Abdominal Injuries in Dogs and Cats...Emergency At Home Care

ABDOMINAL WOUNDS

What to do if the organs are showing and the “secret” household item you should have on hand that could save your pet. 

Abdominal Wounds are common pet emergencies. Frequently small dogs and cats with severe abdominal wounds receive them following an attack by a large dog. In many cases, if a pet owner had been aware of what to do, they could have saved their dog or cat’s life.

What to do if your pet ever has a serious abdominal injury...

SIGNS

The abdomen (belly) holds most of the important internal organs. It is protected by 3 layers of muscle, plus the fat and skin, but is vulnerable to injury. A small dog or cat can easily have his entire abdomen punctured by a large dog bite. The only thing visible to you may be small punctures on the surface of the skin.

These are the most important signs which signal immediate veterinary care:

• Shock
• Pain
• Vomiting
• Evidence of injury (i.e. bruising, swelling, local pain)
• Blood in the urine if the bladder or kidneys are injured
• Blood in the stool or around the anus if the large bowel has been injured Abnormal swelling may indicate a hernia particularly in the groin or flanks
• Protrusion of intestines if the abdominal wall has been torn

CAUSES

A bite, car accident or foreign object has penetrated the abdomen (belly). Other
common ways include falling and large animal kicks.

SOLUTIONS

CALL THE VET RIGHT AWAY. Serious abdominal injuries need to be treated by a veterinarian.

CHECK FOR SHOCK

A pet in shock will act weak or sleepy. The most common sign I see are pale gums and tongue- in some dogs and cats the eyelids droop. Severe shock can result in death in as little as 15 minutes. If you suspect this, then transport to the emergency vet right away. Wrap your pet in a blanket to keep him warm, and put a few drops of honey on his gum’s, give the animal Bach Rescue Remedy and drive immediately.

APPLY PRESSURE

In bleeding wounds, you want to apply direct pressure with a clean cloth or gauze pad. If the blood seeps through, re-apply a second cloth- removing it can break up a forming clot.

CLIP THE FUR

This is advised to do so long as the wound only appears superficial and doesn’t penetrate into the abdomen. Use clippers or blunt scissors. I always advise to first fill the wound with K-Y jelly to keep the hair from adhering to the wound.

CLEAN THE WOUND

I find that it is easiest to use warm running water. The best thing is using a handheld showerhead. After gently spraying, use a damp cloth soaked with antiseptic solution (chlorhexidine) and gently wipe around the wound. If you are treating the wound at home, then perform this hydrotherapy twice daily for 3-5 days.

WHAT TO DO IF INTERNAL ORGANS ARE SHOWING

This seldom happens, but if it does you need to know what to do.

RINSE THE ORGANS

First rinse the organs with saline solution- if you don’t have this lukewarm tap water is fine. This cleans the organs and keeps the tissue moist and healthy.

PUT THE ORGANS BACK

These can be gently pushed back into the abdominal cavity after being rinsed. First soak gauze pads or a cloth in either sterile saline solution or lukewarm tap water. DON’T use your bare hands. Apply firm pressure and place the organs through the hole or tear in the abdomen. If you can’t get them to go in easily, then leave them on the moist towel. WRAP the abdominal cavity and the organs with a belly band. This is easiest with plastic wrap (Saran Wrap - the secret household item we mentioned above). It just needs to be tight enough to hold everything in place till you can get to the vet or emergency clinic.

I have been educating pet owners on how to care for their pet’s at home for years by using the natural remedies and treatments found on Pet Remedy Charts, and homeopathic treatments from the book, Fast Forward to the Cure, Veterinary Homeopathy for dogs, cats, horses, birds, pet rats and backyard chickens. It’s not complicated; it’s easy when you follow the simple step by step instructions.

 

How to Perform CPR on Dogs and Cats

CANINE OR FELINE CARDIAC ARREST

SIGNS

You find your pet lying on their side not moving or breathing. Your pet suddenly drops to the ground after running.

CAUSES

This is every pet owner’s worse nightmare, but fortunately it seldom happens. Most dogs and cats which suffer heart attacks have an underlying heart problem. This can happen with a sudden blow to the chest, hyperthermia, hypothermia, drowning, car accidents and some poisons.

EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

CALL YOUR VET IMMEDIATELY. CPR usually isn’t very successful without veterinary care.
CHECK RESPONSIVENESS. Often a pulse is hard to obtain, so check to see if your pet responds to external stimuli.

