La Vida Fresca (The Art of Dog)

Observing, Shifting... holistic dog care over time

2012-01-07T21:28:00.000-08:00

Managing a long-term condition like Vida's cancer is a lesson in observation over time. Watching for and acknowledging the importance of the subtle changes is the foundation of good care.

Dogs don't come to us and tell us about these little changes. We have to look for clues in their behavior, body topography, movement, eating & drinking habits, elimination, fur,etc.

Vida's been on her current supplements to control her tumors since August. The primary one is Beta-Thym, a "natural cortisone" that is what reduced the size of her tumors this summer and has continued to do so without fail.

It seems, though, that after getting the tumors under the control the plant sterols started wandering around the body to find more to do. For the last couple of months she's been looking and acting a little "cortisone-y." By that I mean looking like dog that's on synthetic cortisone (like prednisone) - hungrier, thirstier, rounder, sheddier. Her harness was tighter, though her legs and face were still lean. I was filling empty bowls of water instead of replacing dirty water as I've done for years. Her fur was shedding off of her in a way that it never has. She was even less active.

So I made some adjustments. I cut back her Beta-Thym by 25% - 1/2 tablet in the morning & a full tablet in the evening. After two weeks I saw only the smallest improvement so I started her on coconut oil. Almost immediately, much more quickly than I expected, her drinking reduced and her torso got thinner. She's also resumed her active behavior level.

It's been about two weeks since I started the coconut oil and everything still looks good, except she's still shedding. Not quite as badly, but still abnormally. I'm going to give it another couple of weeks before I consider cutting her Beta-Thym again.

This micro-adjusting is totally normal. At least it should be. So often owners land on a routine for long-term care and then stop paying attention to the subtle shifts. By the time they reassess the situation something is really out whack - which is harder to rebalance and sometimes results in a new or renewed problem that requires serious care.

Endocrine imbalances, inflammation....these are often ignored in our own bodies, so imagine trying to see it in your dog. That's why making observation a habit is so important. It's the changes you'll notice.

Worried K9 Family Member

2011-10-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

When a human family member has a health crisis and goes into a hospital, don't forget the family dog. They experience stress too, magnified by their limited ability to understand all the nuances of the care that's being given. All they know is that the person is being kept in a stressful place, perhaps in pain, and when you come home from a visit they smell it all.

Dogs may display stress in a wide variety of ways, not all of them obvious: more self-grooming than usual, guarding and/or barking more than usual, digestive upset, shedding, unusual high or low activity level, eliminating in the house, getting on the furniture, destructiveness, taking treats from your hand with more force, and others.

Vida's most common stress signals are increased self-grooming and barking.

You have to get those Disney-esque fantasies out of your head and really see your own dog. They don't all mope, looking up sadly from the rug, or carry around a slipper of the missing person. Some may chew up the slipper!

Flower essences are very helpful for everyone in the family, including the dog. Five Flower Formula/Rescue Remedy/Stress Stopper - a formula for stressful situations, is the go-to formula for everyone (the patient too).

Lavender is very calming. You can use sprigs of the plant, or use a spray with the essential oil or hydrosol in it and mist the home (not the dog). Remember their sensitive noses and never use products with perfumes (scented candles or "air fresheners").

Be sure the dog is being taken out for stress-relieving activities. This will vary from dog to dog but shorter, more frequent activities are better than putting it off - spending time with in the backyard or on a sniffing walk around the block helps. Some dogs appreciate extra chewing opportunities too.

Talk to them about what's happening. They may not understand the words, but the feelings behind them will be clear. Acknowledge their concern.

Let them sniff you after a hospital visit so they can reassure themselves by scenting the patient's odor on you.

Try not to rely on the dog for comfort. We love petting our dogs when we're down or worried because they seem so sympathetic, but sometimes they need your support to.

[don't worry, Vida was only under the sign for the photo, never left out there on her own]

Reduce-Reuse-Recyle

2011-10-11T19:51:00.000-07:00

Honest Kitchen shipping boxes having a second life as non-toxic grass killer under our grapevines (after mucho weeding by my intrepid mother).

Recipe for Temporary Tummy Trouble

2011-10-09T12:34:00.000-07:00

Vida had a little bit of an upset stomach last night and this morning. Enough to disturb her sleep, but still with good energy. Evidence this morning (mucous coating on some of her poop and vomiting some very sticky white muck) led me to not feed her breakfast, however, and instead I gave her herbal tea, waiting a few hours to offer some food.

Her tea was chamomile and calendula with honey, served room temperature. I made it just like I'd make it for a person, steeping it covered for about 20 minutes, but then let it cool quite a bit more, stirring in the honey with my fingers. She drank it all, about a cup.

Chamomile, as everyone knows, is soothing the stomach. It is helpful for dogs that tend to have "rebellious qi" that results in vomiting. Most people know of Calendula for its skin healing properties, but of course the gastro-intestinal system is the same thing, and calendula tea is slightly astringing too. Honey is soothing, healing, and tasty - an important feature when asking dogs to drink herbal tea.

After a couple of hours and a walk I offered her some steamed eggs. My mom suggested cottage cheese and rice, but really, I think the lightly cooked eggs are a much more species-appropriate light meal.

My dog is one of those that seems to do better with cooked eggs than raw, so I've come to suggest this way of cooking because it's easy and doesn't require oil, which when heated isn't so healthy (and while I love mine gently cooked with olive oil my dog loves them plain just as well), especially for a dog who may have deeper digestive issues made worse with fats.

Steamed eggs? I got the idea from having worked in a local cafe where we scrambled eggs using the milk steamer nozzle on the espresso machine. You steam them just like you steam milk and they turn out lovely (add your flavor extras right in and cook them with the eggs). So if you have a milk steamer at home have at it.

If you aren't a coffee freak with your own milk steamer at home don't worry, a pan works just fine. Just add water when your whisking your eggs before cooking. I don't measure, but for 2 eggs I add a few tablespoons. A quarter cup wouldn't be too much, all it does is add some flavored moisture, which can't be a bad thing for a bad stomach.

Cook over medium heat. I use cast iron pans myself. You'll begin to see the water bubble and steam as the eggs form. Stir them as usual until their opaque and you're done, there's no need to cook off any excess moisture unless you're having some too and prefer them less wet.

Most important - don't serve the eggs hot to your dog! Put your dog's portion in the freezer for a few minutes to quickly cool them down to room temperature (test them before serving). Just one egg is fine for a medium sized dog, then have them wait until their next regular mealtime for more food if they seem fine.

Repurpose/Recycle - Ripping Good Dog Toy

2011-09-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

Yep, that was a box. I was just going to toss it into the recycling bin and thought I ought to get one more use out of it.... dog toy! Handed it out and off she went to the back yard. Shaking, ripping, growling... as I followed along picking up the pieces. Less than 10 minutes, but as you can see she looks pretty satisfied with herself. Now time for breakfast! This is the way to start a Sunday morning.

Watching the dog: updates and clues

2011-09-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

Vida enjoying a Labor Day Weekend party.

Seeing both the holistic vet and the chiropractor in the same week was a reassuring and educational summary of Vida's current health.

Neither of them could feel any evidence of the plasma cell tumor that was next to her spine, which is great confirmation to hear. All her surface tumors are gone too. Her vet hadn't expect such a good result so we had a very happy visit, and my only instructions were to keep doing what I'm doing. Needless to say she'll be staying on the Beta-Thym.

The interesting thing today was seeing where her spine was out of alignment, and comparing it to what I've seen in her physical movement and habits that would seem perfectly normal otherwise.

Recently I'd noticed her scratching her neck frequently. I found no scab or sore, and her lightweight rope collar is quite loose, so I couldn't understand why.... until the chiropractor said her neck was out of alignment.

For most of the summer I'd seen her lying down with her tail curled the "wrong way" under her, something she normally wouldn't tolerate. After watching her walk and seeing a slight tuck with a little side-to-side in her walk I concluded that she was doing it to stretch out the area between her pelvis and tail.... and the chiropractor said that she was out of alignment right around the pelvis.

The chiropractor showed me how to manipulate her tail at the base to stretch it, and said it helps the whole spinal column, an easy bodywork movement that any owner could do.

Dogs have amazing tolerance for back pain. I think all active dogs should get chiropractic adjustments. People would be amazed to see the difference, and would learn to see how their dog is meant to move and thus be able to see subtle changes that indicate a problem.

Vida's resting now, letting the adjustment sink in. I think we'll go to the beach today, as long as I can keep her from doing anything too strenuous.

I'm so lucky to have such wonderful help for my dog's care!

Tumor? What tumor?

2011-08-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

It's there, but Vida says "nuthin to see here, lady."

Joy (& thoughts) on Seeing Tumor Reduction

2011-08-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

Vida's new supplements seem to be doing their job and reducing the size of her surface tumors!

I noticed it yesterday, her muzzle tumor wasn't nearly as prominent - the same "acreage" but flatter. Today it was flatter still, and slightly smaller in its spread. The one on her hock was down by half.

I can't wait to see what else happens, though Vida is tired of inspections, so I'm trying not to check them too much.

Needless to say this bring such joy, after being discourage for much of the summer we've gotten the upper hand. She'll certainly be staying on these new supplements!

This also made me think about the process of examining and dealing with cancers.

Don't give up trying new things! Every cancer is different, and every dog is different. You don't know what will work best until you try it.

Supplements, packaged tablets and such, aren't my usual first choice. I have suspicions about whether I'm paying more for packaging than for what's in it. But sometimes you need special combinations, or a way to get a higher dose of a certain consituency than is viable with full plants. Cancer is serious, and you need to leave your preconceptions at the door.

The concept of inflammation is increasingly discussed about cancer. I think this is a key factor for Vida's cancer. Just looking at these surface tumors indicates that - skin that turns a purplish-red as it swells, swelling more during a heat wave, and the reduction in size from strong anti-inflammatories. Even when young she ran hot and dry.... a total picture points the way.

You can't let up! You have to keep up the level of care and be vigilant to changes.

Glad to end my time in New Hampshire on a positive upswing!

Tumor Update

2011-08-02T17:16:00.000-07:00

Soooo....

More tumors keep showing up, and some of her old ones get bigger.

I veer between negative and positive states when thinking about it, but am taking action.

It’s discouraging to discover new red swellings. Yesterday I found one on her belly while I was trimming her nails. It’s very small and would normally not cause me concern except it has the tell-tale look of the others, like a dark red blister. It’s discouraging to see some growing. The one on her left upper lip grew suddenly two weeks ago, almost doubling. It itches, and I worry about her scratching it. I can feel the tumor’s hardness from inside by slipping a finger into her mouth. I’m starting to worry that it’s impeding full yawns. I worry about stress (hmmm, have to take care of myself too).

New belly spot

None of it seems to be bothering her. She’s full of energy, swimming almost daily in the lake here in New Hampshire and walking in the mornings with my mom. She’s flinging her toys with full force, so there’s not “pain” from the one on her muzzle as far as I can tell. She also vigorously defends us from wildlife here in the woods (ok, I appreciate her barking the bears away, but I’d rather she didn’t feel a need to be so “en garde” at night, it must be stressful). She looks forward to meeting new people. Her skin and coat look great, her appetite is normal (eager!).

In light of the changes I’m adding new supplements on the advice of her holistic vet Keith Weingardt:

Beta-Thym (by Doctor’s Mutual Service Company, their pet line is called Best For Your Pet) is billed as a natural cortisone. It’s ingredients (per tablet):

Beta-Sitosterol 200mg

L-Ornithine 200mg

Thymus Glandular Substance 100mg (yes, that is the official phrase, “glandular substance”)

For her weight she’s getting 2 tablets a day.

I have to admit, after reading the wikipedia entries for the ingredients I'm really not sure what it's doing, but am willing to give it a try if there's been good results with others.

Resveratrol Plus by Natrol has 100 mg of Quercetin and 100mg of Resveratrol in each tablet, She’s getting two of those a day. The original aim was for the quercetin, but this formula also had resveratrol to it looked like a good choice.

Resveratrol is extracted from Japanese Knotweed, an imported invasive plant here in North America that happens to be highly medicinal. Resveratrol is an anti-oxidant polyphenol called a phytoalexin that acts as part of the plants immune system. It’s been found useful against cancer, but is also a very good anti-inflammatory, it’s almost a wonder drug. I was actually trying to find some Japanese Knotweed while I was here in New Hampshire to harvest the root, it’s illegal to sell the plant, though one can sometimes find dried and powdered root in products. I highly recommend the book Invasive Plant Medicine by Timothy Lee Scott to learn more about this plant and others that we are trying to destroy.

Quercetin is a flavanoid that is available from many plants. It helps with itchiness from histamine production, as well as being an effective free-radical scavenger... all that good stuff.

While I usually prefer using whole plant material, sometimes it’s difficult to get enough of certain constituents into the body without extracting. The thing is, extracting also removes other complementary constituents that are in the whole plant. Perhaps using some whole plant with an extract would provide the desired synergy?

I wish it were easier to use topicals on dogs, to be able to attack it from outside as well as inside. I’d like to try the Chaga cream from Woodland Essence I have on some of the surface tumors, but I know she’d just lick it off. I think I’ll try it on the new belly one and see if I can teach her to leave it alone.

Cancer is such a mystery, but inflammation sure seems to contribute to it and become one of it’s hallmarks, at least in some types. I’m glad we’re upping the ante.

Healthy Dogs On A Budget With Plants

2011-07-28T10:03:00.000-07:00

It can seem expensive to feed your dog fresh food, but it doesn't have to be. It doesn't have to be “all or nothing,” any fresh food is a good thing, more is better, and thoughtfully chosen fresh food is the best.

One of the best ways to add useful nutrients to your dog's food is to use plants. Surprised? You'd expect to read “meat” in that sentence, but when you learn about the disease preventing power of plant chemistry you'll see that modest amounts of well chosen plant foods are extremely useful for dogs.

I know that there are those who believe dogs don't need any vegetables to live well, and they may be right in an ideal world, but our dogs live in a world full of toxins and other stressors, and plants are ideal for fighting that. But you can't feed grocery store crap dog food and expect the plants to do all the heavy lifting.

Plantain (free!)

Dogs don't eat much plant food, so don't go overboard on portions. Small amounts of various highly nutritious plants are more useful than large amounts of bland mega-corp vegetables. Commercially grown vegetables sold in big stores aren't nearly as useful as weeds.

Always traumatize the plants to make them more usable by your dog's digestive system. If cooking them you should chop them well. If using them raw you should pulverize them in a food processor or blender. If your dog wants to eat some leaves on your walk that's fine too.

Nettles (free!)

Forage – Learn what's growing around you, many highly nutritious plants are available for free! You need to learn a little bit about them first, and know for certain what you're picking, but there is more and more on the internet and in local classes about foraging and the the use of your local wild plants. Good starter plants include Plantain, Dandelion, Nettles, Elder Berries, Hawthorn Berries (heck, all safe and edible berries are good), Purslane, Pineapple Weed, Rose Hips, Amaranth, Wild Mustard, …. the list goes on. Don't pick from roadsides, or locations that may have been sprayed with chemicals.

Freeze – Save bones and various cut-offs like kale stalks from your own food, and make bone broth. For raw ground-up plants I like to freeze spoonfuls of them on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. Once they're frozen just put them in a labeled bag (species, date) If your plant mix ends up too wet for that freeze them in ice cube trays or small reusable containers (don't forget to label).

Dandelions (free!)

When shopping, especially when looking for out of season or non-local plant foods, look in the freezer section. Blueberries are the perfect example for those of us who live in areas not known for growing them. The frozen ones are usually organic, and frozen immediately upon picking instead of traveling for days losing potency. The freezing also breaks the cell walls, making the nutrients more bio-available to dogs.

Invest – A little money can go a long way when you invest in some well chosen dried plants and mushrooms. I recommend Mountain Rose Herbs for the great prices and reputable quality. Get with some friends to divide larger amounts for even better savings. A few to add to bone broth that you probably won't find foraging are Shiitake Mushrooms, Astragalus Root, and Burdock Root. Mtn. Rose has nice informational pages for each item in their catalog, so be sure to read those when buying (and please go to their site by clicking on a link on this blog, it means my getting a little bit of money when you purchase - thanks!)

Ollala Berries (easy to grow!)

You probably have some good plant foods sitting in your spice cupboard. Many of the spices we use for flavoring have nutritional benefits as well. Check the dates, most of use keep them way too long.

Plant – Plant some of your own edibles. Nothing is more nutritious than food that's just been picked.

The starting point...high regard.

2011-07-16T16:13:00.000-07:00

Sometimes people ask me how I got started feeding my dogs a raw food diet. I usually talk about how my own health issues (chemical sensitivities, toxin overload) brought me toward natural health care in general, and how the health issues in my dogs (cancer) brought me to the decision of feeding them raw food diets.

This is a path of change that is easy to communicate, but it really doesn't get to the core of what continues to inform my decisions about how to feed my dogs.

The core principle that pulls together all of my decisions on caring for my dogs is that I hold them in high regard.

I respect my dogs as dogs. I respect their intelligence that is different than mine. I respect their skills that are different than mine. I respect their emotional life that is different than mine. I respect their bodies that are different than mine. I respect them as individuals who have experiences separate from my own.

I also respect the inescapable influence I have on them, and take that responsibility seriously.

It is my responsibility to ensure that they can live well in our society. That means teaching them our culture, and how to behave in order to fit into that culture. It means providing a life that is not so restrictive that they live in a constant state of stress. It is my responsibility to carry my own emotional burdens and not visit them upon my dog.

If you cannot respect dogs and view them with high regard, you will be hindered in your attempt to care for them. You won't be willing to learn about their needs by listening to them directly and educating yourself.

If you don't respect dogs how do you expect to understand their culture and their bodies? If you look at them as “just dogs” or even “my dogs” you'll stop short.

Listen and observe. They do. Offer them back mutual regard and you will be rewarded.

Summer Herb Blend

2011-06-17T17:49:00.000-07:00

Since Vida's doing a homotoxicology program that's rather involved, I'm letting that remedy series to the heavy lifting and am using her herbal blend for support with a focus on antioxidants and adaptogens.

2 parts rosehips
1 part hawthorn berries
1 part spirulina
1/2 part astragalus
1/2 part ashwagandha
1/2 part kelp
1/2 part milk thistle

.... hold on....

I was low on ashwagandha, so that and the astragalus are ending up a little lower proportion.

And.....

I had to figure out how much to make for the summer! I found a handy conversion tool that told me that 70 teaspoons is 1-1/2 cups. Whew!

So the finished products is a little different...

2/3 are roughly as above.

1/3 is:

3 parts rosehips
3 parts hawthorn
1 part spirulina
1/2 part kelp

It's fine, it's not rocket science, it's just a meal boost.

