When Scooter entered my life, my entire picture of dog eye health changed. As an older dog with two trips to the local kill shelter, he was also blind and fat. At first, I thought I was taking him to give him a dignified end to his dramatic life. But, after six months, he slimmed down, decided to love me, and blossomed into the little Beagle he is today. Four years later, we have run the gambit of dog ophthalmologists and experts on eye health.

Scooter’s blindness remains a mystery, and he has learned to navigate the world confidently. However, during our numerous visits to specialists, I found many pups with many problems with their eye health. While there isn’t anything that is going to restore my dog’s sight, as the surgery had previously been performed before he landed on my doorstep, I did recognize that there were other conditions that people were trying to resolve in their dogs before they joined Scooter in his dark albeit happy world.

One of the regular visitors to the specialist has a dog named Henri. Henri is a large breed dog with what could be described as perpetual conjunctiva irritation, affecting his ability to keep his eyes open comfortably. This meant that he often walked into and onto things with his eyes closed while trying to find comfort from his problems.

Henri’s owner spent hundreds, maybe even thousands, of dollars on the dog eye experts only to have frustrating results. I found great comfort in the idea that Scooter was not uncomfortable, just blind. But Henri was perpetually in a state of eye distress, so it was time for his human to try a different approach. She eventually turned to try out different holistically based products when the medication didn’t hold a candle to Henri’s needs.

One of the products she discovered was Eye Heal for dogs. This was a naturally balanced eye drop for pets that helped to support the natural health of the conjunctiva. Over the first few days, she told me she wasn’t sure if she saw results or was just so hopeful that she was looking for results that weren’t there. After the first week, however, there was a different story to be told. Henri stopped walking around with his eyes closed, and the inflamed redness of his eyes started to dissipate. His visual accuracy improved, and it didn’t take long before he seemed much more comfortable. Comfort, after all, was the biggest benefit.

It is hard to tell whether a dog’s vision is perfect until they start behaving differently or bumping into things. What I like about Eye Heal is that a dog’s eye health can be maintained rather than just fixed. I will never know why Scooter is blind, and I will never know if it had anything to do with his numerous trips to the kill shelter he found himself in twice. But I do know that dog blindness and dog eye problems can be prevented in some cases with special attention given to the dog’s basic health standards from the time they are young. My dog and now Henri are both physically comfortable in their world. Yet it is amazing that after the time and money spent on professional help, what was helping Henri was a natural remedy that brought him and his human a great deal of peace.

Ten years ago, diabetes in dogs had few natural remedies to counteract the disease’s effects on a dog. Insulin shots and specialized diets were the best you could do unless you knew exactly where to look. Bubba, a little Maltese with canine diabetes, spent his life enduring the injections and dealing with diabetes-related illnesses. Today, there are more options available for diabetic pups, and these natural remedies are showing great promise.

Bubba was eventually humanely euthanized due to complications from his dog’s diabetes. However, dogs today have a greater chance of being healthier and less expensive to care for, thanks to products like GlucoEnsure. This is a supplement specially designed to encourage the pancreas and liver to develop more natural glucose production rhythms and maintain healthier blood sugar levels. By enhancing pancreatic and liver health, there is a reduction in the likelihood of additional complications stemming from dog diabetes.

Bubba was a little champion, and I regret that their weren’t more products like GlucoEnsure on the market when he suffered. His daily regimen included three to five shots per day, tallying up hundreds of dollars per month in medical expenses that could occasionally become a hardship. But when we are faced with a choice between caring for our dogs and not caring for them, we will do anything to ensure they get what they need.

A dog with diabetes requires additional care, and the introduction of supplements that help them balance out their blood sugar, develop healthier immune functions, and gain a better and more balanced heart and circulatory function is a lifesaver. I now know several dogs with diabetes, and their quality is much better than little Bubba’s ever was, thanks to supplements that can help their body respond more naturally to food.

