If you’ve ever cared for an ailing pet, you know just how skilled our furry friends can be at bringing out those mothering instincts in their “owners.”That’s one reason I was so frustrated when vet after vet failed to cure my three-year-old Labrador retriever’s itchy paws, ears, and backside.It was heartbreaking to watch her chew her bright yellow paws until they bled.Repeated prescriptions for antibiotics only provided temporary relief.
In conducting my own research, it became clear that all her symptoms were yeast related, similar to candida.Yeast overgrowth is likely just as common in pets as it is in people due to the poor quality of most commercial dog foods.Her condition improved significantly when she started on a raw food diet, but it was several months after her transition and her itchies still lingered.
Out of desperation, I scheduled an appointment with yet another vet.This one decided she had incurable food allergies and recommended Benadryl to ease the suffering. BENADRYL!“She won’t be operating any heavy machinery, right?” he quipped.One tiny dose of Benadryl puts me in a haze for the entire day; there’s no way I was giving a daily sedative to my exuberant Marley look-a-like. There should be a law against such a thing.
On the way home from our appointment, I tried to go back to the basics. What do I know for sure?I know real healing starts in the kitchen.I know she was having difficulty digesting her food (the so-called “food allergies” the vet spoke of).I know people often have difficulty digesting pasteurized milk because it lacks the accompanying enzyme, lactase.Protein, fats, carbohydrates –they all require specific enzymes for digestion.Lightbulb!Perhaps her frozen food is lacking in enzymes.
Back to the Internet for more research.Digestive enzymes are recommended for food allergies, but they are pricey ($10 for a 4 oz. jar).Yet the ingredient list couldn’t be simpler.They’re all made from ground and dried sprouts of some sort.It seemed easy enough to grow my own sprouts at home so I gave it a try.The results were immediate and substantial.As soon as I added the fresh sprouts in with her meals, the remaining itchies vanished!To learn more about growing your own sprouts, I recommend Sprouting 101 at www.SproutPeople.com.
It’s such a pleasure seeing my pup returned to full and radiant health, especially knowing her symptoms aren’t just covered up with medications that induce serious side effects of their own.The experience taught me to trust in my own reasoning and never to underestimate the power of healing foods, even in the face of an “incurable” condition.
Part One We’ve done this before, attempting to fix underlying health issues by addressing gut problems. We started years ago by adding fermented foods. It helped, but it seemed like there was something else missing. And so I read up some more on these concepts of gut healing and sealing. I learned that for most…
It’s probably not surprising that the topics of my latest contributions around the web are saturated fat and growing food for freedom. The first of these articles is over at Simple Bites and covers children’s need for saturated fat. Here’s an excerpt from the full article: When all you have heard for 30 years…
photo credit The other day we talked about how saturated fat is not the villain it was made out to be, in fact it can be beneficial to your health. Today let’s take a look at some more traditional fats and why to avoid the more modern ones. Coconut Oil Coconut oil has been around…
Years ago we were seeing a natural practitioner when I had an infection. He handed me a bottle of Black Spanish Radish and nodded his head when I looked on the back and it read “Ingredients: Black Spanish Radish”. So it’s just radishes? A couple dozen of those little tablets and a few days later…
{At the end of last year our family embarked on a modified version of the GAPS diet for a couple of weeks. I personally found it beneficial and am considering trying it out again. With that in mind, and due to a family emergency over the weekend, I thought I would re-run this article which…
Have you been following the Real Food Faceoff series over at Kitchen Stewardship? It’s been really interesting and inspiring to go behind the scenes of so many hearts and kitchens to see how and why they do what they do. Today Katie is featuring Sally Fallon Morell, author of Nourishing Traditions and president of the…
12 Comments
Sooo… what sprouts did you use?
This is so well-timed for me – my mother-in-law is dealing with this with her Lab right now. I’d love to be able to pass along the information.
Wish I could have seen this article a few years ago as I dealt with this problem with my Shih Tzu for years. He passed away last December at the ripe age of 13.
Thanks for your question, Christi! The digestive enzymes you buy in the store use all different forms of sprouts, usually soy or alfalfa. Nourishing Traditions mentions some hazards associated with those two, so I went with mung beans. Also, they are very easy to sprout at home.
