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  • in reply to: looking for senior dog advice! #11637 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hey Labman,
    You didn’t say what you were feeding, in your post above. Not sure if you’ve posted that somewhere else on the site, but it is important. Your dog’s food is the foundation of her health.

    Back before I knew better, I fed really bad dog food to my beloved pointer cross, Morgan. Ol’ Roy, I’m ashamed to say. I was just flat out ignorant!! When she was 12 she slept most of the time, she barely moved, just like yours. Well, my husband decided he needed a new bird dog, so he went out and bought a highly trained purebred, 3 yr old field registered pointer. The owner had health issues and he made it a condition of the sale to feed “high quality” food. Well, he knew more than us, but not as much as he should of, too. He was feeding Iams lamb & rice. A whole lot better than Ol’ Roy!!! So we put both dogs on the better food. Dang!!!! But after a few weeks that dog got up one day and followed my husband 1/4 mile out to the back fence. He turned around and saw her there, wagging her tail and was so worried he carried her (60 lbs) in his arms all the way back to the house. She was lively and healthier for 2-3 more years.

    Fast forward to what I know now, feeding your dog THE BEST nutrition makes all the difference! (That’s not Iams!) its balanced raw. If you don’t want to, or can’t, feed raw, then a 5 star meat based kibble. Brother’s Complete is my best pick of kibbles. Hound Dog Mom has posted a lot of recipes and information on raw feeding under that thread, and I’d encourage you to check it out if raw is the way you’d like to go. Shawna is the best resource for nutritional information. Mike P & ************** rock for feeding kibble plus toppers! Dogs should be living 20-30 years. They were 80 years ago. But that was when they weren’t being feed corn & wheat based dog food. They also weren’t routinely exposed to toxins from flea & tick pesticides, worm pesticides, heavy metals poisoning in vaccines and being over vaccinated… Reducing the environmental toxins will improve your pups health, too! Supplements are just supplements. They can help a little, but they work best synergistically with optimal nutrition.

    in reply to: Going to look at dogs tomorrow! #11595 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    How very exciting!!! 🙂

    in reply to: Ozbo.com – Be warned!! #11580 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Finger’s crossed for you Research Hound!! X

    in reply to: Detoxing #11573 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Copied from the Brother’s Complete thread, in case you’re ever wondering if detox is real, or you think it might be silly:

    Are hangovers silly? Because hangovers are a form of detox.

    Ever had food poisoning? The resulting explosive diarrhea is a form of detox.

    Ever had the flu, with the super high fever & night sweats, with lots of mucus and congestion in your lungs? Both the sweating and the mucus production are forms of detox.

    Detoxing is all about getting toxins out of the body. You have undoubtedly experienced most if not all of those forms of detox. You understand excessive alcohol causes the massive headache you experience, even if you don’t realize its due to toxin induced brain encephalopathy. Alcohol is a toxin. The toxic symptoms didn’t happen when you were drinking, they happened later, when you started to detox. You can relate to the light sensitivity and eye pain, and the hypersensitivity to sound, even if you don’t recognize that those are classic symptoms of mild toxic injury. If you’ve ever had dysentery, you’ve experienced the body’s urgent desire to rid itself of some kind of toxin… The body has systems in place to protect or purge itself of these unhealthy substances. They are sweated, puked, crapped, pee’d, coughed up, encased in mucus or stored in fat until they can be eliminated by one of the other methods.

    You’re familiar with certain kinds of detox, even if you don’t call it that. That’s still what your bodies doing. So, lets take those same actions a little further. Lets say you lived off a diet of Cheetos and Big Macs, swilling it down with diet cokes. Remember that saying, “you are what you eat”? Well, every cell in your body would have traces of the chemicals from those foods. All of those items are high in excitotoxins. Your body would have been doing everything it could to get rid of them. You might have very oily hair, a very bad complexion, rank sweat and body odor (which you’d be oblivious to and everyone else isn’t). That would be the sweating it out. You’d also put on a lot of weight (storing the toxins in adipose fat). You would most likely have digestive issues, but we won’t go into that, too gross, and you’d get several “colds & viruses” through out the year because your body doesn’t have the resources to keep you healthy. But, you’d think it was normal, and you’d think of yourself as fairly healthy… Because we all would. We’re an egocentric species. But you’d have been detoxing ALL along! Even if you thought it was silly! So lets say you get a wake up call and you decide to upgrade your diet… Now, your bodies getting the nutrition it needs to perform the business of “cleaning house!” And its a body on a mission! It’s saying, “yeah baby let me at ’em.” and slamming every detox method it can access into overdrive. Your lymph system carries broken up toxic fat to your intestines and dumps it. Whammo! You have explosive diarrhea! Its also carrying every toxin it can to the surface of your skin and trying to sweat it out. Problem, clogged ducts because of toxic overload… Acne, boils, chloracne, cysts, hives… All lymph and toxins. Of course when your body starts breaking loose those toxins, they are once again active in your system and you get to experience them again. On the way in, it wasn’t so bad, cause you took them in a bit at a time. Now the dose is higher cause you’re letting go of as much as you’re body has the basic nutrients to do. Usually its short term bad, and much worse than when they went in, if the in was over an extended time frame. That’s detox. Once you unload a bunch of those stored toxins, you feel better, your body functions better. Well, as long as you avoid putting them back in, anyway.

    So, bringing it back to kibble… Jennifer switched up to the better food, and her dogs detoxed whatever they were eating before. She didn’t say what that was. But it undoubtedly had some toxic stuff. If it was something with food additives and excitotoxins, it would be very much like the fast food analogy I made up.

    in reply to: Ozbo.com – Be warned!! #11562 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Research Hound,
    You’re very welcome. 🙂 We don’t know each other, so it would be impossible for you to know that I’m not deliberately snarky. In fact I work extra hard to try to proof read my posts, editing for anything that may come across as snarky. I’m just not very good at it. I miss a lot. I’m way too blunt. Probably the Autism. But the fact is I just say exactly what I mean. No double entendres. Lots of times it doesn’t come out right. @@ not to the reader, anyway. Sigh. Sometimes I’m trying so hard not to offend someone, I offend them… Knowledge, I got. People skills… Not so good. I guess that’s why I like kids. We communicate the same. Blunt. (Heaven help my friends who ask me if their pants make their butt look big… You know what I mean?)

    Yeah, I had a vet with office girls like that. I changed vets and told the old vet why. I do recognize that even the people doing everything the vet tells them are doing it because they love their pets. That’s why I didn’t try to change your mind. I recognize that not everyone believes what I do, and they have a right to do so. Now my friends, LOL, That’s different. Remember the pants!!?

    in reply to: Tapioca #11560 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    I’m sorry James. Just a typo probably, and my auto correct substituted Jack. It was not intentional.

    I didn’t do “a quick web search” on diabetes, as you assumed. I have a more holistic approach than you, not a limited one. I first started studying it 25 years ago. It is a very complex issue. I ran a quick search to see what some of the diabetic sites were currently saying about tapioca. My daughter has diabetes, and she eats carbs, including tapioca. So I checked, since I wouldn’t consider my daughter’s personal decisions an appropriate source on diabetes…

    I chose to discuss meat based proteins being a superior canine diet and a natural segue of that is why I feed Brother’s, when I prefer balanced raw. You are the one focusing on the fact I talked about Brother’s, more than you are paying attention to everything else I said. Your comments seemed to imply that ANY tapioca was bad, and therefore any dog food with tapioca is bad. I’m explaining that its not. And since this is still a dog food forum discussing dog food ingredients, and no dog food is tapioca based, you’re obviously objecting to a proportionally very small amount of tapioca being used. That begs the question, why get all het up about that tiny bit of tapioca when grain based dog foods have a whole lot higher net GL…?

    FYI I’m free to give my opinion of Brother’s Complete when ever I feel inclined.

    in reply to: Ozbo.com – Be warned!! #11558 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Research Hound,
    I think perhaps I may have unintentionally offended you. When I said to Honeybeesmom that I knew how much she loved her dog, I was not implying that you did not love yours. It was just that I’ve had communications with her before, so I know her a little. It is quite obvious, by reading your posts and the great lengths you’ve gone to, that you love yours equally. I just didn’t want to butt in, and tell you, someone that I had no history with ‘what she should do’, when you’d worked this out with your vet. So I addressed my comment to Honeybeesmom. If my comment seemed to be implying that I thought you didn’t love your dog, I apologize!!! That was not what I thought at all.

    in reply to: Tapioca #11555 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi Jack,
    Its a good thing tapioca is used minimally in high end kibbles then, – just as a binder. Not like the corn based kibbles, which are mostly high glycemic starches. Though it is interesting that there is research showing animal fat & protein mediates glucose spikes & that endocrine disrupting hormones have a greater impact than modest carbohydrate consumption.