Diabetes in humans has led to greater research. This research has also benefited the canine community as some of the same findings are true for dogs and not just human-related. For example, a couple down the street from me is a family of people with diabetes. The husband, wife, and puppy are battling diabetes, and each has started taking supplements to support their pancreatic and liver function. You can tell just by how the entire brood has evened out their weight and evening walk that the supplements are helping.

When I see them now, I think of Bubba, with can—do attitude and his irrepressible spirit, and I wonder what his life would have been like had these supplements been readily available during his lifetime. After all, we look to our canine companions for so much, and all they hope for in return is a good life next to us. But unfortunately, since we can’t readily explain why they feel the way they do, there is no way to tell if they understand that the shots and their physical state are the best we could do for them at the time. Instead, they smile through it and retain their ability to be happy despite illness.

When I first heard of a dog detox, I had the image of a bunch of dogs lying in rows of beds, shaking and panting, coming off of their tramadol with medical support. It hadn’t occurred to me that you could detoxify a dog the same way you can detoxify yourself. But the more I learned about dog detox, the more I started to grasp its value.

Since both of our dogs were rescued and had lived in some undesirable situations, they might benefit from a doggie detox to help cleanse their liver and digestive systems.

Natural herbal detox supplements for dogs were our first choice because we believe that the closer we can keep our dogs to nature, the happier and healthier they will be. Their bodies are not designed to eat processed foods’ many chemicals and preservatives.

We had just experienced a particularly cold winter, and I had battled a few health problems, so Jeremy and Scooter had packed a few pounds. Despite our ample backyard, the dogs had not exercised enough without their walks. As a result, Jeremy, a normal 90-pound German Shepherd, had increased to 103 pounds. The Beagle, Scooter, had weighed almost 40 pounds when I inherited him, had dropped ten pounds to a normal and healthy weight, and then stacked on another 5 pounds during the winter. While herbal remedies are a very good method of dog detoxification, dogs with similar issues to Jeremy and Scooter should evaluate their diet and exercise before starting any detox program for dogs.

As part of their holistic treatment, we ditched their dry dog food, fed them an organic raw foods diet for a few days, and increased their exercise. In addition, both dogs had holistic dog treatment puppy massages added to their daily regimen to help their bodies release excess toxins and offer them physical comfort. Any holistic treatment plan for dogs should include puppy massage. Finally, after three days of implementing natural cures like the organic diet and massage, we added a dog detox supplement. The herbal remedy we chose was designed to help them cleanse their liver, develop healthier thyroid glands, build a stronger immune system, and improve metabolism while promoting weight loss or gain, depending on the dog’s natural needs.

This was once a natural cure that surprised me. Jeremy and Scooter dropped their excess weight and have kept it off; both dogs are more energetic and have gotten less ill than ever. We continued their holistic puppy massage and have kept providing them with organic foods and their required exercise. I am sure that the holistic treatment provided by their dog detox trimmed several years off their ages. Scooter is more active than ever, and Jeremy has become a full-grown, albeit well-trained puppy once again.

I always assumed that all dogs had bad breath. Why else would dog breath be such a popular first-grade insult? I got my first dog at nineteen. While I was a little young for a dog, my puppy Henry taught me a lot. Including the fact that German Shepherds aren’t supposed to have bad dog breath.

It was also the first time I learned that holistic pet products could benefit dogs. Holistic dog care for oral issues is much healthier than many traditional treatments available through the veterinarian. Bad dog breath isn’t generally a natural trait of any breed, and offering them a good, regular holistic dog breath treatment can benefit them far beyond whether you cringe when they lick your face.

I looked into natural cures for Henry’s dog breath because I was dedicated to doing what was best for him. I had heard that using human mouthwash on dogs can be harmful, especially if you do it regularly. Natural cures for my dog’s bad breath seemed to work. He was a rescued puppy mill dog and seemed to need the extra care that herbal remedies tend to provide. Oral hygiene for dogs does more than clear up the dog’s bad breath. It helps to eliminate germs and bacteria that build up in their mouths.

