Category: Nutrition

Aggression in Dogs

Dog Issues, Healthy Dogs, Nutrition

It is not hard to find stories of dogs being aggressive anymore, although this didn’t used to be true. Like some of the holistic vets, I wonder if this isn’t due to what we are exposing them to, or even from vaccine damage to the brain and nervous system. I have personally been told many stories of aggressive dogs that were helped when the offending substance was eliminated. Here is one story:

Teresa had a sweet, loving bichon frise. Her dog loved the children in their neighborhood. When she was two years old Theresa took her to the vet to have something checked on her and she was given a distemper-parvo vaccine. Not at all what she was there for, or wanted her dog to have, but they did it anyway. Within 24 hours the dog became aggressive. It growled at her children and the neighborhood children. By the end of the week, there was no change in her attitude and Teresa was considering putting the dog down rather then risking a law suit for a dog bite. Before doing so, in an effort to save the dog, she took it to someone who was familiar with vaccines and their damage potential to the brain. This person made a homeopathic remedy for her from the dog’s saliva in an attempt to stop, and hopefully even reverse the damage that was occurring to the dog’s brain. She said she gave her dog three doses of the homeopathic saliva remedy and then waited to see if it helped. Within 24 hours she had her sweet dog back. She said it worked so well that it was like flipping a switch. I know that isn’t very scientific, but this is not the only story like this that I have heard.

Another story involved a one year old standard poodle that lunged at a four-year-old in an attempt to bite him. Then there was a bichon mix who, on several occasions, lunged at and tried to bite children. Even another dog was just a 10 week old puppy who, 2 weeks after receiving her parvo-distemper vaccine, growled unprovoked at a three year old child. And last, an 8 year old little boy and his golden retriever who were both described as having a “Doctor Jeckyl & Mr. Hyde personality” by the boy’s father. The change in personality occurred shortly after the dog received his vaccines. The little boy, in this last case, slept with his dog which means there was plenty of exposure to the boy from the dog’s vaccines. In all of these cases, the dogs (and the little boy) went to a person who gave them the Distemper-Parvo vaccine homeopathic remedy. All had the same “flipping a switch” reaction.

What was most interesting in all of these stories, was that it wasn’t just the family or owner of the dogs that noticed the changes after the homeopathic remedy was given. For example, in the last story, the little boy’s teacher was so surprised by the changes she witnessed in him that she called his mother to ask what she had given him. He was not only calmer and more cooperative, but she said his school work was rapidly improving. She was hoping the mother had found a “miracle supplement” that she, the teacher, could tell other parents about who also had children struggling in school.

Dr. Pitcairn said he found dogs sometimes become aggressive, destructive, and even hysterical after receiving a vaccine. In his 20 years of practice he witnessed a dramatic difference between pets that were vaccinated and those not vaccinated. Pets not vaccinated have less illness, better coats, they tend not to attract parasites and are generally healthier overall.

Additionally, Dr. Don Hamilton, DVM in his book Homeopathic Care for Cats & Dogs says “A second type of aggression can arise as a consequence of anesthesia with ketamine (Ketaset) or tiletamine (Telazol).”

As you can see, doctors have found chemicals used on animals as the underlying cause of dog aggression.

We aren’t veterinarians, and wouldn’t presume to tell you what to do for your pet, but what we can do is share with you the list of things we found in our research to both stop doing and to start doing, in order to support your pet’s health from this point forward. As always, we recommend you consult with a Holistic Veterinarian or a Naturopath that works with animals.

Homeopathy

Belladonna, Hepar sulph, Hydrophobinum or Rabies vaccine remedy (especially if there is also a fear of water), Hyoscyamus, Lachesis, Lyssin, Mercurius, Nux Vomica, Stramonium, Thuja (after any vaccine is given), CoronaVir vaccine remedy (if aggression is toward moving objects, such as cars or bikes), Distemper & ParvoVirus vaccine remedy combination (if aggression is primarily aimed at children); ParvoVir & Tetanus Vaccine combination remedy (aggression is aimed at people of all ages and a thyroid imbalance appears to be involved); Rabies vaccine remedy (aggression aimed at other animals), Parainfluenza vaccine remedy (aggression is more like rage).

Nutrition

More organic meat, or raw meat in the diet.

Detox

Vaccines you might consider detoxing: Parvo & Distemper together, Rabies, ParaInfluenza, Tetanus.

Herbs & Supplements

Feverfew capsules or extract supports the health and normal circulation to the brain. It also supports the elimination of headaches if that is a factor, and if it started within six months after vaccines were received.