    I ran a quick search and diabetics are allowed to eat some tapioca… It just has to be balanced.
    Here’s a quote from a diabetes support site. Granted its from a human type I site, but the research said that because there wasn’t much on dogs, it was acceptable to correlate human diabetes Type I information to dogs.

    “- Vegetables that should be consumed in limited quantities by diabetics are: High sugar vegetables and root vegetables like carrot, potato, beetroot, colocasia, sweet potato, yam, tapioca and other vegetables like artichoke, green plantain, tender jackfruit, broad beans, double beans, cluster beans.”

    So limited quantities, not none. I certainly wouldn’t feed any of my dogs any predominantly starch based diet, tapioca or not. They weren’t designed to eat starch, as a staple. I prefer to feed a balanced raw, according to Steve Brown’s book, and Dr. Becker & Beth Taylor’s book. I feed raw & kibble because I can’t count on my health being stable. Like today, I started out great, but had a bad crash at 2:00, recovered and had a major crash at 6:00. Luckily I got on top of that one and am recovering fairly well at the moment. So I picked the absolute best kibble I could, for my girls, because I know my husband. He’s not going to feed raw if I croak over. I want them to all go on with as minimum disruption as possible. I feel the percentages of carbs, including the tapioca, and their combined glycemic indexes as compared to the meat, fat, bone, ratios & the ratios of other ingredients of Brother’s Complete Fish formula is the best. I also like how it doesn’t have the toxins that I see in a number of other “high end” kibbles. And according to some research papers, those dietary toxins are being recognized as having a much greater influence on promoting diabetes Type I (the kind that dogs typically get), than previously thought. My2¢

    in reply to: question about dog metabolism of protein #11547 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Wow Betsy! You are hungry for knowledge!!! You go girl!!

    (Shawna, I think we’ve created a monster! LOL) Love you, too Shawna!!

    & You’re welcome Bill. 🙂

    in reply to: Ozbo.com – Be warned!! #11537 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    You’re welcome Honeybeesmom! 🙂

    in reply to: IBD suggestions? #11535 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi Ramona, most pesticides, worming Meds and vaccinations can case IBD. Some of the listed side effects are stopping gut motility, Causing swelling and constriction of gastric tissues…. Thats pretty much IBD, wether they call it that or not. It can take 3 years to completely eliminate those toxins from the system, so changing to a grain free diet may not appear to make an immediate difference. Especially if the dog is on a constant schedule of rotating toxins. Just something to consider.

    in reply to: Tapioca #11534 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    You’re welcome Patty! 🙂

    in reply to: Ozbo.com – Be warned!! #11533 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hey Honeybeesmom,
    I know how much you love your pup, so I thought I should let you know that there are serious side effects from Pepcid AC. Here’s what I got from wiki: What side effects may I notice from receiving this medicine?
    Side effects that you should report to your doctor or health care professional as soon as possible:
    agitation, nervousness
    confusion
    hallucinations
    skin rash, itching
    Side effects that usually do not require medical attention (report to your doctor or health care professional if they continue or are bothersome):

    constipation
    diarrhea
    dizziness
    headache

    So your pup is going to get these, or worse, giving it to dogs is not on the label. It is a drug, not something that absorbs excess acid… It also masks the real problem, like ulcers, cancer or toxins in their diet or environment. So instead of giving an acid blocker, holistic veterinary nutrition consultant, Susan Griffiths, recommends better quality food plus probiotics and enzymes. She, Shawna & I all like Mercola’s and those two smart women like Garden of Life. I’ve never used Garden of Life so I can’t say, except I trust Shawna. 🙂

    in reply to: question about dog metabolism of protein #11532 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi Bill,
    Shawna is actually your best reference for that question here, I’ll let her know you’ve asked this question just to be sure. In the mean time I’d suggest you look at Steve Brown’s “Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet.” I think you’ll find it pretty fascinating. He taps a lot about balancing fats to protein types, and carbs digesting straight to glucose, and blocking good nutrition. I got my ebook copy at amazon for something lie $10. It was well worth it!! Hope that helps!

    in reply to: Tapioca #11523 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    You’re welcome Mikey! I personally use tapioca as the binder in all my gluten free recipes. 🙂 If I can eat it, with my immune impairment, its obviously safe! 😉

    in reply to: Transitioning to raw #11455 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi Weimlove,
    I avoid flax like the plague. It s an estrogen analog. If your pups having hormone imbalances, this is the last thing it should be eating.

    in reply to: Diet & exercise, still no weight loss… #11453 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi Tay,
    Looks like you’ve been working hard to get to the bottom of this. 🙂 Let me toss a few things out. Have you tried a potato & grain free, high protein food? I noticed Orijen had both potato & sweet potato. That’s a lot of starch. Starch is converted to glucose, which triggers insulin, which opens the ‘gate’ that says “make fat.” Were you aware that potatoes have toxins? They’re from the deadly nightshade family. If your pup is having immune system problems (too many toxins – dietary & environmental) she may be putting on fat, as a secondary defense mechanism. I’m toxically injured. When my primary detox metabolism failed, my body started creating fat out of my own body tissue, encasing the toxins and storing them in adipose tissue… So even when I was barely eating, I was putting on weight. Its very common with the Toxically Injured (TI), and pets have the same response. So, we can take a look at what your environment looks like, what you’re pup’s vaccine and worming schedule is and boost her immune system.

    Personally, I like Brother’s Complete, as the best kibble. It has a unique encapsulated probiotic, that feeds the entire digestive system. The gut is the foundation of the immune system. It also doesn’t have the toxins that I see in a lot of other foods, even some of the “high end” ones. I also feed raw. You might want to look at that, to reduce the carbs. Dogs don’t have a dietary need for carbs. So reducing them won’t do him any harm. Steve Brown recommends 5-6% carbs, but more in the line of dark green leafies, or high antioxidants. I also like to give astaxanthin from Mercola(dot)com.

    Any way, its a waste of money & your dog’s health to not clean up her environment, in addition to her diet, so read the “detoxing” and “vaccinating” threads, under “diet & health,” and then let me know if you need any more help. 🙂

    in reply to: Giving Dog treats to Cats #11452 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Nice post Sisu!

    PattyVaughn asked me to post the following ( She’s having trouble posting to the forum, and me alerted to DocSteve82’s original post…): I think these are the jerky treats that are not recalled because the FDA can’t figure out what is wrong with them, but pets are getting Franconi syndrome or dying.

    in reply to: Giving Dog treats to Cats #11450 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi DocSteve82,
    Did you read Dr. Mike’s recall threads? Chicken jerky treats from China are being recalled. Salmonella is the biggest contaminant, I think. I don’t feed anything from China, so I haven’t been paying too much attention to which brands. Click on recall at the top of the page, and read the recall notices. :-} Please stop feeding those treats, just to be safe.. Lots of animals are being made sick, and there’s been some deaths. 🙁 hope your kitty is o.k.

    As far as treats, only give treats that are meat, and not from China. It won’t matter if they’re dog or cat. 🙂

    in reply to: Suspected food allergies #11432 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi Oceandog,

    Sounds like you’re on the right track diet wise. However, diet & environment go hand in hand. Both need to be addressed in order to eliminate your dogs issues. If you click “forums” again, then choose “Diet and Health Issues” you will see a number of threads. I’d encourage you to read the “Detoxing” thread on page 2, for a good understanding of how the immune system works, and the “Vaccinating” thread on page one. The symptoms you’ve listed for your pup are symptoms of vaccinosis.

    Here’s the bottom line, when you remove all dietary & environmental toxins, and detox the body, the “allergies” go away.

