Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Painted Pet Portraits - Holistic And Organix Pet Shoppe




Painted Pet Portraits - Holistic And Organix Pet Shoppe

Sunday, November 2, 2014



Vinegar & Dog Tear Stains

by Jo Chester, Demand Media

Many dogs have reddish-brown tear stains under their eyes and on their muzzles. These stains are unsightly, but are not dangerous to their health. Tear stains are usually easily removed with a few simple treatments. They can also be easily prevented once they have been removed.

Tear Stain Causes
Physical characteristics, such as long hair on the muzzle or around the eyes, deep facial wrinkles, blocked tear ducts or bulging eyes can cause tear stains. Biological causes of red tear stains include red yeast, various eye and ear infections and pH imbalance. Red tear stains can also be caused by environmental factors, such as plastic food or water bowls and minerals in the water your dog drinks.

Dogs Prone to Tear Stains
Any dog with white hair on his face, especially if he has facial wrinkles or long hair or whiskers on his face, is prone to tear staining. Breeds like West Highland white terriers, Maltese, Pekingese, bulldogs, poodles and Chinese shar pei, among others, are likely to have tear-stained faces. Mixed-breed dogs can also have tear-stained faces, particularly if any of these breeds appear in their lineage.

White Vinegar
Adding a teaspoon of white vinegar to your dog’s drinking water will change the water’s pH, which in turn will change your dog’s pH. The slight increase in acidity will reduce the opportunity that any bacteria or yeast has to take hold in your dog’s system. Once any existing tear stain has been removed, continuing to add white vinegar to your dog’s water will either reduce their recurrence or eliminate them entirely.

Apple Cider Vinegar
Like white vinegar, apple cider vinegar will raise your dog’s pH when added to her water. Apple cider vinegar can also be used in your dog’s food for a similar result. Add one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to food or water for small dogs and one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to food or water for medium to large dogs. In addition to its pH-changing properties, however, apple cider vinegar can also be added to your dog’s final rinse water following her bath. Once your dog’s rinse water runs clear, pour a 50/50 mixture of water and apple cider vinegar over her, followed by another rinse. This mixture will act as a natural flea remedy, reducing any staining that your dog may have through contact with fleas. Take care to avoid your dog’s eyes, however, since vinegar will cause her eyes to sting.


http://pets.thenest.com/vinegar-dog-tear-stains-5273.html

Friday, September 5, 2014


WEATHER AND JOINT ISSUES
 
Did you know that 90% of ALL dogs will get arthritis in their lifetime?
If your dog is over 1 year old, please start them on a very good preservative free supplement. Your pocket book and dog will love you for it later.


If your dog has had any type of trauma or injury, does any type of agility or repetitive exercises, your dog should be on a joint supplement. When playing with your dog, don't tug on any part of the body too hard. For example, playing tug a war with your dog will put some stress on the neck and possibly pull the spinal bones out of line causing injury. Don't forget to make sure you have studied the breed of dog you have and know the genetic history concerning hip dysplasia, degenerative joint disease and alike. If your breed is susceptible to diseases of the joints, take action now. There is so much to do to keep your dog moving way into his/her teen years. And again, don't forget the diet. Remove kibble from the diet. Reduce all vaccines, medications, change to organic all natural yard fertilizers, use all natural flea and tick repellants and shampoo's. Do not apply topical flea and tick killers. They ARE Killers to your dog.
   
Now what I would like to discuss today is, what makes our dogs go from bouncy and pain free to all of a sudden in pain and can't move. Well if you haven't pin pointed what causes a flare up, take a look at everything you have done for your dog. If you haven't missed anything mentioned above, then consider other things, for example the weather. The weather wreaks havoc on us humans and it affects our pets the same.
 Alot of the time the barometric pressure can drop causing the body to react and the joints will start to ache. Damp days of humidity followed by cold fronts is a big aggravator. It can start a few days earlier, so if you know it's coming, give a little extra joint supplement, therapy, and/or massage a day or two before this arrives.
If your dog has some type of infection going on, say the ear or tooth., expect the joints to become inflamed and cause pain and swelling in the arthritic joints. Any time you have an infection, it causes bacteria to travel through the body and affect the weakest parts of the body. If your dog has itchy skin with lesions or is inflamed and red, expect the joints to be hurting as well. EVERYTHING that happens to the body, affects the rest of the body. Bacteria attacks weak points in the body's system. The best thing you can do for your dog is keep his system strong. Vaccines, medications (including NSAID's) and poor diet breaks down the immune system and cause illness and disease. And these disease's can be serious like diabetes, seizures, loss of use in hind legs. Even skin allergies. SO it is best to build the immune system up, keep it strong and always be prepared for when/if your dog starts hurting in his/her joints. Medications like NSAID's actually break down the cartilage in joints causing more joint problems. These medications are nothing more than a band-aid to the problem. To fix the problem or lesson it, you need a strong system. You can't do it if your feeding a poor diet, giving vaccines yearly, and using highly toxic chemicals on your dog and yard. (Don't forget filtered water). Your dog will only become sicker. Is it worth all the pain, suffering and needless to say the expense of vet bills of a sick dog?
   
