My Dog Has a Tick! Help!

This morning after going outside to do her business, Katya came inside and jumped up on the chaise longue covered with a cotton throw  in the master bedroom. Valentina’s favorite place to nap is on our throw-covered sofa in the livingroom, but she has no desire to jump up on the chaise. She lies down on the orthopedic dog bed right next to the chaise, though, while Katya lies down on the chaise itself. Because they are not allowed on our beds that are too high anyway, Tom or I usually sit on the chaise and pet and talk to the pupsters in the morning. While petting Katya, I discovered what first looked like a tiny skin tag on her shoulder. It bobbed back and forth from its point of connection with her skin, and it appeared to be soft, just like a skin tag would be. I showed it to Tom, and he was sure it was a tick. The little tick had a soft little belly that was filling with blood.  Katya is definitely an outdoor dog. She would rather go into the yard and explore, sniffing everything, and rolling on the grass, so she is much more prone to getting a tick than Valentina. At four years old, Valentina still loves to explore outdoors a bit, but she also loves to stand or lie on one of the cushions on the terrace and peruse her kingdom below. In Mexico, although we only own one house and its surrounding lot, that “kingdom” appears to be huge as it includes an expansive view of the lake, and all that lies below our terrace. She watches the white egrets fly towards the lake's edge in the morning and back towards the mountain in the evening. She can see the small fishing boats as they move along the water’s surface all day. In the winter months she can see the white pelicans as they cross the lake on their way to the other side, as well as the many-colored songbirds as they perch in the trees, wearing their electric red, or neon yellow, or pearlescent green feathered outfits. She can hear the burros braying, the roosters crowing, dogs barking, various noises from the village below, and the gardeners walking on their way to and from work in the morning and evening.

 

The usual suggestion for removing a tick includes readying the following items:

• Gloves
• Tweezers
• Latex or rubber gloves
• Rubbing alcohol
• Antiseptic wipes
• Jar or container with lid

Frequently, articles will recommend using pointed tweezers. I disagree. (Disclaimer: However, I am not a vet.) Because I make jewelry, I have various tweezers.  I brought all of my tweezers to Tom and asked which he thought were best. He agreed that a special pair of tweezers would work best: tweezers with little rounded cup ends that would normally be used to cup and hold a round bead. He was right: the tweezers would firmly hold the tick and would also be less likely to puncture the dog’s skin. He also felt it would hold the heat more effectively.

 

Katya immediately figured out that something was awry, and began to get fidgety. Tom sat with her on the chaise and tried to calm her down, while I heated the ends of the tweezers on the stove. As soon as they were red hot, I quickly walked to the bedroom and grabbed the little critter with the tweezers. The tick backed out easily and quickly. Ticks can carry diseases that can be transmitted to humans. My mistakes were: I didn’t wear gloves, and I didn’t save the tick in a little jar of alcohol. I put it on a Kleenex and, following our inspection of it, quickly flushed it down the toilet. I now understand it’s best to save the tick in alcohol because if your pet starts demonstrating signs of an infection (lethargy, swollen lymph glands, fever, loss of appetite, etc.) it is recommended to take the dog to the vet as well as to show the tick to the vet.  Articles recommend pulling the tick straight back without twisting or turning the tick to avoid a part of the tick breaking off. The articles I read did not suggest heating the end of the tweezers, but I had heard  and had used that method before.  When grasped with a hot pair of tweezers, the tick usually will disengage from the skin just to get away from the heat source. The tick came out very easily, and as far as I could tell, and upon examination by Tom, the entire tick body had come out in the tweezers. He was a little guy, but it was obvious he was no skin tag. The tweezers never touched Katya’s skin. I rubbed the area with Neosporin to protect it from infection, and I added a tablespoon of ionic colloidal silver to their two water bowls, and also rubbed a colloidal silver gel on the tick puncture site to help guard against infection. (A lot of articles recommend alcohol for disinfecting the area.) If you are interested in buying the tweezers, Amazon sells several. (You might do a search for jewelry-making tweezers, round end, bead holding). Any craft store with beading supplies most likely has them, too. There are also several tick removal tools on the market, available at pet stores and on Amazon.

In my opinion, the goal is to remove the tick safely and painlessly. Katya was tickless in a moment, and didn’t even notice that anything had been done. As soon as the tick was grasped by the heated ends of the tweezer it released its grasp...and Katya was free! We will watch her for any signs of tick-born disease.

Substances That Scare Me, Part II: Canola Oil

·         It’s cheap (VERY). It has been used as a machine lubricant and as fuel in diesel fuel. It has been used as a pesticide and has been registered with the EPA as such. The plant it comes from from has caused fibrotic heart tissue and blindness and death in cows. Two studies with baby pigs resulted in dead piglets.

·         And… if you eat food prepared by someone else (as in restaurant or processed food), IT IS MOST LIKELY IN YOUR FOOD as well as in the ingredient list for most of the recipes in “healthy” cookbooks!