    I feed Brother’s Complete Fish formula, for the kibble portion of my girls diet (& raw). Brother’s has encapsulated probiotics. Gut health is the foundation of the immune system. I also use Mercola’s astaxanthin, a powerful antioxidant to help their detox.

    in reply to: fleas! help! #11397 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi Sophia,
    I checked out the product that HDM recommended and its a very good product. Nice find HDM!

    I use a salve make myself with coconut oil, beeswax & essential oils, or a water based iodine salve. I’ve also recently treated ear problems with astaxanthin. It works better than anything else I’ve tried. I get the caps from Dr. Mercola. Make a pin hole in one end & put one (5 lb Pom) or two (50 lb poodle) in each ear. I squeeze the rest in their mouths. Worked in just a few applications, with occasional follow ups as the toxins work their way out of the tissue.

    The itching & “allergies” are more likely due to the frontline & vaccine reactions than anything else. Hop over to the “vaccinating” thread and read my posts there, if you haven’t already. Then be sure to read my post on the “Detoxing” thread. If you clean up her diet & environment, and boost her immune system, you can relieve all those symptoms. It will take time. 🙂 But its worth it.

    in reply to: Heart worm prevention #11308 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Here’s another vet’s take.. He practiced & lived in Santa Cruz, where there was a prevalence,
    “Heartworms

    This parasite is a source of great anxiety among dog caretakers. (I don’t believe that one “owns” a dog.) Thanks in large part to the scare tactics of many veterinarians in promoting preventive drugs, many people believe that contracting heartworms is the equivalent of a death sentence for their dogs. This is not true.
    I practiced for seven years in the Santa Cruz, California area, and treated many dogs with heartworms. The only dogs that developed symptoms of heart failure were those that were being vaccinated yearly, eating commercial dog food, and getting suppressive drug treatment for other symptoms, such as skin problems. My treatment, at that time, consisted of switching to a natural (that is, homemade) diet, stopping drug treatment whenever possible, and eliminating any chemical exposure, such as flea and tick poisons. I would usually prescribe hawthorn tincture as well. None of these dogs ever developed any symptoms of heart failure.
    I concluded from this that it was not the heartworms that caused disease, but the other factors that damaged the dogs’ health to the point that they could no longer compensate for an otherwise tolerable parasite load. It is not really that different from the common intestinal roundworms, in that most dogs do not show any symptoms. Only a dog whose health is compromised is unable to tolerate a few worms. Furthermore, a truly healthy dog would not be susceptible to either type of worm in the first place.

    It seems to me that the real problem is that allopathic attitudes have instilled in many of us a fear of disease, fear of pathogens and parasites, fear of rabies, as if these are evil and malicious entities just waiting to lay waste to a naive and unprotected public.

    Disease is not caused by viruses or by bacteria or by heartworm-bearing mosquitoes. Disease comes from within, and one aspect of disease can be the susceptibility to various pathogens. So the best thing to do is to address those susceptibilities on the deepest possible level, so that the pathogens will no longer be a threat. Most importantly, don’t buy into the fear.

    That having been said, there are practical considerations of risk versus benefit in considering heartworm prevention. The risk of a dog contracting heartworms is directly related to geographic location. In heavily infested areas the risk is higher, and the prospect of using a preventive drug more justifiable. Whatever you choose to do, a yearly blood test for heartworm microfilaria is important.

    There are basically three choices with regard to heartworm prevention: drugs, nosodes, or nothing.

    There are currently a variety of heartworm preventive drugs, most of which are given monthly. I don’t like any of them due to their toxicity, the frequency of side effects, and their tendency to antidote homeopathic remedies. Incidentally, the once-a-month preventives should be given only every 6 weeks.

    The next option is the heartworm nosode. It has the advantage of at least not being a toxic drug. It has been in use it for over 10 years now, and I am reasonably confident that it is effective. It is certainly very safe. The biggest problem with the nosode is integrating it with homeopathic treatment. But at least it’s less of a problem than with the drugs.

    The last option, and in my opinion the best, is to do nothing. That is to say, do nothing to specifically prevent heartworm, but rather to minimize the chances of infestation by helping your dog to be healthier, and thereby less susceptible. This means avoiding those things that are detrimental to health, feeding a high quality homemade diet, regular exercise, a healthy emotional environment, and, most of all, constitutional homeopathic treatment. Of course, this will not guarantee that your dog will not get heartworms, but, under these conditions, even the worst-case scenario isn’t so terrible. If your dog were to get heartworms, s/he shouldn’t develop any symptoms as a result.

    For what it’s worth, I never gave my dog any type of heartworm preventive, even when we lived in the Santa Cruz area where heartworms were very prevalent. I tested him yearly, and he never had a problem.” Dr. Jeffery Levy DVM PCH http://www.homeovet.net/content/lifestyle/section4.html

    in reply to: Heart worm prevention #11306 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi Weimlove,
    I don’t have a huge Heartworm threat up here but, to be on the safe side I did some reading up on it & non toxics approaches. Dr. Wil Falconer, a holistic DVM, wrote a book on natural Heartworm prevention. His website is here: http://vitalanimal.com/immune-path/.

    Another sight that might be helpful is this one, it gives 6 homeopathic methods and it encourages the same kind of program that Shawna mentioned. http://www.danebytes.com/heartworm-cures.htm

    The bottom line is a healthy animal defends its self against Heartworm, and other parasitic attacks. Meds are insecticides… Poisons. If you use Heartworm “Meds”, you are also making your pet sick. Parasites are stronger than mammals. They’re harder to kill. In order to kill, or poison the parasite the dose of poison has to be pretty high. Keeping your pet optimally healthy, and using non-toxic repellents on your pet for the insect vector (Mosquitos) is a much better foundation. Like Shawna, I strongly believe that garlic can kill the wolbachia. But check out some of the homeopathic site’s cures. 😉

    in reply to: Vaccinating #11243 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Weimlove,
    You’re very welcome, too!

    in reply to: Vaccinating #11242 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Mike P,

    “I have to read it over several times to retain it…” Me too! GFETE

    And, Thank you! and your very welcome!!!

    in reply to: Vaccinating #11229 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi Weimlove,
    I do think he’s good for life. But its what you think that matters. 🙂 So here’s an excerpt from a post I made to Shawna, some time ago, talking about adjuvants. Adjuvants are the toxins they add to vaccines to stimulate the immune system into freaking out and attacking the viruses like its life or death, rather than a natural reaction, from a natural encounter with the virus, which in most cases, you wouldn’t even notice your dog was sick. The problem being, the adjuvants are poisons. It’s these poisons that cause the adverse vaccine reactions. I’ve included an example of vaccine induced hives. The more you know about vaccines and how they work, the more comfortably you can make a decision. After all, there’s still a risk, either way. Dogs (some) do die of vaccine reactions. Vaccinated dogs (some) can still get the viruses they were vaccinated for, and some unvaccinated dogs do get the viruses. You have to decide which risk is greater.

    “vaccines are a significant and very real vector for impaired health in our pets. Here’s a couple of excerpts… Note the first one is on humans but multiple resources stated that adjuvants for humans are safer than for livestock… These examples are just a peek…

    >>>> Is it mere coincidence that rates of autism increased when the Center for Disease Control inserted additions to the recommended vaccination program for infants in 1988? In the 1980s, autism rates were estimated at only six in 10,000 children. Today one in 150 children is autistic, though in some areas autism affects closer to one in 50 children. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has acknowledged that thimerosal can be a neurotoxin (knowing very well that mercury is a neurotoxin), and in 2004 stated that thimerosal-containing vaccines were associated with autism.
    – Timeless Secrets of Health & Rejuvenation: Unleash The Natural Healing Power That Lies Dormant Within You by Andreas Moritz

    Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/027178_autism_vaccines.html#ixzz212cJmlYT”

    Adjuvants! Toxic adjuvants are a major contributor to neurodegenerative diseases. Autism IS a neurodegenerative disease!!! Vaccines are one cause of autism… There are numerous other neurotoxins that cause autism as well. But this is a dog related site so firstI’ll give you the facts about adjuvants, then I’ll bring it back to vaccines in pets…