NO HEARTBEAT. BEGIN CPR.

1. Assess responsiveness
2. Establish a patent airway
3. Perform rescue breathing
4. Cardiac massage - establishing circulation

STEP 1

RESPONSIVENESS

The first step is making sure that your pet is truly unresponsive.

1. CHECK his breathing by placing your hand in front of his mouth and nose.

2. CHECK for his heartbeat by placing your ear against the left side of his chest. This is the area where his left elbow touches his chest, immediately behind his left armpit.

FIND A PULSE.

Put your ear on the left side of your pet’s chest directly behind their armpit and listen for the heart. You can also feel for a pulse, although this is often difficult to do in a healthy dog or cat. Press your fingers into the inside of the back leg ( the thigh and groin) to palpate the femoral artery.

Check the palpebral (relating to the eyelids) reflex by touching the inside corner of his eyelid. He should then blink.

Check the menace (threatening) reflex by quickly moving your hand towards his eye- it should cause a blink.

Pinch the toes, or the webbing between the toes. He should pull his foot back or at least twitch or move his eyes in response to the pinch.

NO RESPONSE, BUT BREATHING. No response likely means that he is unconscious. If you can see breathing, then he is likely in shock. Wrap him in a warm blanket, Put a few drops of honey on his gums, and give BACH RESCUE REMEDY every few minutes, while you get to the Vet or emergency clinic ASAP.

STEP 2

AIRWAY

The second step in CPR is obtaining an open airway.

1. PULL the tongue out of your pet’s mouth, but be careful to not get bitten. If you can't get a good hold on the tongue use a piece of gauze or paper towel.

2. STRAIGHTEN the neck by moving the head to be in line with the neck.
DO NOT HYPEREXTEND (forcefully stretch out, beyond its normal limits) IN CASES OF NECK TRAUMA.

3. PERFORM two rescue breaths, by closing the mouth and performing mouth to nose ventilations. IF they continue, then proceed to STEP 3, BREATHING (below). If there are no breaths, then look into the mouth.

4. VISIBLY inspect the mouth and look down the throat for a foreign body. If you see something, reach into the airway and remove it.

5. IF the airway is still not open, attempt THE HEIMLICH MANEUVER (shown in following steps).

6. TURN your pet upside down, with back against your chest.

7. WITH both arms, give sharp thrusts to the abdomen.

8. AFTER 5 thrusts, stop and check to see if the object is visible in the airway. If so remove it and give 2 mouth-to-nose rescue breaths. If the breaths do not go in, repeat the HEIMLICH MANEUVER.

STEP 3

BREATHING

After achieving a patent airway, perform RESCUE BREATHING.

1. CLOSE your pet’s mouth and breathe directly into his nose until his chest expands. If the chest doesn’t expand then go back to STEP 2 – AIRWAY.

2. VENTILATE at 15 breaths per minute. One BREATH every 4 seconds.

3. PROCEED to STEP 4 – CIRCULATION

STEP 4

CIRCULATION

1. ENSURE there are no major points of bleeding. Control as necessary.

2. GENTLY lay your pet on his right side.

3. LOCATE the heart, which is found on the lower half of the chest on the left side, behind the elbow of the front left leg. Place one hand below the heart to support the chest; place the other hand over the heart.

4. COMPRESS the chest 5 times followed by 1 rescue breaths. The goal is to give 80 to 100 compressions and 15 to 20 breaths per minute. Compress the chest 1⁄2 inch for small pets and 1 1⁄2 inches for large pets.

5. EVERY 5 times follow up with 1 rescue breath.
You will have to exert a lot of force with large dogs, but don’t worry about breaking ribs, ribs heal.

After every minute, stop and check for a pulse or breathing.

Continue heart massage compressions and the rescue breathing until you hear a heart beat and feel regular breathing. ONCE your pet is breathing and his heart is beating, CALL your veterinarian immediately!

ACUPUNCTURE (Resuscitation Point)

There is an acupuncture point that will stimulate breathing and help revive an animal from unconsciousness or apparent death. Stick a pin in the middle of the slit of your pet’s upper lip below the nose (midway between the nose and upper lip). If you don’t have a pin, use a knitting needle, the tip of a non-retracted ball point pen, a chopstick or the tip of your fingernail, etc.