So have a list of what is specific to your dog as how to care for your dog daily...and then prepare for the worst days when something goes wrong.  If your dog has a heart problem, giving herbs for the heart problem can also work for the arthritis. Herbs are good for many different uses and you will find that when you're helping the heart, you're helping the joints.
As I said, the body works in sync and you have to treat every issue so not to affect the other. Speaking of heart issues, I have a list of supplements to help a dog with heart problems. I have actually seen living proof of a drastic change in dogs that were coughing their heads off..even on heart meds. After giving a cocktail of herbs and supplements, this cough was reduced drastically or eliminated all together. Again these supplements can and do benefit an older dog and one with joint issues. Every dog is different and everything out there that helps one dog, may not help another. So it is a constant job of trying to find that right mixture that helps. And as you know, once you find that mixture, it stops working and so here you are looking for a different solution. This is why it is important to learn EVERYTHING you can so that you have options when that day comes.
I feel Acupuncture, some sort of Physical Therapy, Adequan injections, a good diet, reducing/eliminating all but rabies vaccines (every 3 years on rabies) along with reduction of pain meds and adding supplements is a terrific treatment for your dog. Don't forget your added supplements of fish/krill oil, organic extra virgin coconut oil, probiotics and digestive enzymes, & Vit C (sodium ascorbate).

Copyright © Holistic And Organix Pet Shoppe

Thursday, April 17, 2014

What Vets Don't Know Or Won't Tell You




I had a few things this past year happen that I was unsure if I was onto something or just thinking crazy things.
The first time that was the worst is when Diamond (my pit mix) went down (in severe pain and couldn't walk). I took her into the vet and nothing was discovered from the vet. Needless to say not much was done either on that visit.  We came back home and she was fine a day or two..then back down again. A week later I took her back in for x-rays..thinking possibly she may have hip dysplasia. The x-rays confirmed she had Lumbosacral Spondylosis. A few days before I took her in on the first visit, I had started giving her some cephalexin for a UTI. When I discovered how bad she was in pain, I stopped everything. After she was back up and walking a day or two later, I started the antibiotics up again. That's when she went back down again and I took her for x-rays. This was in March.
In November I took her in for a teeth cleaning, a rabies shot, and blood work. Little did I know at that time, you don't give rabies on the same day you do surgery. (Things vets don't tell you) Three days after her teeth cleaning she went down again and she went down hard. This was November 2012.  Since that day it's been nothing but a daily struggle to keep her pain free. I took her back to the vet when she went down and I told them it had something to do with the surgery. I told them I thought she had had a reaction to antibiotics previously. They looked at me really funny. Since then I have spoken with many Drs about this. The only thing that was thought that possibly could have caused it was the bacteria release from the teeth cleaning, or possibly the anesthesia but we just really didn't know. In the back of my mind I have wondered if the connection was the antibiotics. The vets looked at me crazy when I kept mentioning my thoughts on this.

So when I met the new Dr on her Stem Cell Surgery, I told him all of this and how it has put her down since the teeth cleaning. So he WAS concerned about the anesthesia and would make sure he didn't give any antibiotics etc. SO, she had the surgery and it didn't put her down at all. So now I know it wasn't the anesthesia.

Last night I was reading a book on Canine Arthritis (that was written by a DVM) and BINGO...there it was..my answer.

A N T I B I O T I C S !

It states: While RARE, many Drs feel that drug induced joint problems are becoming more common. Your dogs immune system can react to ANY drug, and drugs are usually considered foreign substances. A hypersensitivity or allergic reaction occurs when antibodies form chemical complexes with the administered drug, these drug-antibody complexes are then deposited into the joints of the body. The drugs most commonly associated with drug-induced lameness are antibiotics, especially sulfa drugs, erythromycin, penicillin's, and cephalosporins.

It further states genetics can play a role also especially with Doberman Pinchers when sulfa drugs are administered.