Growing up, before holistic dog treatments were available, I was under the impression that giving a dog hard food and the occasional chewy bone would be enough to clean their teeth and help maintain reasonable breath. It certainly wasn’t minty fresh, just a brushed kind of breath, but it wasn’t something that would make my gag reflex respond if he got too close to me. Who knew that a dog’s bad breath was a sign of deteriorating oral health and that dogs need oral hygiene to stay healthy? It just wasn’t something that I had ever considered. Thankfully, Henry was patient with my need for education.

I tried some natural cures for the dog’s bad breath that didn’t go over too well. I had read that fresh herbs added to Henry’s dog food were a simple natural cure for a dog’s bad breath. But, of course, an herbal remedy only works if you can get the dog to tolerate it. So, when your pup spits out his dog food and refuses to eat, I call that an herbal remedy failure. This natural cure was derived from the wild animals that instinctively know which wild herbs to ingest when they need medical or dental assistance from Mother Nature. But unfortunately, domesticated puppies and dogs are not wild. Generally, they prefer the taste of dog food (and special dog treats) to the taste of the herbal salad on their usual meal.

Purchasing natural herbal remedies or holistic pet products that equalize the bacterial balance of a dog’s mouth can not only kill off the nasty dog breath aroma we find so offensive but can help keep their mouths free from tooth decay and other oral hygiene problems. Holistic remedies for happy dog breath is a holistic health plan for canine oral hygiene.

The Scoot Man came to me with many health problems, including gum disease. I took in the little blind Beagle because his human couldn’t keep him anymore and a second trip to the Humane League looked like an unhappy death sentence. So I figured I would give the dog a respectable place to die since he seemed so old, overweight, and incredibly unhealthy.

When I took him to the veterinarian to check out his little dog teeth, I was smacked with a significant surprise. The portly puppy had dog gum disease on top of his other problems, and the treatment, removal of three teeth, blood work, and a good firm cleaning were going to total between $1400 and $1800. Sometimes it takes a good vet bill to remember the value of natural cures for dogs!

The holistic treatment seemed like a much more humane and affordable path to travel down since they gave the Scoots a 50/50 chance of surviving surgery. Holistic dog health cures seriously gave my dog a 100% chance of survival. I wanted to at least cure his dog’s gum disease before attacking the tooth problem and the cleaning.

Even for an older dog, this little Beagle seemed to have many health problems, and tooth decay was just one more health problem he didn’t need. Tooth decay in dogs can lead to a diminished immune system, heart attacks, and strokes, just like in humans. I’ll admit I sold the dog short, believing he wouldn’t make it another six months in his condition. It seemed like an awful lot to put into a dog with one paw in the grave and another dragging him in a little further. But I had at least promised him he could come live with me and die with dignity. Instead, he was in really bad shape and, quite frankly, didn’t seem to want to live. Dog gum disease was just another notch on his overwhelming belt of pup health problems.

A few amazing things happened that month. First, the Scooter had been with me for about two months, being treated holistically for all kinds of health complications. So treating his dog’s gum disease with a holistic pet product seemed like another good way to manage his health kindly. A good holistic treatment for dog gum disease will help bolster the immune system, give them a little extra nutrition to help build up their bones and teeth, and offer healthy gums. By the end of the first month, Scooter’s little dog mouth improved a great deal. In the end, he only lost one tooth, and his dog’s gum disease was effectively treated with a good holistic pet product that met all my criteria.

During that month, he learned how to go for a walk and eat a healthy diet, and the miracle of all miracles, he decided to accept me as his human. I should even dare say he loved me. I don’t know if the holistic health treatments for dogs helped him discover his will to live, but three years after promising I would give him a place to die with dignity, I see several more good years in his future. They said he was eight when he came to me. He seemed older then than he does now. Holistic pet products and treating his dog’s gum disease with holistic remedies made a huge difference in the life of a little Beagle who seemed to have lost faith in the human species. At the end of that month, I saw him flash a little doggie smile.