HOME CARE

After any pet has had a heart attack, the most important thing in preventing it is determining why. Your Veterinarian can ultrasound and X-ray the heart to see if underlying heart disease was the problem.

Will you ever need to know CPR?

Probably Not.

But what if you did?

Do You know what to do?

Practice CPR on your pet BEFORE you need it.

For more information on home treatments using herbs, homeopathy, flower remedies and acupressure for dogs, cats, horses, birds, pet rats and backyard chickens visit, Pet Remedy Charts.

Homemade Kitty Litter

Make your own non-toxic, clumping, cat litter at a fraction of the cost.

Commercial perfumed cat litters are composed of chemicals that are toxic to animals and the environment and should be avoided. Most commercially sold clumping litters can block the bladder, kidneys and cause other health problems for the internal organs of grown cats and kittens. They don't even have to directly eat it to receive the toxins, because while grooming and licking themselves as part of their hygiene ritual, including between every toe to remove those little clumps of kitty litter, overtime this can cause a toxic amount of litter to get into their systems via the oral route. The clumping, dehydrating action of the litter is extremely bad for their health, and can cause illness or even death. Additionally, standard cat litters aren't biodegradable, so they end up producing more toxic waste for our landfills.

As handy as it is to scoop your kitty's urine cleanly away in a perfumed single clump, it's not worth  risking their health merely for convenience. No matter how extravagant or frugal you are, you still want something that works and something that won't harm your cat.

The Alternatives
 
There are many commercial varieties of 'healthy' kitty litter on the market, with of course a higher price range for the safer products. For example, natural wheat litters are safe and they have good clumping ability. However, the cost is around $16.00 for a ten pound bag.

Homemade Cat Litter

Store bought wheat kitty litter is expensive and literally just a bag of coarsely ground wheat. No mysterious, supernatural ingredients and not even organic. This expensive litter can easily be made at home for a fraction of the cost. Bulk whole wheat, available from health food stores, makes a safe and simple, sustainable cat litter.

Instructions:

You can use a grain grinder on a coarse setting, or simply blend some wheat berries until it's the consistency you want. The finer you grind the wheat, the better it clumps, but don't grind it as fine as flour because then it would be too dusty to have around. It doesn't need to be exact, just try for a coarse, grainier type consistency.

Also, even though you won't be eating it, we still recommend you buy organic wheat! Why go organic? Organic foods are grown without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. Organic grains are not genetically modified. Organic wheat is grown in soil that is nurtured, not treated... which means top soil, groundwater, rivers, lakes, streams, watersheds, fish & wildlife, and people are not compromised. Also because it's important to support sustainable farming practices whenever you can, and this is a very affordable way to go about doing it. I recommend buying organic animal-grade wheat, (animal-grade means it hasn't been cleaned to the standards we expect for human consumption) most feed stores carry it in bulk. It will cost you about $14.25 for 50 pounds: this is less than 1/5 the cost of store-bought wheat cat litter! Any wheat berries will do, they are also available in bulk at your local natural food store. It's so easy to make, that when the litter pan is low, simply grind some wheat berries and toss it in.

Used homemade kitty litter can be composted or tossed in with your green waste pickup. It can also safely be buried several inches below the ground. Your plants will love it.

If your cat spends most of his time outdoors, you'll only need to remove waste from the litter pan once or twice a week. If you have an indoor cat you would probably need to do it daily.

For more pet health care solutions visit Pet Remedy Charts for Cats.

Safety Precautions

Precautions for Pregnant Women Worried About Toxoplasmosis. If you are pregnant, don't handle or accidentally breath the dust from any kind of cat litter or garden with compost made from cat litter. Cat feces can contain a parasite called toxoplasma gondii. Wear gloves when you garden (even if you don’t have a cat), in case the soil is contaminated with cat feces from neighborhood cats. Toxoplasmosis can pass to and damage your unborn baby (mother-to-child transmission). The infection can also cause a miscarriage or stillbirth.

Fortunately, cats infected with toxoplasmosis shed the organism in their feces for only a short period of time. This means that most cat feces shed by pet cats that are housed indoors are not infected with the Toxoplasma parasite and the cat litter is not a real threat to a pregnant woman.

Still, taking precautions to avoid exposure to potential toxoplasmosis in the cat litter is a good idea for any pregnant woman.