    “A Glimpse into the Scary World of Vaccine Adjuvants
    By Edda West – Published in VRAN Newsletter – Winter 2005

    http://www.vran.org
    Adjuvants are formulated compounds, which when combined with vaccine antigens intensify the body’s immune response. They are used to elicit an early, high and long-lasting immune response. “The chemical nature of adjuvants, their mode of action and their reactions (side effect) are highly variable in terms of how they affect the immune system and how serious their adverse effects are due to the resultant hyperactivation of the immune system. While adjuvants enable the use of less *antigen to achieve the desired immune response and reduce vaccine production costs, with few exceptions, adjuvants are foreign to the body and cause adverse reactions”, writes Australian scientist Viera Scheibner Ph.D, (1)

    The most common adjuvant for human use is an aluminum salt called alum derived from aluminum hydroxide, or aluminum phosphate. A quick read of the scientific literature reveals that the neurotoxic effects of aluminum were recognized 100 years ago. Aluminum is a neurotoxicant and has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders. Prior to 1980, kidney patients undergoing long term dialysis treatments often suffered dialysis encephalopathy syndrome, the result of acute intoxication by the use of an aluminium-containing dialysate. This is now avoided using modern techniques of water purification. In preterm infants, prolonged intravenous feeding with solutions containing aluminum is associated with impaired neurologic development. Scientists speculate that aluminum neurotoxicity may be related to cell damage via free radical production, impairment of glucose metabolism, and effects on nerve signal transduction. (2) Vaccines which contain both aluminum adjuvants and mercury based preservative, greatly magnify the neurotoxic effects. (3)…” http://www.vaclib.org/basic/adjuvants.htm

    Immunology and Cell Biology (2004) 82, 488–496 Special Feature Vaccine adjuvants: Current state and future trends NIKOLAI PETROVSKY1 and JULIO CÉSAR AGUILAR2 1 Autoimmunity Research Unit, ANU Medical School, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2061, Australia and Vaccines Division, Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Ave. 31 e 158 y 190, Cubanacán, Apdo 6162, Ciudad, Habana, Cuba 2 Summary

    “… In addition, alum has the potential to cause severe local and systemic side-effects including sterile abscesses, eosinophilia and myofascitis, although fortunately most of the more serious side-effects are relatively rare. There is also community concern regarding the possible role of aluminium in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. ..

    …Adverse reactions to adjuvants can be classified as local or systemic. Important local reactions include pain, local inflammation, swelling, injection site necrosis, lymphadenopathy, granulomas, ulcers and the gen- eration of sterile abscesses. Systemic reactions include nausea, fever, adjuvant arthritis, uveitis, eosinophilia, allergy, anaphylaxis, organ specific toxicity and immunotoxicity (i.e. the liberation of cytokines, immunosuppression or auto- immune diseases).22,23 Unfortunately, potent adjuvant action is often correlated with increased toxicity, as exemplified by the case of FCA which although potent is too toxic for human use…

    …Adjuvant regulatory requirements Regulations for the human use of adjuvants are far more rigorous than those applied to veterinary vaccines..

    …Quil A has been used successfully for veterinary applications. 44 It is a natural product composed of more than 23 different saponins and is generally considered too toxic for human use…”

    Quil A is just one example of the more toxic adjuvants used. I choose this quote because it comes out and states it directly, leaving no room for misconstruing.
    —–
    And I came across this. Maybe when people post about their pets dermitis and paw licking (etc.) the first question should be about their vaccination schedule?

    “When a perfectly healthy individual is given viruses that cause illness, the animal is going to manifest illness-related symptoms. This healthy individual is asked to maintain a low-level stimulation of a state of distemper, a low level state of parvo, a low level state of rabies, and so on. As long as you are in a low level state of illness you are not in a high level state of health. Therefore, the vaccines provide protection by keeping the body in a diseased state of health. Often the animal will not manifest the illness it is vaccinated for, at least not in its acute form, but it will manifest in other conditions. Usually these conditions are inherited weaknesses.
    Chronic symptoms look very much like the acute illnesses but they are often not life-threatening unless allowed to continue for years and years.

    For distemper we often see:

    Watery fluid dripping from the nose
    Conjunctivitis, eye discharge, entropion
    Chronic gastritis, hepatitis, pancreatitis, appetite disorders
    Recurrent diarrhea
    Sensitivity to food with resultant diarrhea
    Epilepsy, rear leg paralysis, spondylitis
    Lip fold dermatitis
    Excessive licking of feet, eruptions between the toes, allergies
    Kennel cough, chronic bronchitis
    Chronic skin eruptions, especially lower half of body
    Failure to thrive, abnormally thin

    For rabies we often see:

    Restless nature, suspicion of others, aggression to animals and people
    Changes in behavior: aloofness, unaffectionate, desire to roam, OR clingy, separation anxiety, ‘velcro dog’
    Restraining can lead to violent behavior and self-injury
    Self-mutilation, tail chewing
    Voice changes, hoarseness, excessive barking
    Chronic poor appetite, very finicky
    Paralysis of throat or tongue, sloppy eaters, drooling
    Dry eye, loss of sight, cataract
    Eating wood, stones, earth, stool
    Destructive behavior, shredding bedding
    Seizures, epilepsy, twitching
    Increased sexual desire, sexual aggression
    Irregular pulse, heart failure
    Reverse sneezing

    Some of the illnesses you are familiar with include any auto-immune disease such as lupus, red cell aplasia, auto-immune hemolytic anemia cardiomyopathies; neoplasias such as fibrosarcomas, mast cell tumors, thyroid tumors, etc.; inflammatory bowel disease, eczematous ears, any dermatological condition, warts, lipomas, poor hair coats, stomatitis, periodontal disease, thyroid disease, and the list goes on and on.

    Now you could be wondering why I am so bold to ‘blame’ all these and more on vaccines. The reason is simple: I have an empirical, call it experimental lab where I visit daily and watch the animals, year after year. In the short years of my career I have seen the incredible increase in all these illnesses, some we never even learned in vet school. In fact, my vet school is now primarily an oncology treatment center! This was not the case a short 20 years ago. I have also spoken with many vets who have practiced longer than I and their response is the same. They did not see the level of chronic illness, nor the resistant and concretized type of illnesses that we see today. ” by: Dee Blanco who is a holistic veterinarian practicing in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

    ——

    « Vaccinations | Main | Adverse Reactions »

    Changing Vaccine Procotols – by W Jean Dodds, DVM

    The challenge to produce effective and safe vaccines for the prevalent infectious diseases of humans and animals has become increasingly difficult. In veterinary medicine, evidence implicating vaccines in triggering immune-mediated and other chronic disorders (vaccinosis) is compelling. While some of these problems have been traced to contaminated or poorly attenuated batches of vaccine that revert to virulence, others apparently reflect the host’s genetic predisposition to react adversely upon receiving the single (monovalent) or multiple antigen “combo” (polyvalent) products given routinely to animals. Animals of certain susceptible breeds or families appear to be at increased risk for severe and lingering adverse reactions to vaccines.

    The onset of adverse reactions to conventional vaccinations (or other inciting drugs, chemicals, or infectious agents) can be an immediate hypersensitivity or anaphylactic reaction, or can occur acutely (24-48 hours afterwards), or later on (10-45 days) in a delayed type immune response often caused by immune-complex formation. Typical signs of adverse immune reactions include fever, stiffness, sore joints and abdominal tenderness, susceptibility to infections, central and peripheral nervous system disorders or inflammation, collapse with autoagglutinated red blood cells and jaundice, or generalized pinpoint hemorrhages or bruises. Liver enzymes may be markedly elevated, and liver or kidney failure may accompany bone marrow suppression. Furthermore, recent vaccination of genetically susceptible breeds has been associated with transient seizures in puppies and adult dogs, as well as a variety of autoimmune diseases including those affecting the blood, endocrine organs, joints, skin and mucosa, central nervous system, eyes, muscles, liver, kidneys, and bowel. It is postulated that an underlying genetic predisposition to these conditions places other littermates and close relatives at increased risk. Vaccination of pet and research dogs with polyvalent vaccines containing rabies virus or rabies vaccine alone was recently shown to induce production of antithyroglobulin autoantibodies, a provocative and important finding with implications for the subsequent development of hypothyroidism (Scott-Moncrieff et al, 2002).

    Vaccination also can overwhelm the immunocompromised or even healthy host that is repeatedly challenged with other environmental stimuli and is genetically predisposed to react adversely upon viral exposure. The recently weaned young puppy or kitten entering a new environment is at greater risk here, as its relatively immature immune system can be temporarily or more permanently harmed. Consequences in later life may be the increased susceptibility to chronic debilitating diseases.