And then I bagged up individual meals for the road! 15 meals, grab and go when we get to the hotel (plus a few more for my mom to feed while I'm at IHA). Easy.

Packing List for the Traveling Dog

2011-06-14T19:56:00.000-07:00

Food for the road

Honest Kitchen Zeal
Great Life kibble (duck limited ingredient grain/potato-free)

Supplements for the road

Mushroom Matrix MRM
Homemade Herb Blend
3 different dropper bottles for her auto-sanguis therapy (that have to stay refrigerated,so... I bought a cooler that plugs into the car)
Stress Stopper flower essence from Spirit Essences (like Rescue Remedy)

Additional supplements for the 2 month destination

Iceland Pure Sardine/Anchovy Oil
Flea Free
Hyaflex hyalauronic acid
Dried ground Chaga

Miscellaneous supplies

Additional i.d. tag for the trip (says "traveling!" plus cell number) (she has a tag at the cabin with that info)
Mat/blanket (she has a bed at the cabin)
Horseblanket-style fleece jacket
Swim vest
Chuck-It
Two Turnups
Organic cotton plush toy (very important for the hotel, releases energy to shake it after a day of driving)
Small stainless bowl
Portable water bowl
Two Comfort-Flex harnesses
10 foot Mendota lead
Two 6 foot Mendota leads
Water Loopie Sport
Nail tools
Tick and flea tools (Neem spray already at cabin)
Herbal Energetics Herbal 1st Aid Powder
Custom homeopathic remedy for bee allergy
Poop bags
Swim harness (old plain harness because I usually swim her at a boat launch and need to be able to grab her and display "control" if a boat comes)
Heartworm herbs (might use these if it seems they won't interfere with autosanguis)
Icelandic Fish Skin chews
Boulder Dog Food Company Dried Buffalo Heart Strips

I think that's everything!

Homotoxicology Gets Its Turn

2011-06-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

Vida's cancer has indeed decided to express itself again, but my vet Keith Weingardt consulted with the surgeon (Dr Mullen) and oncologist (Dr Proulx) and all agreed that surgery would be futile and perhaps worsen thing by propelling the body to make more tumors. The thought is that by leaving them be (since they're not causing problems) they might prevent new ones from developing.

I have mainstream options in my reserve arsenal if needed: prednisone, melphelan, or even radiation (that last one is really not something I plan to do again simply due to the expense), and will be speaking with Dr. Proulx in a few days about that.

I've opted to start Vida on a homotoxicology treatment known as autosanguis therapy. You're probably scratching your head right now, and I'll explain it a bit, but first enjoy this photo of Vida taken the day of her first treatment.

The Heel company has a concise explanation of of homotoxicology, here is a quote from Dr. Reckeweg, the "inventor" of this method, that came from a veterinary text (that my wonderful vet copied from so I'd understand the process), that explains the most central tenet of this method of healthcare:

"According to homotoxicology all of those processes, syndromes, and manifestations, which we designate as diseases, are the expression, thereof that the the body is combating poisons and that it wants to neutralize and excrete these poisons. The body either wins or loses the fight thereby. Those processes, which we designate as disease, are always biological, that is natural teliological processes, whcih serve poison defense and detoxification.

I sort of think of it as between homeopathy and herbs: the very low potencies may have remnants of the plant (or other type of material), whereas strict homeopathics contains no remnants accept the energetics. It also uses combinations that address different aspects of the body and it's current state, rather than trying to find one single remedy, as classical homeopathy does. It tends to have fewer side-effects.

I've linked to a PDF of a Table of Homotoxicosis that shows how diseases show the severity of invasion. In simplest terms, as you move to the right side the likelihood of full reversal lessens because it's embedded more deeply into the matrix of the body, the cells and dna.

OK, you may already be thinking this is crazy, so keep in mind that currently the ONLY thing wrong with my dog is that she has several small tumors, otherwise she's shipshape. Obviously these tumors are indicating that she's not really shipshape, but she's energetic, well fed, and puppyish for an eleven-year-old dog. She's in the best position to have this kind of treatment done, especially as we move in to her best time of year - Summer (the Fire season).

The specific treatment we're doing is called auto-sanguis therapy. The name refers to the fact that a small amount of blood is returned to the body, along with a specific selection of remedies:

"This advanced form of treatment involves taking patient blood and mixing it with various antihomotoxic remedies, thereby exposing the cellular arm of the immune system to a mixture of biological therapy agents in tandem with the current antigens in dilution."

This is done successively, so that the first syringe get a few drops of blood directly, the second gets drops from the 1st syringe, the 3rd get drops from the 2nd, and the final mixture of them all is made into an oral remedy that I give at home through the summer twice a day.

These syringes are injected in order, one at a time, into specific acupoints. Each one is for a specific aspect: symptom, drainage/detox, organ, etc.

She had her injections at GV14, BL18, & L13 (eating dried duck meat treats the whole time). It all went quickly, everyone with her on floor level in the carpeted treatment room. Friendly and loving, just as it should be.

Vida actually had her first injection two days earlier, a catalyzing mixture (galium-heel, conenzyme comp.) injected at Governing Vessel 14. I then got a detox/drainage remedy that I'll be using through the summer once a day.

As you can see from the photo this had no negative effect on her. She may have some side effects for a short period, they may even be emotional imbalances, but these normally pass quickly.

So this post has been the quick and dirty introduction. She gets one more round of injections before we leave town for the summer, than it's up to me to keep up the daily doses of drops (and keep them refrigerated during the drive across country).

Coming up next: a rundown on how we've designed the rest of her supplements to support this process.

The Importance of Taking Inventory

2011-06-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

This will be a short post:

It's important to take regular inventory of your dog.

What does that mean?

It means knowing every bump in their topography.
Is that a new one?
What is it?
What does it feel like? What does it look like?
Is it bigger than last month?

If you find something new, write it down.

Vida has six discernible abnormalities.

One I'd forgotten about.

One is new, and bad. A plasmacytoma, the same type she had in her mouth.

Thank goodness for her chiropractor. I had felt it a week or so before she got adjusted and thought it was a bit odd. Her chiropractor found it and was immediately concerned and strongly urged me to get it checked out. It was the size of a marble, just behind her right should and next to her spine.

Two weeks later the holistic vet felt it and immediately sent me to get it aspirated. That's how we got it diagnosed only 3 weeks before I'm due to leave for the summer.

Now it's a mad rush to do something about it. Surgery is most likely, perhaps also prednisone (something used last year as part of the treatment for the other tumor).

Do an inventory.

Chaga Redux - for pets and their people

2011-05-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

I originally wrote about Chaga in March of 2009. I've continued to use it off and on, and have refined my preparation and learned more about its effect on Vida and me. From my experience this is the easiest way to get the most effective medicine.

I get my Chaga from Woodland Essence. It come ground up and ready to use. They are wonderful folks and I have full confidence in their product and that they wildcraft ethically.

I don't usually measure, but I estimate that I use twice what Woodland Essences recommends on their packaging (1 T per cup).

I measured today - since I was writing it up for you I thought I owed some effort toward organization. I used 3 cups of water and a scant one-third cup of chaga. I think it was a little more than I usually use, judging by how it looked in the water - covering the surface a little more thickly than usual.

It does sit up on the surface at first. I don't bother trying to stir it in because it just sticks to your spoon and the side of the pan, it will make you crazy if you overthink it.

Heat over high (or medium high if you're the inattentive type) just until it starts to boil. Then cover it will a well fitting lid and put it on the lowest heat. Check your stove, you might find as we did that it's designed to have a burner that allows for especially low heat. You want it hot but not bubbling because you're going to leave it there for a few hours.

Yes, I decoct it gently for 3-6 hours (depending on my schedule or attention to the clock), I aim for 4 hours. Keep it covered with a fitted lid.

Then turn off the heat and let it cool off to make it easier to work with. You want to strain this tea. I usually use my fine mesh strainer with a double layer of cheese cloth on top, but just using the mesh is fine if you don't mind a little sediment (your dog won't). Give yourself plenty of room to pour.

Your tea will look like coffee.

If using cheesecloth you can squeeze out every last bit. It doesn't expand a lot like you'll see when using dried plant ingredients so you'll not lose a lot if you skip this step.

When it's cooled a bit I pour some in a pint mason jar to store in the refrigerator. I only refrigerate as much as I can use up in 3-4 days.

The rest of it gets frozen in ice cube trays. I've found this to be the easiest way to store and dispense teas because the ice cube size thaws much more quickly than, say, a small tupperware container would, and I don't know about you, but I don't think ahead when restocking from the freezer. The cubes will go easily into a wide mouth mason jar for thawing and use.

If I'm making a big batch or can't spare the trays for long I put them into a ziplock bag once they're frozen. Be sure to label it! Nothing like looking at frosty chunks later and trying to figure out what it is.

So how do I use this?

You can easily read-up on Chaga's immune enhancement properties. On a hunch I recently restarted this for both Vida and I because we were both suffering from what seems like seasonal allergies. She was waking up with reverse sneezing and I was waking up with post-nasal drip... basically we had the same symptoms. My hunch was based on the fact that the tea is somewhat astringent in nature, like coffee. That's why its important to use natural remedies you want to give your pet - it's truly the best way to learn how they act.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well and how quickly it's worked. Within a day or so we were both relieved, and I can tell when I've forgotten it - just one missing dose and the symptoms begin to come back, but will quickly disappear again at the next dose.

Dose?

["Dose" sounds too much like medicine. How 'bout "Serving?"]

Vida weighs about 40 pounds and I give her about 2 tablespoons each meal (so that's a quarter cup a day). I don't measure, I just tip it in from the mason jar. Then I drink about the same amount before returning it to the fridge.

I'm giving this daily, and am not concerned about using it long term with this type of preparation and modest amount. I can easily test whether she needs it by stopping for a few days, and expect that her needs will change over time (as will mine).

I've never had her mind the taste at all, but I am mixing it into raw food, so keep that in mind dry food feeders.

An extra tip for people-drinkers of Chaga:
During the Winter I like to add fresh ginger and a toss of cinnamon to warm it up and make a tasty "chai." I add them at the beginning, the ginger will get much more sweet with long cooking. It was an important food to avoid the flu/cold/bronchitis that was wracking my friends.

Getting Creative

2011-05-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

If you've read this blog for awhile you know I do a lot my own herb concoctions for Vida, but often they've been for specific acute situations. Well now I'm playing around with her daily herbs.

I've been thinking about how useful some herbs are on a daily (or almost daily) basis, but how I'd like to reserve the right for a little customization. I want her to get herbal foods in her daily diet that help strengthen her immune system and ensure healthy organ function. I do this because the basic food I feed her as basic vegetables in it, but not the power-veg that I want her to get.

So I've been playing with powders.

Dog powders in an easy-to-grab box
(they're stored in my "herb pantry")

Powdered herbs are by far the easiest to integrate into a dog's diet daily because they're so easy to dispense. You want your powders to be pretty fresh, though, never more than a year old, and stored in a dark container to maintain it's potency.

Here's what I've been doing so far, she gets one teaspoon a day:

Starting March 26:
Equal parts: Astragalus, Ashwaghanda, Burdock, Cat's Claw, Dandelion Root, Chaga, Noni, Hawthorn Berry, Kelp, and a half-part Spirulina.

Starting April 30:
Equal Parts: Ashwaghanda, Cat's Claw, Dandelion Root, Noni, Hawthorn Berry, Kelp, Rosehips; half-parts Astragalus, Spirulina (the second batch of this had a full part of Spirulina).

I'm almost out, and will adjust it again. I think it's time to take a couple of things out, and then I'll be thinking about what to bring with me to New Hampshire - a much simpler one I'm sure, just a few ingredients.

It's so easy when you have ten herbs in small enough amounts that you'll be able to use them up in 8 months or so. You can recombine them every month or so.

Shop at Mountain Rose Herbs - use the link on the sidebar of this blog and I'll benefit from the sale, a nice little tip for me and Vida if you enjoyed this post.

Earth Day

2011-04-22T23:20:00.000-07:00

Today is Earth Day. It's been a day of thinking, listening, and writing.... and a day of digging, watering, and weeding.

I started my morning listening to a special Earth Day program on Democracy Now. I was really inspired by snippets of presentations done at PowerShift 2011, a youth conference on environmental issues. Van Jones and Tim DeChristopher were exciting speakers. I encourage you all to watch them online by using the links. I started my morning off with more serious awareness of Earth Day than ever before, and I carried that energy through the day and right on to writing this post.

I did get outside today. Did you? Do you have a vegetable garden? This is ours on Earth Day.

You can see that it's not the tidiest thing, but the bees love it (and we need to care for our bees!), and there really are veggies in there: chard and sorrel with mustard, kale, dill, salad burnet, peas, tomatoes, potatoes and grapes nearby (the herbs get their own place, and we have fruit trees up the hill). I make medicine from the California poppies, but don't eat the nasturtiums much - all in all an abundant healthy crowd.

Don't worry about having a perfect garden, just plant something. Plant food you can share with your dog. Growing your own is the perfect way to get your dog interested in fruits and vegetables. Dogs love to share yard adventures, so try picking and sampling and sharing tastes with your dog.

Stop using chemical herbicides and pesticides. It will make you, your dog, and your yard healthier. Pesticide Action Network is just one online resource to learn more the dangers and alternatives. We can no longer afford to pretend that these chemicals don't matter. Don't believe what the companies are telling you about safety, they're only interested in sales today, not consequences tomorrow. Just this week Pfizer has agreed to take their flea product ProMeris off the market, but it took many dogs and cats suffering irreparable harm before they did it. Our pets should not be test subjects.

We all have to be brave enough to face up to what we've allowed to happen in our society and on our planet. Start at home, with what you can control. Start with food. Eat fresh, real food. Feed your pets fresh, real food. Please!

Do you really want to just keep scooping pellets out of a bag and depend on huge corporations to have your pet's best interests at heart? I keep up with a blog called Truth About Pet Food. Susan Thixton has dedicated herself to researching the rampant deceptions in the pet food industry. You owe it to yourself and your pets to learn about what's really going on in this industry. The pet food industry is inexorably intertwined with other major industrial production, it's not about your pet anymore.

It's time for us all to step up and take responsibility for our place on this earth.

Go outside, feel the earth beneath your feet. touch plants, touch trees. Taste them, talk to them. Listen for the birds, watch for the bees, learn the rhythm of the natural world. Take a deep breath. Smile.

Spring Sprouts

2011-03-05T21:45:00.000-08:00

Yep, simple. Sprouts. Add 'em to your dog's bowl and see what happens.

Vida eats them, but usually dumps them out on the floor to finish with after she's cleaned the bowl, so your dog might do that too.

If your dog's never had sprouts before I would suggest offering a pinch of them as a treat. Nothing gets a dog's attention more than being handed something you just took out of the fridge.

If your dog isn't a veggie eater you can mix them into your meat, starting with a small amount.

I usually use red clover sprouts, sometimes alfalfa, but try whatever you like - the only thing more enticing than a food you've gotten out of the fridge is a food that you just ate yourself.

Springtime is the natural time to use sprouts. You'll often see dogs eating young grass this time of year, that's your hint.

Start with sprouts, and move into spring detox foods next.

Bone Broth

2010-12-19T20:53:00.000-08:00

Great color!

This weekend's grey and rainy tone made my bone broth seem even more important. A warming, nourishing antidote to the blustery weather.

There are many description of making bone broth on the internet, and no one way to do it. The only thing that's really consistent is that you need to add an acidic element to help pull the minerals out of the bones, and that you need to cook the bones a long time to get the most nutrients out of them.

It will fit! A hodgepodge of saved bones

Always add vinegar!

I save up bones in the freezer. Turkey legs are good because they roast up well for us humans to use, and they have joint cartilage that is so rich in collagen. Vida can't eat chicken, so I avoid the obvious chicken carcass choice (in my last batch I did manage to fit the bones of a whole turkey in this crockpot!).

You'll see in these photos that there is a random collection. I decided not to use the buffalo bone you see in the bag because, as you can see in the crock, I had no room (I just pulled apart that leg that's jutting out when it had thawed a bit).

Decided to add extras a couple hours into the process.

I cover the bones with water and add a few tablespoons ( a glug or two) of raw apple cider vinegar. The vinegar will help draw the nutrients out of the bones.

You can add anything else you like. In this batch I added astragalus root, reishi mushroom, two kinds of seaweed, a clove of garlic, and a chunk of fresh ginger. I tend to think of this as a base to which I can add veggies for human soup later. I've made it plain, and I've made it with highly nutritious foods like this batch, whatever suits your fancy.

Large slices=reishi, small slices=astragalus, dark=seaweed

You should cook this for a long time; try to do 24 hours for poultry bones, 48 hours for big bones like beef if you can. I prefer using a crockpot because it makes it easier and safer, but if your stove has a good low setting you can use a regular pot (some folks will turn it off overnight for safety and turn it back on in the morning.. you can see why I use a crockpot).

24 hours later... done.

I really don't think 4-8 hours of simmering is enough, even for chicken bones. You'll get something, but not as much. Medicinal mushrooms and roots can handle this amount of time too, though adding other types of herbs at the end of the cooking for simple infusion is fine.

After straining it and storing it in your fridge it should have a jelly-like consistency. That's what you want! Skim the excess fat off the top and use the broth as needed: make yourself some soup, add to your dog's regular food or use it as a base for a cooked meal.

Strain with care

Bone broth is a nourishing convalescence food, and can be given along with slippery elm bark to sustain dogs that refuse to eat during illness.

If you enjoyed this post and want to buy herbs to use in your bone broth, please click through on the ad in this blog for Mountain Rose Herbs. They offer high quality products at great prices, and by clicking from this blog you'll be "kicking back" a percentage of your purchase to me as a "thank you."

Sauerkraut?? You betcha!

2010-12-04T14:03:00.000-08:00

I'm on a sauerkraut kick. I just made my second batch and it's delicious, one of my new favorite condiments.

Latest batch results.

I never liked it growing up, but I'd only had the store-bought stuff. The most important difference is that the sauerkraut you buy at the store that's sold unrefrigerated has none of the key nutritional values that home-made has.

It's not only rich in vitamin C and other nutrients, it's rich in enzymes and probiotics. I love the fact that we can eat food instead of taking a powder or capsule. Well guess what? So can our dogs. Yes, dogs can eat sauerkraut. It's just fermented cabbage. It's actually closer to prey animal stomach contents than straight raw vegetables, and is an excellent addition to a fresh food diet. You can add other veggies to the cabbage too, like seaweed, to make it even more nutritious.

How much? Well of course there's no dose for this sort of thing. It's food, just be sensible.

So how do you do it yourself?

Read the simple instructions on the Wild Fermentation website (this is the method I use).
Buy a crock. You might be able to find one at a thrift store, but I found them at a great price here. You need to have the straight sides (vs. most jars that are small at the top) so you can press it.