• If possible, a pregnant woman should not change the cat litter box and should avoid contact with cat feces. Ideally, another household member should change the cat litter box.
• If a pregnant woman does find it necessary to change a cat litter box, she should wear gloves when doing so and wash her hands thoroughly afterward.
• The cat litter box should be cleaned on a daily basis. Toxoplasmosis cysts in the litter box require 48 hours to become infective.
• Pregnant women should wear gloves when gardening or working in soil or sand, as it may have been used by neighborhood cats and contain cat feces.
• Pregnant women should also avoid handling or ingesting raw meat. Wearing gloves while preparing meat and washing hands thoroughly after preparation can also help avoid infection.
• Any foodstuffs from the garden (fruits, vegetables, herbs, etc.) should be washed thoroughly before ingestion.
• Do not feed the cat raw meat during your pregnancy. 

How to Make a Mosquito Trap, a Natural Mosquito Repellent and a Remedy for Itchy Mosquito Bites

Do mosquito traps really work...Yes. Is there a safe non-poisonous mosquito repellent for people and pets...Yes.

MAKE A MOSQUITO TRAP
This is fun and super easy to do. Get the kids involved and make a family project out of it.

Items needed:
1 cup of very hot water
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 gram of yeast (like Red Star or Fleischmenn's used for bread baking)
1 empty 2-liter plastic bottle

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Cut the plastic bottle in half.

2. Mix and dissolve the brown sugar in the 1 cup of hot water. Let cool to room temperature. When cooled, pour the solution in the bottom half of the plastic bottle.

3. Add the yeast. No need to mix or stir, just sprinkle it on top of the liquid. The yeast will create carbon dioxide, which attracts mosquitoes *.

4. Place the funnel part (the bottle top), upside down, into the other half of the bottle, then push them together.

5. Wrap the bottle with something black (I use black poster paper), leaving the top uncovered, and place it outside in an area away from your normal gathering area. (Mosquitoes are attracted and drawn to the color black.) I put my mosquito traps in plant baskets and hang them at the far end of the patio and in the trees in the yard.

Tip: You will need to make a new batch of the solution every 2 weeks for continuous control.  

Bonus...This trap will work for hornets and wasps too!

* Any type of carbon dioxide is attractive to a mosquito, even over a long distance, Larger people and cigarette smokers tend to give off more carbon dioxide. Pregnant women are also at increased risk, as they produce a greater-than-normal amount of exhaled carbon dioxide. Panting dogs also give off more carbon dioxite. Movement and heat always attract mosquitoes. Mosquitoes sense your movement and head toward you or your pet. When you or your dog pants from exertion, the smell of carbon dioxide from heavy breathing draws them closer. So does the lactic acid from your sweat glands. And then -- gotcha. A mosquito can smell his next meal up to 164 feet away! 

HOMEOPATHIC REMEDY THAT REPELS MOSQUITO'S

Do you have bad reactions to mosquito bites? Try taking the homeopathic remedy, Staphysagria 30C orally once a week. It is reputed to prevent the bites of mosquito's in those who are extremely susceptible to them. It actually repels mosquito's, even in Africa and the Dominican Republic.
Staphysagria can be so effective in repelling mosquitoes and preventing bites that it is often taken on vacations to third world countries because of the concern about Malaria. There are no side effects and it can be taken by adults, or given to children or pets (such as unprotected dogs visiting in areas where heartworm is endemic).

Instructions

Preparing the Remedy: Put two pillules (small balls) of Staphysagria 30C in a clean bottle containing 8 oz. of distilled or Reverse Osmosis purified water (AquaFina is a good brand) then add 1 teaspoon of unflavored brandy or vodka to preserve it. Put the cap back on the bottle and store it in the refrigerator. If you would rather not use alcohol as a preservative you can add 2 Tablespoons of 'food grade' glycerin instead.

Example of How to Dose: Succuss the prepared remedy bottle once before each dose and take or give one teaspoon weekly. Succuss means to strike the bottom of the bottle on a hard padded surface (like a phone book or a padded counter top). You will need to do this prior to each time you take or give the remedy. The dosage amount (1 teaspoon) is the same for adults, children or any size dog.

Giving the remedy to dogs: If your dog is not on conventional heartworm medication and is unprotected, this is not a preventative but may help temporarily to ward off biting mosquito's and the transmission of heartworm, if you are temporarily visiting an area that is having the problem. The dosing procedure is the same as for people. Give the remedy at least 20 minutes apart from a meal. However, if need be the dose can be mixed with a small amount of cream or unflavored yogurt, to help you more easily administer the homeopathic medicine to your dog.
 
