A Healthy Diet Validated

This article was written by a dear friend and supporter, Cathy Witlox.  You can read more of Cathy's insights about life with her 3 dogs at: http://www.wordwitlox.com/dogblog/

We adopted Cora from TAGS in April 2011. She was estimated to be between 5 and 10 years old and clearly hadn’t been taken very good care of before she came to TAGS. She came to us with a severe ear infection (she hadn’t been at TAGS long enough for her ears to have healed) and has had several others since.

Shortly after we adopted her, we had a wellness blood test done, in part because of her ear infections and also because of how low-energy she was. We learned that Cora was borderline hypothyroid (her level was 14, and normal is 13–55), and her eosinophils were elevated, suggesting allergies or parasites. 

When we adopted Cora and Dusty, also from TAGS, we put them on Orijen, which came highly recommended by a local specialty pet store. Orijen is a Canadian-made grain-free food with all natural ingredients and no meat by-products. In May, I read a book Kathy Asling-Cook suggested, The Nature of Animal Healing by Dr. Martin Goldstein. Having learned how much dogs’ health is dictated by diet, I decided then to start cooking for my dogs.

Last week, Cora had another blood test. (She started peeing in the house a few months ago, and we wanted to rule out any health issues.) The vet thought that her previous “borderline hypothyroid” label might have progressed beyond “borderline,” which could result in behaviour issues. The vet was obviously shocked when he called me with Cora’s blood test results. “She’s perfect!” he said. (Of course, we knew she was perfect, but it was great to hear her blood was, too!) There are no signs of any allergies or parasites or even hypothyroidism (her level is now between 21 and 22!). Her liver, pancreas, and kidney levels—perfect. Her white blood cell count—perfect. Her thyroid—perfect. All perfect!

Additionally, Cora hasn’t had any ear infections in the past couple of months. I attribute her improved overall health to her food. The regular exercise she gets (two good, long-when-weather-permits walks a day) helps, too, I’m sure. But the food is so important. I give our dogs a mix of Orijen and homemade food. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

3 lbs ground chicken

3 1/2 cups rice

10 cups water

1 tsp minced garlic (some recommend against giving garlic to dogs, but holistic books highly recommend it)

2 tsp rosemary

1 can of peas and carrots (water not drained)

1 large can of yams (water not drained)

1/2 bag of frozen mixed veggies (green beans, wax beans, and carrots)

2 cubes of frozen spinach

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

optional: 1 can crushed pineapple

Preparation

Put water, rice, chicken, rosemary, and garlic in a large pot. Once the concoction comes to a boil, set to simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, puree together the frozen vegetables, the spinach, and the yams, and chop the blueberries. Once the rice is cooked, add the pureed veggies and simmer for another five minutes. Add the peas and carrots and the blueberries. Turn off the stove, and mix everything together thoroughly. Let it cool; then add pineapple (optional), scoop the food into Tupperware containers, and freeze what you don’t need immediately.

I get two weeks’ worth of food for three dogs out of every batch I make. I add to their food a glucosamine supplement and flax seed oil. Our dogs love their food. Cora, who is a very nervous dog, comes out of her shell at breakfast and suppertime, bouncing around the kitchen in anticipation. Feeding the dogs food that I know is good for them makes me feel good, and by all accounts—even medical ones—it’s making them feel pretty darn good, too!

Please Read how this dog is fighting for his life- Vaccination danger

http://championofmyheart.com/category/adverse-vaccine-reaction-recovery-from-meningoencephalomyelitis/

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Starting off the New Year

Well no complaints on the adoption front, with 5 dogs adopted and another heading out this weekend for an extended visit.

We also celebrate 25 Years since the program was founded.  A lot has happened in 25 years, but there is still a lot of work to do, and we can't do it without the support of our community.

Kennel Cough What you should know

KENNEL COUGH

The usual symptoms of Kennel Cough include a dry, "non-productive" cough. The dog sounds as if there is something stuck or caught in the throat and the coughing is an unsuccessful attempt to dislodge the object. Sometimes the coughing/gagging seems very violent. The episodes of coughing may go on for minutes at a time and then be repeated at intervals. Of course you will want to check your dog and make certain that there isn’t anything actually stuck in the throat! One way you can "test" for Kennel Cough is to press the throat gently, right in the collar area. If the dog has Kennel Cough, this will probably trigger some coughing.

If your dog does develop Kennel Cough symptoms, don’t panic! The way this illness operates is analagous to the common cold that we humans sometimes catch; simply put: it must run its course. There is no magic pill or cure, but there are many ways to treat and ease the symptoms. The goal is to support the body (immune system) while it is healing itself.  Antibiotics are NOT indicated (although they are routinely prescribed and used) because this is a virus, not a bacteria. Antibiotic use is actually thought to slow the healing process. Kennel cough generally will be gone in two weeks time or less, with or without antibiotics (but probably faster without).
Here are some ideas for natural treatments you may use to treat your dog’s Kennel Cough symptoms. None of these will harm your dog in any way, even if s/he does not even have Kennel Cough, but you may want to check with your own vet before giving them to your dog.
For boosting the immune system and fighting off infection:
Vitamins:

• 500 mg Vitamin C 3x/day (250 mg for tiny dogs) (If you already supplement with vitamin C, great! But this is in addition to the regular daily dose, and is spaced out during the day.)

Herbal tinctures:

• Echinacea (give a few drops, 3x/day, either directly into the mouth or on food)
• Goldenseal (same instructions as Echinacea)

Other:

• Colloidal Silver (Give just a drop or two, 3x/day. May be mixed with food or put into drinking water.)

For directly combatting the Kennel Cough virus:
Homeopathic Remedies:

• Bryonia (give 1-2 pellets/tablets 3x/day, allow no food for ten minutes before and after the dose.  Most health food stores sell homeopathic remedies in the 6X or 6C potency, which is fine to use.  If you have a choice of potencies, ask for 30C, which is a bit stronger.  Homeopathy works when the correct remedy is matched to the correct symptoms, regardless of the potency of the remedy.)
• Drosera (same instructions)

For soothing throat irritation:

• Honey (about a teaspoon for a small-med dog, a tablespoon for a larger dog, 3x/day)
• Eliminate exposure to second hand smoke.
• Maintain humidity in the environment.

If you have more than one dog in your household, and one of them develops Kennel Cough, you can try to keep that one isolated, to minimize exposure to your other dog(s). However, by the time your dog is symptomatic, the virus has probably already been "shared" with your other pets or any other dogs with which yours has had contact recently. You may wish to treat all of your dogs, as a preventive measure for those that are asymptomatic, to ensure their immune systems are strong enough to ward off infection from the virus. Also, it would be good pet ownership to refrain from taking your ill dog to obedience class, dog shows, or any other dog-related event until s/he has recovered.