·         It’s used in a great deal of restaurants. It’s in most processed foods. (Note: Processed is usually defined as more than one ingredient in the product.) IT’S IN DOG FOOD (even vegan ones!)

 That can’t be true! Can it? Maybe this happens in other countries, but not in America.  Can an industry that makes food addictive by adding enormous quantities of salt, sugar and fat, loads it with cheese (now believed to have an opioid-like substance that is addictive), cheapens ingredients to increase the profit margin, adds chemical taste enhancers to fool the taste buds, be so thoughtless regarding the health of the American consumer? Certainly the American Food and Drug Administration would be vigilant in keeping the American consumer safe from all dangerous ingredients!

 This year (2017) I hit the 40-year mark as a vegan, and I am alarmed to find out what is “sold” to the American public as “safe” or even “healthy”. And then, who do you trust? Personally, I read every ingredient list… and that still does not safeguard me against all that is unhealthy.

If you do an internet search for “Canola Oil”, you may not find anything negative about it until the fourth or fifth  page. Those first pages are filled with positive propaganda and “official reports” about Canola Oil. Worse yet, it is advertised as a healthy alternative and a way to reduce weight and belly fat.  (Did you know that there are entire companies that for a fee do nothing more than push negative search entries about your company, or product several pages down the line, so most people will never see them?)

 A little bit further down the search entry “line”, you will find entries such as “Canola Oil Report” or “The Dangers of Canola Oil” or “The Facts about Canola Oil”, that tell a much different  story. From these articles you begin to understand how the expression “follow the money” plays a big part in understanding why you must be personally responsible for your own health. 

Canola oil is one of Canada’s chief export products. According to Dr. Rich Easterling, and other sources, the Canadian Government paid $50 million dollars to the U.S. Federal Food and Drug Administration to have canola oil recognized as GRAS. (Generally Regarded As Safe). “Animal studies showed fatty degeneration of the heart, kidneys, and endocrine glands. When canola oil was withheld, the deposits were shown to dissolve. The scar tissue, however remained on all the vital organs.” Chapter 20, "Erucic Acid: Toxic or Beneficial?" Location 2775, Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill, Udo Erasmus.

You will learn that there is no such thing as a Canola plant. Canola oil comes from a hybridized form of the rapeseed plant. Now, over 80% of canola oil comes from genetically altered rapeseed.  It cannot be labeled, certified, or called organic.₁ And yet, all the time I see bottles of “organic Canola oil” as well as products that contain Canola oil labeled as “organic” on the health store shelves.

"Food produces have learned from years of experience that if they present a poor quality food as healthy, it will become a best seller. That is the situation with canola oil. The truth is that canola oil is not a healthy oil. In fact, it is one of the unhealthiest oils you could ever eat and you should avoid anything and everything that contains it." (Dr. Bruce Fife, "Canola Oil, Good or Bad?")

Food grade Canola oil must be deodorized to remove the “terrible stink”. To do this it must be heated to at least 300 degrees F which would destroy any Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s). When EFA’s are heated to a high temperature they are transformed into trans- fatty acids. Enzymes are destroyed at about 118 degrees F.

 The original, unhybridized, unaltered  rapeseed plant contained at least 50% erucic acid. "Erucic acid is highly toxic to the heart and promotes heart failure." (Dr. Bruce Fife, "Canola Oil, Good or Bad?") Canola oil has been engineered to contain less of this toxic substance – 2%. (What worries me is that it still contains ANY erucic acid. Logic tells me that if I’m given poison at 50% of a lethal dose, that, if continually repeated over time, it will just take double the time to kill me.) Erucic acid is a long-chain fatty acid which has been associated with fibrotic heart tissue. A 1996 Japanese study and a second study (published in Nutrition Research, 1997, v17), verified that piglets given Canola oil became dangerously depleted of Vitamin E and died.

“Food grade” rapeseed oil (canola oil) is not entirely erucic acid-free. It is illegal to sell rapeseed oil for human consumption if it contains more than 2 percent erucic acid by weight in the USA and more than 5 percent in Europe. Although most of the erucic acid has been removed, would you want to eat an oil that contains even a small amount of a toxin that attacks the heart? Studies have shown that even as little as 2 percent can have detrimental effects on the heart and circulatory system. This is one of the reasons why canola oil is not allowed as an ingredient in baby food. It is also not recommended for breastfeeding mothers because erucic acid is deposited in the mother’s milk fat. If canola oil is not good for babies, why would it be any better for adults?" (Dr. Bruce Fife, "Is Canola Oil Healthy?"  
  

 Although there have been studies carefully crafted by the Canola industry, independent empirical research studies on humans are limited. This would, permit the medical industrial complex to say truthfully, “there have been no studies on humans that show the toxicity of Canola oil.” Why? Because there have been no research studies on humans AT ALL!