Homeopathic Remedy for Mosquito Bites
 
In case you do get bit, and are uncomfortable take 2 pillules of Ledum 30c, when needed. It can give instant relief to most human sufferers from allergic reactions to mosquito bites. Put the dry pillules (small balls) in your mouth and let them dissolve in your saliva before you swallow.

Storage and Handling: Keep homeopathic remedies out of sunlight in a cool dark place. Do not store near perfumes, aromatic spices, computers, T.V. or microwave ovens. If you are an avid (more than 1 or 2 cups a day) coffee drinker this remedy may not work for you. Caffeine has the potential to antidote or negate the positive effects of homeopathic medicines. Do not touch the remedy pills with your fingers, instead tip them into the cap and transfer them from the cap. If you do accidentally touch the remedy or drop it, throw it away and start over.

When taking or giving a remedy it is best to take the dose into a clean mouth. This means 20 to 30 minutes apart from food, drinks (other than water) or brushing your teeth.

Where to find the remedies: Staphysagria 30c or Ledum 30c can be purchased online. The following link to Pure Formulas sells Boiron brand homeopathics at a very low price with free shipping. You may also be able to find the remedies at your local health food store.

For more natural healing tips for dogs visit, Pet Remedy Charts.

HOME TREATMENTS FOR ANXIETY, AGGRESSION, EXCITABILITY. DOMINANCE AND FEAR

BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS - Home Treatments
for Dogs, Cats, Horses and Birds

Over the past few years there has been a much greater recognition of the behavioral problems that can affect both cats, dogs and horses. There are now a number of veterinarians and animal behaviorists trained to help with problems of this type. Sometimes drugs are prescribed as part of the treatment, but trusted natural remedies such as valerian and skullcap can often help without all the side effects.

Herbs can aid in resolving some of the more common behavioral problems in dogs, cats and horses. Some forms of epilepsy can also benefit from using herbal remedies of this type.

Herbal remedies have long been used to treat problems of this nature, in both man and in domestic animals. Some of the herbs were once used routinely by the veterinary profession. Notably, this included Skullcap, known in the past as “Mad Dog Weed”, a colloquial name derived from its use in controlling frenzied canine behavior.

Collectively, the herbs most used fall into the category that herbalists describe as nervines (calming to the nerves). Some of these are tonics, which strengthen the nervous system and are useful in situations where stress is evident. Some of the herbs have relaxing properties and will reduce levels of anxiety and excitability.

HERBS OF USE

Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)

Valerian is well known for its relaxing and sedative properties. It is widely used in this context and is of most value in cases of excitability and anxiety (it is also used for pain). It finds application in situations where a degree of tension or a state of hysteria is involved. It is well known to help calm without causing anxiety.

Skullcap (Scutellaria laterifolia)

This herb also reduces anxiety levels and has a general calming effect. Skullcap also acts as a tonic to the nervous system, providing a general boost where the system has been under stress. More specifically, it has been used successfully in the past to treat hysteria, nervous spasms and epilepsy (seizures or fits).

Vervain (Verbina officinalis)

Vervain strengthens the nervous system and helps calm anxious animals. It is especially good for setteling hysterical behavior and is thought to have some effect in treating epilepsy. It works well alongside or in combination formulas with the other calming herbs.

MAIN USES AND INDICATIONS

Dogs

• Anxiety
• Excitability
• General nervousness
• Fear
• In helping control aggression
• Destructiveness
• Hysteria
• Noise sensitivity/phobia (fear of fireworks or thunder)
• In the management of epilepsy
• Car, travel and motion sickness
• Heightened sexuality

Cats

• Anxiety
• Excitability
• Nervousness
• Fear
• Over-grooming, linked with behavioral problems, such as stress or anxiety
• Eczema, linked with stress situations
• Spraying, where linked with nervousness or stress
• FLUTD (feline lower urinary tract disease) where linked with stress

The above herbs are gentle in their action and slow to take full effect. Therefore, it may take between 3 and 6 weeks before improvement is seen. Once the desired effect is achieved, it may be possible to reduce the dose gradually until your cat or dog is weaned off of the herbs. Treatment can be continued safely for some time. Some animals will need to be on a low maintenance dose, depending on the individual animal and the nature of the problem being treated.

