Ask The Herbalist: How do I fix my dogs ears I don't know whats wrong?

"We took him to the vet and they gave us cream and antibiotics and they didnt seam to help. We cant afford to take him to the vet at this time. We tried alot of over the counter earmite stuff but nothing seems to work. Sometimes hes in so much pain he cant sit still i try to clean his ears with q-tips black scab like stuff comes out"

Your dog has ear mites! When dogs have ear mites the ears produce wax, the blackness is the bloody scabs from scratching. We brought a stray cat into the house about 3 weeks ago. Our Shih-Tzu got them in less than 24hours! Squirt an eye dropper full of mineral oil into each ear. Wait about 5 minutes. This will loosen the scabs. Take a cotton ball and wipe out and a q-tip is needed. do not use hydrogen peroxide. Keep your dog's ears dry! Any substance with water will just feed the mites to grow. The mineral oil suffocates the ear mites. Do this for 3 days on the 4th day take a break. Then continue again for 3 more days, take a break on the 4th day. Continue this until the ear wax stops building up in the ear until the inflammation goes away. The mites weren't so bad in our dogs ear because we caught it as soon as it happened. Her ear mites were gone in a week. But the life cycle of the mites is 6 weeks. You may need to do the treatment that long

Vaccume a little extra and wash where your dog sleeps.

If you have cats you must do this same to the cats.

As the Herbalist: What should you do when a dog is having a heart attack?

Getting to a vet before it is too late is almost impossible if you dog is in the middle of a heart attack.

Anything can be harmful if not given in proper amounts... however, Cayenne Pepper is actually beneficial to dogs when administered properly.

Cayenne Pepper:

Perhaps the greatest natural stimulant known, Cayenne has been called the single greatest "driver" of other herbs. No other herb is quite in this class making it a must for all formulas. Simply said, when you need to get an herb to any location in the body cayenne reins supreme. The uses of cayenne are so numerous that it has been claimed "the single greatest herb." Some of the common uses are anal problems (to include hemorrhoids), heart attack, toothache, external bleeding, diphtheria, all sorts of eye conditions, wounds of all types, clearing the mucous membranes etc.

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To humans, cayenne has been used to stop a heart attack in less than 30 seconds!!!


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DOG HEART ATTACK SYMPTOMS
Heart attacks occur in dogs for much the same reasons as they do in human beings. Old age, obesity and diabetic conditions are contributory factors but heart attacks can strike due to many other medical conditions.

When Dogs have a Heartattack the animal experiences pain in his fore limbs and shows it by stretching his arms. The dog also tries to crane and stretch his neck sideways. Dog Heart Symptoms to look out for are apparent difficulties in breathing, sweating and signs of unconsciousness like drowsy eyes. The moment these Dog Heart Attack Symptoms are noticed it may be prudent to remove any leash on the dog and try and talk to the dog out of his uneasiness with the aim of making him more receptive to instructions. This also helps should the dog be slipping into a comatose condition. No water or other liquids should be administered to the dog in this condition. In inclement weather such dogs must be kept warm. A veterinarian must be called or an ambulance summoned so that the Dog having the Heart Attack is evacuated to an animal hospital without delay. Until the doctor or ambulance arrives, first aid for resuscitation must be initiated much the same way as it is done in human beings.

Dog Heartattacks Symptoms also occur due to a variety of cardiac and pulmonary disorders. Most of these medical problems can be set right if they are detected soon enough. So if your dog is in the high risk zone of obesity and old age you must look out for the symptoms.

June's Featured Alternative: Baths

Yuck! You stink, you need a bath! While many think of a bath to simply be a way to cleanse the skin it has many other purposes as well. It is called hydrotherapy. Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy involves the use of water for pain-relief and treating illness. The term hydrotherapy itself is synonymous with the term Water cure as it was originally marketed by practitioners and promoters in the 1800s.

Since it is such a large alternative method, this month’s ‘Featured Alternative' will be the ‘bath’ part of hydrotherapy. There are many different therapeutic baths.


Throughout the month of April AltHealing101 will post the different baths, their benefits and directions for each. Subscribe so you won’t miss out on this amazing method!

Featured Alternative Hydrotheropy: Contrast Baths

Partial Baths #1

1. Contrast Baths: The immersion of the hand, arm and hand, foot, leg and foot into a basin or tub of water. It is both simple and effective. Also known as a Alternate Hot and Cold is an alternating plunge of the body into hot water, then into cold and back again. This results in a powerful alternate contraction, the dilatation of the blood vessels, and a general improvement of body circulation. For the particular body area being treated, it removed waste products and greatly improves rapidity of blood flow. Not to mention, the quality of fresh oxygen, nutrients, and white and red blood cells is also increased.
   
   Contrast baths to the hands, feet, arms, or legs are very helpful for fractures, arthritis (both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis), congestive headaches, edema, sprains, strains, trauma (after 24 hours), infections, lymphangitis (2-3 times a day), impaired venous circulation, and indolent ulcers.

What You Will Need: 

For a Contrast Bath, you will need two containers, large enough for the water in them to come up over the extremities to be treated. If necessary, thoroughly cleaned buckets can be used. Medical personnel recommend that an antiseptic be placed in the water if there are open wounds. You will also need a bath thermometer and a bath towel. You will also need a pitcher, to add more hot water from time to time, and ice cubes for the cold water bucket. Sometimes a cold compress (hand towel wrung from cold water) or ice bag is used.

How to Apply It:

1. Place the limb in hot water (105-110F) for 305 minutes. Then put it into the cold (cold tap water or ice water) for one-half to one minute.
2. Begin with the hot water and end with the cold. Change from one temperature to the other 6-8 times (3-4 complete cycles). Time spans are generally 3-4 minutes in the hot and, then, one-half to one minute in the cold. Begin hot immersion at lower temperature as you continue on through the treatment. Add hot water by pouring it over your own hand; add it while the limb is in the cold water. A cold compress (hand towel wrung out of cold water) or ice bag may be needed on the head or back of neck, if a large part of the body is being treated and always if he feels faint. Place an ice bag to the heart if his pulse is over 8- beats per minute. (In serious cases, it is best to check his pulse every 5 minutes during treatment.
3.  End by drying the limb thoroughly. Have him rest afterward for a half hour.

Additional Points:

1.  Do not normally use hot water temperatures above 110F
2. In blood vessel diseases of the legs and feet, do not go over 105F. 
3. Extremes of hot and cold water should not be used in diabetes or in peripheral vascular disease. 
4. When working with rheumatoid arthritis, end with the hot instead of the cold.

...to be continued 

Source: 

Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 5th edition.
The editor of this blog highly recommends the use of this book in every home in America. It can be a  life saver and while it's cost may be a little high it is worth the money!

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If you have any questions concerning the Contrast Baths please leave a comment.

It's you health... Do it right!