• Make sure your dog is getting the proper exercise. We hear all the time about a healthy diet and regular exercise helping our health – it helps your dog’s too.
• Dogs explore the world with their mouths. Please encourage them to chew on their toys instead of available electrical cords or other dangerous household items.
• Your dog is your pet, not the bacteria or parasites that prey on them. Please keep your dog clean by brushing their coat and teeth and keeping their areas clean.
• Don’t over-bathe your dog. Dogs only need baths when their coat becomes soiled. So even if your dog lives indoors, you should only bathe them every few weeks. Also, remember that a dog’s skin is much more sensitive than a person’s. Human shampoos remove essential oils from their skin. Instead, use a shampoo that is formulated for dogs.
• Avoid giving your dog chew toys that can be swallowed. There have been cases of intestinal problems from many of the chew products that claim to be digestible.
• Never leave your dog unattended, parked car. Dogs can be stolen from unattended vehicles, and we hear stories on the news every summer about dogs that have been left in parked cars in the Phoenix heat and they dehydrate or die.
• A dog should always have access to shade and clean water. We strongly recommend against keeping a dog outside in the Phoenix summer.
• Pay attention to the plants you put in your yard or bring into your house. Many can be harmful to your dog. See our list of common yet harmful plants below.
• Keep your dog’s ears clean. A healthy ear will be pinkish-grey in color and will not have any odor. Check them regularly for ear mites and ear infections. If their ears don’t look or smell right, consult your veterinarian.
• If you have a large dog, talk to your vet and read up on gastric torsion, commonly known as “bloat.” Never let your dog run and play immediately after eating. Also, keep them from drinking water for 30 minutes after they eat. Instead, a dog should rest and let his food digest immediately after he eats.
• Never overfeed your dog. A puppy can eat three times a day, but an adult dog should only eat twice daily. Read the label on your dog food for your dog’s recommended serving size. Overfeeding can lead to obesity, hurting your dog’s quality of life and ultimately shortening his lifespan.
• Control fleas and ticks on your dog. Many quality products are sold in pet stores, or talk to your vet about your options for dealing with this problem.
• Secure the lids of your indoor and outdoor trash cans, or make sure the cans are behind closed doors. We throw away many things that can tempt your dog but could seriously harm them.
• We feel better when we have just taken a nice shower and are clean. Dogs are very similar. Regular grooming, including brushing their hair and clipping their nails, is needed for every dog. Learn the grooming needs of your breed.
• Walking your dog during a Phoenix summer can be a challenge. The hot asphalt can burn their feet, and the hot temperatures can cause dehydration.

Nutrition Tips For Your Dog

We receive many requests from our clients to recommend safe, healthy food and treats for their dogs. Food is the most important factor for your dog’s good health. Unfortunately, we don’t recommend any dog foods for sale in retail stores.

Any food that is for sale in a retail location is going to contain chemical preservatives. The food needs to be shipped and stored in a warehouse, and then it will sit on a store shelf for a prolonged period. Because of this, the manufacturer needs to include the preservatives.

By law, meat by-products in dog food do not include hair, horns, teeth, hooves, feathers, or manure. Instead, they include organs, including the lungs, spleen, intestines, brains, kidneys, and liver, and in the case of chicken, by-products will include the head (including the beaks) and feet.

Dog food companies can also use wheat and soy to increase the protein percentage listed on the packaging, but these fillers are not digestible for a dog. The fillers just become more waste in your yard.

The only commercial dog food we feel comfortable recommending is life’s The Abundance of dog food. It is not available in stores, but you can purchase it online at www.LifesAbundanceDogFood.co. Life’s Dr. Jane Bicks developed Abundance, a nationally renowned product formulator and holistic veterinarian.