The above herbs mentioned are for animals aged 6 months or over.

FLOWER ESSENCES

Flower Essences provide an alternative means of dealing with behavioral issues and can, if necessary, be used alongside herbs or homeopathic remedies. Flower essences all work on the psychological level and can safely help with a wide variety of behavioral problems. Flower remedies are available as drops, and they are easily administered in a water dilution to cats and dogs. For full benefit, I usually recommend their use for a minimum period of 3 months.

Rescue Remedy

Bach Rescue Remedy is a combination formulated for acute emergency situations, and stress or distress of any sort. Common indications include, after injury or accidents, reactions to noises such as thunder or firework phobias, for trips to the vet or shows and competition, before or during travel, after surgery, change of owners or housing, boarding, abandonment, loss of a companion, grief and in any other similar stressful or potentially stressful situation.

Single flower remedies or combination remedies can be used for shy timid animals which lack confidence, appear insecure or those who are easily spooked. Combinations also works well for anxiety and nervousness which is fear based and for withdrawn and submissive animals, especially those which may have been subject to emotional or physical trauma.

Remedies that combine well in emergency formulas:

Bluebell: For being grumpy, withdrawn or aloof
Star of Bethlehem: For the effects of past trauma
Cherry Plum: For uncontrolled irrational thoughts
Clematis: For being inattentive, dreamy
Elm: Useful when overwhelmed by events
Impatiens: For irritability, impatience
Olive: For being exhausted
Rock Rose: For panic and alarm
Walnut: To allow adaptation to changes

Flower Essences for Separation Anxiety

A blend flower essences can work together to help ease the trauma of separation, pining, grief, dog kenneling and cat boarding and the physical problems that can occur such as destructive behavior or excessive barking. Flower remedies can also help puppies and kittens, or older animals, adjust to a new home or rescue environment.

Remedies to consider in combination, for trauma of separation:

Aspen: For apprehension
Bluebell: For being grumpy, withdrawn or aloof
Chamomile: For moody, irritable animals, relieves tension
Chicory: For being over-possessive or clingy
Elm: Useful when overwhelmed by events
Gentian: For despondency
Honeysuckle: For homesickness or being stuck in the past
Mimulus: For shyness, timidity, known fears
Mustard: For sadness
Pink Cherry: Soothing, nurturing, comforting
Rock Rose: For panic and alarm
Star of Bethlehem: For the effects of past trauma
Vervain: For over-enthusiasm
Walnut: To allow adaptation to changes
Zinnia: For dull animals that lack playfulness

Over Dominance Issues in Pets

Flower remedies, will help with temperamental animals that are impatient, stubborn, difficult to control, headstrong or that are snappy, irritable or jealous. It can help establish the pecking order and reduce unwanted dominant traits. They help encourage cooperation and calm the animal when it is needed.

Flower remedies to consider for overly dominant pets:

Bluebell: For being grumpy, withdrawn or aloof
Chamomile: For moody, irritable animals, relieves tension
Cherry Plum: For uncontrolled irrational thoughts
Chestnut Bud: Where there is inability to learn by experience
Chicory: For being over-possessive or clingy
Holly: For jealousy and suspicion, envy, hatred
Impatiens: For irritability, impatience
Mimulus: For shyness, timidity, known fears
Vervain: For over-enthusiasm
Vine: For dominance issues, arrogance, inflexibility
Walnut:To allow adaptation to changes

Flower Essences for High Strung Animals

A combination of different essences can help overactive, excitable, irritable and unpredictable animals. Properly combined flower essence remedies will help pets to cope with stress and balance their emotions. This means less restlessness, excessive attention seeking and tension in dogs, cats, horses or birds.

Flower Remedies to consider for over reactive pets:

Agrimony: For hidden worries
Aspen: For apprehension
Bluebell: For being grumpy, withdrawn or aloof
Chamomile: For moody, irritable animals, relieves tension
Chicory: For being over-possessive or clingy
Cherry Plum: For uncontrolled irrational thoughts
Beech: Ability to handle the inconceivable, grounding
Impatiens: For irritability, impatience
Rock Water: For being inflexible
Scleranthus: For uncertainty
Vervain: For over-enthusiasm
Wild Oat: To determine the path forward

Where appropriate, when considering the use of either homeopathic remedies, herbal supplements or flower remedies in the home treatment of pets, you should seek specific professional help, such as from a qualified behavioral consultant or through the use of PET REMEDY CHARTS as a guide to choosing the correct remedy, dosing and the length of time a remedy should be given to dogs, cats, horses, birds, pet rats, urban chickens and Humans too!