SO, when I read this, my jaw dropped and my thoughts were..I WAS RIGHT! I WASNT CRAZY! and why didn't these Drs NOT put this together or even possibly think it was drug related? They have this knowledge right? hhhmmm....

I can give Diamond doxycycline without any issues but cephalexin puts her down. Looking back in her records on the day she had her teeth cleaning, she was given an injection of penicillin and sent home with amoxicaps. SO OBVIOUSLY she has a sensitivity to these as well. The bad part about this is, it put her down from November till the day of her stem cell therapy (Sept 12th). Ten months of pain.

And not only am I speaking of drugs but also vaccines can do this. Even vaccines can make a dog go lame that never had any issues before, although it seems more common in puppies. I am NOT ruling out adults as well. Vaccines are very harmful in adult stages and titer testing should be done instead. Titers cost a little more money but..if you have a dog that gets ill, goes lame or acquires a disease, which one then will be expensive? So weigh the costs. Have titer testing done instead. I am aware rabies is a law but every 3 years this should be the most that it gets done. And if your dog has an illness, weakened immune system or auto-immune disease, they CAN and should be exempted from rabies. Speak with your vet on this.

The bottom line here is, always be aware of what goes in the body and don't think your suspicions are crazy or a little over the top. Always trust your instincts, ask a lot of questions, research a lot before you have any surgery done or vaccines or medications given. And always feed your dog a species appropriate diet.
 Anytime the body is fighting any disease or illness, inflammation can flow threw the body causing inflamed joints.


To also make a note: During winter time this is a time for our dogs to start having achy joints. So get ready before. Prepare. Have your medicine cabinet stocked with RX meds, herbs (start the herbs now if you haven't), vitamins and don't forget the ADEQUAN. It's wonderful stuff and can make miracles when you have lost all hope. It did for me and has helped MANY MANY animals stay upright and walking. Ask your vet for a vial to take home with you to give the injections. It's more cost effective that way. Have your vet show you how to give them.
Have on hand some moist heat packs, funds saved up for chiropractic and acupuncture visits. Give daily massages and take short walks. Watch your dogs weight and if your not already, consider a raw diet. You will be totally amazed how much your dog will be so much healthier.

To learn more on raw diets, read here or join us on facebook in our group on raw diets and over all holistic health care. Also I have a group for Canine Arthritis. Here you can get immediate answers in time of need or you can email me.

Note.- Pets allergic to antibiotic class of penicillin will naturally be allergic to amoxicillin as well. Please make sure your pet's veterinarian is aware of this.

Holistic and Organix Pet Shoppe

Monday, March 17, 2014

Hydrangea Root~ For Kidney Stones in your dog



 Hydrangea Root-a flower essence, helps to naturally dissolve kidney stones and struvite crystals. A safe, natural alternative treatment, to be used in conjunction with a grain-free diet for pets. Kidney support, urinary diuretic, eliminates swelling and fluid retention, increases the flow of urine. Will dissolve/remove bladder/struvite & kidney stones and relieve the pain they cause, and alleviates backache due to kidney distress.
A common shrub, hydrangea is a bitter and a solvent.

Hydrangea Root (Hydrangea arborescens) is a bitter herb that has been traditionally used to relieve inflamed or enlarged prostate, for urinary stones or gravel associated with infections, for arthritis, gout, and for bladder problems. Its solvent properties nutritionally support the urinary system. It contains natural minerals plus silicon, flavonoids, resins and saponins
 
Hydrangea Root is antilithic (preventing the formation of calculi or promoting their dissolution.) which means that it dissolves urinary stones and prevents the formation of new ones.

Hydrangea Root has a long history of promoting a healthy prostate and urinary tract.  It combats infection and is believed to very helpful in treating inflamed or enlarged prostate and bladder infection, including cystitis, urethritis and prostatitis, etc.  As a diuretic, it promotes the flow of urine and is said to remove stones and the pain caused by them.

Hydrangea Root stimulates the kidneys to release retained fluid and helps to prevent the formation of gravel.  It will also help to pass deposits through the ureters from the kidneys to the bladder. Importantly, the herb is also used to relieve the backache often caused by kidney trouble and dissolve and remove kidney stones.

Further supporting a healthy urinary tract, Hydrangea helps treat urine problems, such as frequent urination that may also be accompanied by burning pain, and it has been used to help treat bedwetting problems in children.

Hydrangea Root is believed to be a blood cleanser and may treat lymphatic conditions that are caused by poor blood. Hydrangea has also been used to relieve chronic rheumatoid arthritis and the swelling of arthritis (by reducing calcium deposits), gout and edema.

