Vets will often prescribe steroidal or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for these conditions. These drugs work very well, but have unfortunate side-effects. Long term use can be extremely damaging to the dog.

Sometimes, an alternative exists. Herbal or natural substances don’t always work – sometimes the disease is just too bad and has advanced beyond what natural medicine can help with.  But in a lot of cases, there are natural products which go a long way towards helping to heal these problems.

These are some of the natural substances that help:

Devil’s Claw

This is a root of a plant that grows in the Kalahari Desert – an African export that is used world-wide to alleviate the pain and inflammation of arthritis and related conditions.

MSM

MSM is a naturally occurring, sulphur-containing substance that helps in a variety of diseases, including allergies and joint diseases. No-one is absolutely sure exactly how it works, but it has been proven to work in a number of highly professional clinical trials.

Phytosterols

The active ingredient of our very own African Potato has been found to help with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Allergic Rhinitis as well as Conjunctivitis. It is also an all-round immune modulator, normalizing the immune response.

Glucosamine sulphate

Glucosamine sulphate is a very small building block of cartilage. So, when cartilage is damaged, by disease or injury, glucosamine sulphate helps in the rebuilding process.

Evening Primrose Oil

Containing Omega 6 oils, EPO has been scientifically proven to alleviate the symptoms of arthritis. 

The Herbal Pet product, Joint Formula, contains all of these ingredients.

Shanghai and Rachel Scdoris in 2006

Shanghai Surprise was one of our last Siberian’s to join our pack. True to his name, he is full of surprises. In 2007 Shanghai was still too young to participate in Dry Land Sledding, but he still accompanied the rest of the family to events. It was obvious from the start that Shanghai has a strong character and that he would one day assert his dominance over the rest of the pack and climb to the position of Alpha male.

Shanghai July 2006

2008 was a bad year for sledding in SA as the NSPCA put a stop to any organised events, until August when we received a letter from the NSPCA advising our club could exercise our huskies within certain parameters. Since it was August already, we only had one month in which to exercise as the sledding season ends with the weather warming up in September.

Shanghai May 2009

Shanghai had to learn the “ropes” quickly. Instinctually he knew what he had to do and he did it well, he just wasn’t too sure of the turn commands. 

During the warmer months Shanghai decided the time was right to climb the ladder within the pack and subtly took over as top dog.  Since then he has ruled the pack with discipline and confidence.  By simply looking at one of the other members of the pack he is able to transmit his message without the need of aggression or nastiness.

The 2009 sledding season started without a hitch and although Shanghai wasn’t the top performer, he just needed some time to show his true metal. Within two months Shanghai had the turn commands down pat. His natural instincts and adolescent energy have resulted in him out-performing our previous two top performers – Storm and Kintu-Grey.

Only fellow mushers will understand and appreciate the effect that such animals have on us as their owners.  The sheer enjoyment of seeing their pleasure at being able to do what was bred into them 3000 years ago – pull and run.

Onions and garlic contain a chemical called thiosulphate. Thiosulphate can cause a condition known as Haemolytic Anaemia in dogs and cats. This is where the red blood cells weaken and burst. A dangerous condition.

The amount of onion that a dog would have to eat in order for this to happen is a single meal of 600 to 800 grams. Or a daily meal of 150 grams. Conclusion: Its probably a good idea to avoid feeding your pet onions.

On the other hand, the amount of garlic you would need to feed your pet in order to get an adverse reaction is 50 large cloves. FIFTY cloves.

Garlic is good for your pet. It will help your pet fight off disease, repel fleas and generally become more healthy. Other benefits noted by scientists include: antifungal, antibacterial, blood sugar stabiliser, digestion enhancer, heart tonic.

There is absolutely no harm in feeding a clove or two a day. There is absolutely no harm in feeding the Herbal Pet supplements.

But, if you’re a garlic farmer and you have a spare fifty cloves lying around, don’t feed them to your dog or cat. Please.

Jojo

We ran a competition where you could  win a year’s supply of product for your pet. Out of a huge number of entries, the lucky winner, drawn last week, was Yogi Ramnath. Yogi, owner of German Shepherd (Max) and Husky (Jojo) has this to say: “I am so happy to have won Herbal Pet products as I am a Crystal therapist and firmly believe in natural healing modalities.”

Max

All of the entrants for the competion have been added to our newsletter mailing list. If you do not receive our newsletter yet, you can sign up here.

Animals do this a lot. Horses put into a field with herbs growing in it, will selectively graze those herbs that they need. (And leave behind those that they don’t need.) Dogs and cats are also natural herbalists. In the wild, they used to actively seek out healing plants for themselves. Even today, you will often find them nibbling on something in your herb garden.