BOOK OF VETERINARY HOMEOPATHY

FAST FORWARD TO THE CURE

eBook of Veterinary Homeopathy

$24.95

How to Speed Your Pets Healing Time by 1/4 to 1/2 or More!

This is the only reference dedicated to instruction in the advanced methods of 'Dynamic Dosing' in the homeopathic treatment of animals. This easy to follow, fast forward guide, takes all the guess work out of how to dose, what potency to choose and how often to give a remedy. Following the methods of 'Dynamic Dosing', can strongly improve the success of a homeopathic treatment and can reduce the animals healing time dramatically.

Whether you have a dog, cat, horse, bird, or pet rat, this guide will be indispensable.

Published in an eBook format that you can instantly download and start using now. Laid out for easy on screen viewing and accessibility, it can be used on any computer, laptop, iPad or tablet that can read .pdf files. You can also print single pages or the entire volume, for a hard copy you can take anywhere.

‘Fast Forward to the Cure’ Pro-Version 2.0, contains a Veterinary Materia Medica, Therapeutic Veterinary Repertories and a Complete Guide to Dose and Potency in the Treatment of Dogs, Cats, Horses, Birds, Farm Animals and Wildlife…

WHAT’S INSIDE?

14 Chapters and 872 pages!

• Veterinary Materia Medica (Remedies and Their Symptoms)
• Homeopathic Treatments (Rx Ailment/Disease Index and Remedies)
• Therapeutic Veterinary Repertories for Dogs, Cats, Horses, Birds, Farm Animals and Wildlife
• Successful Techniques on How to Take a Case
• How to Use a Repertory to Find the Remedy
• Printable Case Taking, Repertorization and Observation Forms
• How to Choose the Correct Potency
• When to Raise the Potency
• How to Give the Dose to Animals
• The Methods of 'Dynamic Dosing'
• When to Change a Remedy
• Preparation and Dosing Instructions for: Dry Pills, Liquid Remedies, and The Split Dose Method in the C and LM Potencies
• How to Preserve a Remedy
• How to Prepare a Remedy for Olfaction (inhalation dosing)
• Skin Dosing (transdermal applications)
• How to Use the Plussing Method of dosing in the Treatment of Cancer
• Homeopathic Treatment Guidelines for Dosing Neonates (young animals) and Seniors
• Homeopathic Methods for Treating Acute Diseases
• How to Make Your Own, Homeopathic Topical Creams, Gels, Ointments, Lotions and Oils (Hypercal, Hypericum, Calendula)
• Materia Medica of the Nosodes and How to Use Nosodes in the Prevention of Disease
• How to Give Homeopathic Animal Vaccines
• Schuessler's Cell Salts (Nutritional Homeopathy). Cell Salt Materia Medica, Biochemic First Aid, How to Dose the Cell Salts to Pets
• Printable Illustrations
• Full color, Printable Anatomy Charts, for Dogs, Cats, Horse and Birds!

To view the website and chapter excerpts from the book Click Here.

Advocate for Saving Dogs

A Letter from a Shelter Manager - anonymous 

I think our society needs a huge "Wake-up" call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all...a view from the inside if you will.

First off, all of you breeders/sellers should be made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don't even know.

That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore. So how would you feel if you knew that there's about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays", that come into my shelter are purebred dogs.

The most common excuses I hear are; "We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving too that doesn't allow pets? Or they say "The dog got bigger than we thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? "We don't have time for her". Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! "She's tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me "We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog".

Odds are your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door.

Those dogs just don't get adopted. It doesn't matter how 'sweet' or 'well behaved' they are.

If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long . Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don't have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.

Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down".

First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to "The Room", every one of them freaks out and puts on the brakes when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the "pink stuff". Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves.

When it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right?

I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head I deal with everyday on the way home from work.

I hate my job, I hate that it exists; I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter.

Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.

My point to all of this DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!

Hate me if you want to. The truth hurts and reality is what it is. I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say "I saw this and it made me want to adopt". THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORTH IT.

~ UNKNOWN AUTHOR

Pet Remedy Charts