 It’s important to note that Dr. Richard Easterling says that the effects of rapeseed are cumulative and take almost 10 years to manifest.  Dr. Easterling lists the following as directly or indirectly caused symptoms of Canola oil consumption:

·         COPD

·         Blindness in humans and animals

·         Anemia

·         Irritability

·         Constipation

·         Lung cancer

 According to the June 7^th, 1995 issue of Wall Street Journal, symptoms include :

·         Loss of vision

·         Disruption of the Nervous System

·         Respiratory illness

·         Anemia

·         Heart Disease

·         Cancer

·         Low birth weights

·         Irritability in Adults

 Canola oil is registered with the EPA as a pesticide.

 I was horrified to find out that my favorite vegetarian/vegan restaurant in Austin uses canola oil in my favorite salad dressing, as evidenced in the ingredient list in their bottled salad dressing sold at the health food store. (I made the mistake of blindly trusting that they would make the healthy choice.)

 After reading Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s books,  Eat to Live, The End of Heart Disease, Super Immunity,etc. as well as T. Colin Campbell’s book, Whole, among others,  I have learned that any food in its extracted form is not healthy.  We should all be getting our fats from whole sources, like raw cashews, avocadoes, etc. as mentioned in Dr. Fuhrman’s books. (Dr. Fuhrman recommends “frying” food with water,  as does Udo Erasmus who says the best oil to cook with is water..)

“Oils, like other processed foods, have their fibers and most nutrients removed, are weight promoting, and do not have the health benefits of seeds and nuts. In fact, a recent study compared a traditional Mediterranean diet with one that substituted nuts for the oil and found that the atherosclerotic plaque regressed only in the diet containing the nuts; it did not regress in the control diet or oil-heavy Mediterranean diet.

“You will find that in the Nutritarian program the delicious texture and flavor of whole nuts and seeds are used to make dressings and sauces that taste even better than oil-based dressings and sauces. Best of all, the result is superior health.” (p. 149, Fuhrman, Dr. Joel, The End of Heart Disease)

 I love and treasure our two animal companions, and would not ever want to do anything that would jeopardize their health. Why, then would I ever feed them a product that contains canola oil? Why would I myself ever want to eat anything with canola oil? For now, I will continue to make my own dog food (and my own human food!). It will never contain Canola oil.

I am not a doctor, or a scientist, or a nutritionist, or a health care professional. I can only share my personal opinion formed on the basis of my internet and book searches. I do, however believe that my health is my own responsibility which I should entrust to no one, and what I am reading and hearing about Canola oil frightens me enough to stay far away from it.  I’ve lived long enough to know that what is purported to be perfectly safe by the powers-that-be may, in fact, be very dangerous :

(Thalidomide? Vioxx?, DES? See “35 FDA-Approved Prescription Drugs Later Pulled from the Market”, http://prescriptiondrugs.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=005528  )

Also, watch drug ads on MSNBC, followed by lawyers’ ads for Class Action Suits for the same drugs.)

 

I  have also lived long enough to know that when two substances are produced by two competing industries, they will try to discredit each other. (I remember that coconut oil and palm oil, among other food substances, were purported to be VERY bad for your health by the competing soy oil industry.): http://www.thealternativedaily.com/soybean-oil-vs-coconut-oil/  Then there was the demonizing  and discrediting of the experts who dared to bring the truth to light about the dangers of substances that were making  corporations a great deal of profit. (Among many others, “Dangers of Aspartame” Woodrow Monte, http://thetruthaboutstuff.com/ and more recently, Tom Valentine, Canola Oil )

 Below, you will find a few references I have found in my search for the truth about canola oil.

 “Stop Using Canola Oil Immediately”, Dr. Josh Axe,

http://druglessdoctor.com/wp2015/wp-content/uploads/Stop-Using-Canola-Oil-Immediately.pdf

 “The Facts About Canola Oil”, David Lawrence Dewey,  October 10, 1997 (Updated  February 21, 2001, February 22, 2010, May 5, 2010) www.dldewey.com/columns/canola.htm

 “Canola Oil”, Dr. Rich Easterling, Oct. 29, 2012, www.realpurity.com/blog/canola-oil/

"Is Canola Oil Healthy?" Dr. Bruce Fife, http://www.fertilegroundwellnesscenter.com/images/IsCanolaOilHealthy.pdf 

 Fats that Heal and Fats That Kill, Udo Erasmus

 “Canola Oil: Is It Healthy?”  Bruce Fife, N.D., Wellbeing Journal Vol. 21, No. 6, November/December 2012

"Canola Oil: Good or Bad?, Bruce Fife, Dr. http://www.jctonic.com/include/healingcrisis/21canola_oil.htm  

 “Canola Oil Report - The Straight Dope on Canola Oil – HBC”  www.customers.hbci.com/~wenonah/new/canola.htm

 “Oil of Olé”  (http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/canola.asp )

Canine Anal Impaction Emergency. . . Say What?!!!

