. And any vet will
understand you want it on hand, because he/she is also not around at
such times. Flax seed oil should be refrigerated.
Dog Food
Analysis
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