Oh, my goodness! This is exactly my story with my dog, Darla. Please share the specifics. What sprouts? How much? I appreciate your help!
Trudy, I know how you feel. I wish I knew this info with my first dog, but we do the best we can for our pets and I doubt they could have loved us anymore than they did. 13 is wonderful!
Tara, my dog is 55 lbs. I give her a hefty pinch of sprouts with each meal (3 tbs?). It took about a year to get rid of the itchies completely. First, I switched her to raw food (Bravo, Nature’s Variety are the most reasonable, but still pricey). I cleaned her ears and paws often with Liquid Health K-9 Ear Solutions. I also gave her probiotics (I used the human-grade ones we were taking).
The itchy paws and ears haven’t reappeared and it’s been months, so I feel comfortable in saying her digestive system is cured. I discontinued the probiotics and clean her ears once a month for good measure. It’s SUCH a relief (for both of us)!
Good luck! Shoot me an email if you come up with any more questions along the way.
Finding a veterinary acupuncturist can also be a help–particularly if the diet works slowly (perhaps allergies to pollens and such and so you are rebuilding gut health). There are some great vets who have really studied acupuncture (and homeopathy too–although I like homeopathy more for cats and smaller dogs).
Good luck–
Awesome! My kitty might have a similar problem but no way would she eat sprouts… hmmmm
I love this post! I’m glad I’m not the only one who is treating their pet’s health problems like they would treat their own. I give my dog little amounts of raw milk and plain yogurt when I sense she is having digestive problems. She eats raw cheese as a treat, and we have both benefited from my shift to more natural, whole foods cooking. Thanks for the info on the sprouts! I’ll see if she likes them as much as I do 🙂
Yes, Michelle, I’ve heard cats are a tad pickier 😉 Did you ever consider switching to a raw food? I am still amazed how much my dog likes her sprouts. She sits for them like she’s getting a treat!
Oh yes, our Lab had multiple issues (quite typical for Labs) and I was able to nurse him to health using nutrient dense foods (raw) and we enjoyed many years with him. Even at the end I nursed him some more and got an extra 3 months. He will always be loved and has left a HUGE hole in our hearts.
On a lighter note….I’m sprouting wheat for the first time. They are draining and almost ready to pop! mmmm I’m smelling bread this weekend!
I have often considered giving our dog probiotics. She’s a mastiff breed at 115 pounds so giving her anything is pricey. We think she’s allergic to wheat so we’ve switched her food also. We’ve been using Skin Eze which is homeopathic and wonderful but these things take time I guess. Melissa how much sprouts and probiotics would you suggest for our dog? Thanks for your blog post, finding help for our itchy dog other than Benadryl and steroids has been very difficult.
I bought my dog a doggy life jacket at petsmart, it is stiff enough that he cant turn aroung a chew on his tail or back end, and he also cant scratch his ears or ribs, but he can still go potty, move and sleep comfortably, and go in and out the doggy door. I put in on him when I can’t be there to watch him, like when I go to work. I also bought him probiotics by GNC called “ultra mega digestive health complex” and also “seasonal allergy support” made by Vets Best. I feed him Natures Domain salmon and sweet potato grain free dog food and I sprinkle fresh chopped chicken on top twice a day with his 2 pills above, I wrap a piece of chicken around each pill. For his itchy spots I use “burn Jel” because its has lidocaine in it which numbs the itchy spot, it also has tea tree oil which is an anti-bacterial agent and vitamin E. I wash him with sulfodene medicated shampoo which has sulfa and coal tar for itching. I have been doing this for about a month now and he hardly bites or scratches lately, he still does once or twice a day, which is not nearly as much as he used to.
Sooo… what sprouts did you use?
This is so well-timed for me – my mother-in-law is dealing with this with her Lab right now. I’d love to be able to pass along the information.
Wish I could have seen this article a few years ago as I dealt with this problem with my Shih Tzu for years. He passed away last December at the ripe age of 13.