    As combination vaccines contain antigens other than those of the clinically important infectious disease agents, some may be unnecessary; and their use may increase the risk of adverse reactions. With the exception of a recently introduced mutivalent Leptospira spp. vaccine, the other leptospirosis vaccines afford little protection against the clinically important fields strains of leptospirosis, and the antibodies they elicit typically last only a few months. Other vaccines, such as for Lyme disease, may not be needed, because the disease is limited to certain geographical areas. Annual revaccination for rabies is required by some states even though there are USDA licensed rabies vaccine with a 3-year duration. Thus, the overall risk-benefit ratio of using certain vaccines or multiple antigen vaccines given simultaneously and repeatedly should be reexamined. It must be recognized, however, that we have the luxury of asking such questions today only because the risk of disease has been effectively reduced by the widespread use of vaccination programs.

    Given this troublesome situation, what are the experts saying about these issues? In 1995, a landmark review commentary focused the attention of the veterinary profession on the advisability of current vaccine practices. Are we overvaccinating companion animals, and if so, what is the appropriate periodicity of booster vaccines ? Discussion of this provocative topic has generally lead to other questions about the duration of immunity conferred by the currently licensed vaccine components.

    In response to questions posed in the first part of this article, veterinary vaccinologists have recommended new protocols for dogs and cats. These include: 1) giving the puppy or kitten vaccine series followed by a booster at one year of age; 2) administering further boosters in a combination vaccine every three years or as split components alternating every other year until; 3) the pet reaches geriatric age, at which time booster vaccination is likely to be unnecessary and may be unadvisable for those with aging or immunologic disorders. In the intervening years between booster vaccinations, and in the case of geriatric pets, circulating humoral immunity can be evaluated by measuring serum vaccine antibody titers as an indication of the presence of immune memory. Titers do not distinguish between immunity generated by vaccination and/or exposure to the disease, although the magnitude of immunity produced just by vaccination is usually lower (see Tables).

    Except where vaccination is required by law, all animals, but especially those dogs or close relatives that previously experienced an adverse reaction to vaccination can have serum antibody titers measured annually instead of revaccination. If adequate titers are found, the animal should not need revaccination until some future date. Rechecking antibody titers can be performed annually, thereafter, or can be offered as an alternative to pet owners who prefer not to follow the conventional practice of annual boosters. Reliable serologic vaccine titering is available from several university and commercial laboratories and the cost is reasonable (Twark and Dodds, 2000; Lappin et al, 2002; Paul et al, 2003; Moore and Glickman, 2004).

    * Veterinary Medicine, February, 2002.
    References
    Dodds WJ. More bumps on the vaccine road. Adv Vet Med 41:715-732, 1999.
    Dodds WJ. Vaccination protocols for dogs predisposed to vaccine reactions. J Am An Hosp Assoc 38: 1-4, 2001.
    Hogenesch H, Azcona-Olivera J, Scott-Moncreiff C, et al. Vaccine-induced autoimmunity in the dog. Adv Vet Med 41: 733-744, 1999.
    Hustead DR, Carpenter T, Sawyer DC, et al. Vaccination issues of concern to practitioners. J Am Vet Med Assoc 214: 1000-1002, 1999.
    Kyle AHM, Squires RA, Davies PR. Serologic status and response to vaccination against canine distemper (CDV) and canine parvovirus (CPV) of dogs vaccinated at different intervals. J Sm An Pract, June 2002.
    Lappin MR, Andrews J, Simpson D, et al. Use of serologic tests to predict resistance to feline herpesvirus 1, feline calicivirus, and feline parvovirus infection in cats. J Am Vet Med Assoc 220: 38-42, 2002.
    McGaw DL, Thompson M, Tate, D, et al. Serum distemper virus and parvovirus antibody titers among dogs brought to a veterinary hospital for revaccination. J Am Vet Med Assoc 213: 72-75, 1998.
    Moore GE, Glickman LT. A perspective on vaccine guidelines and titer tests for dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc 224: 200-203. 2004.
    Mouzin DE, Lorenzen M J, Haworth, et al. Duration of serologic response to five viral antigens in dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc 224: 55-60, 2004.
    Mouzin DE, Lorenzen M J, Haworth, et al. Duration of serologic response to three viral antigens in cats. J Am Vet Med Assoc 224: 61-66, 2004.
    Paul MA. Credibility in the face of controversy. Am An Hosp Assoc Trends Magazine XIV(2):19-21, 1998.
    Paul MA (chair) et al. Report of the AAHA Canine Vaccine Task Force: 2003 canine vaccine guidelines, recommendations, and supporting literature. AAHA, April 2003, 28 pp.
    Schultz RD. Current and future canine and feline vaccination programs. Vet Med 93:233-254, 1998.
    Schultz RD, Ford RB, Olsen J, Scott F. Titer testing and vaccination: a new look at traditional practices. Vet Med, 97: 1-13, 2002 (insert).
    Scott FW, Geissinger CM. Long-term immunity in cats vaccinated with an inactivated trivalent vaccine. Am J Vet Res 60: 652-658, 1999.
    Scott-Moncrieff JC, Azcona-Olivera J, Glickman NW, et al. Evaluation of antithyroglobulin antibodies after routine vaccination in pet and research dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc 221: 515-521, 2002.
    Smith CA. Are we vaccinating too much? J Am Vet Med Assoc 207:421-425, 1995.
    Tizard I, Ni Y. Use of serologic testing to assess immune status of companion animals. J Am Vet Med Assoc 213: 54-60, 1998.
    Twark L, Dodds WJ. Clinical application of serum parvovirus and distemper virus antibody titers for determining revaccination strategies in healthy dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc 217:1021-1024, 2000.
    Posted on September 18, 2006 1:16 AM | Permalink
    ——–

    Vaccine adjuvants: Current state and future trends NIKOLAI PETROVSKY1 and JULIO CÉSAR AGUILAR2 1 Autoimmunity Research Unit, ANU Medical School, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2061, Australia and Vaccines Division, Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Ave. 31 e/158 y 190, Cubanacán, Apdo 6162, Ciudad, Habana, Cuba 2

    Summary
    The problem with pure recombinant or synthetic antigens used in modern day vaccines is that they are generally far less immunogenic than older style live or killed whole organism vaccines. This has created a major need for improved and more powerful adjuvants for use in these vaccines. With few exceptions, alum remains the sole adjuvant approved for human use in the majority of countries worldwide. Although alum is able to induce a good antibody (Th2) response, it has little capacity to stimulate cellular (Th1) immune responses which are so important for protection against many pathogens. In addition, alum has the potential to cause severe local and systemic side-effects including sterile abscesses, eosinophilia and myofascitis, although fortunately most of the more serious side-effects are relatively rare. There is also community concern regarding the possible role of aluminium in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. Consequently, there is a major unmet need for safer and more effective adjuvants suitable for human use. In particular, there is demand for safe and non-toxic adjuvants able to stimulate cellular (Th1) immunity. Other needs in light of new vaccine technologies are adjuvants suitable for use with mucosally-delivered vaccines, DNA vaccines, cancer and autoimmunity vaccines. Each of these areas are highly specialized with their own unique needs in respect of suitable adjuvant technology. This paper reviews the state of the art in the adjuvant field, explores future directions of adjuvant development and finally examines some of the impediments and barriers to development and registration of new human adjuvants.
    —–

    Vaccination Reactions: How to Handle an Anaphylactic Reaction due to a Vaccine
    Posted on: March 7, 2011
    Vaccine reactions! They are such a scary event. In fact, vaccination induced reactions creates anxiety not only for the pet owner, but the patient and veterinarian too.

    This page displays one example of a dog with a vaccine reaction to a rabies vaccine, manufactured by a reputable and professional veterinary pharmaceutical company and administered subcutaneously as recommended. Twelve months prior to the rabies vaccine given in this example, the dog (a three-year-old Dachshund) was vaccinated with a multivalent vaccine containing Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza, Corona and Parvo virus antigens. A mild reaction occurred to that vaccine administration. It is unknown to which fraction of that vaccine the dog reacted.