 Hydrangea Root
 Hydrangea Root-a flower essence, helps to naturally dissolve kidney stones and struvite crystals. A safe, natural alternative treatment, to be used in conjunction with a grain-free diet for pets. Kidney support, urinary diuretic, eliminates swelling and fluid retention, increases the flow of urine. Will dissolve/remove bladder/struvite & kidney stones and relieve the pain they cause, and alleviates backache due to kidney distress.
A common shrub, hydrangea is a bitter and a solvent.

Hydrangea Root (Hydrangea arborescens) is a bitter herb that has been traditionally used to relieve inflamed or enlarged prostate, for urinary stones or gravel associated with infections, for arthritis, gout, and for bladder problems. Its solvent properties nutritionally support the urinary system. It contains natural minerals plus silicon, flavonoids, resins and saponins

Hydrangia Root is antilithic (preventing the formation of calculi or promoting their dissolution.) which means that it dissolves urinary stones and prevents the formation of new ones.

Hydrangea Root has a long history of promoting a healthy prostate and urinary tract.  It combats infection and is believed to very helpful in treating inflamed or enlarged prostate and bladder infection, including cystitis, urethritis and prostatitis, etc.  As a diuretic, it promotes the flow of urine and is said to remove stones and the pain caused by them.

Hydrangea Root stimulates the kidneys to release retained fluid and helps to prevent the formation of gravel.  It will also help to pass deposits through the ureters from the kidneys to the bladder. Importantly, the herb is also used to relieve the backache often caused by kidney trouble and dissolve and remove kidney stones.

Further supporting a healthy urinary tract, Hydrangea helps treat urine problems, such as frequent urination that may also be accompanied by burning pain, and it has been used to help treat bedwetting problems in children.

Hydrangea Root is believed to be a blood cleanser and may treat lymphatic conditions that are caused by poor blood. Hydrangea has also been used to relieve chronic rheumatoid arthritis and the swelling of arthritis (by reducing calcium deposits), gout and edema.

Hydrangea Root Capsule Dosage:
Kidney Stones-Administer x 6-8 weeks, then re-test
Struvite Crystals: Administer x 6 weeks, then re-test
up to 25lbs:  1/2 capsule with food 3xday
25-50 lbs: 1  capsule with food 3xday
50-75lbs: 1 1/2 capsules with food 3xday
75lbs+: 2 capsules with food 3xday

Hydrangea Root Liquid Dosage:
Kidney Stones-Administer x 6-8 weeks, then re-test
Struvite Crystals: Administer x 6 weeks, then re-test
Administer 3 times daily: 1 drop per 2 lbs of body weight up to 50 lbs Add 1 drop per 4 lbs thereafter.
http://westshore-petwatch.webs.com/urinaryproblems.htm




Warning: Certain parts of hydrangeas are particularly dangerous and toxic to dogs. These parts are the buds and the leaves. Owners of dogs should make sure that their pets steer clear of hydrangeas, and make sure that the buds and leaves go nowhere near their mouths.