We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas 2016, and New Year’s 2017 in Mexico this year, and Valentina came up with a health challenge that I had no experience with: one of her anal glands was impacted.  When I let her out to do her business, I noticed from a distance that she had something red close to her anus.  On closer examination, it looked like a little red balloon ready to burst.  I took to the internet immediately and it was not too difficult to discover that anal impaction was not rare in dogs.  Most of the resources cautioned that if the gland burst, it could be more serious, and, it could become infected.  I acted fast and started putting warm compresses of salt water on the area. The swelling went down only a little, but it was not responding very well to the treatment.  I began to think that I needed to get her in to our local vet.  I went back to the internet and happened upon a veterinarian’s site that said everyone needs to know how to treat an anal impaction.  Apparently they are quite common. She said that two things are vital if you have a dog with an anal impaction: Epsom salts and homeopathic Silicea 6X. I found the homeopathic remedy immediately. Like Europe, Mexico has always been very supportive of alternative therapies. There are numerous homeopathic stores in the Lake Chapala area.  The Epsom salts were a little more difficult to find. The dictionary translates Epsom salts as “epsomitas”. That didn’t work. So, I translated what Epsom salts really are – magnesium sulfate.  After going to about three pharmacies, I finally got results with my new translation: “sulfato de magnesio”. The package, however, contained only about 2 tablespoons.   The pharmacist only knew Epsom salts for internal, gastrointestinal treatment, so you can understand why   I got a strange reaction when I asked them for all they had – about 10 little triangular-shaped  packages. When I explained I wanted them for warm compresses for my dog, they were less worried. I explained that Epsom salts could also be used  for warm compresses as well as to soak tired feet after a long day’s work.  The pharmacist got a dreamy look on her face, imagining how luxurious that might feel,   and said in Spanish, “Oh. That must be wonderful.  I’m going to get some for my feet.  They really hurt by the end of the day.”

Finally after a few more stops at other pharmacies, my husband suggested that I stop at a pharmacy located in an area where there are a lot of Americans.  He was right. I was able to get a package of 250 grams.

How did it work out? It was nothing less than miraculous. I started with the treatment of warm compresses (using clean terry cloth rags dipped in warm water with Epsom salt) on the anal gland, and with the Silicea 6X  as soon as I got the first packages of Epsom salts. As instructed by the lady at the homeopathic store, Valentina   got 3 Silicea 6X tablets ground to powder between 2 spoons, poured on her tongue,  three times a day and several  (at least 5 to 6) warm compress treatments of 5 to 10 minutes each per day.  The next day, a lady at the Ajijic Tuesday organic market who sells extracts and sprouted legumes suggested I add some Calendula extract to the warm Epsom salt water to help soothe the area.  The little taut red balloon on her butt went away in a day and a half! It took a little longer for the skin to completely return to normal texture, and I followed the internet advice of the veterinarian and continued the compresses and the silicea for two weeks.  I also put 2 tablespoons of colloidal silver in each of their water bowls every day  to help with any infection that may have occurred.   I was just about out of colloidal silver and stopped in at Dr. Garcia’s office, a local homeopathic-naturopathic doctor just down the street from the organic market to get some more. (It’s very good quality and made in Guadalajara, Mexico, by the way!)  He mentioned that homeopathic treatments work very well on dogs, and other animals, and suggested another treatment which would prevent further anal impaction in the future.

Further research of silicea, also known as silica, taught me that it is useful, among other things for treating  abcesses, boils, swollen glands, helping the body to push out the toxins.  It is helpful with abcessed teeth.  Silica is the most common element in the earth. It is present in our bodies, and helps with formation of bone, hair and nails.

Problem solved.

So far, Valentina has been anal impaction-free.