    Prior to this incident, the owners were fully informed about potential vaccine reactions and what to do if another one occurred. They requested a rabies vaccine only (they decided against giving further multivalent vaccinations) in order to conform to local ordinances and to ensure against possible infection from rabies due to the abundant wildlife present in the dog’s environment. The vaccine was administered after a discussion of potential good and undesirable effects of a vaccine.

    Two hours after the Rabies vaccine was administered the dog was readmitted for itching and head-shaking, and the presence of “hives” on the dog’s face and head. These eruptions on the skin, called a urticarial reaction, are rounded swollen raised areas of skin tissue that have responded locally to the administration of a substance to which the dog is allergic.

    Hives are caused when the body releases histamine from a cell called a mast cell. The histamine then causes leaking of fluid into the surrounding body tissues from the small blood vessels and stimulates the nearby nerve endings producing the itching sensation. The dog was breathing normally but was uncomfortable. Fortunately the vast majority of vaccine reactions in the dog are similar to this case where the targeted tissue is the skin.

    Though rare, the tracheal, laryngeal and bronchial tissues can swell, causing a constricted, spastic airway and breathing difficulties — all of which can have life-threatening consequences.
    http://m.petmd.com/dog/care/evr_dg_vaccination_reactions

    Rabies Challenge Fund

    Why Challenge Current Rabies Vaccine Policy?

    Rabies vaccination is required by law in nearly all areas. Even though protection from rabies is documented to last at least three years, current law in some states or areas still requires that boosters be given annually or biannually rather than the standard policy of every three years. However, vaccination against rabies virus is occasionally associated with debilitating adverse effects. According to the CDC domestic animals account for less than 10% of the reported rabies cases, with cats, cattle, and dogs most often reported rabid. Scientific data indicate that vaccinating dogs against rabies every three years, as most states require, is unnecessary.
    Studies have shown the duration of protective immunity as measured by serum antibody titers against rabies virus to persist for seven years post-vaccination. By validating the ‘true’ life of rabies virus immunity and moving to five and hopefully seven years, we will decrease the risk of adverse reactions in our animals and minimize their repeated exposure to foreign substances. Killed vaccines like those for rabies virus can trigger both immediate and delayed adverse vaccine reactions (termed “vaccinosis”). While there may be immediate hypersensitivity reactions, other acute events tend to occur 24-72 hours afterwards, or up to 45 days later in the case of delayed reactions.
    Reactions that have been documented include:
    Behavior changes such as aggression and separation anxiety
    Obsessive behavior,self-mutilation, tail chewing
    Pica – eating wood, stones, earth, stool
    Destructive behavior, shredding bedding
    Seizures, epilepsy
    Fibrosarcomas at injection site
    Autoimmune diseases such as those affecting bone marrow and blood cells, joints, eyes, skin, kidney, liver, bowel and central nervous system
    Muscular weakness and or atrophy
    Chronic digestive problems

    Rabies Exemptions and Waivers
    Rabies Vaccination is required by law. In some instances, it is possible to secure a written waiver for exemption from rabies booster vaccination. A letter justifying the medical reason for such exemption needs to be obtained from your primary care veterinarian. When seeking a waiver, a rabies serum antibody titer should be performed. Adequate serum rabies titers are at least 1:5 by the RFFIT method. Waiver requests are not generally accepted based on serum antibody titers alone, but may be granted on a case-by-case basis with justification. Waivers are not granted as a matter of personal preference, and localities often do not permit waivers and exemptions regardless of the justification.”

    I have more if you need it… (I tend to overwhelm people with data. GFETE (Grinning From Ear To Ear)

    in reply to: Vaccinating #11226 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi Weimlove,
    I’m in the don’t vaccinate catagory. My 16 yr old Pom, Sonya, is toxically injured from pesticide poisoning, like me. She used to get dis/parv every 3 years, before I knew better, & Rabies every 5. My 2 year old standard poodle, & service dog, Rosie, had one set of distemper/parvo at the breeders, the day before I got her. 4 days later she nearly died. When it was time or the next booster, I asked the vet to titer instead. She came back “protected for life.” They other thing we discovered, the toxins from her vaccines come out of her body and make me sick. Since the most toxic vac necessary in our area is the Rabies, I got a medical exemption for her, and for me. So we don’t do any. I also use natural substances for parasites & pests, no pesticides! I feed organic Raw, & Brother’s Complete, with supplements like probiotics, enzymes, astaxanthin, & detox caps, as needed. We have a non-toxic, fragrance free environment.

    I support the rabies challenge fund.

    in reply to: prescription dog food #11201 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi Kevin,
    Nylabone and greenies have both caused serious health problems.. I can’t remember the details. But, you can look them up on a search engine, and I believe Dr. Becker (DVM) on mercola.healthypets.com has some articles about it. The healthiest thing to give your dog to clean their teeth is raw meaty bones and a species appropriate diet. No grains. Dogs have no dietary need for grain. In fact, their canine cousins in the wild consume only about 5-6% vegetable matter (not grains, but including small amounts of fruit). Feeding grains leads to weight gain, dental carries and plaque, as well as many other adverse health conditions. Crunching up RAW bones, scrapes them clean. Feeding a meat protein based, balanced diet is the best thing you can do to maintain their good health. If you check out the prescription diets, you’ll see they contain mostly plant based proteins. Which don’t contain complete, biologically appropriate proteins for carnivores.

    A raw chicken or turkey neck, or chicken wing is a good, inexpensive “tooth brush” for your mid sized dog. You can get them cheap, by buying past date ones at the meat counter. Buy in bulk, repackage & freeze in individual portions.

    For more info on raw feeding check out Dr. Becker’s articles on that too. Hope that helps. 🙂

    in reply to: fleas! help! #11182 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Good reminder momofmutts,

    We were speaking specifically about dogs, but a cat owner might try it on their pet. 😮

    I remember from my childhood that cats are much more sensitive. We knew a guy who found a flea bitten, filthy stray and thinking to adopt it he brought it in and bathed it using Lysol brown soap. The cat died. The vet said their skins are so thin & porous it gets into their blood.

    Essential oils are very powerful. I had read that, but you know how most of us are… We don’t believe it until we experience it.@@ Well, I decided to try clove oil for something. It cautions that it can promote blood thinning, and bleeding/bruising, and to stop using it if you start bruising easily. I thought, well I won’t have to worry about that, my bloods very thick. It wasn’t very long and, Dang! It was true!

    in reply to: Urinary Tract Infections #11173 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Speaking from experience, “UTIs” are often caused by toxic exposures. Some toxins are so harsh that they irritate the bladder lining (interstitial cystitis). It can be so painful it feels like the worse bladder infection you’ve ever had. Some of the chemicals actually burn the delicate urinary tract, even to the point of causing bleeding and allowing infection to take hold. I’ve had them. Sonya (my 16 yr old Toxically Injured Pom) also gets them. Following exposures I can expect Sonya to have to go every 30 min. or more. The more compromised the immune system, the more probable it is that any toxic substances your pet is exposed to are going to end up being eliminated without first being broken down into less toxic, or non-toxic by products.

    Jackie mentioned better quality, fresh food. Excellent advice! The better quality food, the more nutrients available to help your dog’s system deal with the event. The more water consumed the more dilute the chemicals, and flushing helps. Making milk thistle diffusions, cooling it and giving it to your pup will soothe and protect the dogs kidneys, ureters, bladder & urethra. Avoiding grains is important. Grains are sugars, sugars feed the bad bacteria in the infection. So check that “prescription diet.” If it is carb heavy, don’t feed it!!!

    in reply to: fleas! help! #11147 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi Sophia,

    I have small, glass 4 oz. spray bottles that I use. I put sterilized (boiled – cooled) water in them then add the organic essential oil or soap to them. The mint oil soap spray, was just enough so that it doubled as a travel hand cleanser, and didn’t feel sticky or gummy. When I mixed up a separate insect repellent for hatch seasons, I used mint oil soap, 3 drops, o. Essential: lavender, 2 drops, rosemary 3 drops, lemon grass 4 drops. You can play with it, to see what you like and works. Spritz it on bedding and upholstery too. 🙂

    in reply to: fleas! help! #11145 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    LOL Shawna, Oregon’s the same. Those Nebraska slugs would be considered hatchlings.