Monday, February 24, 2014




How Canine Arthritis and Diet Are Connected

To start preparing your dog for treatment at home, you have to first start with the diet. Most people are busy and don't have a lot of time to spend on feeding their pets. What you can do is find what works for you. You all may know but kibble isn't good for many things. It was created for convenience mostly for humans. There isn't anything nutritional due to over processing of the ingredients. I recommend a high quality canned food or switching to a raw or homemade diet. As I was growing up, my mother always told me to cook your meat completely or you could get sick. So in my mind, food needs to be cooked, no matter what it is. We, as humans, cook our foods and we survive. Dogs eat their kibble and they survive, but that's it. You and your dog are only surviving. Now I am not here to talk about human food other than a comparison. When we humans cook our foods, we cook out the vitamins. To supplement the loss, we have to take vitamins and try to eat more veggies and fruits. Not much nutrition there, is it? In today's world, we eat what we can buy from the market.
A little known fact is that the foods coming into this country and sold on store shelves today have not been checked for any chemicals or toxins. Only 1% of foods coming from an outside source of the USA are inspected. So when you buy foods, buy organic and learn to read labels. When you take precautions and try to eat better yourself, think about your dog, too. Your diet and your dog's diet play a very important role in how your body fights against diseases. So that leads us to here and now.
Your dog has arthritis or some joint disease and now we have to spend that EXTRA time in our BUSY lives to help our dogs be pain free or comfortable. Do you see where I am going with this? Either way you will spend that extra time caring for your pet. Think about all the visits to the vet to help your dog when he/she is hurting. If we had of known in the early years that diet played a role in joint issues, we may have made extra time to pay attention to the diet. If you are lucky enough to have a younger dog without issues yet, maybe its time to concentrate on the diet. Start now, start thinking about what you can do for your dog BEFORE it takes on the pains of arthritis. And if they are already ridden by the joint pain and inflammation, let's make some changes today.
Most all pet foods today have potatoes in them. Potatoes aren't good for arthritis and joints. That goes along with your nightshade family food group as well as all grains. IF you are feeding kibble, start today by getting your dog (if they are not already) on a joint support. Add in some vitamins and minerals, probiotics and digestive enzymes. Fish oils are a wonderful addition to your dog's daily meals. It helps lubricate the joints and keeps them lubricated. Buy high quality fish oils with added Vitamin E. I actually use Ultra Oil for Pets. Its a mixture of oils. If it only contains a small amount of Vitamin E as most do just to preserve it, add Vitamin E three times a week to your pets diet. Also give milk thistle daily. It helps cleanse the liver and keep it from being overworked trying to digest kibble. It takes approximately 12 hours for a dog to digest kibble. In that time, the digestive system is working extremely hard to break down the foods. The liver is bust helping to filter out the toxins. Yes, toxins in foods. There are a lot of them - meats, vitamins, and even water have toxins in them. A lot of the pet foods on the market get their meat from an outside source and much of it comes from China. They do not regulate the meats and there are lots of toxins/arsenic in these foods. We consume these foods daily along with our pets.
Any pet eating commercial foods needs to detox every 6 months. The first detox should last up to 3 months. After the initial detox, you can do it for a couple of weeks at a time each time after that. Once you start getting these toxins out, replace it with good things like probiotics and digestive enzymes. They help break down the foods, add in good bacteria and build the immune system. This is the key to having a healthy pet.
Vaccines, medications, unfiltered water and pet foods all break down the immune system. So you see, ALL pets need to detox and rebuild the system.
If you feed a raw diet, the body digests the food in about 6 hours. This is because the body is taking in its natural source of foods which the body doesn't have to work hard to digest...so the liver isn't taxed either. It helps the body to function properly. If you add in greens to the diet, that is a natural cleanser. Greens also provide a lot of vitamins and minerals to build a strong body. I have one I really like that I give my dogs called Green Power. It is sold from Natural Canine, has all of your greens and is 100% organic. NO preservatives. It's the only vitamin and mineral source you need, complete for your pet. How great is that? It is a powder that can be easily mixed in with canned foods or wet foods. Kibble diets only, you would have to resort to some sort of pill form.
Coconut oil is great to add into foods also. It's an oil that has all kinds of healing properties and will also help fight the bad bacteria, make the skin healthy and the coat shiny. It is great to rub on ears that may have yeast build up or on paw pads to soften them. Many dogs like it as well. It is great to put on scrapes or superficial wounds. In fact, coconut oil and apple cider vinegar work on just about everything. I always look for and buy organic extra virgin coconut oil in a jar. Plastic containers may contain chemicals that are toxic so I always recommend buying anything you can in glass jars.
I didn't touch on canned foods today because it is the middle of the road. It still has the ingredients sourced from other countries in them but they hold more nutrients than any kibble and carry more moisture content. Kibble always keeps a dog partially dehydrated so make sure your dog has plenty of water around. I definitely recommend a canned food over kibble any day. Oh and that age old myth of kibble cleans the dogs teeth, well that is false. Give them a raw meaty rib bone to gnaw on twice a week and the teeth will become pearly white. ~H.O.P.S.


Here are a couple video's to watch.

Why feed a homemade diet:
http://youtu.be/ujztdcXm1Qg

Raw Diets:
http://youtu.be/G3wLTlqnMMg

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Gingerbread Dog Treats

 Ingredients:

1 cup molasses or raw unfiltered honey
1 3/4 cup filtered water
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
6 cups gluten free flour (Buckwheat, Tapioca etc)
2 teaspoons aluminum free baking soda
1 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger or one tsp. of dried powder ginger

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the molasses, water, and oil in a medium bowl.

In another large bowl mix the flour, the baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Combine well.

Cover and refrigerate for an hour or overnight.

After the dough is well-chilled roll it out into a 1/4" thickness. Cut dough with a cookie cutter into gingerbread men or other fun shapes.

The dough will rise.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Turn oven down to 325 and bake another 3-5 minutes.

Makes about 40 treats.