To Crate or Not to Crate

We started out with a nylon crate with both Valentina and Katya.  The first crate that my husband ordered  for Katya was too small, eventually. I found and ordered a jumbo-sized crate from Amazon when it was obvious the smaller one would no longer work for Katya.  We moved the smaller one downstairs, and used it for keeping Katya safe and out of mischief when we both left the house. Katya determined when she would no longer be crated downstairs by ripping out the main "screen door" in the crate.  A few weeks ago, we decided to stop crating Katya at night. We left the crate in the bedroom, with the screen up. The first night that Katya was allowed to be free, she quietly stayed on one of the dog beds in the bedroom, almost as if she thought she was getting away with something. We did have a couple of accidents. A couple of nights she got up, forgot to come over to the bed to let us know that she had to go out, wandered downstairs, got flustered when no one answered the bell, and peepeed or poopeed on the tile floor close to the door. But, that's all in the learning curve -- she is doing very well during the day, and we feel we just have to give her a little leeway while growing and learning her body system. We have a strip of jingle bells on the door with a small bell attached at the bottom of the strip. We thought that perhaps she got downstairs, did ring the bell, but we didn't hear her while we were sleeping upstairs. Enter, the brainchild of my husband.  He ordered a baby monitor from Amazon, set it up at the back door downstairs and by the side of our bed. It was pure genius -- not only can you hear the bells ring, you can hear every lap of water from the water bowl, AND you can even hear Katya scratching at the outside of the door to get in.  Problem solved.  I've read all the positive information about crating dogs, but I still don't buy it. I'm sure it really depends on the personality of the dog. Great Danes are extremely intelligent, and if left in boring environments, they can go looney. One person told us that his son and daughter-in-law had a Great Dane that destroyed the entire set of backyard furniture. I asked if the dog was left alone most of the day and night, and the answer was "yes." I've seen description of constructions of Great Dane-sized crates, (essentially chain-link fence inside of a laundry room) and I find it a little ridiculous. I do understand that many people work jobs that keep them away from home for 8 to 10 hours a day. When I had my first 2 Danes, I worked (taught school) only 5 blocks away, so I could rush home to check on the Dane and Dalmation during lunch. I did give them the run of the back yard during good weather conditions.  They had a dog house and lots of trees for shade. This was in Arizona, but even in Arizona, it can be cold a few weeks in the winter and very hot in the summer, so they were inside the house in extremes of weather. I have retired from school teaching in secondary education and higher education, and I work on my writing from home, so the dogs stay inside with me most of the time. Great Danes are very sensitive to temperature extremes. I know they are big guys, but they are not built for the cold, or for hot extremes. I'm not sure if I would have gotten a Dane if I had worked away from home, and were unable to go home at lunch. I know what is said about a dog crate being a protective cave for the dog.  We leave the jumbo crate in the bedroom, but Katya never sleeps in it now that we don't zip her in. (We plan to continue using the jumbo crate in the hotel for a while when we travel. Last trip we had the crate set up in the van for the actual drive as well as in the hotel, but next time we will not set up the crate in the car, and will use it only in the hotel.)  We have dog beds (lots!) in the bedroom, but the pupsters' favorites are two large dog beds placed in a line against the wall, separated with a  king-sized pillow  and rimmed with pillows on 3 sides, against the wall, used as bolster pillows. Valentina still grumbles at Katya if she tries to sit on her or jump on her while she is sleeping, but she never grumbles about Katya's company in the adjacent dog bed. They have become regular buddies.

Doggy Dental Challenge Averted with Colloidal Silver and Manuka Honey (UMF 20+)

I noticed that Valentina had become grumpy lately, and she seemed to not have as much energy as usual. Vet exams showed that she was okay, but I sensed something was amiss.  Checking her teeth, I noticed some tartar that was not too bad, but then noticed a dark spot at the gum and top of the upper right canine tooth. She also had bad breath. I've heard several horror stories about canine dental cleanings. A very sweet couple that brings their two Great Danes at the dog park told me the story of the death of their previous Great Dane who was healthy, went in for a dental cleaning, was given no antibiotic in advance, and became deathly ill from all the bacteria released into his body at the time of cleaning. The vet started the dog on antibiotics later, but the infection had advanced too far, and the dog died FROM THE DENTAL CLEANING! I was determined to avoid anything of the sort, so I started researching the subject. I found entries at curezone.org, as well as many other references to dog dental health. I always keep colloidal silver around -- it is antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal -- all in one. Putting colloidal silver in the dog's water was suggested by several sources. By the way, it also takes away tartar.  Also several sources suggested the use of Manuka honey. Because of my vegan lifestyle, I've always avoided honey.  This is a continual controversy among vegans -- some eat honey  and some don't. But, after reading up on  the curative powers of Manuka honey, and knowing I had to take action, I ordered a jar of UMF 20+ from Amazon. Using a vitamin bottle top, I mixed a little ground Ceylon cinnamon and a little clove powder with the Manuka honey (1 to 5 parts = 1/8 to 5/8 tsp.) and started rubbing the Manuka honey on the infected area of Valentina's gums and teeth, three times per day. We have two water bowls inside that Valentina and Katya share, and I put one tablespoon in each water bowl each day, for a total of 2 tablespoons per day. Valentina became a puppy again, chasing Katya around in the yard, and returning to her playful self, after a week. I'm still applying the Manuka honey, and I keep about 2 teaspoons colloidal silver in the water bowls, and I insert 1 teaspoon colloidal silver twice daily into Valentina's mouth using a baby medicine syringe. Several sources recommend putting a little colloidal silver every day into dog water bowls because it keeps the water sanitary. The dark spot on her gum and tooth turned into a tan spot on her gum and no spot on her tooth, and now the tan-colored gum tissue has fallen off and healthy gum tissue is growing in where the tan spot fell off.

Note about Manuka honey:
Manuka honey comes from New Zealand and is made by bees that collect the nectar of the Manuka tree. The honey is said to have great curative powers. The UMF number is the most reliable when seeking a Manuka honey that is most potent. My research shows that a UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) number of 15+ is recommended for any healing of infection etc.  Methylglyoxal (MG) is a curative substance found in most honey in different concentrations.  It is very high in Manuka honey.  People use it to get rid of sore throats, colds, flu, and it is rubbed on the gums and teeth to heal gum infections and to remineralize teeth and fight cavities. Do a search for "Manuka honey uses" to see all the applications of this medicinal honey.
Remember not to give honey to puppies.
I am not a medical doctor or a veterinarian, so always check with your vet.