Thanks for your question, Christi! The digestive enzymes you buy in the store use all different forms of sprouts, usually soy or alfalfa. Nourishing Traditions mentions some hazards associated with those two, so I went with mung beans. Also, they are very easy to sprout at home.
We saw a major improvement when we switched her to the raw food diet, so I recommend looking into that, too. I wrote about that here (some good info in the comments) http://www.celluliteinvestigation.com/2009/09/do-dogs-get-cellulite-real-food-for.html#
Let me know if I can answer any more questions for her. I am a sucker for an itchy lab!
Oh, my goodness! This is exactly my story with my dog, Darla. Please share the specifics. What sprouts? How much? I appreciate your help!
Trudy, I know how you feel. I wish I knew this info with my first dog, but we do the best we can for our pets and I doubt they could have loved us anymore than they did. 13 is wonderful!
Tara, my dog is 55 lbs. I give her a hefty pinch of sprouts with each meal (3 tbs?). It took about a year to get rid of the itchies completely. First, I switched her to raw food (Bravo, Nature’s Variety are the most reasonable, but still pricey). I cleaned her ears and paws often with Liquid Health K-9 Ear Solutions. I also gave her probiotics (I used the human-grade ones we were taking).
The itchy paws and ears haven’t reappeared and it’s been months, so I feel comfortable in saying her digestive system is cured. I discontinued the probiotics and clean her ears once a month for good measure. It’s SUCH a relief (for both of us)!
Good luck! Shoot me an email if you come up with any more questions along the way.
Finding a veterinary acupuncturist can also be a help–particularly if the diet works slowly (perhaps allergies to pollens and such and so you are rebuilding gut health). There are some great vets who have really studied acupuncture (and homeopathy too–although I like homeopathy more for cats and smaller dogs).
Good luck–
Awesome! My kitty might have a similar problem but no way would she eat sprouts… hmmmm
I love this post! I’m glad I’m not the only one who is treating their pet’s health problems like they would treat their own. I give my dog little amounts of raw milk and plain yogurt when I sense she is having digestive problems. She eats raw cheese as a treat, and we have both benefited from my shift to more natural, whole foods cooking. Thanks for the info on the sprouts! I’ll see if she likes them as much as I do 🙂
Yes, Michelle, I’ve heard cats are a tad pickier 😉 Did you ever consider switching to a raw food? I am still amazed how much my dog likes her sprouts. She sits for them like she’s getting a treat!
Oh yes, our Lab had multiple issues (quite typical for Labs) and I was able to nurse him to health using nutrient dense foods (raw) and we enjoyed many years with him. Even at the end I nursed him some more and got an extra 3 months. He will always be loved and has left a HUGE hole in our hearts.
On a lighter note….I’m sprouting wheat for the first time. They are draining and almost ready to pop! mmmm I’m smelling bread this weekend!
I have often considered giving our dog probiotics. She’s a mastiff breed at 115 pounds so giving her anything is pricey. We think she’s allergic to wheat so we’ve switched her food also. We’ve been using Skin Eze which is homeopathic and wonderful but these things take time I guess. Melissa how much sprouts and probiotics would you suggest for our dog? Thanks for your blog post, finding help for our itchy dog other than Benadryl and steroids has been very difficult.
I bought my dog a doggy life jacket at petsmart, it is stiff enough that he cant turn aroung a chew on his tail or back end, and he also cant scratch his ears or ribs, but he can still go potty, move and sleep comfortably, and go in and out the doggy door. I put in on him when I can’t be there to watch him, like when I go to work. I also bought him probiotics by GNC called “ultra mega digestive health complex” and also “seasonal allergy support” made by Vets Best. I feed him Natures Domain salmon and sweet potato grain free dog food and I sprinkle fresh chopped chicken on top twice a day with his 2 pills above, I wrap a piece of chicken around each pill. For his itchy spots I use “burn Jel” because its has lidocaine in it which numbs the itchy spot, it also has tea tree oil which is an anti-bacterial agent and vitamin E. I wash him with sulfodene medicated shampoo which has sulfa and coal tar for itching. I have been doing this for about a month now and he hardly bites or scratches lately, he still does once or twice a day, which is not nearly as much as he used to.