Have fun! Encourage your dogs to taste it and enjoy it yourself. When I found out how easy it was to make I was shocked, and happy to find an easy way to improve my own and my dog's diet.

How To Turn Your Dog Into An Herbalist

2010-11-19T12:04:00.000-08:00

I call Vida an herbalist. Not because she always knows exactly what to choose for self-care (many animals do this, just read Wild Health), but because she's willing to try almost everything I offer her to eat. She's open minded, and trusts me when I offer edibles. How did this happen? Here are some tips that should help you develop this relationship too.

#1 - Shared interests and explorations
If you spend time watching dogs meet and hang out together, you'll see that shared exploration is an important part of their social behavior. It's a way to make friends, a way to bond, and a way to find and learn about resources (that's the wild part of them). I do this with Vida myself. I show an interest in her finds, she then reciprocates and shows an interest in mine. So when I pick a leaf of a plant and show interest in it, she'll usually try it when I offer it to her. I took her on an herb walk in Tecolote Canyon and offered her everything we tasted. The young wild mustard greens were her favorite, and she just started eating them like a goat (rip, chew, repeat).

I tell her about what I'm offering, that it's good for her, encouraging her when she eats it. Whether you believe dogs can understand our language or not isn't the point, the point is that they understand our intention. And the easiest way for us to clarify our intention is to talk about it (we're chatty, we humans!).

#2 - Try herbs yourself

Dogs are very curious about what their owners eat. It can instill confidence and curiosity when you offer them some cooled off herbal tea that they've just seen you drink. Tasting first also insures that you know what they'll be experiencing (dogs, by the way, want their liquid much cooler than people, warm to us can seem hot to them). Chamomile is a good tea to try first. Dogs don't mind bitter as much as we do, either, so learn to love the taste of plants - your "ew!" response might turn your dog off too. Who knows, maybe you'll make the shift I did, "If this is good for my dog maybe I should be taking it myself!"

#3 - Have a positive attitude
Nothing ruins it more quickly than a negative attitude. If you're filled with skepticism every time you feed plants you'll influence their opinion. Tell them why you're giving it to them with a positive attitude.

#4 - Hide it
In food, treats, whatever. Nut butters can be a one way to hide powdered herbs (I use nut butter for some of my own herbs, as well as smoothies). Tripe can hide the taste of a lot of things. Most importantly, feed delectable meals! If you cook you can include herbs in the recipe. Tea can be made with meat broth.

If you think you can stick to dry food and add herbs to it, you'll probably fail. Raw food, home cooked, dehydrated, canned, or a combination of these is the way to go (the fresher the better). You may need to work extra hard at hiding new supplements, but usually they get used to the taste and you can ease up on the mixing.

Herbs are just plants. They should be a normal part of your dog's diet and your diet too. Many of them are safe to use regularly, even daily. It's important to know what you're feeding them, so educate yourself or work with an herbalist to get some ideas. The book Herbs for Pets by Greg Tilford is a good pet-specific reference if you're interested in learning more.

Waste Not Want Not - Making Food With Weeds

2010-10-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

I chide my mom for her antipathy toward dandelions, but it does save me a lot of work - I don't have to pick them all! I found her "harvest" in a pot in the yard and grabbed them all for making some veggie-mashup for Vida.

Here they are all washed - a colander full of leaves, roots, and even some flowers (thanks to our mild weather here in Southern California). I just soaked and stirred them in a couple of basins of water, a little dirt is a good addition, I think.

Let's remind ourselves why Dandelions are a good addition to pet food: high in minerals, very good for the liver, for skin eruptions due to poor waste removal, leaves are diuretic (safe since they are high in potassium) so are good for edema, promotes healthy bile activity for good digestion, flowers are high in lecithin and have a mild analgesic action (without salicylic acid that is toxic for cats).

I just pulped them up in a food processor, it only took a few minutes. Since they are bitter, and I already know that Vida doesn't care for the leaves (she'll eat the flowers with relish on the cue "weed.") I added some blueberries, almonds (helped hold the goop together), and purslane (another nutritious weed, sweeter taste).

Then I covered a small pan with wax paper and put spoonfuls on it, as if I were making cookies, and just popped it in the freezer for the night.

The next morning I bagged up the frozen nuggets and put them back in the freezer. Tip: always I.D. your concoctions with ingredients and the date. I usually use a Sharpie to write on the bag.

These can be added to any meal, though I recommend adding it to something tasty and stirring it in (most dogs won't like it plopped on top of a pile of dry food). Adding one of these nuggets once or twice a week is an easy way to add fresh nourishment from plants usually not included in their diet. If you're dealing with any of the health issues mentioned use it more often, especially at the onset of Spring (for some dogs in Autumn too, here in Southern California).

Remember, this type of herbal food addition shouldn't be relied upon to resolve serious problems on it's own - don't leave your veterinarian out of the loop (those tests can be lifesavers). If your vet is opposed to the use of herbal foods try finding a holistic vet who will support your care.

PS: Yes, you can eat them too! Try adding them to a smoothie.

"There's nothing wrong with me a couple of treats won't fix."

2010-10-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

It's been three weeks since Vida's surgery. Check it out. If you look really close, you can just about make out the path of the scar. Except where the hair is growing over it. Yep, it's already receding into the forest of fur that's coming back (the brindle pattern helps camouflage it too, hehe).

She never licked the sutures, but has been taking care of the scar since they were taken out. She's doing her own scar massage once or twice a day, reducing adhesions, reorienting the energy flow.

I, on the other hand, stopped doing anything to it once the sutures came out. All the healing has been fueled by her inner energy, which has been fueled by the usual raw foods, plus an array of immune-boosting supplements (detailed in past posts). The importance of those supplements can't be denied. You really do need more than raw food to do this kind of healing.

She used to get sullen when her cancer was brought up in conversation (I try to use her as an example of how a dog can do well in spite of a cancer diagnosis). She's always hated the sad sympathy attitude from folks, but now she's starting to brush it off by showing off how NOT sick she is. Her energy is up, she looks years younger (yes, random folks have said that, it's not just me), and she doesn't want anyone's sympathy - except when treats are being withheld - she is a professional folks, you'd better watch out when she's giving you the Jackie Coogan act.

It's called a Nerve Sheath Tumor

2010-09-28T21:11:00.000-07:00

We have a name for it now, the blob that Vida just got off her leg. It was a Nerve Sheath Tumor. It looks like the margins were good, and while there's a chance it could come back I'm not too worried (good news about this type is that it doesn't spread). Not unconcerned enough to stop the extra immune supplements and care, but it was immediately clear after the surgery that her energy was clear now.

I found some links for those of you who want to read more. I visited them, and saw that there are differing opinions, as there always is.

An E-How Article
One from the National Canine Cancer Foundation
VetInfo - this site discusses that this type of cancer might be related to hemangiosarcoma, which is disheartening because that was the kind my dog Haley died from before I got Vida.

After researching it's clear that we're lucky that the tumor was on the outside of the leg, not buried within the tissue.

It's also clear that one should take these growths more seriously. I had assumed that it was a simple lipoma, something to ignore, something that all dogs get. I've learned that sometimes you need to do surgical interventions even if the growth isn't causing obvious problems.

I think this will also be a lesson for our vets, who, like me, assumed it wasn't much to worry about. Ultimately it was resolved, which is a relief. I think that it was easy for me, who is not a vet, to assume it was nothing, but it is their job to give honest, strong opinions if they are concerned and have information that I need to make a decision. I hope that my dog's out of the ordinary cancers are teaching them too.

As a celebration, here's a photo of Vida with a puppy she might have to live with (hehe). He's only six weeks old in this photo (taken today). Hopefully this puppy can escape the cancer curse (he's raw weaned, no vaccs, hybrid - pretty good start!)

Post-Surgical Energy Seachange

2010-09-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

Within two days of removing the growth on her leg the change in Vida's energy has been profound. Her energetic body has been released from a burden.

She certainly didn't seem sick before, or bothered by it at all, no one would have seen her as weak or damaged.

Ever since having the tumor in her mouth resolved the growth on her leg got more attention. Very recently it seemed to be even more visible to people, though it hadn't gotten bigger. It was as if the energy blockage it represented was drawing attention. It was a point of turbulence.

Now, her shaved and stitched leg is being overlooked by most people. Not everyone, of course, but those that notice seem to be the ones to quickly feel sorry for her - a feeling she certainly doesn't share. Some folks who know her well simply didn't see it. It's as though the energy flow is now healthy, so it goes without notice as they focus on her overall presence.

Last night we went to a big event in Del Mar and she was so happy to be in the crowd of the dog-friendly event. In the beer garden she stood there taking up her rightful space, looking up towards peoples faces, smiling, fully participating. Dogs would be greeted accordingly as well, but she didn't see that it made a difference whether one was a dog or a person. The smile on her face was priceless.

I never knew that I would witness this seachange within days of the surgery. It really makes me think about all the dogs with various lumps, bumps, and growths that are left where they are. While surgery isn't without risk (or $$ cost), it may be something that should be considered more often.

I should get the biopsy report in a few days. With everything that's happened with her body I just assume that further vigilance will be warranted, the immune system food supplements and energy work will continue, and she'll continue to thrive and teach those around her more and more.

Bubble Removal Complete

2010-09-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

Vida's had a "bubble" growing on a rear leg for two years now. I didn't worry about it because it seemed like a lipoma (a fatty growth, usually benign), it didn't bother her, and with her mouth we had a much more serious issue to take care of. In fact, I think most of the vet notes didn't even mention in. Lipomas have become so common that they are considered normal in old dogs - even though Vida isn't old yet.

No one has an official explanation for them, but I think they're the body's way of compartmentalizing bad stuff (how do you like that for scientific). For instance, Vida's first started when she was given a phlegm clearing herbal blend ("Max's Formula") two years ago. It was as if the body was asked to move the phlegm, and not being able to get it out of the body, set up a spot to store it.

Well, with the possibility of a puppy coming into the home, that bubble was looking like a big target for tiny shark teeth, so I made an appointment with the surgeon I had a consult with last spring, Holly Mullen.

She agreed that draining it usually doesn't last, so going ahead with a removal made more sense, so Vida went right in to surgery yesterday. She was sooo good in the office and during the exam, nervous but calm, a real champ.

I, on the other hand, had to deal with the sticker shock of the price. The corporation, VCA that runs this vet hospital runs more and more around the country, making it hard to avoid them. They take over and the prices invariably go up. I have to say, too, that staffing oversight could use improving. The surgical techs that work directly with Dr. Mullen are good, but the rest of the staff seemed to really vary in professionalism. I contrast this with CVA in Carlsbad where professionalism seems highly regarded at all levels. When I see tiny fake grass pee areas for dog clients to use (gross enough...) being used as smoking hangouts for staff on their breaks I really don't feel confident (just one example...).

I spent a few hours wandering around San Diego before going back to wait, getting her out at 4pm to take home with instructions, tramadol, a free sherpa mat (I'll be donating that, I have plenty), and a "certificate of bravery" with Vida's picture that I really didn't need since I don't have kids. Gifty things can be nice, but in contrast to my negative impressions (oh yeah, nails clipped too far back done without permission, another one) they become annoying. I wish Dr. Mullen worked somewhere else, that's all.

So what did I do when we got home? (Vida high on morphine, a little glassy eyed)

First I put the biomat on one of her beds and had her lay on it, and pet her with some Spirit Essence Healthy Helper on my hands.
Then I gave her a a low-potency homeopathic by Newton Labs called Injury Rescue, and repeated it a few more times that evening. (this is a food first aid kit item)
Then I put Traumeel gel near the incision. Not on it! This to head off swelling near the incision.
Then I infused some herbs to use as a compress: plantain, comfrey, and yarrow. The first 24hrs are done cold, so I soaked and squeezed a piece of paper towel in the cold tea and laid it on the incision area, laid a dry washcloth over that, then put an ice pack on that, using it for about 10 minutes.
She was already on Animals' Apawthecary Detox Blend, so needless to say that continues to help clear the anesthesia. (by the way, I asked to have Sevoflurane used).
I was surprised that the aftercare instructions made no mention of infection reduction. Since she sometimes lays with the incision side down I figured I should use a little AromaDog Quick Fix spray just in case. It looks terrific though. No swelling or redness.
This morning I used the photonic for a few minutes, and plan to do that daily to speed the healing, a perfect use of the tool.

So far she's leaving it alone, it's all lookin' good.

If given a choice, what would your dog choose?

2010-08-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning we closed up our New Hampshire cabin and started the drive back to San Diego.

While my mom and I were busy with all of this, Vida didn't hover, or sunbathe. She spent nearly two hours disappearing into the woods. She'd reappear occasionally (sometimes when asked, sometimes on her own), checking in before diving back into the forest. Her brindle coloring really does make her disappear; I'd never see her at all if it weren't for her white collar and tail tip. She slides in to her woodland role even better because her tags are held in a neoprene packet that silences them.

She'd come back with her eyes bright and shiny, her mouth open and tongue red, panting slightly. But she wasn't panting from exertion as much as from excitement. While I'm sure that her adventuring was a good way for her to deal with the stress of our preparations, it felt like she was excitedly drinking in as much scent as possible so it would last her until we returned next year. It was as if she were trying to commit the geography of smells to memory so she could remember them later and access them in her dreams.

This was the first year that I felt safe having her off-leash at our cabin. In previous years she would take off into the woods at the slightest squirrel provocation. She would "go native" and not return, barking at all of them going from tree to tree. One time I spent an hour listening to her running through the woods, circling the cabin, out of my sight as I tried to catch up to her. She spent the rest of that summer leashed (the same summer she jumped out of the car after a squirrel as I parked at the lake).

Now she is able to moderate her pursuits. She can even be left to sun on the deck when my mom is napping. This is not because she is old or sick, unable to muster the energy.

Yesterday, in fact, was one of the few days that I forgot about this year's illness. She became her perfect self.

She was able to do this because I allowed her to. I allowed her to choose how to spend her time.

Dogs rarely get to choose anything, but especially how to spend their time. We direct their exercise, their eating, their socializing - everything in their lives. We believe that we are allowing them to choose, but are we really giving them choices? Do we coerce them? Or limit their choices to doing A or getting in trouble for doing B?

Certainly it's important to teach dogs the behaviors that allow them to live in our culture. But once they've learned those, then what? Do they get to graduate? Do they at some point get to choose what to do next?

Do you ever ask your dog, honestly? Something as simple (to us) as giving them a choice on which direction to walk in will open your eyes. It may take a little time for you to see them choose because we've trained them not to, but when it does happen it will be a clear as day.

Will you follow?

Will you allow the communication you have with your dog to change fundamentally?

In what (safe) ways can we allow our dogs some semblance of autonomy within our culture?

La Vida Not So Fresca

2010-08-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

Brace yourself.....

Vida's eating dry food.

Not 100% dry, but I finally came to the end of my rope shopping for reliable raw food.

The raw food she'd been eating kept making her throw up. Not like food poisoning, just a little "rebellious qi", random projectile meal puking (sometimes at the most inopportune moments, like in a gallery - yikes!).

I also think that the almost daily lake swimming was exacerbating some Phlegm (TCM version) while she was also warm, inside and outside weren't always matching, all that.

And I couldn't get alternatives that would work for her, either she's got a sensitivity to the meat (the ubiquitous chicken), or it's a formulation that doesn't agree with her.

And I can only spend so much on freeze-dried or dehydrated food. That stuff is expensive! I was trying to save my Stella's for the drive home because it's so pricey and the local store overprices it on top of that.

I did order some Addiction dehydrated food that is pretty cool. I'd never seen it before, so I thought I'd take a chance. I got the New Zealand Forest Delicacies that is 48% meat (Brushtail, an invasive species in New Zealand, and Venison), and I've mainly been mixing it with other food (again, the price, though better than the other options, is still a little too much for 100% feeding). It smells good, and mixes easily.

So what dry food did I get? It might surprise you. Solid Gold Holistique Blendz.

Huh? Not a high-protein, no-grain food? Nope.

You see, when I look at those little biscuity bits of dry food, I feel more comfortable with one that is made up mostly of stuff that is easily transformed into dry biscuity bits, and worries me less about where it's from and how it's processed. She's always been fine with it in the past, so I knew it was a safe choice.

The one ingredient that does give me a little concern is the "ocean fish meal" because while the label says "no added synthetic preservatives" it doesn't state that the fish meal itself "clean." You see, they only have to list the ingredients they add, so if it comes pre-mixed with a preservative they don't have to list it. Crazy, eh! Good to know.

This food is pretty low protein, so I do add either some dehydrated, or some meat (the troublesome raw I still have left is being used in small portions so I don't waste it). It's only a four pound bag, but it looks like soooo much to me, haha!

The nice thing is that it's not expensive, I can use it on the trip, and, best of all, she's not throwing up!

Once I get back to San Diego we'll be luxuriating in a plethora of choices at Dexter's.

Spoiled Rotten Raw Feeder

2010-08-11T09:46:00.000-07:00

I have it soooo good in San Diego when it comes to buying food for my dog. Even if I didn’t work at Dexter’s Deli I’d be able to shop there, and at several other stores around the county that stock a variety of prepared raw diets for dogs. I could find whatever I needed within a reasonable drive.

I am not so fortunate here in central New Hampshire. I start out by using the “store finders” on the company websites, and at first I thought “great, look at what’s available!”

You should be aware, when using a company’s store finder online, that there is no indication of which products from that company are being sold at the store. I got excited about Primal being available, but the only reliably available items were the bones. In other cases it’s that they carry only one or two foods from the line, and often in the largest (most economical) formats. When traveling with one moderately sized dog (who can’t eat chicken, the most likely meat in stock) and little freezer space, that can end up meaning feeding something your dog doesn’t really do well on as a substitute.

Right now I’m buying most of my food from a shop that only sells dog supplies tangentially; it’s really a flower and plant shop. They have one freezer of raw, and a little bit of high-quality dry, canned, and treats, along with a smattering of accessories. Very New Hampshire, to have odd couplings in retail.

At least that place keeps the food properly stored. The pet store that is actually closer to me has some raw, but it is in terrible shape (icey, freezer burned, looking like it might’ve thawed a bit at some point, yuck!).

This area is a summer travel destination, so you’d think that buying, say, a weeks-worth of raw food would be easier.

I think this is mainly due to the lack of marketing and education being done for raw foods. Store owners I talked to said that the lack of raw sales led to their reduced stock. Of course. But what I noticed was the lack of marketing, the lack of educated staff ready to sell raw food, the lack of support in general for not just the product, but the philosophy. I can’t help but make the comparison to Dexter’s, where I work in San Diego. Dexter’s sells a ton of raw food because there is belief in it that is communicated to the staff and the customers. Raw food doesn’t just sell itself, not at the prices that are charged for it, nor with the “ick” factor that most people need to get past when introduced to it.

