How do I give herbs to my pets?

It's been often asked of me, "How do I get my dog to take these herbs?" You can open the capsules and mix them into the food or you can hide the capsule in a treat that your dog will swallow whole. Use only as much food as the dog will definitely finish. Make it a small serving and make sure your dog is hungry. After s/he has finished that serving, you can follow-up with more food.

Baby foods are also an option. You can mix the herbs with peanut butter (I suggest a natural peanut butter that does not contain sugar). Mix the herbs and peanut butter together and then stick it to the roof of the dog's mouth. As the dog licks the peanut butter off the roof of the mouth, it will melt and he'll swallow the herbs with it.

To pill a dog: have the dog sit down and tilt the dog's head back. Lift the lips away from the teeth, hold the upper jaw by the gums directly behind the canine teeth, and gently push down on the lower jaw with your other hand to open the mouth. Place the pill in the very back of the throat, close the mouth and keep it shut. Stroke your dog's throat softly until the pill is swallowed.

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Holistic Pet Care

I get asked quite often, “What do you mean you take care of your dog holistically?" When you take care of your pets holistically, it’s not just giving them a handful of supplements and thinking that they will magically cure a problem. Holistic care means looking at the “whole pet” and that includes diet, nutritional supplements, preventive care, controlling parasites and exercise.

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Calm Down!

We have had KaeJae also known as the KaeJae Monster, for about 6 months now. I have learned a lot about how to keep a hyper dog calm! A book that was so helpful to me is "Click to Calm". We also spent 6 weeks in clicker training class and I am happy to say that KaeJae passed!

If you are one of the lucky pet owners who own a hyper or aggressive dog, you are not alone! Many times, very active dogs are breed specific and sometimes it is individual to the dog and can be due to a number of factors. Poor breeding has fostered such issues as viciousness, epilepsy, obsessive behaviors and other signs of imbalance in a dog’s nervous system.

Dr. Pitcairn states in his book Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats p 184-186 “…It is my impression that many behavior problems have their roots in one or more of the following: poor nutrition and associated toxicity; inadequate exercise, insufficient psychological stimulation and attention; and the influence of the owner’s personality patterns, expectations or conditioning.” He recommends taking the hyper animal off of commercial pet food and any food that contains artificial preservatives and additives. He further suggests providing a vitamin supplement that is rich in vitamin B complex. He further suggests the addition of cod liver oil. He recommends the following herbs: Skullcap, Valerian, Chamomile, and Blue Vervain Dr. Pitcairn suggests a 7-day trial with a selected herb and look for a good response, if you don’t get one, try another until you find one that works for your individual dog.

Mary Wulff-Tilford states in her book, All you ever wanted to know about Herbs for Pets page 260-261,: “Our approach…begins with changing the animal’s diet and supplementing it with a complement of vitamins, minerals and EFAs. If this does not effect a positive change, the animal should be checked by a veterinarian for underlying physiological disorders…. In all chronic cases, the sedative herbs should be limited to temporary control of symptoms during times of added stress…”

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