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.