IS YOUR DOG ITCHY?
One of our favorite holistic vets,
Dr. Keith Weingardt, gave us a neat tip. Dried Nettles (otherwise known as stinging nettles when they’re fresh) have a natural antihistamine quality that helps to control the itching and inflammation of seasonal allergies in dogs and cats, like an herbal Benadryl). We’ve seen an increase in the number of itchy dogs this summer, and that’s no surprise considering the hot dry conditions we’ve had. Many humans who don’t usually have allergies are suffering allergy symptoms, including swollen glands, sore throats (that aren’t helped by poor air quality from nearby fire activity) and sore sinuses. For dogs, they might have symptoms like runny eyes, but more often, environmental irritants seem to result in itching and inflammation. Sprinkling dried nettles on their food is a safe easy way of helping them out with their discomfort, and they have nutritive benefits as well. We have small bags of organic dried nettles for $.99, and can sell you greater quantities if you find that they’re helpful to your pets. Sprinkle a little on their food each time they eat, working up to about a tsp per 20# of pet. We’ve seen amazing results! (Nettles can lower blood sugar, so if you have a diabetic animal, you might want to test more often, or consult with your holistic vet about its use).
Other useful products for allergies:
- Animal Essentials Tincture “Spring Tonic” has nettles, as well as burdock to cleanse the blood and licorice to help reduce inflammation in an easy-to-give sweet liquid.
- Immune support: The strength of the immune system and allergies (even food allergies) are closely tied. Organic Superfoods makes a great Immunity blend containing medicinal mushrooms that can help to support the immune system, thereby helping to reduce allergic responses.
- Skin-supporting supplements like fish oil can help curb inflammation and help to heal the skin.
Products like Answers’ Fermented Goat’s Milk help to support the immune system by healing the gut lining (where most of the immune system lives) and is rich in fatty acids like C.L.A.