Environment

Avoid poison exposure, including toxic dewormers, pesticide shampoos, pesticide sprays, pesticide ointments, and collars that contain chemical pesticides, all of these weaken the immune system. 

Consider using natural products on the lawn pets have to walk on.

Consider getting titers on dog before revaccinating.. According to Don Hamilton, DVM., in his book Homeopathic Care for Cats & Dogs, “Aggressive animals are much more prevalent these days than ever before” and many holistic vets are suspecting vaccinations as the main cause.

As always, we recommend you consult a Naturopath that works with animals. 

Breeder Conversations: Descended Testicles at 6 Weeks of Age

Breeder Conversation Corner, Health Support, Holistic Standard Poodles, Nutrition

As I mentioned before, I am still pretty new at the whole companion-breeder lifestyle. I have more then once naively assumed something to still be true today about dogs that I had learned decades ago only to find out, unfortunately, that standards of a healthy pet have changed and not for the better. One example is the topic about what age the testicles of male puppies should descend. 

What is Normal
If a male dog isn’t neutered, he should naturally have descended testicles by 6 weeks of age, right? Not necessarily… and not these days. To me, that would mean something is wrong with the puppy’s reproductive system. If you are like me, and you buy a puppy for several hundred dollars extra for “breeding rights”, this is a big surprise. We may not be getting what we paid for. Why? These dogs may already be sterile unbeknownst to the breeder.

I’m not suggesting that the breeder does this on purpose, or that the breeder would even have noticed. I think they are generally like me and naïve to what is going on with their pets. We assume that they are being appropriately cared for, well-fed, and protected from dangerous chemicals and vaccines.

Unfortunately, this isn’t true anymore. There is little commonsense in animal husbandry, and while I think I am being careful to avoid these things, and work diligently to feed my animals a well-balanced diet, I am wrong on the assumption that other people/breeders do the same for their animals.

Breeder Input

Out of curiosity, I called and asked another long-time breeder about this problem, to learn what her professional experience has been.

She seemed to think retained testicles was a common occurrence. So common, in fact,  that she had always assumed it was normal. A lot of male dogs don’t have their testicles drop until well over a year, even up to two years, she said. This is a good example of how abnormalities in animals are becoming the new norm solely because abnormalities are so common. We do need to remember that “common” is not a marker for healthy.
I decided to search through one of my homeopathic books on dogs, written by a well-known, well-respected veterinarian. I wanted to learn about his perspective on the topic because he is an expert in understanding how the bodily systems work and what should be considered normal and has more experience then your average veterinarian.

The experienced veterinarian stated that if the testicles have not descended by 4-5 weeks of age, there is a good chance they won’t, even with the typical homeopathic remedies used for this purpose. “Many people elect to have them surgically brought down,” he said,  “or just have the dog neutered.” Nothing is mentioned about addressing the cause of the abnormality. Although disappointed, I wasn’t surprised their results weren’t very positive.

Potential Causes 
I recently learned that someone I know who has acquired two male dogs (from two different breeders) as studs for breeding her females found out that neither of them have descended testicles. Testicles that have not descended is also referred to as retained testicles.  One male puppy is a 1 year old and the other is half that age and well beyond the age that this should be an issue.

Since learning about this issue, she had them both tested to find out what the problem is. It was discovered that the younger male had eight parasites and pathogens affecting his reproductive system, stomach and colon. The older male had three of the same parasites, also in his reproductive system. It was concluded that the male puppies were experiencing a block to having a healthy reproductive system.

She has been working to correct this imbalance with a homeopathic combination remedy and a nutrient dense diet (one that will starve out the parasites). After just 4 weeks, the older male’s testicles have descended. The younger male had more parasites to address, but already has one testicle that can be felt, so she is hopeful the other will be down soon.

Conversation Corner: Follow Up on Minerals & Diet

Breeder Conversation Corner, Companion Breeding, Nutrition, Pet Vaccines

Minerals to improve breeding ability – Last night I was talking with a long time breeder who had 2 females she bought for breeding that, although they were having heat cycles, had never managed to get pregnant. She also had a couple of males who, not for lack of trying, had never gotten a female pregnant. We did some testing on her dogs, and found a deep, long-standing mineral deficiency.  To remedy this situation, her husband went out and bought a 4# mineral block, typically used for livestock, and put it in a bucket, then poured water over it. After the water set for a few minutes in the bucket, he intended to pour it into the dogs’ water dishes. What happened though, was a complete surprise. He said he had never seen his dogs go after water like they did that water, and it was still in the bucket. One male dog drank half the bucket before he could even pour it in his dish.  The others, and there are several, were just as excited to drink the water.  We will see if this changes how they breed.  I am fully expecting them to have normal, productive heat cycles, as well as bigger, healthier litters. (posted August 2016)