Of course some of that responsibility lies with the company reps for the area, who don’t seem to be trying very hard to open the market to raw foods.

Another problem is that stores have to buy whole cases of raw food. This means that they only want to buy what they can sell easily, because it’s not easy to store and doesn’t last well like dry and canned food. For a customer like me that means I can’t special order either, unless I can take a whole case.

Yes, I could make some DIY meals, I have a few times. But when you’re not at home it’s harder, and I’d like the convenience of at least semi-prepared food. The meat here is either typical grocery store meat (yuck!) or locally raised meat you buy at the farmers market (expensive!), so unless you live here it’s tough to do. I’ve even considered doing some dry and canned food meals. I think I’ll be going online to buy some dehydrated food (no Honest Kitchen in these parts either, just some overpriced Sojos), along with more powdered mushrooms.

What Makes Acupressure Special

2010-08-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

I'm often asked whether acupuncture is better than acupressure. Rarely am I asked the opposite. I think that's because the use of needles in acupuncture immediately makes most people assume that it is more effective, more "serious" than simply pressing with one's fingers. After all, most medicine involving needles is "real" medicine, and (in most states) one needs to be a veterinarian to use needles on animals. These technical particulars would lead most people to assume that acupressure is simply a poor cousin, a substitute for the "real thing."

I believe that acupressure is equal to acupuncture, and in one particular respect I believe it is superior, especially when working with animals.

The beauty of acupressure is that it can be adjusted in the moment to the animal's needs and responses.

Acupuncture treatments can be intense. Usually many needles are inserted at once, and the animal is left for a time with them in, then they are all removed at once. Their experience may be relaxing, it may be stressful. I certainly have experienced both feelings myself when getting acupuncture, wishing the practitioner would return to remove certain needles that were painful. I, as a human, can intellectualize the experience and thus guide myself through any discomfort. I don't believe animals are as capable of that, especially if they've had frightening experiences with medical treatments in the past.

Acupressure sessions with animals are a cooperative healing venture. They take part in their own healing through their acceptance of treatment and the guidance they provide to us on how to do it.

This doesn't always happen at the first session. Some animals need to be shown that they won't be hurt by the treatment, and that the practitioner will respect their boundaries and responses.

In acupressure the touch itself can be adjusted on a particular acu-point.Sometimes only a very light touch is needed, while at other times or locations the animal responds to a more intense pressure. Adjustments can be made in the moment, relieving pressure and simply holding a point with a very light touch as the animal (and the practitioner) breathes in response to the adjustment in energy flow. In many cases the flat of the finger is used to provide a wider, more dispersed pressure, while at other times the tip of the finger is carefully placed and angled. All of these decisions are made in response to the animal's guidance, including the guidance provided by the flow of energy that can sometimes be felt under the hands of the practitioner.

Some points are held for just a second or two, some for thirty or more, and some are returned to later in the session. Again, all these decisions include the response of the animal. Sometimes animals will even get up and walk around the room for a minute, and return to finish the session (or not!).

The location can be adjusted as well. Many dogs, for example, are very sensitive about having their feet touched because the only time they are is for nail trimming (which is not always done well), so they assume that you are going to do something abrupt and painful. Some of these dogs never get over that concern, and need to have other points used. Some animals have painful joints, and the practitioner needs to start with points further away from the effected area, and then use the lightest touch possible when working near the joint, responding at all times to the animal's feedback.

The flow of sessions include pauses, strokes, and breathing. These are part of the process of energy adjustment.

Treatments don't have to look dramatic to be effective. The highest praise an animal can give me is to be more relaxed at the end of a session and to take a nap afterward.

Animals, when allowed to demonstrate their wisdom, can teach practitioners most of what they need to know to provide successful treatments. They demonstrate what it looks like when one is in tune with one's energetic body. If we are willing to learn from them we can become better collaborators in the healing process.

Summer Gear Geek-Out Part Two

2010-07-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

I am a stickler for leash-walking equipment. My dog has to wear it, I have to handle it. There's nothing worse than having your equipment cause you or your dog problems on your walk.

I'm against using equipment that is painful for you or your dog!

Here is Vida, leading the way on our walk. I have to laugh at the idea that someone is looking at this and thinking that this demonstrates her dominance over me! That is not true. What it does demonstrate is that she is much more interested than I am in what is ahead.

I'm using a 10 foot lead made by Mendota that allows her more room to wander, as Turid Rugaas, the amazing Norwegian dog trainer recommends in her DVD on loose leash walking.

I've usually used very light-weight 6 foot leads, and have tried to use retractables and lightlines before, but now that I have this Mendota lead I have figured out what makes this one work so well.

First of all, it's round. This means there is no twisting, no edges, it's all smooth.

This is the thinner of the two options for their snap leash. You can see that I easily hold it with two fingers (ok, I usually just use one), it's lighter-weight than you might think looking at it.

I had it custom-made for 10 feet (they offer many colors), but don't let that put you off, as they offer the service gladly, and without charging an arm and a leg (their leads are very reasonably priced).

If you're in the San Diego order through Dexter's Deli, as they carry this brand of lead (I work there, and have been pretty insistent about carrying Mendota, maybe we'll start carrying the 10 footers).

It's very easy to manage. Here you can see how nicely it loops up. It's easy to tie and untie if you need to hitch your dog somewhere. It doesn't tangle.

I'm one of those people who hates to carry more of a leash than I need, so if you're like that too I insist you try one of these! And if you're someone who uses a retractable, dump that thing and get a more reasonable leash that will give you control when you need and allow your dog to walk on a loose leash.

The harness Vida is wearing is called ComfortFlex. Again, if you're in San Diego please buy from Dexter's as they are probably the only store in the area that really tries to carry the best gear, not just the popular gear (hopefully it gets popular!).

This is a simple (simple!) harness that is comfortable for the dog. It looks bulky at first, but once you try it you'll love it. First of all, it's padded. It is comepletely non-irritating, to the skin and to the throat.

As much as I wish it were natural fiber, this material is clean and durable. The white stripes are reflective. The leash attaches to a ring that slides on a section of nylon that is designed as a sort of handle if you need to closely control the dog. I like the way the ring flops to either side with your leash, putting less torque on the harness.

It's super easy to put on and take off, you can do it one-handed. Just slip it over the dog's head, Connect the velcro, and snap the buckle (designed for extra security).

Vida wears a small/medium (you may notice that the tag says "SM", that doesn't mean small), they have several sized to choose from, and some different colors (I have two!).

I've known people to have their dogs pull LESS on this harness even though it's not sold for that purpose. I've also seen dogs feel more relaxed and less stressed wearing it. They're not cheap, but they're amazing!

Summer Gear Geek-Out, Part One

2010-07-27T09:03:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to figure out the best dog bed setup for our cabin in New Hampshire for a few years now. Everything bedding-like has to be stored in trunks over the winter so that mice don't use it as supply for their own bedding. This means that Vida doesn't get the usual cushy donut bed while she's here. Most of you would think that in the summer it wouldn't be a big deal, but our place is in the woods, near a mountain, and it can get chilly at night, especially when the wind kicks up. Even if we're not sleeping on the porch as we do most of the time, my shorthaired Cali dog needs something of her own to cuddle in. She has actually wound up shivering under the covers of my bed in the past, and neither of us really likes that...

I learned a couple of years ago to bring a jacket for her. This year I brought what I call her sleeping coat, made by RC Pet. It's a loose"horse blanket" style that covers her back, which prevents "Wind" (the Traditional Chinese Medicine definition as well as the actual wind) from getting in. She's worn it on a couple windy nights this summer, though as usual needed convincing to put it on ("it always gets colder later," the human advises).

My big find this summer was this Perla bed. It's plastic, so while not mouse-chew-proof, is not mouse-desirable, so it can be left out for the winter no problem. It's raised slightly of the ground, with vents in the bottom. I saw these on the British edition of It's Me Or The Dog and thought they were brilliant.

To this I added a Molly Mutt Dog Duvet. Now of course you could just add blankets from your trunk, but with this bed it saves you having to wash all the dog hair off them. This bed comes empty. It's designed to be filled with reused stuffing, blankets, whatever you have. It even has an inner net bag to make changing the cover easier. I put some wool blankets and cotton coverlets. I used it by itself last year, but the cotton got a bit damp being bare on the porch, and she was always falling off the edge. It was easy to store in the trunks, though, so I knew it was a keeper.This year, Voila! It fits perfectly into the Perla.

The finishing touch is the West Paw Blanket. This is the same blanket I use for my acupressure clients, and it's versatile during road trips (covering the cooler in the car, tossed on the floor in the hotel).I invest in the big size that can be folded or spread out as needed. It washes up easy as pie.

While the previous photos show the outer edge of the porch, the final placement is

between my bed and the building, so she's less exposed to weather and woods ("what was that!?"). So far so good!

Travel Kits

2010-07-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

I really try to keep up with my dog's healthcare when we travel. Long distance drives are stressful, and stress effects the immune system, the digestive system, the nervous system… well, everything (for humans too). On this particular trip I'm also in New Hampshire for several weeks, so I need to think about what I might need while I'm there too. Having done this particular trip with her for a couple of years, I've gotten better at "kitting up" her stuff (well, our stuff, we share a lot of it).

I often get those sideways looks about my stock of "just in case" supplies, but keeping things can be useful if done with consideration. A few things you'll see in these photos: insulated bags from Wild Kitty Raw Food, small measuring spoons from Pet Superfood, an empty spice jar, and a small divided box for holding one ounce bottles.

The first photo is of my bottle kit. This carries bottled tinctures, homeopathics, and aromatherapy products that make up the bulk of my first aid kit. There's colloidal silver, AromaDog Quick Fix, a homemade bee remedy for Vida (she's allergic), a heartworm prevention tincture, and a few tinctures for me. I also have some flower remedies and homeopathics in a small soft kit that holds 10ml bottles.
This kit is stored behind the front seat in a cooler (no ice, just the insulation of the cooler) that I'll put a folded blanket or towel over for extra insulation. There's enough room that I can put my toiletries in the same cooler. Driving can get hot, so this layered insulation method is helpful.

This next series is of her supplement kit. I use this kit nightly while traveling, and during our stay at the end of the trip. During the drive this kit is kept in a small backpack in the trunk with our other overnight stuff (her dehydrated food, bowl, and toy, along with my stuff for the night) so I can quickly unpack it from the car to the hotel room. I don't worry as much about temperature because all the items are dry powders that will get used up during the trip.

I did some repackaging to make things fit. I've got Green Mush in a smaller jar (the gold top). The Organic Pet Superfood is in it's original container. The NK-9 capsules were put in a bag (who needs a jar for capsules?).

The large container is a Connectin tub. The powder comes in a plastic bag within the tub, so it's easy to adapt that to hold more items. I bagged up the Perfect Form (in two layers of ziplocks) to stuff in there, and the measuring spoons fit in too.
The glass spice bottle is obviously not sage, as is printed on the glass. This is a homemade powder of equal parts Turmeric, Astragalus, and Ashwagandha. I made it up for the trip in order to continue some of the ingredients I've been using during the past several months in a way that was easier to travel with (no teas to cook, no expensive refrigerated liquids to protect). I'm going to take some myself, as I do with the Green Mush, added to my smoothies.

I packed a couple of things that I didn't break out until we got to New Hampshire: a new bottle of sardine/anchovy oil, chia and hemp seeds, and some chaga. The drive wasn't the best thing for them, but I'll be using them up while we're here.

We're swimming in the lake every day, enjoying the change of pace, and still working on keeping (the both of us) healthy.

Ready for the Woods

2010-07-18T13:29:00.000-07:00

It's a big change for us, to go from a Southern California coastal town to a cabin in the woods of New Hampshire. The drive alone is nothing if not a series of changes. For Vida I take some special care to provide for this change in habitat.

The first thing that's different is my concern about heartworm. We have very little mosquito activity at our home in Encinitas, and the mosquitoes themselves are much less likely to carry heartworm than in other parts of the country.

In case you didn't know this already: mainstream heartworm medication is called a "preventative" but it is a pesticide. It prevents worms by killing larvae. Given monthly, it kills larvae that may be in the bloodstream since the last pill was taken. Now if I lived in the deep south I would act differently, because there are a lot of mosquitoes and a lot of those mosquitoes carry heartworm, so the chance of your dog getting infected is greater.

I bought an herbal tincture called Only Natural Pet HW Herbal Protect Formula. It's a blend of anti-parasitic herbs that focus on blood parasites, so it works with the same concept as mainstream meds: kill the larvae before they develop. It's fed 2, preferably 3 times a day. I started it before we left to get it into her system, and will continue it through our time in New Hampshire and for a short time after we return.

The last two years I've used a homeopathic nosode for heartworm, but this year I decided to go with a an herb tincture because she's been doing so well with other herbal preparations.

I also use Ark Natural's Neem Spray to ward off insects. In my experience it works well for mosquitoes, flys (of all sorts), fleas, ticks. It's convenient because I can use it on myself too. Just remember to avoid spraying your dog in the face when you apply it (I find it handy to put her head between my knees while spraying the rest of her, and carefully getting her ears).

I also travel with a flea comb and tick remover, though fleas and ticks are not a common problem for me, I time my visit well to avoid the worst of the ticks, and manage her meandering too. You can see by this photo that there is little brush or long grass that harbor ticks, and when walking elsewhere I'm mindful not to let her wander in long grass.

I definitely bring all her supplements to keep her immune system in shape. Next post will be some hints on doing that while traveling.

We got noticed by "The Bark"

2010-06-24T17:35:00.001-07:00

This post is just a little brag....

La Vida Fresca got mentioned on The Bark's website! A post about canine cancer blogs gives us props.

Thank you, Bark!

P.S. Vida is doing great!

The Finished Product

2010-06-17T10:28:00.001-07:00

June 15, 2010: Vida's happy to smile for the camera and show off her mouth. She wasn't happy to do the chin photo..."why focus on that?" (hairless, but well pigmented)

Food is back to normal, supplements are getting there. I don't have a definite plan right now. Using a variety of supplements. For instance, using up the expensive PetLife, which while it is definitely overpriced does seem to result in improved energy.

I'll be starting up my experiment with hemp and chia seeds again because the blob on her leg has rebounded to it's former glory (ugh!). Hopefully nothing more happens with it, but if it remains the same over the summer I'm going to get it removed. I could do it now, but I feel like she really needs her body to fully recover from the radiation treatments before doing anymore surgery unless it's an emergency. Our upcoming month in New Hampshire will do us both good!

Getting back up to speed

2010-06-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

Vida's got a bounce in her step again.

She's eating normally too,which is terrific for me (no more fancy concocting, yay!). We're still on somewhat limited supplements, and using the detox and support supplements from my holistic vet. We'll be doing those for another two weeks (so a month total). She's also back on joint supplements, despite her vigor her hocks/carpals/stifles were dry and creaky.

Speaking of my holistic vet... I hope I didn't sound cranky about them in my last post as I complained about lack of ingredient listing. They always provide them for me when I ask. I just wish it was more common for it to be provided as a matter of course, no matter who you see. All the tiny bottles don't fit the information, for sure, but just a handout has a normal routine would be a good practice. Perhaps most owners lose those things, but this would be part of training them to keep a file, and learn a little bit about what their pets are being given. Commercial products do that to, so it's a general issue for me.

I will be taking a new photo to post soon of her chin. Still no hair, but lots of pigment filling in camouflages that.

Aiming for a swim at dog beach today, it's the last week for off-leash play before the summer restriction starts.

What they don't tell you

2010-05-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

Word to the wise - ask a lot about side effects. Seems that mainstream medical, whether for humans or for pets, really don't like to talk about the side effects of medical procedures. They want to tell you about the positives, not the negatives.

The negatives we're talking about in Vida's case aren't life threatening, but knowing what to really expect, for me, is reassuring.

I want to be told that her hair will slough off in cruddy patches, that the skin will heal, but the hair probably won't come back. Pretty obvious, you'd think, to tell someone that their dog will have a big bare patch where the radiation was done. This is just an aesthetic issue in the end, but during the process it's nice to know what to expect so you don't waste time peering at it every other day.

Today I took Vida to see her holistic vet. I'd scheduled this appointment a couple of weeks ago, and knew that it would be just after she'd finished her prednisone, so the timing seemed good to assess her condition and plan ahead for upkeep.

I didn't know that I would be needing help in figuring out what the HECK was going on with her since stopping the pred last week. Her digestion has been bad, her appetite waaay off, her energy low, her eyes watery... basically she looked sick and miserable. I was worried that her adrenals weren't working properly, but he didn't think so at all (she had perked up a bit with him of course).

He pointed out something that, once he said it, seemed obvious - the prednisone had suppressed her body's ability to detoxify, so now that the pred was out of her system, her body started dumping toxins. He said he saw this a lot, the side effects that come a month or so after radiation is finished, and this is where his question came...

"Didn't they warn you about that?"

No.

No they didn't. And it would've been so simple for them to tell me to expect her body to detoxify when the pred was done, so to plan accordingly.

Instead I've spent the last few days worrying, adding and subtracting supplements, messing with her food, and (a second time for emphasis) worrying.

So for the next month she'll be getting rid of crud. Hopefully I'll only have to play with her food for the next week, but we'll see. She's superstitious because whatever she ate last made her feel crummy, so it's cooking meat for tastiness, and shifting entrees around so she stays excited.

Supplements? A few new ones for this process, and most others put aside for the time being.

Liver support capsule called "Hepato Support" with milk thistle and some B-Vits.
Homeopathic detoxifier - don't ask me what's in it, I don't know (a pet peeve of mine - please give me an ingredient list).
Herbal tincture called "Astragalus Formula (again, no ingredient list, grrrr).

Plus: digestive enzymes (InClover OptaGest, a double dose), Organic Pet Superfood (mushrooms), and Perfect Form by The Honest Kitchen.

So she got a little bit of cooked venison tonight, with all of her new supplements except the homeopathic (I'll do that later by itself), and she ate it all. So far so good!

Hopefully my blog posts of the past several weeks will help other dog owners not be disturbed or surprised by the process, and have some ideas of what to do about it, and WHAT TO ASK.

Recipe: Supportive Cancer Care Tea

2010-05-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

This post is a bit of repeat because I'm entering this recipe in the Mountain Rose Herbs Recipe Contest in the Medicinal category.

The need arose because my dog underwent radiation treatment for cancer - an all-too-common disease in dog's today. Sometimes we really need the mainstream treatment, but we can integrate supportive holistic care with that treatment to ensure the best outcome for our beloved animals.