Nowadays, of course, they are not likely to have unlimited exposure to all the herbs that they might need. So, it is up to us as owners, to closely monitor their behaviour and to add the relevant herbs to their diet as needed.

Herbalism for animals (and humans) is a practice which is growing in popularity. This is because it is generally a safe, effective way of keeping our animal friends healthy. Herbs are deep healers, going to the root of the problem, instead of just suppressing the symptoms, which a lot of conventional drugs do.

Some of the herbs popular for use in animals are:

Devil’s Claw – the claw-like root of the plant Harpagophytum procumbens, found in the Kalahari desert, is an amazingly effective pain-killer and anti-inflammatory. Very effective in animals with joint problems.

Garlic – this commonly used flavourant has been found to be more effective than several conventional antibiotics in fighting off bacterial, viral and fungal infections.

Siberian Ginseng – this Chinese herb not only stimulates the nervous system, but also provides human and animal athletes with increased stamina and vitality.

Echinacea – this beautiful flower is widely used as a preventative medicine to ward off infections. Recent scientific research in horses has shown a very significant increase in immune response.

Spirulina – these algae provide chlorophyll as well as many important nutrients to the diet. It is very useful as a conditioner and in building muscle (obviously in conjunction with a good exercise programme.)

On the other hand, herbs should not be used without consulting an expert or researching the side-effects of the herb to be used. There are some very potent herbs out there, and the belief that they are all completely safe, just because they are “natural”, is completely erroneous.

Most herbs are safe enough to use confidently and effectively, but others require professional guidance. Check with an animal herbal reference book before using plants out of the garden, or purchase herbs from a reputable company. Also make certain that herbs out of the garden haven’t been sprayed with chemicals.

The truth is the only diet that is perfect for your dog is what he or she would eat in the wild – raw fresh meat, bones and connective tissue, supplemented with fresh plant and vegetable material. A diet like this would also have to be hunted in an ideal world, very different to the world we live in today, which is rife with pollution, fertilizers, insecticides, intensive farming, etc.

Dogs today suffer more than EVER before from diet related problems – allergies, joint problems and behavioural problems. Of course there are many different reasons for these problems. But, it makes one wonder – if the food we feed was perfectly balanced, would these problems be on the increase?

My advice is – know your dog. Know his or her temperament and moods, digestive habits, metabolism, stools. Observe closely. This way, you will immediately pick up a problem and you will be able to take corrective action. Some dogs will live perfectly healthily for their entire lives without ever needing a supplement. But others do need more or less constant supplementation of their diet.

The Herbal Pet has developed a range of products for dogs that address some of the problems dog owners may encounter. Our products are completely natural, 100% safe and contain no harmful substances.

So, what happens if you don’t have enough serotonin? Fear, aggression, anxiety. But you’d be surprised at how often serotonin deficiency is simply due to dietary imbalances. Easy to fix.

This is how serotonin is made in the body:
Tryptophan (an amino acid) is converted into 5-HTP (another amino acid) which in turn, is converted into serotonin (a neurotransmitter).

When we first started making herbal products, we formulated our Calm mix using tryptophan. But we encountered a problem – the product seemed to become less effective with time.

A bit of research showed us where we were going wrong:

• Tryptophan doesn’t pass easily from the blood into the brain
• It is also used to make proteins – hence some of it is used elsewhere
• The liver breaks it down to a mildly toxic substance
• It feeds back on itself, and inhibits its own conversion to serotonin

Because of these problems, we switched to using 5-HTP. 5-Hydroxy Tryptophan (5-HTP) is also a completely natural substance, derived from the seed pods of Griffonia, a West African plant. Side effects are very rare and 5-HTP has been shown to be VERY effective. (In fact, so effective that is has the manufacturers of Prozac etc. very worried.)

What does this mean in terms of our animals? It means that if you have an overly aggressive, nervous, anxious, timid or overly excitable dog, supplementation with Serenity Formula might just help. Also, with Guy Fawkes coming up, it may make traumatic experiences slightly less traumatic.

But, in the words of Dr Robert Goldstein: “When the condition is treated with drugs, the immune system is suppressed and the toxin is prevented from leaving the body….reliance on drugs alone over the long term is asking for a chronic, never-ending skin condition as well as other health problems.”

There are no simple answers, but allergies can be helped by:

• Feeding a better diet – fresh, varied food is best, or a high-quality, low-quantity protein food
• Washing frequently with natural, non-toxic shampoos
• Keeping dust levels down
• Switching to a ceramic feeding bowl, not plastic
• Supplementing with vitamins, minerals and certain herbs

Herbs and vitamins which have been shown to help with allergic conditions are:

• Vitamin C
• Phytosterols
• Echinacea
• Garlic

The Herbal Pet has combined all of these with a multivitamin base in their product, Allergy Formula.