Valentina's New Sister Puppy, Katya

This was one of the first pictures I saw of Katya. I found her on a puppy website. The ad must have been placed the morning I found her, and we called immediately to hold her.  We waited until she was 8 weeks old before we (Tom, Valentina and I) picked her up from a breeder outside of Houston. She was born on May 1, 2016 in Baton Rouge. Louisiana. We forgot a lot of what we had experienced with the puppyhood of Valentina. The nylon crate we had used for Valentina had a ruined zipper and was long gone. The first two nights were nearly sleepless as Katya ran back and forth to the various dog beds in the room, jumping on poor sleeping Valentina while we tried to sleep. The nylon dog crate arrived the third day, and we quickly set it up and placed a comfortable dog bed inside. The third night was very restful. All four of our pack got a good night's sleep. Katya Frederika pranced into our hearts and has completed our pack. The name Katya means "pure", and the name Frederika means "rich peace". She is a loving, affectionate and peaceful puppy.  She always brings a toy in her mouth to offer you when she approaches. She's a little over 5 months now. And is growing like a weed! When she was three months we went to Mexico, and she traveled so very well. We put the crate in the van with a bed and a small-sized potty grass inside. Over these last few months, she has figured out housetraining, and just recently has mastered the Dog Park. Just like Valentina, she was entranced with her yard and home in Mexico. As soon as she had all her vaccinations, we started to socialize her. Austin is a dog-friendly city, and Lake Chapala is amazingly dog-friendly with a large number of restaurants that are open air. Katya is a very friendly puppy, so she makes friends easily. Valentina and Katya get along well.  The only thing that turns Valentina into Ms. Grumpy is when she's sleeping and Katya pounces on her. Valentina is quite patient with her new sister most of the time.  I think they're going to be great pals.

 

No Time to Bake Kibble? My recipe for Supplementing Commercial Vegan Dog Food

You care deeply about your precious pupster’s health, but this next week is going to be too busy. If I am running out and absolutely cannot bake Valentina’s kibble, I do the following.  Keep in stock a bag of highest possible commercial vegan kibble and make a mixture of the following ingredients to be mixed into the kibble when you dish it up. Keep the mixture in a light-free, air-tight container.

Put in food processor or blender in dry container and turn into meal:

½ c almond flour meal

½ c hemp seed

½ c raw pumpkin seed

½ c chia seed

½ cup flaxseed meal

1 c dried cranberries (preferably unsweetened or apple juice sweetened)

½ c dried blueberries (preferably unsweetened or apple juice sweetened)

 Mix into above mixture in a large bowl:

½ c Vegedog

¼ cup nutritional yeast

¼ c Vegeyeast

½ c oat bran

½ c coconut flour

½ c pea protein or ½ c hemp protein, or both

¾ tsp kelp powder

 Add to the mixture 7 days’ worth of the following:

Immune dog

Nzymes

Back Pack Plus

Barley Grass Powder

Wheat Grass Powder

Alfalfa Grass Powder

L-Lysine

L-Arginine

Taurine

L-Carnitine

Acetyl – L—Carnitine

L-Methionine

Sodium Ascorbate, or Ester-C (I don’t use Ascorbic Acid – see Canine Nutrition, William D. Cusick)

R-Lipoic Acid

 At this point mix, and then measure what you have in the bowl. You should have around 12+ cups. Keep in a cool, dark, dry place.

 When I dish out a days’ worth of kibble,

In a small bowl I mix the following, then add to kibble along with about ¾ c of the above dry mix:

1 heaping TBSP peanut butter, pure, organic (I buy it from Costco.)

1 heaping TBSP almond butter, pure, organic (I buy it from Costco.)

3 NOW-brand Aloe Vera Veg Gels (Cut off the very top with scissors and squeeze into bowl.)

1 gel Ubiquinol (NOW- brand) (CoQ10) (Cut off the very top with scissors and squeeze into bowl.)

1-2 NOW Brand 400 mg. Gamma E Complex gels (Cut off the very top with scissors and squeeze into bowl.)

8 drops Vitamin D3 , NOW brand, liquid (Equal to 800 IU)

2TBSP flaxseed oil (Barlean’s – does not have ascorbic acid)

2 TBSP hemp seed oil (Nutiva)

For Valentina, (adult Great Dane) I mix in about ¾ - 1 cup of the dry mixture, about 4 heaping cups of  kibble, and the oily mixture.