    Florida fleas are more resilient. Their growing season is year round with one of the highest pesticide application rates in the Union. Only the strong have survived! They also have more hatches per year than areas with cold winters. It’s a lot tougher to stay on top of them down there. There’s no respite.

    in reply to: fleas! help! #11128 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi Sophia,

    Insects are far more resilient than mammals. So much so that by the over use of chemical insecticides we’ve inadvertently produced pests that are immune to them. The chemical companies keep producing and selling more harmful chemicals in response. These poison our pets. So I’m copying a post that I originally shared on the Mercola Healthy Pets forum. Just in case you want to go that route.

    “IPM Fleas
    I use a method that my daughter and I developed when she went off to college (with her dog) and discovered her apartment and yard were infested from the previous renter’s cat and the abundance of ferel cats that frequented her yard. My daughter is an IPM entomologist and started her professional career at age 15. Here’s what we worked out.:

    The first thing to consider is breaking the flea life cycle, which is: hatch out of eggs laid in textiles or litter, feed as nymph, metamorphasize to adult, hop on dog, mate/feed, hop off, lay eggs, repeat…

    Bathing your dog regularly is a great way to interrupt the flea reproductive cycle… if they don’t reproduce, no resident fleas.

    I use a fragrance free, non toxic detergent. I am currently using naturoli’s soapnut shampoo. Its extremely mild and nourishes the skin and coat. All the pet shampoos (even the hypo-allergenic ones) at pet stores have stuff I wouldn’t use, therefore, I won’t put it on my dogs. Occassionally I use a few drops of a REPELLENT, non toxic pet shampoo along with the detergent. I use Earthypet, for the drops. I get it at http://www.allnaturalcosmetics.com Its very fragrant, and more than 1 drop per small dog, 2 for med-large hurts me. I can only imagine how much it offends the dog. (For your sick dogs, I’d avoid the aromatics until they recover!) One of the ways you can monitor if the VOCs are too high for your dog is, “do they rub their face on the carpet?” That indicates that it is hurting their noses.

    Keep in mind that your dog could still have gotten flea born diseases when you used a pesticide, as it takes a while for the resident fleas to get killed. A repellent, like lavender and rosemary oils, keeps the blood feeders away, and therefore prevents insect vectored diseases.

    When I bath my pom. I fill up the laundry sink and have her sit in it for 3-5 min. I protect the ears and nose. I also watch for fleeing fleas and squish ’em. Make sure they pop. You will also see them swimming in the tub. Squish those too. Washing them down the drain isn’t enough. They hop back out. Also for the first several weeks, check your dog, down to the skin in a well lit area for fleas. Use a desk lamp. The fleas will come to the warmth. You’ll still have to comb through all her hair and examine all of her skin. If she’s picked up a tick, or cheat grass, you will find it during this procedure. Don’t forget to squish the fleas. When you aren’t seeing them or their “dirt”, you can move your bath times to less frequently, but monitor to find the best schedule. I bath more frequently during heavy hatches. Contact your State University, Experiment Station Entomologist for the timing of the heaviest hatch(es) in your area.

    Next: frequent laundering (weekly to every 2 weeks) of your dogs bedding, with borax as a laundry booster: 1/4 to 1/2 cup per load. Borax residues form crystals in the fabric, which scratch through the exoskeleton and cause the adults to suffocate. I love that part! (dry on Hot) Fleas lay their eggs near where your dog habitates, in fibers: Carpet, upholstry, bedding. Flea nymphs hatch out and start feeding on what’s in their environment. Residual borax is consumed and kills the nymphs.

    For control in carpets and upholstery, I wash them (steam clean) with borax solution. Its also a great way to get out petroleum and oil stains… as well as odors. Unless something happens, I shampoo a couple of times a year, like during major hatch cycles. (spring) and at the end of the summer to minimize the indoor population. The borax crystalizes after this too, and kills both adults and nymphs.

    So, this method kills by drowning or suffocating the adults, poisoning the nymphs, and drowning/frying the eggs. It is an intergrated, (non invasive) pest management practice or IPM.

    There are a number of things you can do to deter mosquitos from feeding on your pet. The aromatics work by repelling, but you can use garlic, (one of Shawna’s favorites!) Or complex Bs make the blood unpalatable to insects. I have frequently fed brewer’s yeast to get the Bs, but I’m hearing some downsides. Get a good supplement. Healthy raw foods with lightly cooked broccoli and other cruciferous veggies (see Dr. Becker’s book for amounts) are high in sulfur, and that repels mosquitos. Tumeric and curry (garam masala) have healing properties as well as making you “not a biting insects preferred snack.” Hope that helps! 🙂

    I also mix up a spray bottle with water and some of Dr. Bronner’s Castile, mint oil soap. It repels mosquitos. I use this as a spray-on during peak seasons or heavy hatches. I went to the coast a few years back in May. I used this and everyone else in the campground was slapping mosquitos, regardless of “off” and deet, and I didn’t have even one, near me. It lasted all night. As you probably know mosquitos vector heartworm. So this little preventive measure goes a long way in protecting pups from heartworm.”

    Hope that helps!

    in reply to: Detoxing #11127 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Good posts Patty & Shawna!

    Like Shawna, I have personal detox stories. I was sprayed with monitor, an organophosphate insecticide, while surveying a farm, then repeatedly & deliberately exposed to several pesticides. Eventually I became so immune compromised that every toxic substance, even trace amounts through second or third hand exposures, produced life threatening reactions. Multiple heart attacks, strokes, seizures respiratory paralysis, asthma, lymphoma, lymphodenopathy…. It’s a huge list. At one time it was 3 pages, 3 columns. I experience new and different reactions depending on the bio-interactions of the specific toxins I’m exposed to. Yes, I also deal with boils, sores, hives, weals, itching, chemical burns, conjunctivitis (gooby or crusty eyes), ear itching & discharge, scalp reactions, TMJ, IBS… You name it. 8 years ago the doctor I used to see told me to go home and die. He said, “There is no treatment, there is no cure, it will get worse with every exposure. Go home and avoid all (exposures).” Then he told me he wouldn’t see me, or help me, anymore. The good news is he was wrong. :-}

    Sonia, my 16 year old Pom, has gone through the deliberate spraying and is toxically injured, too. She’s had 3 surgeries for tumors, has seizures upon exposures, and has had both the eye & ear problems. She also had motor impairment & neurosis. Her symptoms flair during environmental exposures and resolve after detoxing. Like many of you I used to give her the annual vacs and regular worming. She’s much better since I quit those.

    Rosie, my 2 yr old service dog, had a very bad reaction to her first, and only, set of vacs. She is still detoxing that vac. A Merck immunologist told me it would take at least 2 years. My doc did some more research and said, probably 3. Her symptoms include conjunctivitis, ear discharge & lymphatic cysts.

    Different toxins take different amounts of time to fully detox. The cleaner (non-toxic) your, or your pets, diet and environment, the better you or they are able to handle the current toxins, and unload them: detox. Let me give you a couple of analogies. The one my doctor likes to use is to equate the immune system to a rain barrel, the kind that waters the lawn or garden. Every day toxins fill it up, and are drained off at a certain rate. When the barrel receives more than it can handle it over flows. The overflow represents symptoms of toxic injury. Small over flow, small symptoms, like itchy skin, hot spots, conjunctivitis, ear discharge. Large overflow, major alarming symptoms, which can range from chronic acute skin disorders, and impacted ears to seizures, heart attacks, respiratory distress, cancer… You get the picture. The problem is that most of us don’t recognize the problem until it manifests at the chronic level.

    The analogy I use when counseling is to picture yourself in a small row boat, rowing across a large bay. The freeboard, the distance between the top of the water and the gunnel (top of the side) of the boat represents your immune system. The bay represents your life. You row across, or proceed through your life. When the weather is fine, there’s a lot of freeboard. If you’re carrying a lot of baggage, there’s less free board. Unfortunately the water often gets rough, reducing your freeboard, and even allowing water to come into your boat. (i.e. you’re operating with an impaired immune system, and most likely a chronic condition.) Most of us keep rowing along, even though now we’re pulling not only our weight and the boat’s weight, but the added weight of the water, as well. If we don’t stop and bail, eventually the boat will sink, or capsize in a storm. Bailing is detox.

