herbal books

victoria1140

victoria1140

Active member
since beau's recent illness again I am trying to do more research into herbs that may help with his poor digestion and boost his immune system as it may be this that is causing most of his problems.

Our vet still thinks his immune system is off balance but doesn't feel he could take a complete switch to a raw diet yet as his immune system reacts abnormally to a lot of things even though he can tolerate them every so often something sets his system off and he thinks this is the reason for all his diarhoa despite trying grain free, chicken free and fish free foods and diets.

Are there any good books or websites out there that anyone can reccomend as it is a nightmare trying to read everything out there and decide on the best course to help him.

I know herbal remedies helped our alsatian cross with irritable bowel and even though I have been giving Beau the same to try and help his system it may not be the right herbs or dosage . Obviously everything I give Beau is run past his vets who encourage us to try and find alternatives where possible to drugs and who is luckily very open minded about it all.

We are going to introduce everything slowly and I am in information overload which is why I need your reccomendations for all those who have tried alternative medicines

Perhaps I need to take him to see a chinese docter:joker:

So any reccomendations gratefully received
 
S

Summer

New member
I have many books, however, the book I always go to first is "Herbs for Pets" by Mary L. Wulff-Tilford and Gregory Tilford. They are herbalists and list each herb and their uses. Cost is $25 to $30 depending where you buy it. Of all the books I've aquired, this has been the most helpful (and safe) for pets that I've found.

In the book for instance is list the following herbs to help adjust the immune system into balance:
astragalus, shiitake, reishi mushrooms, garlic and ginseng.

Warns against using echinacea (for balance, or immune system support) as it may be counter productive in the healing process since it is a stimulant, which you don't want in bringing his immune system into balance.

Stimulating the immune system is helpful and should be limited to when you want to increase a healthy immune system to repel viral, bacterial, or fungal infections.

I hope this is helpful.
 
Ohana Mom

Ohana Mom

New member
you also may want to contact the folks at Nature's FArmacy. I really like their products and find them to be really helpful.
 
L

LovemyNewfies

New member
Also, you may want to consider that in TCM, not all constitutional types do well on raw foods. I have 2 that do and one that does not.
 
R Taft

R Taft

Active member
I am not sure what exact problem Beau has............But we use Slippery Elm for our rescue horses and dogs when we first get them to settle their digestive tract. We also use it before we worm the dogs and horses. We just use a teaspoon per feed for the dogs
 
victoria1140

victoria1140

Active member
thanks yes we use slippery elm and willow bark to help Beaus tummy as well as ease Merlins ibs but Beau always seems to be catching something and I dont mind mild tummy upsets but everytime he is ill it is an emergency dash to the vets as he seems to react so badly.
Last year it was 6 months of diarhoa that was set of by the criptospiridium bug and it took us ages even when he was all clear to sort him out. Then he had the emergency dash due to kennel cough and his neck was so swollen that his collar was cut off (even though it was originally very loose) and now this haemorraghic gastroenteritis ( which some other dogs have had around our area but none required 2 DAY STAY AT THE VETS).

We want to try and help boost his system so that he can fight off these illness's without it being so severe all the while.This is why we want to go the alternative way first and we dont have any holistic dog therapists here that I know off.
 
pabusinesswoman

pabusinesswoman

New member
victoria1140 said:
Our vet still thinks his immune system is off balance but doesn't feel he could take a complete switch to a raw diet yet as his immune system reacts abnormally to a lot of things even though he can tolerate them every so often something sets his system off and he thinks this is the reason for all his diarhoa despite trying grain free, chicken free and fish free foods and diets.
Click to expand...
I am don't really know a particular dog allergy book to recomend. :(

What does the vet believe could be causing the imbalance in the immunity system? So the "set offs" seem to come and go? Could allergies be causing his immuity to be on constant defense.. and then he is more suseptible to other things..allergies could be in the food or environmental. My Chow was a mess with allergies and was at the vet lots while younger. They have dog allergy injections that could possibly help boost his immunity system against those factors.

I also don't know if you can get the Orijen in the UK since it is Canadian based. I have not notice a large improvement in the Newf so far. The Newf really does not have a lot of health issues. However, the Chow with all her sensitivities has had great success with it.

The food actually has chicory root, licorice root, venugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fenel, peppermint leaf, chamomile flowers, dandelion, summer savory, and rosehips in it. In addition it has glucosamine/ condroitin. Lactobacillus acidophilus and Enterococcus faecluim are aided to help with digestion. It has seemed to help with her muscular issues, some of her allergies, and her energy levels. I you could not get it , perhaps there is a food in the UK with these additives? If you cannot find a composite food with them in the UK, perhaps they would give you a starting point to research.
 
victoria1140

victoria1140

Active member
hi there yes Beau has had intensive allergy tests with all coming back negative, we think part of the problem is bad breeding (BYB) ,poor first home and just trying to stabilise his system has been a nightmare. Orijen is available here but works out at $85 a bag so highly expensive. Have tried a top quality bag of food but didnt help . From another nn suggestion we have even given him some baby food of different types to see if this caused a problem but this boy certainly worries us as he has a very high tolerance to antibiotics and we want to get his system working in sync.
 
pabusinesswoman

pabusinesswoman

New member
Oops.. ment in the above post.. herbal book.

I did not know if you started with some of the botanicals added to Orijen if that would help finding something that works... lots out there.

Do you have someone over there who does homeopathy that may have used it on dogs? If the herbs don't work... that may be another venue for you.

Good luck with it. Please keep us posted on how he is doing.:)
 
R Taft

R Taft

Active member
Your in the UK..........There is an Australian book on Natural dog care by Pat Colby......
We are devotees of her natural horsecare book. She is very good, I do not know the exact title, but you should Google her. I have several friend who are naturopaths, one who is a Bach flower expert and a bowen therapist/homeopath. they tend to give me verbal info . So as yet I do not have any books. See if you can find a animal herbalist or homeopath. They have done some amazing things for me in the past with both Abbey and Zacky. They both out lived the vets prognosis.........Ronnie
 
Last edited:
R Taft

R Taft

Active member
But I also remembered Nettle as I was walking through our garden. Because we grow it especially for our horses. if you very lightly cook it (quick) all the sting goes out of it and it is a very good old-fashioned tonic, it also works well as a dried herb. but that requires more effort and time. The other is mint........Raw or as a tea............And I am sure you know that the natural yogurt with all the acidophilis's etc does help as long as there is no dairy allergy..........Hope all this helps, Ronnie
 
S

suchislife

New member
I can only encourage the same book Summer is talking about. "Herbs for Pets" by Mary L. Wulff-Tilford and Gregory Tilford.
I have the book and it is fantastic.

I went to the same college as Mary Tilford (do not know her personally) and the school is incredibly thorough with information and includes some pet information. Both authors are an excellent asset to the herbal community.

Just keep in mind that canines have a very different metabolism than us and what works for us doesn't mean it'll work for them in the same manner. Vice versa. Traditional Western herbs are just as powerful as TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). The difference is how we do things, and the fact that TCM is recognized as a valid medicinal practice here in the States, but Western is not. Sad, but this is the truth of the matter. So don't overlook what is in your own backyard!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top