Note: Valentina rarely finishes the 4 cup kibble mix in one day.  I am aware that some vets advise against free-feeding, however Valentina has been free-fed since I got her (as were all my dogs in the past.) Sometimes she’ll eat 1 cup in a day, and sometimes 2 or 3 cups, and rarely 4 cups. Other than 1 hour before and after her daily exercise, her food is always out and available. She does not binge, and usually eats only twice a day, once in the morning and then in the evening after she sees if she’s going to get any handouts from our dinner.

In my opinion, I use this practice only as a “temporary fix” to add nutrients to commercial food, which I consider inferior to my recipe.  If she stays on this for a little while, she will begin to gain weight. (And who knows what is going on in her body because of the “mystery ingredients” in the commercial food. Just because the ingredients listed are vegan, does not mean that they were not past expiration date for full nutrient value (as is legally allowed for other than human consumption regulations).  Just like the animal flesh mixtures, the vegan mixtures can have bacteria that are heated in preparation of the kibble. When you heat food to a certain temperature, you destroy the bacteria, but what is not destroyed is the toxins the bacteria release upon death.  The toxins remain.) If you feed commercial vegan to your pupster, you may want to watch the weight and reduce the quantity a bit from what you normally measure out.  Weight gain never happens when she eats my recipe.  

Note: I’m coming up with  measurements/ a recipe for a mixture that can supplement my own recipe. ( I'll pull out ingredients from the baked mixture, that would be better in the raw supplement mixture. I got to thinking about my ingredients, and although I use the moistened flaxseed meal to substitute for the texture of eggs, if baked, the flaxseed will lose all of its Omegas – other nutrients like the proteins will survive the heat, but the precious Omegas and some of the other nutrients, such as enzymes are destroyed after 108 degrees F.  So, there’s really no reason I can’t leave some of those vulnerable ingredients raw and added to my recipe later in a non-baked supplement mix. I’ve also decided to work on a recipe that is made (“baked”) totally in the dehydrator oven under 108 degrees F, so almost nothing is lost due to a higher heating process. Stay tuned for that.

 

Regardless, in my opinion commercial dog food (which started only a hundred years ago) is fast food, . . . fast, processed food. The goal of most businesses is to increase profits, which usually involves cheapening the investment .  Whether for animals or for people, most food businesses have become “smarter”, but not wiser in their attempts to mask degraded nutrients with flavor enhancers. What happens is in the body’s attempt to obtain more nutrients, it will crave and eat way beyond the necessary number of calories to maintain weight and health -- simply because the body is hungry for nutrients. I was surprised about most vets’ concerns about overweight dogs nowadays. Years ago, that was not such a concern – there weren’t that many overweight dogs to worry about.  Human obesity and poor health statistics parallel the canine’s story, and I am convinced it is due to the same problem.  A long time ago, Aristotle said, “Make food your medicine, and medicine your food.” That still bears constant consideration when making food choices for human animals and for their companion animals.  

 

 A number of health gurus tell us that if you can stay on a healthy food path ninety percent of the time, and only slip into unhealthy choices ten percent of the time, or less, you will probably stay healthy.  I like to think that’s true for dogs, too, so I aim for 100% healthy. Last August when we were returning to the US and needed a health certificate to cross, our wonderful vet in Mexico, Dr. Borrego, asked me if Valentina was still a vegan and if I still made her food. After I replied, “Yes,” he said, “She’s very healthy. What’s in your recipe?” I usually carry a copy of my recipe in my purse, but couldn’t find it, so I promised I would bring him a copy next time when we returned.  My point is, to use an old adage, "the proof is in the pudding." Valentina is proof enough to me that a healthy, balanced homemade vegan diet IS GOOD for dogs.

 

I love the old Chinese instruction that says, everything in life, except health, has attached to it a zero. Health, which must precede everything, coming first,  is given the number"1". With the number 1 preceding all the zeros, you are very fortunate. Having health, you can enjoy all the other aspects in a good life.  But, without health, the rest cannot be enjoyed, and is worth little.   

 

I wish you and your canine companions: love, happiness, prosperity, but, first and foremost. . .  vibrant health!

Fluoride -- Canine Catastrophe

Substances That Scare Me, (Series)

Part 1: Fluoride – Canine Catastrophe

[Disclaimer: First of all, understand that I am not a doctor or a veterinarian, and I am giving no advice for the health of a human or dog, etc. I am only expressing what I think, where research has led me, personally,  and what I do for me, my husband and Valentina, (yada, yada, yada) but also understand that I do A LOT of research into health categories. Second, I use my own intuition to determine whether something feels “right,” health-wise for me, my husband, and my puppy dog, Valentina.]

One of the first sources I bought for determining Valentina’s diet was a book by William D. Cusick, entitled Canine Nutrition and Breed Specific Diets: The Best Diet for a Great Dane.(He has created a series of different books for different breeds of dogs.) This is not a vegan book, however, Cusick covers very specific nutrients for a Great Dane, and this has helped me formulate my own vegan recipes and supplement list. He lists the necessary elements of a healthy diet, and provides recipes for each age of the dog. He has a chapter regarding nutrients that can harm a Great Dane.  The first one he mentions is “fluoride.”