Follow-up (as of Jan 2017)

A couple weeks ago I talked again with the breeder who’s dogs couldn’t conceive. I wanted to see if the minerals had helped any of them to be able to get pregnant. I initially thought there were only 2 females who couldn’t conceive, but learned there were really eight. All eight now currently have puppies. Wow, how are you taking care of that many litters at the same time I asked. She laughed, and said they were making due, but never expected this to happen. The 8 litters all came within 9 weeks of each other.  It was a surprise to have so many pregnant at the same time, and such a simple fix  – just the addition of minerals.  Its common to have this happen (simple fix) when there are no chemicals or vaccines in the way. It makes such a difference.  

Diet is everything – A few months ago I got a call from a breeder who inquired about using my male standard poodle as a stud for her female. She wanted to use him because she was familiar with his pedigree from her 40 years of breeding and showing poodles with the AKC. Her female is an older dog, and she thought maybe she could get 1-3 puppies out of her, and this would be her last breeding.  I asked her what she feeds her dog and suggested she increase her minerals and meat before trying to breed her. She was just getting kibble at the time, and really couldn’t afford anything else. When it was time, the dog came to my house and stayed with our stud a week to be bred. During that week, I fed her raw eggs, raw meat, bones, and healthy well water so she would get lots of minerals. Eight weeks later she whelped (gave birth) to 6 puppies.  Once again I asked the breeder about her dogs diet, and learned it was still just kibble. 

Diet/nutrients mean everything to the health of animals as well as humans.  If you want healthy puppies, healthy breastmilk for those puppies, and for them to be disease free, the best thing you can do is feed them a nutrient rich diet, free of chemicals, preservatives, and other toxins.  A week later I learned 2 of the puppies had died.  It breaks my heart.  This woman, well-meaning as she is, is the same mindset as many of the breeders I speak with, they are so used to losing puppies, even up to most of the litter that they think its normal. I will know in a few more weeks if any of them survive.

We have all heard the saying “In nature, the strong survive and the weak die”. I know this is true, and it’s because of the lack of appropriate food, water and shelter that this happens.  We, however, have the opportunity to change this when the animal is in our care.  All we have to do is make sure the mother is well-fed and cared for, and therefore all of the puppies have a good chance to be “strong.” (posted August 2016)

Follow-up (as of Jan 2017)

I feel like I was hasty when I said earlier that “diet and nutrients mean everything to the health of animals…”  I know its true, but I should have kept my focus more on God’s plan in all of this. I haven’t been breeding my dogs for very long, so I’m still a bit of an idealist.  I want to save all of the puppies that are born to my dogs.  But, watching the puppies grow, day after day (I do keep a close watch), I had missed the mother’s side of things.  After this last litter, which was a big one, eleven puppies, all whom survived, I have shifted my attention more to the mother’s health and well-being regarding the care of the puppies. The mother/dam of these eleven puppies was on a good diet of raw meat and eggs throughout the pregnancy and after their birth.  She did exceptionally well during the birth, having no problems whatsoever, even cleaned the puppies as they were coming out, and ate all of the placentas just as they were being delivered.  Amazing!  There was little to no mess at all from the birth.

She then diligently cleaned and cared for each of her puppies, and even went so far as to wrap herself around them to prevent anyone from seeing or touching them. I should add that, there were only two of us present, both of whom she trusts and adores. But, when it came to her puppies, we weren’t even  good enough to touch them. I take that to be a sign of a good mother.  

Fast forward a week and we noticed that some of the puppies were getting weak because they were unable to get to the nipples enough due to the bigger, more aggressive puppies, getting their first.  Even when they were able to latch onto a nipple, one of the bigger puppies would knock them off and take it over.  And, this was before their eyes were open!  For the less aggressive puppies to survive, it required help from a person to purposely remove the bigger puppies from the nipples after a few minutes of nursing and put the smaller ones on.  There was nothing the mother could do without help from a human. With help, all of the puppies gained the needed weight and were thriving.  Without help, at least these 4 would have died.

Week two- When the eyes of the puppies opened, and the mother went into the “nest” to nurse them, the more aggressive puppies were even more diligent about getting to the nipples first.  Taking them off the nipples after a few minutes wasn’t enough to allow the smaller, less aggressive puppies adequate time to nurse. They had to be moved further away from their mother, where it would take them longer to crawl back.  This had to be done with each nursing in order to give the littler ones enough time to nurse before they were once again knocked off the nipple.