My recipes are adaptable.You will notice there are no hard amounts given. In fact, this recipe was adjusted for different stages of care on my own dog (this blog post in particular discusses that). Please understand that it's important to pay attention to your dog when using this and adjust as needed. This is especially true if your dog has debilitated organ functions on top of the cancer. I will point out any ingredients that you should take extra care with.You'll notice that I use some fresh ingredients and some dry; this was just because I had some items fresh in my yard, but you can adjust the recipe to use dried.

This tea recipe is designed to support the animal through treatment as a Qi booster and digestive soother, counteracting the heat and stagnation that results from treatments like radiation, and the medications that go along with it. This particular tea also provides some support for the mucous membranes of the mouth (where my dog's radiation was directed).

You'll also notice that this recipe includes a bone! This is primarily for flavor, but if your dog's digestion (especially pancreas and liver) is in good condition you can give them an extra treat by scooping out the marrow for them (my dog loved that, and would drink a whole bowl of freshly made tea). Do not feed the marrow to dogs with any digestive weakness ("sensitive stomach", etc).

1.5 liters of water
One 4" bison or beef bone
1/3+ cup dried Astragalus Root
1/4 cup dried Slippery Elm Bark (or 2 T Slippery Elm + 2 T. Marshmallow Root if there is a lot of heat in the system)
Handful of dried Calendula Flowers
3 small fresh Comfrey Leaves (may substitute 1/4 cup dried Nettles if concerned about liver function - or just for a change)
Handful of fresh Plantain Leaves

Chop any fresh ingredients. Simmer the bone in the water with a tight lid for awhile - 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. Add the astragalus root and slippery elm/marshmallow and simmer, tightly covered, for another 30-45 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and turn off the heat. Let sit, covered, at least 30 minutes, or until it's cooled down enough to handle. Store refrigerated for up to six days.

Be careful feeding your dog warm tea. Their sense of what's safe heat-wise is much more sensitive than ours. What feels pleasantly warm to us seems dangerously hot to to them, so be sure it's cooled to room temperature before serving.

Use this tea as the base for all their meals, whether you're cooking, feeding raw, or feeding kibble. For example, I lightly cooked my dog's food during treatment and used the tea as the liquid for poaching the meat. If using dehydrated food use the tea instead of water to rehydrate it.

My 40 pound dog went through 1.5 liters in 3-4 days. Most dogs won't drink it on it's own, so expect to be adding some amount of meat-based foods to it (sometimes just a spoonful of meat stirred in is all it takes). An average amount for my dog to take at one time would be about 1/2-3/4 of a cup, and she would get this at least 3 times a day.

If your dog is experiencing inappetence due to treatments or meds, be sure that this is included in whatever you do manage to get your dog to eat. Even a spoonful will help calm their digestive system and improve appetite.

The core of this remedy is the astragalus root. This is completely safe to use and provides the deepest support in the recipe. The slippery elm and plantain are extremely helpful for soothing their digestive tract, and are both very safe. Slippery Elm powder can be added directly to their meals in addition to this tea.

Depending on how long your dog's treatment lasts you may make adjustments to this recipe according to their current needs. Just be sure to always include the astragalus.

My dog also gets medicinal mushroom tea, and was on detoxifying herbs too, so please remember the stated goal of this tea: support. The most effective care and long term immune help does require more than this recipe can provide.

You can see the progress my dog (Vida, posed here in front of some of her medicine) made through her radiation treatments by reading the blog posts of April and May 2010. These posts contain more of my commentary on the herbal choices I made during the process, as well as information about all the other goodies I'm giving her for her healing. I enjoy feedback, so please don't hesitate to leave comments on any of my posts, and please "follow" La Vida Fresca.

Recipe: Topical Gel for Radiation Burns

2010-05-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

This post is a bit of repeat because I'm entering this recipe in the Mountain Rose Herbs Recipe Contest in the Medicinal category.

This gel is designed for topical use but I didn't put it in the Body Care category because (a) it can be safely ingested and provide some relief in that way too and (b) I kind of interpret the "body care" term to be mainly about cosmetics.

The need arose because my dog underwent radiation treatment for cancer - an all-too-common disease in dog's today. Sometimes we really need the mainstream treatment, but we can integrate supportive holistic care with that treatment to ensure the best outcome for our beloved animals.

This gel is designed for dogs, but that doesn't mean you can't use it too. I've designed to be safe if licked off because that is the normal response of a dog. My own dog's cancer was in her mouth, so there was no way to bandage the area after application, and in fact it was beneficial for her to have the gel inside her mouth as well as on the outside of her lower jaw, which ended up being the are that was most effected.

My recipes are adaptable. In fact, this recipe was adjusted for different stages of care on my own dog. Please understand that it's important to pay attention to your own dog when using this and adjust as needed. You'll notice that I use some fresh ingredients and some dry; this was just because I had some items fresh in my yard, but you can adjust the recipe to use dried.

This recipe is for the most active stage of skin burn when there is oozing, skin and hair loss, and inflammation:

8 oz. water
2 Tablespoons dried Calendula Flowers
1 Tablespoons fresh, chopped Comfrey Leaf (or 1/2 T. dry)
1 Tablespoons dried Yarrow flower and leaf
1/4 teaspoons dried Goldenseal Root
1/2 teaspoons fresh, chopped Sage Leaf (or 1/4 tsp dry)
3 teaspoons dried Irish Moss
6-7 oz aloe vera juice (I use Lily of the Valley organic, preservative-free filet juice)

Combine the calendula, comfrey, yarrow, goldenseal, and sage. Bring the water to a boil and pour over these herbs, cover and let steep for at least 30 minutes.

Strain this tea and pour it into a small saucepan. Put the irish moss into a small cotton bag and submerge it in the tea. Heat this pan gently. There's no need to boil this, just use medium/low heat, stirring gently for at about 15 minutes until you notice that the liquid has become a little more viscous and coats your spoon.

Pour this liquid out and squeeze the cotton bag. This can be a little messy! The best result I had was using bamboo toast tongs to squeeze the thicker gel that has collected in bag.

[wondering why so tricky with the irish moss? This is to minimize debris in the finished gel. If you are using this on an area of the body that can be bandaged you won't have to worry so much about plant material in the gel because you'll be able to put a barrier on the wound itself.]

Let this cool. Mix the resulting liquid 50/50 with aloe vera juice. Best result are achieved if you use a small whisk to stir the aloe in. If your aloe has already been refrigerated this mixture will thicken immediately as you stir. It will continue to thicken as it cools, and should be refrigerated.

Using an oral syringe is an easy way to apply this gel, and also keeps the stored gel clean.

Apply this gel 4-6 times a day during this acute side effect period.

Variations

Early stages of radiations treatments: Use this version as a preventative. It's more of a rinse than a gel, and contains fewer ingredients. Apply twice a day.

Reduce the Irish Moss to 2 teaspoons.
Use only the Calendula and Comfrey

Late stage of burn recovery: Use this when the area has dried out and inflammation has reduced. Apply twice a day.

Maintain the primary recipe, only removing the Goldenseal Root.

You can see the progress my dog (Vida, posed here in front of some of her medicine) made through her radiation treatments by reading the blog posts of April and May 2010. These posts contain more of my commentary on the herbal choices I made during the process, as well as information about all the other goodies I'm giving her for her healing. I enjoy feedback, so please don't hesitate to leave comments on any of my posts, and please "follow" La Vida Fresca.

Photo Update - recheck #2

2010-05-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

Today when we were at Dr. Proulx's office I suggested that maybe we'd lost our "least side effects ever" title, but he thought maybe not. She's right on track with her healing. We'll see him again in one month for our "baseline" assessment that we'll move forward with.

I'm kind of fascinated by the way her teeth have arranged. It looks like one is missing, but it's just that they kept the gap that developed with the tumor. The thing is, where did that space come from? Everything used to fit.

And she's been using her teeth the past week or so - chewing her nylabone every day, sometimes for 30-45 minutes, with vigor. I had to get her a new one yesterday because one of her old ones was so worn down.

She's tapering down more on the prednisone and will be off completely in about 10 days. She's off the tea, but on everything else. Gel on her chin is only once or twice a day now (and an adjusted recipe again).

I think the two beach swims last week helped clean things up a bit.

Yes, she lost more hair, but if you look close you can see some coming back, and all the skin is quiet (no more discharge). We'll have to wait and see what happens (guess she needs a good old fashioned hair tonic now!).

What's with the stick? A handy way to keep her on her back for a good chin view (you can't see my hand holding it off camera).

Photo Update - 2 weeks post (haste!)

2010-05-04T17:08:00.000-07:00

The tumor area has gone down just a nudge, I think.

Meanwhile the burn area got larger. It came down around her chin a-ways on the right side (The other side of her mouth wasn't as hard hit, I think they always aimed it at the right side of her mouth).

My, but it looks clean doesn't it!
Yesterday I took her swimming at dog beach in Del Mar - her first swim since all the treatment started. Clean and exercise your dog without breaking a sweat! Well the swim softened up all the scabs and gunk that had been accumulating and it came right off.

It's hard to see but there are hairs coming back already, so I feel confident that the hair will all grow back eventually. The area she'll have the hardest time not scarring will probably be the front because her licking impacts that small area the most.

I'll find out in a week how she compares to other dogs in terms of burn effect. We may have lost the "least amount of side effects" prize with the area expansion this week, but I'm still applying the gel to speed healing.

Today's tea is....

2010-04-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

1/3 c. astragalus root
2 T. slippery elm bark
1 T. yarrow leaf and flower
1/3 c. calendula flower
1/4 c. fresh plantain (lanceolata) leaves
1.5 liters water
1 4" bison leg bone

(first serving gets the marrow!)

I finally figured out that I should write up this whole herbal care program for my correspondence course. I should've been finished with the whole thing by now, but reasearching and preparing this stuff for Vida has been one reason I'm not, so I might as well use it as homework.

Well that was the dog's tea.
My tea: handful of nettles, pinch of red clover,pinch of blue vervain, all in my french press. Taste good, easy to make.

The "Ugh!" of Aftercare

2010-04-29T10:04:00.000-07:00

And that's from Vida too.

It's clear now that one reason many dogs experience worse side-effects may be because they aren't getting the supervision and frequent interactions that I'm able to give Vida.

If I had to leave her alone all day she would have to wear a cone to keep her from scratching the area. She's getting away with a little bit, but it only takes one or two good scrapes with a nail to tear open the skin that's struggling to heal. I'm threatening her with a cone if she doesn't stop, and she hates my admonitions.

She also wouldn't get the frequent gel applications to her skin. When it dries out it gets itchy. It's also threatening (ok, more than threatening) to increase it's acreage on her chin. So I'm trying to apply it at least every two hours during the day. If she spends time outside with this wind it gets dry and itchy, so it looks like I'll be carrying a kit with me to a dog party this afternoon.

I don't know how one can really do good herbal work with singular recipes because circumstances vary so much. I'm changing her gel recipe today in response to the need for stronger and quicker healing of the skin (let's get this over with!).

3 t. irish moss simmered 5 min. in 8 oz water
this is poured over:
2 T. calendula
1 T. fresh comfrey leaf
1 T. yarrow
1/4 t. goldenseal
1/2 t. fresh sage
Let steep for at least 30 minutes (or until I get back to it, whichever is longer)
The resulting liquid is mixed 50/50 with aloe vera juice and stirred occasionally as it cools and thickens.

(I hope everyone hasn't lost basic cooking knowledge: lowercase "t" = teaspoon, uppercase "T" = Tablespoon)

This mixture adds more antibacterial and astringent oomph. I'm tired of green goo (Vida is too), and need to speed the healing. We'll see how it works.

Along these lines I'm also starting her back on two supplements: antioxidant capsules and PetLife. She's back on raw, still on tea and all her other goodies.

I'm also trying to use the Photonic on the wounds to speed up the healing. I say try because she's completely sick of any and all ministrations to the area, but luckily the red light therapy works well in short bursts. It's just trying to aim at at parts she's trying to hide while blocking her sightlines.

This is certainly a care situation that many owners could use help with simply because of the persistance required. Vida and I can't wait 'til it's over!

"The least side effects I've ever seen."

2010-04-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's a quote from Vida's radiation oncologist, Dr. Proulx.

Yay!

He saw her today, four days after her final radiation treatment. She finally did have some burn effect on the outside of her mouth start this weekend (today's Tuesday), but not much. Here are the photos, sort of gross but really, if you're wondering what it might look like if it's ever your dog here it is.

I've marked the outer edge of her lip. The lip itself shows pigment loss, which indicates that she's lost the top layer of skin even though it looks ok otherwise. The very top edge is almost white today. I'm not sure if the pigment will come back. The dark color still on her front lip makes it easy to discern the bottom line, and the area under it where there's been hair and skin loss and the color is pink/grey.

You can also see how the tumor area continues to shrink and the shape has evened out.

This side view shows the worse of the two sides, she more often sleeps on this side so I think that's why it's taken on a little more damage (the area not breathing as well). Though when resting she often tries to keep her head upright, or hanging over the edge a bit.

You can just make out the orange line that was used as a guide during radiation (just follow down from the arrow, it angles slightly right), and you'll also notice that everything behind that orange line is intact (black lip, hair).

The lip has lost all the black pigment. There is a crease below the largest part of her lip that is a little problematic, and I ensure that I flush that area with gel by lifting the skin a bit.

The whole area is a bit gooey, but that's good. If allowed to dry out it becomes itchy and she scratches at it. While we might have been taught that this greenish goo is terrible, the skin under it is not red, so while she is pushing out junk it's not an infection. This goo helps protect the damaged skin too.

I'm putting the gel on her mouth at least six times a day. During the day I try to do it every couple of hours. She hates it. She doesn't mind it in her mouth, but she hates it gooping up her chin. She immediately tries to groom, even reaching back to lick her shoulder in an attempt to curl her tongue down to the side. Mainly she licks her forelegs, again to turn her tongue back so the underside of it wipes her chin and lip.

I also started adding colloidal silver and crab apple flower essence to her drinking water to help keep the area from harboring infection.

I can't emphasis enough the diligence with which natural remedies need to be applied. I know I won't need to do it forever, and that keeps me at it. She's still getting her tea, and all the other supplements. I'll start cutting back her prednisone this weekend to every other day.

Speaking of pred - the vet had no idea why her lipoma got smaller. He said he'd never seen that happen before, and couldn't say why. I presented my theory that the lipoma had been storing cancer junk (a technical term, hehe) - that when we first started her on TCM herbs for the cancer the lipoma began to develop, as if the body was trying to quarantine the cells it was finding, and continued to grow slowly until she was started on the pred. So did the pred kill those cells off, shrinking the lump?. He didn't seem concerned about it, and didn't mention anything about removing it. We'll have to see if it comes back when she's off the pred, I guess.

I love that my dog's recovery has a bit of mystery to it.

We're back for a re-check in two weeks. Vida's tired of not being able to play fetch and such. Soon!

Photo Update - Day 23

2010-04-20T14:01:00.000-07:00

A quick peak at the start of her last week.

The only indication of burned skin is the loss of pigment on her lips.

She's shown no sensitivity, so pain seems minimal. In fact she's back to chewing vigorously on her nylabone, fetching her old Kong, and taking treats with full contact of her front teeth.

I made up a fresh batch of mouthwash for the burns. Still working out what the final recipe will be (complete with pretty pictures, going to enter it in a contest), but today's was:

One cup of water. 2 tsp Irish Moss. Give it 30 minutes in the cold water before bringing it carefully to a boil. Pour that over 1 T fresh Comfrey leaf and 2 T Calendula flowers. Let steep 30 minutes then strain. When room temperature stir in an equal amount of Aloe juice and chill.

Closeup of the curious hole I noticed. I'm going to ask about that tomorrow.

And as a reminder, here she was on day 2.

ONLY THREE MORE TREATMENTS!!

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2010-04-17T19:31:00.001-07:00

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Tea Change?

2010-04-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

Vida's going through a liter of tea about every four days, so I'm making another batch this morning. I've adjusted the recipe a bit: Astragalus, Calendula, fresh Plantain are all the same, but I've halved the Slippery Elm and filled that in with Marshmallow Root, and brought back a little bit of Nettle Leaf instead of fresh Comfrey Leaf.

Did I need to change? Am I changing capriciously? Am I overthinking? I'm not sure, but I know that there is never one way to do things when it comes to herbs.

There are always multiple choices for supportive herbs, and while some people find that aggravating I actually find it comforting because I know that as long as I stay within certain parameters I'll be doing fine. I also feel that this gives me the freedom to make these small changes to customize it for each animal.

For instance, I've kept the foundation of Astragalus through all the changes I've made, as this is so strongly indicated for her situation with cancer (immune booster, qi booster, affinity for the stomach).

A couple batches ago I switched from Chamomile to Calendula because Calendula's anti-inflammatory and healing aspects for skin were so important to promote healing right in her mouth, and I knew that it would have the same soothing result in her stomach, though it's not often thought of for internal use.

I kept the fresh Plantain because it's such an all-rounder - good for her mouth and her digestion, and so easily picked, chopped, and added for an ideal food.

I decided to add a little Marshmallow Root in place of some of the Slippery Elm because it's a little cooler, and she's getting plenty of Slippery Elm directly in her meals. Sometimes I like the idea of herb partners, they have similar actions but slightly different energetics.

I decided to put a modest amount of Nettle back in to the mix for the mineral nutrients and support. I took out the fresh comfrey leaf because I already have it in her mouth rinse, and admit to some concern about even slight impact on her liver due to the prednisone.

I know that the issue of liver effect from Comfrey is contentious, but if the liver is under direct pharmaceutical stress I figured I'd play it safe by alternating the use of the Comfrey (the leaves are young now, which means this is more of an issue - sorry, don't want to look up the chemical particulars for you on this).

The importance right now is support.

It's always important to have a goal with your herbs. The goal might change frequently, but you always need to keep your basic goal in mind when creating teas (and other concoctions).

The goals of this tea are: support of her basic energy, support of her digestion, contacting her mouth with herbs that will help prevent burn side effects (in conjunction with a more specific mouthwash).

This is a concentrated time of support while she goes through radiation. It will all be adjusted again (and again and again...).

I don't think I'm being cavalier about the changes, and the base of the tea is in place so it shouldn't cause her to have to adjust to it.

I love experimenting on my dog, but I think I'm experimenting in a good way, not a reckless way. Believe me, it takes some herbal education combined with good observation skills to do it well.

This experience is an amazing education for me, and will result in my being able to help others with their dogs.

Who's pain is it anyway

2010-04-13T20:32:00.000-07:00

Here's Vida on Day 16 of her radiation (and prednisone) treatment.

Her determined look is because she does NOT want to open her mouth for the photo. I took a lot of pictures, and at least got a straight on look here because I was waving around a piece of Salmon Paws (did I mention the prednisone?).