Human-grade chicken meal is the primary ingredient in Life’s Abundance. It also contains egg, one of the more digestible forms of protein, and it is full of vitamins A, B, E, and K, biotin, and amino acids. It also has a fish meal, which is high in Omega-3 fatty acids, which are wonderful for your dog’s skin and coat.

Life’s Abundance contains no steroids, no hormones, no by-products, no artificial colorings, no corn, no wheat, no soy, and no chemical preservatives. Your dog’s food will be delivered fresh and is guaranteed to be at most six months old. They use only fresh, natural, wholesome ingredients.

Life’s Abundance is the only food we’re aware of that uses probiotics (friendly bacteria) for a healthy digestive tract. It also contains lactobacillus acidophilus to help maintain a balance of friendly bacteria in your dog’s intestines.

Take their pet food challenge and compare Life’s Abundance to your dog’s food.

One of the many health problems Scooter came to me with included skin allergies. When this little Beagle got on a scratching binge, it sounded like a small helicopter was taking off in the next room as the thump thump thump of his hind leg hit the floor at record speed. Being a blind dog with skin allergies, sometimes he would drop wherever he was to scratch his itch.

That might mean he landed on a random piece of another dog. It also might mean he landed on a pile of puppy doo in the backyard. Of course, bathing Scooter every time he misjudged his crash landing was not an effective natural cure for the dog’s skin allergies. Too many baths can make a dog’s skin allergies much worse. Of course, being covered in dog doo was liable to worsen his self-image, along with downgrading his cute and cuddly factor.

As part of my search for a holistic remedy for Scooter’s skin allergies, I spent nearly $100 on a specialized set of oatmeal-based natural allergy cure shampoo and conditioner. That was about three years ago, and those bottles are sitting in my linen closet more than half full. That was perhaps one of the worst homeopathic dog cures I have ever purchased. 

Holistic dog remedies work. The trick is finding a real holistic pet product line that has a proven track record and is made from all-natural ingredients. Once you find a holistic pet product line that you can trust, you’re pretty much golden. Not all-natural cures for dogs are all-natural. Not all of them are cures, for that matter. Take the time to read product reviews and testimonials before spending an obscene amount on natural skin allergy cures for your dogs. 

I knew I was going about finding Scooter a holistic remedy in the most unhelpful way. I knew that giving him additional baths was irritating his sensitive skin, yet I relied on herbal remedies that required bathing to help him. I needed a holistic treatment for dogs that he could ingest, the way humans rely on the traditional Benadryl for allergy relief. By the way, despite what some people believe, giving Benadryl to a dog can be a really bad idea. Human products are not always so good for humans and are not good for pets. Go for holistic pet treatments rather than human medications.

An ingestible herbal remedy for dog allergies helped Scooter leap over another one of his health hurdles. The helicopter take-offs eased, and he stopped crash landing in random piles that required more bathing. I dare say that finding the right ingestible holistic health treatment for Scooter’s allergies may have helped out his little self-esteem since he wasn’t chronically turning his stomach with his crash-landing aroma. In addition, the right dog, a holistic health product for dog allergies, helps to ease the frantic itching, stop the boisterous and goal-oriented scratching, and help calm the dog for some much-needed rest and relaxation.

Amazingly, a dog can have an ear infection, and their human can be oblivious to it for quite some time. I called Jeremy onto the bed a few weeks ago for a little snuggle session. Like all dogs, he loves his ears rubbed. Even though Jeremy is full blooded German Shepherd, his ears stand at half-mast, giving him just enough flap to cover his ear canal and trap all kinds of little ‘collectibles.’

This time a good thorough rub of the ears led to a huge yelp and actual ooze that came out of his ear and landed on my finger as though I had accidentally popped a big zit in his ear. Ugh! He had been swimming in the bay the week before, and we failed to clean his half-masted ears well enough when he was done.

Dog ear infections can be treated with holistic pet products and natural cures. A dog with floppy ears, or Jeremy-like ears, is more prone to developing ear infections, and natural remedies can be given as a holistic treatment and natural prevention. Before administering a holistic pet treatment for a dog ear infection, it is highly recommended that you clean the ear gently but thoroughly with a natural, holistic ear wash product.