Week three – All puppies were thriving well, but only with a lot of intervention to make sure each got an adequate amount of milk. By the end of the third week the puppies were able to have their diet of mother’s milk supplemented with goat’s milk. They not only loved it, but thrived on it. They would always be nursed first, to make sure they got as much of their mother’s milk as they could, then followed-up with a dish of goat’s milk.  

Week four –  The puppies were getting big enough that their size alone would allow only 4 puppies to nurse at a time. Without human intervention, I think we would have been down to just 4, maybe 5 puppies who survived. That means 6-7 would have died. This observation helped me to realize what “survival of the fittest really means” regarding dogs.  Although I am grateful we were there to help, intervene, and supplement as needed, it was a good lesson for me in animal husbandry. I had simplified the birth process to being about diet and the mother’s willingness to nurse their young. But there is so much more to it then that, including the natural law of survival of the fittest.  

What Do You Feed Your Pet?

Nutrition

Martin Goldstein is not only a veterinarian, but the author of two wonderful books on animals. I have only read the one, The Nature of Animal Healing, and am so impressed with his honesty and the commonsense he has for someone in his field. Unfortunately, this isn’t something you see everyday. His book is the kind you want to read twice. It’s that good. I’m not saying you will agree with everything he says, but he has allowed God to teach him along the way, and learned from what he has seen, rather than ignore it because it didn’t agree with what he was taught to believe in medical school.

One of the observations he made while in his practice was the alarming rise in diseases that at one time were only seen in old, dying dogs.  These diseases included arthritis, kidney or liver failure, hyperthyroidism, and cancers. He says “these conditions seemed to be age-related, and slow-growing enough to be accepted. Of the cases I see now, many are young and don’t live past the age of five.”

He goes on to describe how these diseases are becoming common amongst our pets, as well as faster growing and more aggressive. As you read through his book, and others like them (Dr. Pitcairn’s, Dr. Don Hamilton’s, etc.) you will find they are linking the increase and severity of these diseases to pet vaccines and poor (or worse than poor), toxic pet foods sold to the consumer.

Dr. Goldstein believed it was obvious that there were so many dogs with these diseases because they are being exposed to, fed, and injected (vaccines) with a high level of toxins that “eventually mutate their genes, weakening successive generations.”  

Raising holistic dogs myself, I find this to be absolutely true, and as an avid muscle-tester, I know it bears out in the testing too. When I go to a grocery store and test the packaged dog foods on the shelf I find they are pretty awful at best, and poisonous at worst. It’s rare that I find one “beneficial” for my dogs and I don’t even bother to check regular grocery stores as it’s a waste of time. So, I am testing at health food stores, where the animal food is supposed to be higher quality and more “healthy,” then the average stores have to offer.

One time, there was a testing experience I had at one of the major high-end grocery stores we shop at. I say “high-end” because its not your average grocery store. This store carries a lot of organic groceries, both produce and packaged foods. Typically, we don’t buy our red meat at a grocery store, because we get it from a farmer who raises his animals without chemicals, antibiotics or vaccines while also using homeopathics for their healthcare.  Our dogs also eat that meat. This day, however, we were out of meat for the dogs while we waited for our next shipment to come in from the farm.

While at the store, I decided to purchase grass-fed organic ground beef for the dogs. Before doing that though, I thought about testing some of the cheaper meats (all raw) for the dogs.  After all, they are dogs, and they would rather eat road-kill then processed people meat anyway. We’ve had dogs of one breed or another all of my 50 plus years, and they have all either hunted for live kill, or brought home dead road-kill, along with eating the kibble we provided them. We have watched them eat cats, squirrels, rabbits, mice, ground hogs, deer, you name it.  One brought home a road-kill turkey and even drug home a deer carcass someone had left in the woods after a hunting trip. None of them got “sick” or “diseased” from eating these things either. So, why buy the most expensive meat in the store?!

Using kinesiology, I started testing which pieces of meat were good for the dogs. I walked up and down the meat counter testing, then tested again. Surely this couldn’t be right. I was testing for dogs, not people I reminded myself. Then I did it again. As I stood there perplexed, I watched the people, dozens of them, hang over the meat counter as they choose their pieces of meat. Wow, if none, and I tested NONE, of the meat was even beneficial for my dogs, how could it possibly be good for people?