I swear, as soon as the camera came up, the mouth went shut.

But do you notice - the mouth is ALL the way shut! That is a terrific improvement (just take a look at the photo in the post called "Zap Away" from March 30th).

I'm going to get a proper photo soon, but I've been giving her a break from too much mouth examination handling. Just get her smiling and you can catch a good look (so if your a fan you'll have to come see her in person).

She's going to the chiropractor tomorrow (Cheryl Ricketts-Mulvey), and I can tell that she really needs it. I hope my back feels better after her adjustment too because I swear that I'm taking on some of her various states of being. I think this process is making me a little too open. I don't normally have such a variety of fleeting pains and problems: back, head, stomach... I need to take care of myself a bit more.

So far she hasn't had any signs of burns that I can see. They said it would start 10-12 days in. That makes me feel pretty good about my herbal concoctions.

I've been flushing her mouth four times a day, a process she's grown accustomed to (chin down, squirt one side, squirt the other). I'm currently trying to work out a recipe that includes irish moss to create a gel - and by currently I mean I'm getting up in the middle of writing this to whisk it as it chills to see if that and my reworking of the proportions gives me gel and not jelly.

I'm quite enjoying the freestyling of these remedies. I'm not using anything too unusual, I'm just choosing judiciously and creating products that my dog accepts.

For instance, I don't want to make something for her chin that has a lick deterrent in it, because I think that sets up a negative energy for the healing. If she needs something applied a few times a day in and around her mouth, shouldn't it be tolerable?

The irish moss is interesting because it smells like the ocean, and she seems attracted to it.

So now I need to get some rest so I can get her back to the vet tomorrow morning at 8am for treatment number 12 (of 19). She doesn't want to use the Bio-Mat so I'm going to use it for awhile.

She vibrates with nerves while we're waiting, but they told me that when she gets to the treatment room she jumps her front feet up on the table as if to say "ok, let's get this over with!"

This is a healing job for both of us, and we're gettin' through it together.

Ingredients for this week's dog tea

2010-04-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

In anticipation of burns starting soon, I've made a new tea for Vida.

Clockwise from the top:

+ fresh Comfrey leaf
+ fresh Plantain leaf
+ dried Astragalus root
+ dried Calendula flower
+ fresh Bison bone
+ dried Slippery Elm bark

Yes, I've resorted to cooking a bone with the plants to get easier compliance. This is because I really want to be sure she's drinking it full strength when asked.

I've formulated this tea to help with the impending burns, to see what I can do to have less severe burns produced during the radiation process. While I did make a wash with aloe juice and calendula/comfrey tea, and I've started irrigating her mouth with it a few times a day, I think that the more frequently I can put helpful herbs on that tissue, the better.

This was made with one liter of water. The bone, astragalus, and slippery elm went in cold water which was brought to a boil and simmered for about 45 minutes. I then added the flowers and fresh leaves (which I minced). I turned the heat off and left it for over an hour before I strained it out. She loved it!

It turns out that Vida's been getting out more quickly from treatments because they changed the gas they were using. I don't remember being told they were using gas at all with the IV, but hey, they probably expect most people don't want to know the details.

They switched from Isoflurane (very commonly used) to Sevoflurane (more expensive). The Iso- gets them both sedated and then awake in about two minutes. The problem is that when they wake up their cognition comes back before their motor skills do, which can obviously be stressful for some dogs. Vida's first action was to try to bark, small muffled barks at first, which indicates her stress. So a few days ago they switched to Sevo-, which gets them sedated and awake in about thirty seconds, and when they wake both cognition and motor skills return simultaneously, which is much less stressful.

I haven't been able to break through her serious nerves beforehand - full body shaking, poor thing. But I have to say, when she comes out, she's not doing that at all. She's happy to leave, but she's much more relaxed. The nervous system is very powerful. You can't always get it to do what you think is best, no matter how many times you give flower essences and press on acu-points. Sometimes you just need to let them be nervous, knowing that it will be over soon.

So that's 8 down, 11 to go. Tomorrow is Friday, then she has the weekend off.

Smart Dog? Hmmm.. yes but....

2010-04-06T17:34:00.000-07:00

Day 9.

6 treatments down, 13 to go.

The steroids have already made the tumor smaller. The lipoma on her rear leg is smaller too, which I hadn't expected. I'll need to ask the vet about that when I have a chance.

Don't worry, she may look like she's wincing but she's just being faced with the sun, and is not keen on having her portrait taken.

Vida is a smart dog. Sometimes that helps this process, sometimes not so much.

I learned today (when she came out in record time again) that when she starts barking the first time she's ready to eat, and when she starts barking the second time she's ready to go home.

She doesn't really like taking the Animals' Apawthecary Ginger/Mint tincture because it makes her burp right away - but of course in an hour she's feeling great and wants to eat (which by that time she usually shouldn't to avoid later stomach junk).

She's learned to eat her sort-of hidden prednisone in order to avoid the indignity of being pilled.

She lets me do acupressure and tui-na to move the qi down, which I need to do a few times later in the day/evening to help her digestion. She gets so warm, it's as though the radiation is creating heat, and it's swirling around her midsection. The qi is all discombobulated. Today I gently stroked her with a zoom groom (a rubber curry), and she burped during that.

She may come to hate what I started today: dabbing her ching and irrigating her mouth to fend off burns. I'm using aloe vera juice combined with an infusion of calendula flowers and (fresh) comfrey leaf. Hopefully, when it does get more irritated, the cold soothing wash will be welcomed.

She's terribly nervous when we are waiting to go in for treatment. I feel bad about that, but I know it will pass. She knows when it's a treatment day because she doesn't get fed first thing, so she spends the next hour trying to change my mind, while at the same time refusing to drink any water. This morning I resorted to spiking her water with meat juice because I knew she hadn't had any water since early the evening before....

She normally doesn't drink at night. The steroids have made her more thirsty, and one night in particular she had a big drink at night. Poor thing wet the bed, so no more night drinking (her decision). I can tell she's feeling dry, but she refuses my entreaties to just have a sip. The dog door is open, but she doesn't want to get caught. The radiation works better on hydrated tissue so it's a bit of an issue. As for her leaking - this used to be caused by a sensitivity to chicken, but in general it seems to be that she doesn't have enough qi down there to do the job, hence the tui-na and acupressure during this process to get it moved back down the body as smoothly as possible.

Often she just wants to take care of herself. This is the disconnect between us, where she doesn't always understand the benefits of what I'm foisting on her. If it's not immediate it's hard for her to make the connection, despite what I try to say. So I just do it. After all, what she thinks about me in this moment is as important as helping her feel better and do better with this process.

I can take the dirty looks.

What a difference a day makes!

2010-04-02T21:23:00.001-07:00

Sorry, cheesy title, but it's true.

Vida was a new dog today, almost back to her old self.

And I'd like to take credit.

Well, I'd like to share credit with all of our friends who've been sending their loving, healing energy our way. I swear I can feel it, and I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.

It's certainly not the anesthesia, radiation, and steroids that are making her feel better. It's the herbs, most of all, I think. The astragalus, given by both tea and tincture. The slippery elm. And all the other goodies I'm giving her, helping her detox the side-effects of the treatment, build her qi, and soothe her digestion.

It may seem like a lot of work to some, but the payoff is astounding. This is the kind of care I wish every dog got. Supportive care to help them through this strong process. To use plant medicine to provide gentle support, rather than mainstream pharmaceuticals that throw the body around from one extreme to the other and unable to balance itself.

Today she came to work at the store. I brought a bed from home and put it in the back room, expecting her to spend much of her time in it, resting and avoiding the activity of shoppers and their pets.

Boy was I wrong. She spent the day hanging out by the counter begging for treats, greeting people, and generally grabbing the attention of everyone who came in the door. She wasn't at her highest energy, but I saw her do things I haven't seen her do in over a week: canter, groom herself, and, most surprisingly, perform her "La Vida Loca" trick (catching her tail and walking with it). She really wants to get back to normal, and does it at her own speed. A speed that was much faster today than I expected.

So if you ever think that you couldn't possibly keep up on caretaking for a pet with natural methods, measuring out homemade concoctions, dispensing drops, and cooking, well let me tell you that you must know that it will be worth every effort.

Pour your love into these actions and you will be rewarded. You may not always be able to "cure" your pet, but you will certainly provide them, and yourself, with healing.

Next week I'll start concocting a topical rinse. If I start dabbing it on early maybe I'll head off the worst of burns.

Today's score, 4 down, 15 to go, with the weekend off. Hurray!

The Choreography of Caretaking

2010-04-01T19:35:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to learn the new rhythm of the day for Vida.

What governs this rhythm?

Medicine: anesthesia, radiation, prednisone (steroids). These are so strong that they require everything else be done in response to them. You can't ask them to be forgiving, you have to get your timing down to help her body rebound from the worst of their effects. Not guerrilla warfare, but guerrilla care.

The herbs, acupressure, flower essences, reiki, and food - these all have to partner with each other and be choreographed within the framework of the medicine.

She woke up today hungry, but since she couldn't eat until after her radiation treatment she went to a bowl and drank. She hadn't gotten up at all during the night to drink, despite her evening dose of steroids, so she drank a lot. Within a few minutes she was clearly working hard to hold it down, and spent the rest of the early morning in bed. I left her alone (in part because her bowl of water included tea, which was doing some secret good inside of her).

Then she trots out to the car and hops in. This reminds me not to freak out when she's in bed looking so off.

We had a bit of a schedule glitch, ending up with a later treatment time due to a mechanical glitch. She ate her whole meal at the hospital, and the tea with me in the waiting room (not sure why she waits to drink it with me). She drank even more in the car.

She came home and looked at her empty dish. So I fed her again about an hour later. I figured that I should feed her when she wanted to eat, because later in the day she wouldn't (the previous night she finally ate at 9pm, eagerly, but only when I brought to her in bed). I put her detox tincture, herbs, and digestives in the food. I keep forgetting the fish oil, a sign that I've not quite acclimated to the new routine.

The mantra is "get the herbs in when you can."

The other mantra I'm learning is "get the herbs in when they're needed."

It seems like she gets a couple hours of high off the sweet anesthesia, then it all starts to go downhill (I joked with someone that I was worried she'd become and addict). The downside of the anesthesia hits her - her stomach is gurgling, she lays in bed looking miserable.

The ginger-mint tincture helps (she burps a little). I wash it down with some tea. I give it again a couple hours later with some astragalus tincture and make a note to start earlier with this intervention tomorrow.

I also use acupressure on Earth points (ST36, SP4), and CV12.

I've taken to making her get up every so often to walk around (don't worry, my insistence is completely hands-off). I'm glad if she stops at the bowl, but then have to stop her before she fills up too much. She walks around looking a bit delicate, the hair on her lower back rising up, a sign of discomfort I don't quite understand. I've learned that in the afternoon she just wants to relieve herself and go back to bed.

She's surprisingly warm, as if the heat of the radiation has taken over. Her pulse is a bit fast, as is her breathing. The restless breathing is what bothers me the most because it tells me she's not at ease (though she's quiet in her bed).

Now that I've given her the prednisone again I'm waiting to see if things settle down for the night. I'll probably syringe a little tea/water in later if she doesn't drink on her own (on the way back from her last trip out at night - one that I'll likely have to insist on.

I may get a TCM herb formula from Dr. Weingardt to help her stomach if I'm not able to be more effective on her own.

It's my task to find the balance point. To do what's needed when it will work best, and do it as simply as possible.

I'm glad that her treatment is on a schedule (M-F, 8am). It will help both of us get the hang of this difficult dance together. Then it will be over and we'll be on to bigger and better things. Current score: 3 down, 16 to go.

Tricks with Teas and Tinctures

2010-03-31T19:28:00.000-07:00

It is becoming apparent that my usually voracious pup, who can be counted on to eat anything I need her to eat, will test my tricks.

It's important for her to eat all the things she needs to keep her strength up, to keep her body healthy through the anesthesia, radiation, and medication for the next month.

Here are the tactics I'm starting with... so far it's going... ok.

The prednisone makes her thirsty. Well, why have her drink plain water when I can have her drink medicinal water.

So this morning I made a witches brew of immune and digestive helpers that I could add to her water and her food (ugh, more about food later). Mainly Astragalus, with Nettle, Chamomile, Slippery Elm, and some of my medicinal mushroom tea. I thinned it down in her bowls, and though I can see that she would prefer to have plain water sometimes, she drinks it.

Now sometimes she feels so crummy she doesn't want to drink either. And frankly, she shouldn't have to if it's just going to come up again (see, she's never been good at holding a lot of water, but she can't help herself right now, poor thing). So I also have some tinctures that I can just squirt in her mouth to ensure she gets something medicinal that will help her feel better eventually.

Animals' Apawthecary to the rescue! Detox Blend, Astragalus, and Ginger/Mint are all on the menu now. I'm so glad to have these easy products to use - I'm pretty discombobulated right now.

So, is my dog feeling chipper this evening (having had an unusual mid-week day off from treatment)? No.

I'm doing my best to leave her alone, but I can't lie that I was a disappointed that she didn't want any of the fabulous dinner I put together for her. I cooked, dammit! She tasted a tiny bit I gave her in her bed, but then I had to pill her with her Pred in a tiny bit of raw, and man was she offended.

Luckily flower essences are always easy. I'm going to use Yarrow Environmental Solution before and after her treatments - misting her because the taste is harsh. I also made her a custom blend - a big mix of stuff that I can give direct and put in everything she eats and drinks. Leave a comment if you want details on these:

American Ginseng (from Woodland Essence)
Goldenseal (also W.E.)
Crab Apple
Chamomile
Olive
Arnica
Borage
Self-Heal
Love-Lies-Bleeding
Five Flower

As I said, I'm trying to leave her alone, but I do work some of the Earth acu-points on her rear legs to try and bring that energy back to it's place. It's almost like her body's energy has abandoned it's post/s in response to the radiation attack, leaving other aspects vulnerable.

Tomorrow's a new day. After 9:30 tomorrow morning it will be 3 down, 16 to go.

Zap Away!

2010-03-30T09:15:00.000-07:00

It's day two. I'm writing this as I wait for Vida at California Veterinary Specialists Angel Care Cancer Center.

Yesterday the bleeding finally caught up with her and she was anemic. Did refused to eat food in the morning. I syringed some chamomile and slippery elm tea in to her to quite her gurgling stomach. She felt awful! I moved her appointment up a day. Who knew we would not only have a consult, but would start her treatment the same day! Her inappetance turned out to be fortuitous.

[Oh! J from Jimbo's dropped in to see me and brought a bearclaw muffin from Panera - what a sweetheart!]

So - a whirlwind of veterinary news, and a week of really positive veterinary experiences. Started last week with Holly Mullen DVM, continued Sunday with a vaccine seminar by Drs Schultz and Dodds where I saw lots of supportive folks including Dr. Weingardt. Yesterday we met Dr. Proulx and his staff and are starting down a treatment road that my instincts say is the right decision.

Vida is getting radiation for her tumor. 19 treatments! Yes, it seems like a lot, but that's because they want to ensure that they don't too so much per day that she can't function. They want the dog to have good quality days during treatment. So if you need to find me I'll be at CVS in Carlsbad, Monday through Friday, from 8:ooam to 9:30 or 10:00am for the next month.

It's pretty amazing how things have advanced. They can target it so they don't damage any other organs or tissue. They use light sedation (Propofol, Michael Jackson's favorite, causes amnesia of the procedure) that is easy for them to clear from (I brought her breakfast and tea, they feed her right when she wakes up). The actual radiation itself only takes about two minutes, maybe less. The time consuming part is hooking her up to all the safety monitoring stuff.

They say they expect at least 80-90% shrinkage (it doesn't start to shrink immediately from radiation, but does continue after the treatment stops), and control for at least two years. That's the least they expect, so it could be even better.

Here is a photo: Day 2. You can see how big it is, and how important it is for us to treat it. The photo was taken outside the hospital, so she looks really unhappy for that reason ("we're back here again?"), and because she thinks she looks ugly with this big tumor everyone notices.

Side effects? Well, there are no long term side effects because of the cells that are targeted (vs bone cancer). Short term she will have some skin and oral "sunburn" that I'll be treating topically with herbs. This will start in about 10 days and last about two weeks. I feel confident that I can treat that, and look forward to showing how well herbs can work on that sort of thing (I'll be posting details on that when it comes up, so look for the recipes then).

One surprise was the including of Prednisone in the treatment. Dr. Proulx was funny ("you'll probably hate this but….")but explained that Pred induces apatosis in plasma and lymph cancers, so it can help kill it, making the total treatment more effective. So she'll be on 15mg for six weeks. I can give her herbs for her liver during this, so will be picking up some Animals' Apawthecary Dandelion/Milk Thistle tincture (though then wondered if I should go for Detox Blend….).The pred will hopefully cause some immediate shrinkage so it's less in the way.

The other surprise was that I have to take her off antioxidants during treatment. When you think about it it makes sense, because we are trying to ruin those cells, not save them. So, I have to stop using most of her supplements. The thing is, when is it a supplement and not a food? Because the fresh food is ok (Yes, I can feed her raw during radiation treatments!), but the supplements aren't.

I can keep: enzymes, probiotics, fish oil, and Connectin.

I have to ditch: mushrooms (all of them? Still checking), PetLife, Green Mush, Cell Discovery (obviously).

I'd like to think I've "banked" a lot in her system, but many of these things work on a daily basis.

Radiation works best on oxygenated and hydrated cells, so while she can't eat after midnight, she can drink anything, and they use oxygen during sedation in part to make sure cells are well filled.

You're probably wondering how much this is all costing. Well, a lot (for me, not for a rich person). $5,600. Am I crazy? I don't think so. The only other alternative is amputating half of her jaw. She would be miserable (I had a preview this week as the tumor grew more and she couldn't do anything fun without dinging it). And euthanizing this vital, vibrant dog would be murder. If I didn't do this there would be nothing but regret. Doing this is nothing for me but a change in my morning routine and a credit card bill (so send those clients my way, haha!).

I never thought I'd feel this positive sitting in a vet's waiting room, but I do. And you should check this place out, they are an emergency hospital too, and I have to say, the vibe of the place is terrific!

Oh! Vida's done… we're be off to work at Dexter's.

Night & Day Surgeon Consults

2010-03-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

Wow.

All I can say is get good, honest referrals from people you trust.

The first surgeon I consulted with is the big shot in dental surgery around here. His website has photos of him with anesthetized tigers and such. He works at the fancy specialty vet hospital in Sorrento Valley. It was a total waste of my $100. Within 2 minutes he'd decided what should be done (lower jaw removal including the first molar), and barely entertained my questions. Nothing more rude and condescending than a phrase like "well, that's the owners decision of course" when you ask about other options.