    You have to stop letting or putting toxins into your, or your dog’s, life. That’s the first and most important step. That means reducing or eliminating as many toxins as you possibly can from BOTH your diet and environment. Second, support the immune system. Third, assist your body in removing them.
    This is not an easy answer. It takes time and commitment. Shawna gave you an excellent example illustrating that you can’t expect to treat it once and then “go back to normal.” If you go back to exposing your body to the toxic substances that trigger reactions, the symptoms of an immune system in crisis come back. They will get worse over time, you will react more violently to smaller amounts. This is because you haven’t completely cleared the toxic overload. If it helps you to visualize, you only removed the top inch or so of the water from the barrel, so its still on the verge of overflowing again. Just a little bit, and wham! symptoms. It’s called “neural sensitization” or hypersensitivity. There’s also the spreading phenomenon to consider. In Shawna’s post she talked specifically about dairy. Dairy casein’s have caused her barrel to overflow. When her immune system is that overloaded, any other toxin can’t be adequately dealt with either. So they begin to illicit symptoms as well. Soon the body learns to respond to that toxin with a “condition red” response. Here’s the good news, it can be corrected. I haven’t looked up the same info in dogs, but in people every cell in the body is replaced in 7 years. So theoretically, if you could avoid all toxic substances for 7 years, you’d have an empty barrel. O.k. There is a guy that did that, went off to a mountain top, no phone, no electricity, no toxins, and it did work. So its more than a theory. It’s just not very practical. Since our society & world are so inundated with toxins, its impossible to avoid them all. You won’t get an empty barrel. You can get a declining barrel if you commit to living non-toxic, and bailing your boat.

    Oiy! There is so much more to say!! Detoxing is critical! We are living in an age of rampant toxic chemicals accepted as normal within our own homes! The CDC states that indoor air pollution is often 100 times more toxic than outside air. Cleaners, pesticides (think bug spray, flea & worm treatments, and mold killers) fragrances, laundry products, petroleum products and food additives! We slather these on every surface in our homes and right on our own, or our pets bodies. We willingly ingest them! There are three pathologies for toxic exposures: ingestion, inhalation and absorbed through the skin. Then step outside where people routinely apply pesticide to the their lawns, gardens and pavement as though it was soap & water! So do municipalities, schools, counties and states! Add to that road fumes, asphalt, dryer exhaust, industrial emissions… Etc.

    Leading specialist in the fields of oncology, neurology, cardiology, pulmonary & reproductive medicine & many others are now saying that “All diseased states are caused, or exacerbated by consumer product & environmental toxins.”

    We were never designed to live in a world that is inundated with so many synthetic toxins. Neither were our pets. Our bodies can’t keep up. The ADA (American’s with Disabilities Act) Region 10 office says, “chemical hypersensitivity is the fastest growing segment of the disabled population.” They don’t even consider pets, whose little bodies are closer to the ground (many widely used pesticides are heavier than air, and settle along the ground, traveling for 100s of feet, if not miles). Our pets have a faster rate of respiration, so they breathe in more. Our veterinary practices have been encouraging annual revaccinating and over vaccination as well as extremely toxic (and ineffective) flea, tick & Heartworm control. Insects are far more adaptive and resilient than mammals. We have inadvertently developed pests that are immune to the poisons… So we obediently poison our pets for nothing. 🙁 Though, there is a movement to change that. Awareness is growing.

    What else do you want to know?

    in reply to: Therapy Dogs-where to find one? #11030 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Your welcome Patty! 😉

    in reply to: Need an introduction section. #11014 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi mydogisme,
    Just the way you are doing it. One or two at a time. Get their dog with skin & ear problems on a great food, and it starts looking fantastic… With no doggy odor! And better than any dog they’ve ever had and they will tell everyone! It’s like an explosion!!! 🙂

    in reply to: Diet & dark eye stains? #11010 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Both dietary and environmental toxins contribute to tear staining. That includes cleaning products, laundry products and everything with a fragrance. So can Pesticides, lawn and garden chemicals and petroleum products. Vaccines and worm Meds, and all other meds can also cause cause staining, as well as ear discharge, skin eruptions and seizures. Feeding the best specie appropriate diet, sans grain, potatoes & food additives goes a long way to helping keep your pet healthy, but its implant to remove environmental toxins as well. 🙂

    in reply to: Therapy Dogs-where to find one? #11007 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    I looked at funding and several groups that offer service dogs of different kinds. She should check the net for local groups. The waiting lists are so long, its hard to get a service or therapy dog from the established organizations. There are way more deserving recipients than there are dogs. Vets and certain ‘mainstream recognized groups’ get preference. If you fall outside those catagories, it gets harder. However, in most states, you can train your own. Texas being the biggest exception. I recommend Stewart Nordensson’s “Teamwork” & “Teamwork II” (ISBN 9780965621618) As the best ‘train your own books’ out there. Then she should get a RX for one from her MD, and a letter. The dog can not be protection trained. “Teamwork” gives the basic training skills for those who aren’t proficient already. “Teamwork II” is specifically for service dogs. Therapy dogs are service dogs and should be trained to pass all the standard service dog skills tests, regardless of wether you take them through a program or not. If your dog’s in public, it needs to be under control, especially if you need it. While they can’t deny service dogs entry, they can ask you and an ill behaved or disruptive dog, even if its supposed to be a service or therapy dog to leave. The other thing you can do is hire a trainer. They can either do it for you or coach you. Often there are local groups working on training there own together. Most also work to get their CGC. 🙂

    You can use any dog with the appropriate temperament as a therapy dog, providing he/she is trained. So you can train the one you have or adopt a suitiable dog from a pound, or purchase one for training. There are lots of options. Stewart’s books will really help her to solve her problems outside the box. 🙂

    in reply to: sensitive dog shampoo #10861 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi aviva669,
    Try Dr. Bronner’s mint oil, shampoo. Dr. Becker (DVM) says its got the correct ph balance, and it will keep off fleas, etc. stop all other flea and tick treatments. 🙂

    in reply to: Happy Birthday Alexandra! #10827 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Happy Birthday Alexandra!!!!

    in reply to: Christmas… to tree or not to tree #10749 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi Betsy,
    Well, that’s just because I get bored easy, just like the dogs. GFETE I start wondering things like, “Is it possible to train a dog to______?” Sometimes its because I’m lazy. Sometimes because its challenging. Sometimes because its funny. 🙂 o.k., then there’s that disability thing. Stuff I need her to do… :-} It really doesn’t take that long. Just a few minutes here and there.

    in reply to: Waste Management #10748 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    I had this friend from college that married a woman with a great white Pyrenees. They taught me this wonderful method. The dog was trained to go in the ivy bed. The ivy covered the piles and being nitogen trapping ate up the poo. You couldn’t smell it standing right next to it. I have changed up the ground cover, as we’ve lived in different climates. Cosmos, are bright and colorful, make an excellent “poo blind” and are nitrigen trapping. I’ve also used ageum. Any ground cover plant that grows to at least 4-6″ And substantial enough to stand some wear. Allysum is too delicate. The dogs don’t like marigolds or chrysanthemums, so skip stuff like that. It should be something that requires little tending. 🙂 but stay away from mint, it gets out of control… The same reason I stay away from ivy.

    in reply to: Christmas… to tree or not to tree #10648 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi Betsy,
    I have had a puppy in the house for the last 3 Christmases, I do the tree with non breakable ornaments on the bottom. I also work with the dog, reinforcing the “leave it” command with lots of praise and treats for successful experiences. In just a few minutes, I’ve had all my pups looking at me as if to say “see me leaving that alone? Do I get a treat?” I make sure to reinforce it a lot for a few days. By the third day, no problem. I should say, I do have a very stable stand, not one of those flimsy ones with the three legs. 🙂 Though we’ve never had an incident. The other thing is, I don’t put mine up for a month either. Just a couple of weeks. And of course, I don’t leave the dogs loose in the house on their own, since I’m always here. 🙂

    in reply to: Need an introduction section. #10495 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hi Dr. Mike,
    I tried to paste a pic and currently, it isn’t supported on the iPad. Just thought you should know. :-}

    in reply to: Let's talk Emu oil… #10434 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Hey Mike P go to gravatar.com, and did you have a gravatar count? I went to gravatar.com and linked it. 🙂

    in reply to: Profile Image #10424 Report Abuse
    Toxed2loss
    Participant

    Checking… 🙂

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