I discussed this with my husband, who reminded, the non-organic meats contain antibiotics, hormones, vaccines, pesticides, herbicides and GMO grains fed to the animals. I felt sick as I watched all of the people pick out their meat selections and put them in their grocery carts. They had no idea the meat they were buying, and paying a good price for, wasn’t good for them. Really, let’s be honest, it wasn’t even “safe” to consume. No wonder so many are diseased, look what they are eating!  I picked up the more expensive organic meat for my dogs, reminding myself that, even for dogs, what is the point of feeding them a “food” (I hate to even call it that) that may contribute to sickness or disease? Its just going to cost more in the long-run, trying to get them well again after making them sick with this “food”.  I paid for the real food and we went home.

You’ll Never Believe Your Dog Needs This Type of Food

Nutrition

Organic Yogurt for the Immune System

To make yogurt:

Pour 42 oz (5 & 1/4 c.) Organic Half & Half, or Organic Raw Milk, to a medium sauce pan. The directions say to heat until milk boils and starts to climb up the pan. When we make it, we only heat the milk to 140 degrees, to prevent the loss of necessary nutrients. Then we turn off burner, move the pan away from the heat, and allow milk to cool to 108-112 degrees before adding the yogurt culture to it. To speed up the cooling process, you can place the saucepan with the hot milk into a sink or pan of cold water or ice.  Be careful not to get any ice or water in the milk.

Once its cooled to the desired temperature, if there is a“skin”that develops on top of the cooled milk, you want to take this off the top of the milk and throw it away.  The skin should all float to the top as the milk cools.  However, we have found that if you stir the milk as it cools, this skin never develops, so we don’t have to waste anything by throwing it away.

In a separate bowl, combine one package (5 g) of Yogourmet freeze-dried yogurt starter or other yogurt starter that you have, and approximately 1 cup of the cooled half & half. Mix well, then add the rest of the cooled half & half to this mixture.

If you are using a yogurt maker that has its own jars, now is the time to fill these jars with the milk-culture mixture.  Do NOT cover the individual jars with their lids.  Cover with yogurt maker lid only, and turn it on. Leave in the warmer for 12-13 hours for best results.  Then take the jars out of the maker, cover them with their lids, and put them in the refrigerator for another 4 hours. If the yogurt doesn’t appear to have fully set (solidified) when you take the jars out of the maker, this is okay, they will finish setting up in the refrigerator over the next 4 hours.

Using an oven: We have found that a warm oven works well too. If you have an old oven that will heat as low as 110 degrees, you can use this and leave the opened jars, covered in a towel, in it all night.  We do not have one of these, and ours only goes as low as 170 degrees.  What we did was to preheat the oven to 170.  We put a metal cookie sheet in the oven to heat that too, then we could use it for 2 purposes: setting the jars on it, and adding additional heat when we turned the oven off.  We also left the oven light on all night for additional heat. After our canning jars were filled with the milk-culture mixture, we covered each one with a dish-sized towel and set them fully covered except the bottom, on the cookie sheet and turned the oven off.  We do this in the evening so we can leave them all night.  They are fully set up when we take them out in the morning, 12 hours later.

Place individual lids on the jars and refrigerate.

It is best when eaten within 6 days after making. It can be served plain, with honey, preserves or fresh fruit.

Yogurt in a Crockpot

  1. Pour the milk into your crock pot and turn the heat on medium or high. You want to heat the milk very slowly until it reaches 180°F (30 mins to 1 hour).
  2. Turn off the slow cooker, unplug, and allow the milk to cool to 120°F (about 30 mins).
  3. While waiting for the milk to cool, measure out your plain yogurt starter and allow it to come to room temperature.
  4. Once milk is 120°F, add the yogurt and stir gently until it is fully incorporated.
  5. Cover with lid and then wrap the slow cooker with several towels.
  6. Set it where it will be undisturbed for 6 to 8 hours. Yogurt likes a quiet, still environment to ferment.
  7. Place the cultured yogurt into the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before eating to ensure that it’s fully set.

The more fat in the milk, the thicker, creamier and healthier the yogurt.

The longer you culture the yogurt, the less lactose will remain. If you are lactose-sensitive, culture your yogurt for at least 8 hours and up to 12.  Twelve hours will produce a healthier, more immune-benefiting yogurt.

The longer you culture the yogurt, the tangier it will be. If you like mellow yogurt, end the fermentation process and refrigerate after 6 hours. If you like a hearty tang, start with 8 hours and adjust the recipe from there.

Adding the live yogurt culture to your warm milk.  1 tablespoon is enough if you are just making it for enjoyment.  However, adding more will increase the healthy bacteria and the health building properties, like a super food.

For best health benefits, consume 4 ounces 3 times daily between meals.