Cleaning the ears with a holistic pet product helps eliminate bacteria, fungus, and in some rare cases, viruses. Part of finding a natural cure for dog ear infections is finding a holistic treatment that will cleanse the ear and prepare it for healing. For example, use a cotton ball, so you do not clog the dog’s ears with liquid and make hearing difficult.

A holistic ear treatment for dog ear infections should be soothing and healing. Voiding the area of bacteria won’t do you or your dog much good if he insists on sticking his dirty foot in his ear every two minutes. A natural cure for dog ear infections that can alleviate the general discomfort of a puppy ear infection gives the ear canal a much greater chance of healing without further incident.

Dogs rely on their hearing to help monitor their surroundings. Rescue dogs like Jeremy often listen to their surroundings for signs of potential threats. Unfortunately, ear infections and thick or messy creams prescribed by traditional veterinarians can block the dog’s ability to hear clearly.

Most holistic pet products suitable for ear infections for dogs or puppies can be ordered for dual-purpose treatment. Initially, you want to use a natural remedy to clear the ear infection. Then, the same natural remedy should also help act as a preventative agent, especially for dogs who can’t seem to stay out of bay water or dogs with ears that flop over. Dogs that can’t keep out of the bay water and have floppy ears should never go without a holistic remedy for ear infections and the prevention of infections.

Fortunately, I am happy to report that since we started our holistic preventative regimen with Jeremy, the bay water has yet to infect his half-masted ears again.

Dealing with a constipated dog is a real issue. Even occasional puppy constipation problems can be painful and affect house training, even in house-broken dogs. My little blind beagle has spent many days suffering from constipation. With all his might, Scooter would stay stuck in the crouched position for twenty to thirty minutes, working on doing his ‘business.’ You can tell that your constipated dog is uncomfortable and confused. His body is telling him to eliminate, but his bowels won’t do the (big) job!

Even though I generally prefer holistic pet treatments for my dog, I allowed the vet to prescribe medication for his puppy constipation. As if I needed a reason to remember my preference for Scooter’s treatments from the holistic veterinarian, he almost immediately showed signs of suffering from unpleasant side effects. Aside from drinking to the point of vomiting, the next morning, he delivered stools so loose that he practically camped outside all day.

He repeated his performance the day after that, even though I had taken him off the medication offered by the vet. While he camped out in the backyard looking small, pathetic, and not feeling very well, I searched for holistic veterinary supplies and natural dog remedies. Finally, as he continued to appall our other dog with the mess he was making all over the backyard, I found a natural dog remedy for constipation.

Holistic dog treatments can offer digs relief from their physical conditions without the stress of medications. While I certainly still play it safe when a new symptom comes up and usher Scooter off to the vet to make sure the symptom is as it appears to be, every time I go that route, I notice that my dog has issues with the trip, the tests, or the medications. By now, I could have learned to go with holistic dog treatments instead of in conjunction with veterinarian visits, depending on the symptom. Holistic puppy treatments make a lot more sense for dog constipation than he tends to get from time to time.

The morning of day three met Scooter with another round of puppy constipation. Natural cures for dog constipation are tolerated much better by pups of all ages because instead of hitting their digestive tract with another foreign entity, you are introducing a naturally occurring enzyme to increase their ability to recover. So, in addition to a natural remedy for Scooter’s dog constipation, I added some holistic remedies and common sense approaches to helping his little digestive system recover.

We exchanged several shorter walks during the day rather than one long evening walk to help his digestive tract come to life. Twice weekly, I added just a touch of natural olive oil to his food which not only help digestive health but is a good additive for shiny coats. Of course, the natural remedy for dog constipation was most helpful. Once again, he proved to me that natural cures for dog remedies are much more beneficial overall than medications that cause unhappy side effects.