It took me a few days to decide for sure that it wasn't just my general worry that was getting in the way, I really didn't trust him.

Today I had a consult with Dr. Holly Mullen at VCA Emergency in San Diego and she was wonderful! The complete opposite of the previous fellow. She explained everything in detail, answered all my questions with compassion and respect. She called the oncologist she was referring me to and then called me later in the day to tell me what he said.

This is the surgeon that my own vet would use on his dog, and that Vida's chiropractor ("Dr Cheryl, 760.744.1111) highly recommends.

She didn't even try to get my dog in for surgery! Yep, it was more important for her to recommend what she thought was best for the dog!

Surgically Vida's cancer is such that unless we go for a radical surgery it will just come back and look just as it did today. So that would mean removing the lower jaw back to the second molar and putting two pins in to keep the two sides aligned. That would probably work, but she would have to radically adjust how she eats and plays. And sometimes the body rejects the pins and they have to take them out.

Dr. Mullen said if it were her dog she would do radiation instead. This type of cancer is very sensitive to radiation (the oncologist, Proulx, said "exquisitely sensitive"), and might be cured by it (the original biopsy report said that too). At the very least it should shrink it and require less surgery, and it could even get rid of it for a few years, no surgery necessary (mouth intact!).

She felt, and I agree so far, that Vida would have an easier time with radiation treatments than with the surgery.

I never thought I would do radiation on my dog.

I guess my lesson is to experience integrative treatment for my dog. For example, I will use herbs to soothe her mouth after radiation. That is definitely something I can do! And all the supplements she's getting will certainly support her through the radiation treatments so her immune system doesn't get too damaged.

Yesterday Vida got to playing with her dog friend Max and somehow her tumor got slashed. She was bleeding for so long I actually drove to the vet, and of course it finally stopped when I'd gotten there. Cleaning up the blood reminded me of old punk shows where we would be worried about the cops seeing evidence of a fight. That brought some humor to the situation. Luckily my co-worker Heather (Max's owner) is similarly level-headed, and helped so much - she even drove to the market to get some sage to use as a styptic because the store-bought stuff we grabbed off the shelf sure wasn't working. Today it was still not healed well and she bled at the surgeons office, poor thing. Hopefully that settles down until we get started on this new stuff. Fresh chewed up Plantain will be pressed on in a little while (a leaf of plantain and a leaf of sage were in my pocket earlier, ready to be put to use of she started gushing again).

Other Than Food

2010-03-09T11:27:00.000-08:00

Vida is getting a lot of stuff put into her food these days.

The current list:

Homemade Mushroom Tea
Organic Pet Superfood (mushrooms)
Jarrow PetDopholus
InClover OptaGest (enzymes, prebiotics)
InClover Connectin (joints)
USAnimal Cell Discovery (antioxidants by VetriScience)
Quantum Herbal AT/BC (anti-tumor herbs)
PetLife (LifeOne's pet formula)
Sardine/Anchovie Oil
Green Mush

Yep, I think that's it.

Just finished Animals' Apawthecary Dandelion/Milk Thistle tincture. Will do that again when there's another surgery, but in the meantime it's dandelion season so she's eating fresh.

Almost out of probiotics, so considering whether to let those go for awhile (had started those just before surgery).

Waiting for some NK9 supplement to come in - we're tripling up on mushrooms.

[about the NK9 - vet's get info retailers don't - that this supplement is made from a mushroom specially bred to have higher amounts of AHCC, and grown on a substrate to also encourage higher AHCC levels.]

It's been interesting to see how her system has shifted again. No more need for chamomile in her food, and she's back to eating Primal's pheasant blend without a problem - a month ago she was vomiting that food up.

The latest article I read is one that Dr. Weingardt gave me, and we used as a "restart" guide for her care: A Holistic Approach for the Treatment of Cancer by Joe Demers (PDF format)

So yeah, my dog is getting a ton of supplements, but she eats them just fine, she looks great, and is happy.

What supplements should your dog be eating?

Most of us think our dogs are in pretty good shape most of the time, so we don't think that they need supplements. But if you think about preventing illness, you should consider some. Maybe not every day, but plant-based supplements that enhance the immune system should be part of your dog's diet - especially if you live in "civilization" - i.e. suburbs and cities where toxin exposure is an everyday occurrence.

I pretty much consider greens and fish oil to be food, so then my vote goes for medicinal mushrooms.

You can make your own, or get prepared supplements (some are definitely better than others). I've been adding a large spoonful of the tea to my own juice/joint supp. combo morning and evening and I really think it's helped with my own allergies.

It's hard to say what a therapeutic dose is with medicinal mushrooms, and I'm sure it depends on what is being battled. That was one of the discussions we had about what to give Vida. I feel comfortable with what I'm giving her because she's comfortable.

I'm not getting any kickbacks from recommending certain supplements. Heck, I've posted on how to make your own plenty of times, and that's my preference, especially if you're interested in maintainence and prevention. What I'm doing now for Vida is perhaps what I should've done a year or two ago - really go in heavy with larger therapeutic doses. But hey, live and learn.

If you're dogs not sick yet, use nature's preventatives!

OK, I’m done freaking out….

2010-03-02T21:00:00.001-08:00

…for now.

I wanted to write about Vida, but I just couldn't. Not when I was having such a hard time NOT worrying constantly. Writing would've been a reminder, not a catharsis.

She had a "cosmetic debulking" done on the tumor because it was getting in the way of daily fun. Literally. She'd catch a toy and make it bleed. It's called "cosmetic" because we knew it wasn't cutting away enough to be curative (more on that later). I wanted to do enough to make her comfortable again and to let me (us) regroup on treatment.

Imagine my shock when, five days after surgery, I opened her mouth to take a photo of it and it was back! Like a horror movie monster you can't kill. It wasn't nearly as big, but where the cutting had left a concave region at the front, it was convex.

Let me back up a minute.

The vet who did the surgery is the same one who did it a year and a half ago. So at this visit he read aloud from the original biopsy report, which I hadn't revisited since the first time I read it after the original surgery. It's full of doom and gloom, and not a lot of detail (turns out there isn't much info on plasmacytoma). It talks about bone removal, radiation, aggressiveness, etc, etc. He then gave me the name of a surgeon who specializes in orthopedics (read bone cutter). Basically he made me feel like there was no hope but cutting half her lower jaw off (though he consented to do what I'd asked).

So I spent a couple weeks being scared. I woke up most nights worrying about it. I gave the dog and myself lots of flower essences to deal with it. I tried to answer questions from concerned friends and customers as simply as possible, and insisted that they not feel sorry for her (she HATES that). And I felt alone because I was trying so hard not to share it with the dog that is reading my mind all the time.

I used an animal communicator because I wanted to get Vida's perspective, and that really helped clear my mind, mainly because it helped confirm my own instincts on how she was doing. I wanted to be sure she understood what was being considered (she did, and didn't like the idea). I wanted to know whether it was causing her pain now (it's not, and in the scheme of things pain isn't her biggest worry - being deformed is). It reaffirmed my belief that right now she's ok, and if we need to do more radical surgery we will, but it's not something I should rush in to.

My holistic vet wanted me to email him before our post-surgical visit two weeks after with my ideas and questions about what to do next. I wrote most of it immediately after the surgery, and rewrote some just before the appointment. He could tell.

When I walked in the first thing he said was "He scared you, didn't he?" We talked and had a good meeting. We talked supplements (next post) and surgery (going to have a consult with a dental surgeon he recommends so I have that in my pocket when needed). Vida was on the other side of the room glaring when we talked surgery, but friendly and happy when we talked supplements. When I left the last thing he said was "Remember, next time you're freaking out, call me. That's what I'm here for, that's part of the relationship." That's why he's our vet!

Pay attention, adjust, subtract ego.

2010-01-10T19:51:00.000-08:00

Vida's homeopathic treatment is interesting. I hope it's working. It's certainly doing something.

Observing one's dog during holistic treatments is sooooo important! There are so many clues to help you help them by making adjustments. By observing the animal and taking your ego out of your decisions you will make better decisions for their care. For example,

I posted last time about the herbal formulas I was going to give Vida to accompany her current homeopathic treatment. I'd spent a few days mulling them over before writing them down, reporting them to her vet, and making up formula #1 and giving it to her.

Then I watched and learned.

First of all, she didn't need that much. I had planned on one-half a cup twice a day. After all, we were "fighting" cancer, right? We need to get in there and get things done. Her vitality is good, she should do fine with it.

Uhhh, not so fast!

The homeopathics are aggravating her condition (at this point, the beginning of the process is when that's more likely). I can see how most owners wouldn't notice the aggravations as they're a bit subtle. They are also tied to existing symptoms, so they add to the picture.

She threw up twice, two days apart, at the same time of day under the same conditions. 10:00am - which is right in the middle of the time of day that the Spleen meridian is most active. She's need support for Spleen already. She's been more itchy, some reverse sneezing is back. Liver heat, stagnation, weak spleen coming to the fore... Not to mention that changes in her mouth (larger not only in the main growth but nearby spots that had been incipient).

It became clear that her body was having enough work to do processing the homeopathic treatment, and didn't need the added weightlifting of my mondo herb formulas. What her body needed was support. The body needs support to heal. It doesn't need to be run ragged.

Chamomile to the rescue! Don't make fun of chamomile, it's medicine. I took a look in Cheryl Schwartz's Four Paws Five Directions and found several references that made so much sense (I'm not sure why I didn't use this book as a reference when doing my materia medica, but notes have been added now you can be sure).

We all know chamomile soothes the stomach. It's not discussed much in TCM-centered references, but Schwartz describes it in a way to rang true for this situation; it "relieves constrained Liver Qi," smooths Qi circulation, helps clear damp heat, reduces inflammation, moistens Yin. There was a discussion of Liver and Spleen fighting each other that I found intriguing.

So she's getting a big spoon of Chamomile tea in her meals. Next batch will have a little dandelion added. Go slow, keep it simple, keep it supportive. Keep the ego out of it!

On a lighter note.... Vida got to go with me on a herb walk here at the Tecolote Canyon Nature Preserve led by John Finch from Self-Heal School of Herbs. She tasted fresh rosehips, toyon berries, and loved the young wild mustard (she kept grazing on it while he talked about the next plant!). She'll try anything - a real herbal dog!

New Year, New Battle Tactic for Cancer

2010-01-05T17:37:00.000-08:00

We started on New Year's Day.

Vida's tumor has returned and grown; now larger than it was the first time around. Dr. Weingardt was not happy about (of course), frustrated by the lack of progress, so we've shifted gears to a homeopathic method developed by a Dr. Ramakrishnan called "plussing." The method uses 200C potencies of alternating remedies, one for the location of the cancer, then Carcinosinum. You start with the organ-specific remedy for a week (we're doing 3 doses 15 min. apart before breakfast), then switch to the other for a week.

There is a terrific veterinary article by Joe Demers that describes it, "A Holistic Approach for the Treatment of Cancer" (super easy to find a PDF online with a topic search like "ramakrishnan homeopathy plussing cancer dogs").

We've only been doing it a few days but there's already been a change. The tumor has gotten more "in the way" - maybe a little bigger, but definitely shifting toward the teeth. The evening before this photo she'd ding'd it on toys so it's a little red, with a blood spot in the center. Nothing like bloody toys to get you to look in your dog's mouth. She didn't seem in pain about it, which is a relief (I did see her in pain once when she did ding the gum edge - the same look a person gets when they bite their cheek).

Some people might be disturbed by this change, but I'm seeing it as a sign of movement because it has happened so quickly. I'm hoping the body is trying to purge it - we'll see. I've emailed Dr. Weingardt for his thoughts.

I also emailed him my "homework" - an accompanying herb formula pairing to alternate:

#1
Astragalus (40%)
Alfalfa (20%)
Marshmallow lf/rt (20%)
Nettle (10%)
Panax (10%)

#2
Dandelion Rt (30%)
Red Clover (30%)
Burdock (20%)
Ginger (10%)
Dill (10%)

#1 one is a building formula, and #2 a cleansing formula. I just happen to be doing a formulating section for my herbal studies, so this will go in for homework for that too, hehe. I think I'm going to alternate these weekly as well, but not switch on the same day as the homeopathics. I'm going to do water extractions, but I may leave some of the plant matter in too.

Other than a little dryness to her coat she's doing great otherwise. She kicked my butt at agility class last night!

Winter, even in So Cal, so warm & nourish

2009-12-27T19:40:00.000-08:00

Yes, here’s Vida sunning herself. I know there’s not snow on the ground here, but I still notice I need to take extra care of myself and Vida in the Winter Season. This means extra support for the Kidney system in particular, as it is related to this season.

For Vida that means, for one thing, getting hot water on her food so that it isn’t chilly raw food, and there’s extra moisture right in the meal. I used to worry about making it soupy, but not so much now – I don’t make anything float, but there’s a layer of water on the bottom of the bowl. In actuality most of that gets taken up by the little bit of dehydrated food, and any powdered herbs I add after (some supplements, like joint ones, need to be protected from high heat). I also don’t worry about the water “cooking” the food. If the water is boiling it may show some “cooked” discoloration at the point of impact where it’s poured in, but I think any perception of damage you might have about that is overblown. To me, especially at this time of year, it’s more important to feed moist food that isn’t cold.

Vida’s tumor has grown back, one tooth over from last year. Up until a week or two ago it looked like that last one, but now it has come all the way through the skin. I know the picture is gross, but I think it’s important for people to see what a plasmacytoma might look like. It doesn’t seem to cause any pain; she grooms herself, chews, plays, just as always. She dinged it once playing, it was as if you’d bitten your cheek or something the way she stopped and held herself tight for a several seconds, but when I looked it was clear from where the blood line was that it wasn’t the tumor itself, but the gum at the edge of it that got dinged (cause it sticks out so inconveniently!). We’re going to see her holistic vet in a few days, and right now she’s back on the Quantum Herbal AT/BC blend, which I’m doing at 12 drops twice a day (she weighs about 40 lbs), plus Green Mush, Connectin, Fish Oil, and mushroom tea (reishi, maitaki, shitaki, chaga).

Plants are where you can find the most variety to put in the diet.

Since I have so many dried herbs I decided to try a new tactic to ensure some nutritional variety (after all, the meat doesn’t vary so much). I’ve decided to pick one herb to add for a week. I just keep a spoonful in a small dish next to the other feeding items, and add a pinch to her meal. Then I’ll change it every week.

So for instance, the first week I chose Rosehips. They are very high in vitamin C and bioflavanoids, and are generally very nutritious, especially for wintertime. I think I’m going to try leaves first, since I can just add them to the bowl before I do the hot water and that will infuse them nicely. Roots generally require a bit more cooking, but I wonder if you infuse them if the digestive system can extract a little more out of them. After all, I’m trying to make it a convenient habit.

Some of the other dried herbs I plan to use are Nettle, Marshmallow, & Red Clover. There are even the standby's of alfalfa and kelp. Then I can start over!

I also have some fresh plants to take advantage of, even this time of year. If she starts to eat grass while we’re out in the yard I’ll encourage her to eat a little Comfrey, Plantain, or Dandelion (she love dandy flowers, but will often spit out the leaves when fed alone). So yes, I bend down and pick small tasty leaves and offer them with interest (ooh, try this, yes, this is good). Juliette de Bairacli Levy often described her hounds as great herbalist, but I’m sure she had something to do with educating generations of dogs on this.

Comfrey isn’t something one will find just growing here in Southern California, but it’s pretty easy to have in the garden. This photo shows what mine looks like in Winter – not a good time to harvest leaves for a batch of medicine, but fine for a little personal use (and obviously some critters are enjoying it). The roots are really what should be dug up and used right now, but I’m lazy (cause I know I’d need to dry it). I’ve heard that back east Comfrey will get to be six feet tall, but around here we don’t (or shouldn’t) have the water for that, so it’s a manageable garden plant.

Plantain is something that most people don’t want to see in their lawns, but it’s such a terrific food addition that I’m happy to see it. This is the lance-leaved variety. In New Hampshire we have the round-leaved variety. If you decided to put larger plantain leaves in your blender, chop them first so that the durable veins don’t tangle together and bog it down.

If you only have mowed areas you can find it low down to the ground if you look carefully.

Same with Dandelion.

There are some plants that look similar to both these, so it’s worth getting some of the details from a plant ID website if you've never picked them.

I hope that this post gives you some ideas on how you can easily add incredibly nutritious plants to your dog's diet - and your own. They work best to prevent serious illness, so never think that your dog is too healthy for them!

My dog the herbalist

2009-09-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

Vida's been grazing the fruit of this tree for years as a digestive.

It's a ficus, though I don't know what variety.

I'm in the habit of calling the fruit "ficus berries" simply because "fig" to most people means the big juicy fruits we eat.

These small fruit have the same basic form as a large fig. A smooth skin with lots of tiny seeds. They aren't what I'd call juicy, but if you don't rake them they'll make a thick layer on the ground that will have a distinct fermented smell at some point as they decay.

They are a terrific source of fiber. In fact, I used to complain about Vida and a previous dog eating too many when together because of how much more poop I had to clean up. Vida eats them "as needed" when she's an only dog (not that they're available all year 'round).

I don't know how she chooses which ones to eat.

Years ago, when an animal communicator, Paula Brown, first communicated with Vida, this habit came up. I didn't figure it out at first because Vida described them as "little rocks" but even then she used them for her digestion.

She's eating them now because she's on a new Chinese herbal formula from her holistic vet, Dr. Weingardt. It's called "Stasis Breaker". She's on it because some growth has restarted in her mouth. She's been on it two weeks, and things are stable. I was warned about diarrhea from this formula, but she's had none. I'll take some credit because I've been giving her some tea for her stomach (chamomile, fennel, plantain, slippery elm), but I'm sure her grazing has helped too.

Making Mushroom Tea

2009-09-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

Soooo easy!

If you want to make amazing immune system medicine for yourself and your dog, you can do this. The traditional method of making medicine from mushrooms is to cook them. Yep, that simple. Simmersimmersimmer for the day, strain and oila!

I got my giant bags of mushrooms from Mountain Rose Herbs.
Each of these is one pound of mushrooms.

I got (sliced, & of course organic) Reishi

and (organic) Maitaki (also called Hen of the Woods).

I just put a handful of each in an enamel pot....

Added two quarts of water, put the cover on and put it on the back burner (literally) for the day (started at about 8am 'til about 5pm) to cook. It smells pretty good actually - much better than it tastes.

I strained it with a colander & ladled it into ice cube trays (5!).

Between the two of us it's an ice cube a day. Just a tonic, right, not trying to megadose, no no no. Be sensible and you can use this longterm. Luckily my dog doesn't mind the "earthy" taste. I just add it to my orange juice. Go ahead, try it!

Herb Fest = Brain Full

2009-09-06T15:13:00.002-07:00

Well we're back in California. We left New Hampshire the day after the New England Women's Herbal Conference, so I had no time to digest all the information that I stuffed in to my brain that weekend. Here are a few of the tidbits:

Medicinal Mushrooms: if you want cancer fighting properties you have to do a water extraction. Eating dry powder will not suffice (stay tuned to the next blog post). Heck, you want to do a water extraction, period. They are wonderful for healing auto-immune problems (which really are inflammation).

Stress: You need to start with nervines (herbs that relax the nervous system), before you apply adaptogens (herbs that help rebuild a depleted adrenal system and help the body respond to stress). Because dogs can't control their life (and thus can't be asked to change their lifestyle) they should continue with nervines when you start with adaptogens. A relaxed nervous system will allow the adaptogens to work.

The liver: amazing organ! working cells regenerate every five months (in humans), milk thistle can increase that regeneration 5x. Everything that comes in to your body gets dealt with by the liver, so take care of it! Parasite, like fleas, love "dirty blood" (and make more dirty blood when they feed) - you want less fleas on your dog, get their liver working better so the blood is clean.

Think about this... simple reasoning, I love it: Plants evolved soooo long ago, back when there was more oxygen in the atmosphere, enough to be damaging, so they developed antioxidents to deal with it. That's why plants are a great source of antioxidents for us and our pets.

When do "invasive" plants become "native"? Examine how many bugs live off the plant. An invasive from England may have 4 bugs living off of it here, and 200 living off of it in England - after 400 years!

Unless you pollute your backyard with poisons there is probably some great medicine out there. Weeds are your friends.

If your dog has trouble changing foods (gets diarrhea), just give some chamomile tea (with or without fennel) to calm the digestion.

If there is a problem with chronic inflammation, treat the nervous system first.

I found a real disconnect among the attendees I spoke to when it came to feeding their pets. Most of the people I spoke to fed dry food. A few fed raw, but in an unbalanced way. Some said they used to feed raw (but now fed dry). Most did not use herbs as part of their pet's diet. There was one session on pets, packed with people, that got bogged down by all the questions - people are very eager to learn, and don't realize how close they are to getting it. They're hungry for knowledge and context. I know I could do a good job teaching there, so I've asked for a chance (waiting to hear back).

Vacation!

2009-07-17T13:08:00.000-07:00

Now that we’ve arrived in New Hampshire, I’m finding out that between my improved education in herbs and the increased availability of ready-made raw diets for dogs that I have it waaayyy easier than I used to feeding my dog “in the manner to which she’s accustomed” while I’m here. My local (as in the next town) pet store now carries Stella & Chewy’s and Bravo! The single freezer is stocked up, and at the front of the store. I was so excited to go in on my way to the cabin and get a bag of raw food (though it’s a bit of a schema problem when I also see Science Diet). In the past I had to make everything from scratch using plain grocery meat and supplement s (calcium, the works). And really, I’m on vacation, right? (sorta). I should be able to feed the dog with some ease. Hurrah!

Vida’s having a little bit of diarrhea, probably just from the four-and-a-half days in the car. When we went for a walk this morning at the town fairgrounds I spied some wonderful looking plantain. I took two leaves to chop in to her food (I think I’ll do one leaf per meal) to help soothe her gut and add some fiber. Plantain grows everywhere, in two varieties. The leaves pictured here are the most common variety in the East. Out in California, at least on the coast, I tend to see the lance-shaped leaf variety more (though this is changing).

Besides the Plantain I also saw Yarrow, Mullein, and Red Clover in bloom (plus some others I didn’t know). It’s so different than the native habitat of California that is on a much slower schedule than here in New Hampshire where there is much more rain to encourage the growth and spread of plants. Here there is natural habitat within the town habitat. You park on Plantain to go to the library!

Packing for the road trip

2009-07-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

I've been astounded at the number of items I'm needing to bring for Vida on the trip. I'm packing almost as much for her as for myself! But as I look over the pile of stuff (that I won't picture here, hehe), I realize that very little of it has to do with fact that she eats raw food.

We've got leashes, harnesses, poop bags, bowls, bedding, pest control, grooming - all the usual stuff for any well cared for dog. The float coat and water toy take some room, but if she goes on a boat trip she's got to wear a vest (just like a kid, right).

I've got some food and treats for the trip, but doesn't everyone? Freeze-dried Stella and Chewy's doesn't take up more room than dry food.

What does take up some extra room are her supplements. I can't forgo those for six weeks, so I'm doing my best to bring enough of each one.

There is an impulse to leave things home when traveling, but that needs to be weighed against the fact that travel is stressful, and stress effects the immune system, so if anything supplements and appropriate food are even more important.

Luckily the car trunk is roomy!

Planning Ahead with Heartworm Nosode

2009-05-15T17:25:00.000-07:00

Where we live in coastal Southern California, I don't worry about heartworm. My dog doesn't live outdoors, exposed day and night to the few mosquitos we have, and our area is not high risk anyway. I don't want to give my dog an internal pesticide if it's not needed. Now I haven't gotten her tested either, which is something I do recommend to those concerned about the risk.

In anticipation of our summer road trip to New Hampshire I'm starting her on a Heartworm nosode. I did it the last time she went a few years ago but haven't kept up on it (which is ridiculous when you read how easy it is), so I'm restarting her this week.

Quoted from the dispenser:

"Although there are no hard and fast rules for administering nosodes, it is suggested that a dose (3 drops of liquid remedy for a small animal and 6 drops for a large animal) be given:

3 days for the first week
1 time weekly for 3 weeks
1 time monthly for 6 months and thereafter
1 time every six months.

In case of exposure to a particular disease or an epidemic of a disease, a one time per week dose of the nosode may prove helpful. Detox is also recommended to accompany daily."

I'm going to take her advice this time and write it in my datebook. Easy this time as I'm already writing Vida's herb protocol in to keep track. Just one more note.

There are a lot of different opinions on dealing with heartworm. I'm pretty sure my beliefs would be different if I were living in an area where risk is high, like the gulf coast.

Here are a few links that discuss alternative treatments:

http://www.pets4homeopathy.com/parasites.html
where I got my nosode

http://www.homeovet.net/content/lifestyle/section4.html

http://www.holisticvetpetcare.com/heartworm-infection.htm

http://www.naturalrearing.com/coda/n_heartworm.html

http://www.danebytes.com/heartworm-cures.htm

http://www.tarascavaliers.com/html/re_nosodes.html

After reading some of these I may consider Black Walnut tincture too, but I'll have to do some good research to make sure it wouldn't interfere with her other herbs. I don't want to overdo it!

And of course the usual prevention tactics of keeping indoors or screened areas and spraying with deterrants (I found Ark Natural's Neem Spray did a good job of deterring mosquitos).

I'm glad my dog is healthy. No fleas yet this year, which I think is pretty good (almost June). No fleas on her that is, plenty on other folks dogs.

Dog Acupressure: Did you know...?

2009-05-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

Acupressure isn't a lesser substitute for acupuncture. I don't believe one is better than the other, but that they are simply different ways of accessing the meridians, the energy channels of the body. Some dogs prefer one over the other, so pay attention to your dog's responses during treatments to get an idea of what they think.

Acupressure sessions are always adjusted for each animal's needs. One of the most significant benefits of acupressure from a qualified practitioner is that during the treatment adjustments are made as the dog reacts to every touch. There is no "one size fits all" in acupressure. I am always amazed as the dog's body gives me feedback as each point is manipulated. This guides me in my decisions about exactly how much pressure to use, which points on the body need attention, and which areas need special care with other methods or tools.

Some dogs are suspicious the first time they get acupressure. While we humans may know that acupressure is beneficial, some dogs are suspicious at first, especially dogs that have had painful veterinary procedures in the past. Since they don't know what to expect from this new "procedure" they expect what they've had in the past that may have hurt or frightened them. These dogs need to go slowww, so often their first session includes reiki, gentle tui-na massage, and only a couple of acu-points. They do best when their owner is with them, calming them and working with me. The most important thing is that they have a positive experience, so they welcome their next session.

Acupressure doesn't have to involve pressure. Acupressure isn't about trying to imitate a needle. It's about stimulating the energy system of the body. Some dogs are very sensitive to touch, and resist pressure. For these dogs I use a tool that emits red light, which can penetrate the skin and stimulate the energy of the acu-points. This red light spectrum also stimulates the cells themselves, and thus can be very valuable for assisting in the healing of injuries.

Acupressure can be powerful. Acupressure isn't just a fancy word for massage, but a powerful healing technique of its own. The benefits can be profound, and a session can leave some dogs napping the rest of the day as they rest their bodies and adjust to the changes. It's not unusual for them to drink a lot after a treatment, or need to relieve themselves during or immediately after treatments. Sometimes they even take a short break in the middle of a session, and then come back for more.

Dogs enjoy it! I can't tell you how wonderful it makes me feel when I return to a dog's home for another acupressure session and they greet me at the door, smiling & wagging, and walk me in. They often proceed to where we're going to work and lie down, waiting for me. This response from dogs is what convinces me that acupressure works. They understand that I'm there to help them, and take an active part in their own healing. It is this cooperative process that makes acupressure an amazing healing art.

High Cost or Big Payoff?

2009-04-05T13:14:00.000-07:00

When I talk with folks about feeding their dog raw or cooked fresh food diets, the issue of money always comes up. And of course everyone has to take their monetary situation into account when making decisions about groceries. However, the conversations can't simply be about the monthly food bill (Yes, dry food is less expensive per month than even the least expensive prepared raw diets). The cost vs. payoff equation is much more complicated than that.

These are some of the questions that come to my mind:

How many times a year does your dog need to go to the vet?

Are you medicating your dog for recurrent ear or urinary infections?

Are you buying expensive and toxic flea treatments?

Does your dog exhibit "allergy" symptoms that you buy tests and treatments for?

Is your dog's behavior off the charts, sending you to trainers with unwholesome techniques that promise a quick fix?

How long do you expect your dog to live?

(and by the way...) How much do you spend on prepared coffee daily?

All of these are part of the cost benefit ratio. If you're dog is healthy you save on vet bills. If you know how to prepare basic meals, supplements, and bodycare items you save money.

Heck, if you learn how to wash your own dog and trim their nails, you save money. Not to mention avoiding the insane anal gland squeezing "service" that is performed on dogs by groomers willy-nilly.

(sorry... got in the rant mode there for a sec...)

Putting a wee bit of thought and money in to your dog's diet shouldn't be seen as a waste. Isn't it worth having your dog with you a few more years? Isn't it worth having a companion that glows with health when they smile at you?

How great is it when fleas aren't even attracted to your dog! Yes, that's right - healthy animals attract fewer fleas. In the late summer I finally do find some fleas on my dog and whisk them away with a flea comb (to certain death in the soapy laundry sink). I believe the toxic pesticides are a much greater risk to me and my dog than a few summer fleas.

It's pretty simple (and cheap) to provide your pet with natural food, herbs, skin cleaners, body care (trims, massages), and exercise. Compassion is free!

Knowledge is free! If you're reading this post you have access to a vast array of information about dogs, natural health, species appropriate feeding, dog behavior, etc, etc.

You can learn how to care for this animal you've chosen to have with you. Because don't you want that animal to live a happy, healthy, fulfilled life? If not, why do you have a dog? Really.

Chaga: medicinal mushrooms don't have to be exotic

2009-03-18T15:43:00.000-07:00

Medicinal mushrooms are a topic of interest to me as I continue herb studies and keeping Vida's cancer at bay.

We usually think of Asian mushrooms as the medicinal ones, but I think this is just because our culture has become "denatured" and we just don't know what's in our own backyard.

"Backyard" can vary, of course. Chaga mushrooms grow on Birch trees, which definitely aren't part of my Southern California backyard (natural habitat). Birch trees are part of my New Hampshire habitat.

The ground Chaga that I used today was purchased from Woodland Essence, which harvests from their area in New York. (They have a nice little info page on Chaga, which is also the source of the above photo).

I decocted the Chaga for 20 minutes (that means starting with cold water, bringing to a boil, and them simmering covered), using 1 tablespoon Chaga for a cup of water. Decoction is recommended by Christopher Hobbs in his book on Medicinal Mushrooms, as the best way to get the full medicinal effects (based on chemical studies), even though the bag it came in only suggested infusing for 5-10 minutes.

The result looked like coffee (grounds and all) - here's a teaspoonful (strained) on a saucer:
It tastes bitter, like coffee, but it has no lingering aftertaste. While my mom thought it tasted "like biting into a tree," Vida didn't seem to care at all lapping it up.

I'm beginning to suspect that bitter/dirt tastes are inconsequential to dogs. Either that or the trust you when they see you take a sip first.

There isn't really information about how much of this one should consume every day, except to say that overdoing it doesn't seem to come up at all. Dogs certainly don't have the luxury of a dosage guide, so it seems to me that a sensible dose would be a tablespoon for a medium dog.

Most of the studies on Chaga come from Russia and other nearby areas - obviously because of the birch forests of the region where one would find Chaga.

It's got anti-tumor properties, and has shown to be especially helpful for cancers of the digestive system, as well as digestive issues related to cancer treatments. It's of course an immune booster, and helps balance the endocrine system and blood sugar, and has some anti-inflammatory properties as well.

The taste and feel of it to me seems very slightly astringent, not drying the mouth, but cleansing it. I choose to interpret this as Phlegm Resolving, Bitter, and Neutral.

While the polysaccharides are the primary immune boosters, it's thought that the strongest anti-tumor properties are due to the fact that Chaga feeds off Birch trees, absorbing specific chemicals that may be the core chemicals for attacking tumors.

Wouldn't it be something if Vida's little lipoma got littler? That would be a nice visible success to be able to point to.

All-in-all this sounds like a great drink not only for Vida, but for me! Finally, I'm gonna do something for myself too (besides just the liver tonic tea we've been taking together).

I'd love to hear from anyone about their experiences or knowledge about Chaga, or their questions about my opinions here.

Plan of Action

2009-03-04T14:29:00.000-08:00

Vida visited her holistic vet, Keith Weingardt, today. We discussed the subtle changes I'd been seeing since her last visit in November, what she's eating, supplements, etc.

He marveled (if I may say so) at her good condition, great pulses, beautiful tongue, and "puppy" eyes. I described how she'd looked at the first of the year - like the pre-C dog I remember - in even better condition.

What I see now is a lack of tone to the abdomen, a subtle stickiness to the coat, reverse sneezing, a little eye crust, the spine a little out (which I've been using the photonic torch on with great success) - all things that most people would overlook as "aging" or even normal. But you see, I've seen it go away, just a couple of months ago, so I know it's symptomatic of something that can be shifted.

Of course I hadn't written notes on my calendar about those good days (or a couple of vomit episodes in the last week one water, one breakfast), so I was a little vague on dates. But the changes flow, so it's not as though there are specific dates for the overall picture. I may have to run her down there and show her off when her "ultrafit" physique returns.

So we've developed a plan of herb action to take for the next months (who knows how many), in this order:

One month on Max's Formula (chinese herbs for phlegm resolving)
One month on Quantum Herbal's AT/BC formula
A "pulse" pattern for Max's Formula: 2 weeks on, 1 week off, repeat (#3).

I'm figuring on doing Quantum Quarterly. The two formulas are not given at the same time.
Diet (raw!) and other supplements will continue, with the usual seasonal adjustments.

I feel like I'm entering uncharted territory because there aren't "directions" for this. But I don't feel trepidation about it. I feel confident that we'll prove that what we're doing will work, and that Vida will be a shining example of the kind of care that is possible.

Carnival of Healing #178 - Animal Healing

2009-02-24T10:53:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our edition of the Carnival of Healing, a weekly roundup of blog posts about healing, hosted by a different blog each week.

We're focusing this week on Animals! I hope that by sharing this carnival widely I can encourage more animal practitioners to start their own blogs on animal wellness, particularly sharing with others about the different forms of holistic healing that are available. I hope you enjoy these blogs, and take part in the conversation by adding your comments to them.

I love Bridget Pilloud's writing. Her blog represents the best kind of blog, one you can relate to, be moved by, and learn something from. I always come away with something good. Honor The Now of Your Pet was the first blog post of hers I read, and one I'm so happy to share here. I can't tell you how often I urge pet owners to do just what Bridget explains here, but she does it much more eloquently than I have.

K9 Equine Therapy is a new blog from the UK that has a great post about Why Do Animals Need Bodywork, and I'm so excited to share it because it talks about acupressure (Yay!). I do acupressure on dogs, and want to help share information about what a great healing modality it is. This particular article is about horses.

I also found this introductory post on bodywork for pets, with an interesting description of cranio-sacral therapy, which I've been curious about but never seen a good explanation of before.

Speaking of bodywork, Vida loves her chiropractor, Dr. Cheryl Ricketts-Mulvey. I see so many dogs that would benefit from chiropractic care I thought this post from Organic Pet Digest was a good introduction to chiropractic care. I also found an informative narrative on chiropractic care for dogs at blog4dogs which details the treatment of a tiny maltese.

My Life with Dogs is a brand new blog that posts useful introductions to a variety of holistic healing modalities for pets. They share their own experiences, as well as those of others. I look forward to reading more from them.

Reiki Furbabies has a wonderful post about the importance of recognizing how pets and their owners interact on an energetic level and can be helped with reiki.

Cats and Dogs Naturally is a blog dedicated to sharing their experiences with holistic pet care. This recent post about using Hawthorn for one of their cats with a heart condition is an example of the kind of personal post they specialize in. You'll see a great reference list along the right side if you're interested in learning more on your own.

While this post from Organic Family Circle doesn't go in to a lot of detail on allergies, it does give a thoughtful overview that most owners will find informative.

I do love this post about raw food for dogs for it's candor, but I especially like the photo (sensitive vegan's be warned) of little puppies chewing on raw meaty bones - those are gonna be some healthy dogs!

Detail is abundant in this post by an holistic vet on Kidney disease in pets. It's important to be informed about any health issue when it comes to your pets, so do your research!

Nadine Rosin has an informative post about the dangers of common commercial laundry products. I agree completely - I personally can't stand it when I have to use a laundromat and my clothes come out of the dryer "scented" (and I leave the place with a headache). I've been using Soapberries to wash my clothes for about a year now, and love them, and I know my dog appreciates them too.

In closing, I can't go without a link to A Dog's Beach, a photo blog about one of our local dog beaches. I find that visiting dog beach is a complete Qi rejuvenator. And not just for me. The dogs love going there so much, being offleash, breathing the sea air. A visit to dog beach is as much a wellness treatment as anything else, am I right? So for those of you still stuck in snow, enjoy the photos.

To explore more Carnival of Healing editions:
Here you can find Carnival #177
Here you can find Carnival #179
Here you can find an archive of all past Carnivals