I’m not going to comment on fluoride and humans. All you need to do is a little internet research for that. My dentist, Griffin Cole (Austin) has very definite opinions about fluoride and humans that, in my opinion, are worth listening to. There are YouTube videos on this.

Fluoride: Canine Enemy #1

Fluoride has been added to the water of most commercial sources, claiming that it hardens tooth enamel in children and thus preventing tooth decay. Cusick sites research studies (Biester et. al 1936),  that show that the addition of fluoride to the water supply of canines causes mottling  in canine permanent teeth. It alters the serum calcium and inorganic and organic phosphorus concentrations in puppies. (Andreeva, 1959) Cusick states explicitly that “fluoride should not be included within the dietary intake of any breed of dog. Therefore, I suggest that you filter the Great Dane’s water supply to eliminate the fluoride.” (p.23) He also advises that you check the water filter type to determine that it actually does filter out fluoride. He suggests the possibility of buying bottled water for your companion.

Personally I give Valentina both.  I use Zerowater filters, (recently, at a super price at my Costco), and I buy bottled water.  There is the question that with filtered and bottled water, most of the minerals have been removed. So, for Valentina’s water as well as my husband’s and my water, we supplement the water with ConcenTrace trace mineral drops for my husband and me, and for Valentina, we use a product called   Ultimate Essential Mineral Supplement For Dogs, Cats & Other Small Pets Helps Them Stay Healthy, that I buy on Amazon. As far as I can see, the two products are pretty identical in ingredients. Cusick states that the essential minerals for Great Danes (and probably all dogs) are: Cobalt, Molybdenum, Copper, (Fluoride?!), Iron, Arsenic, Magnesium, Zinc, Chromium and Manganese.

Water is one of the most essential substances to humans and dogs. We are, in great part, mostly water. Deprivation of water can cause death.  In recent years, many sources have suggested that it is important to drink water that “has memory,” that comes from a spring water source, because it is rich in all the essential minerals and other substances. Most essential, in my opinion, is to at least make sure our water has the needed minerals, (or to supplement it with trace minerals if it doesn’t), and to remove toxic substances that may harm our precious canine companions.
 

The only sport Valentina loves more than Frizbee (in Austin) is Basketball Soccer (at Lake Chapala.)

 

 

Newest Version of Valentina's Wheat-Free Kibble Recipe!

Check out the newest version of Valentina's Wheat-Free Kibble Recipe!

Valentina’s Wheat -Free Kibble Recipe

Revised August 22, 2014

DRY MIX:

1 ½ cups whole (brown) spelt flour

4 TBSP VEGEDOG (Vitamin Supplement for Vegan Dogs) (www.vegedog.com)

2 cups rye flour

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup millet flour

1 tsp sea salt (iodized)

2 cups oat flour

4 TBSP VEGEYEAST (Yeast for Vegan dogs – to maintain proper PH balance) (www.vegedog.com)

4 TBSP nutritional yeast

1 cup garbanzo flour

½ cup raw oat bran

1 cup buckwheat flour

½ cup quinoa flour

½ cup hemp protein (NUTIVA, Amazon)

1½ tsp kelp powder

½ cup coconut flour

1 cup barley flour

1/3 cup pea protein or 1 scoop (33mg.) (Scoop inside NOW Brand – Amazon, Natural Grocer)

WET MIX:

2 cups sweet potatoes (orange inside) (baked at 300 – 325 degrees, appr. 45 minutes, then cool)

3 large or 4 small ripe bananas [or 2 cups mashed peas, or 2 cups mashed lentils/black beans]

4 TBSP flaxseed meal + ¾ cup boiling water (Wait 2 minutes)

1 ¾ cups water

3 - 6 TBSP coconut oil

1 cup dried cranberries (preferably no sugar, or sweetened with apple juice)

1 ½ cups frozen blueberries (or ½ cup dried blueberries) or mix blueberries and pineapple

½ cup hulled hemp seed (hemp hearts) NUTIVA (Amazon) or Hemp Hearts brand

 ½ cup raw pumpkin seed (whole, if added to Wet Mix, ground, if added to dry mix.)

½ cup raw sunflower seed (whole, if added to Wet Mix, ground, if added to dry mix.)

1 TBSP to ½ cup almond butter (can substitute natural peanut butter)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.      Assemble dry mix in advance. (Store in Ziploc bag or covered bowl.)

2.      In food processor, create wet mix. Mix sweet potatoes, bananas, hemp seed, pumpkin seed, sunflower seed, and process a minute or two until seeds are broken up. Add hydrated flaxseed meal, oil, cranberries, and blueberries. Process intermittently as you add ingredients. Add the 1 ¾ cups water, gradually, after you have blended the other ingredients, or the water will leak out! (If this is too difficult the water can be added to the wet mix in the mixer, and mixed for a while until blended into the wet mix.) Your 11 cup food processor will barely hold this. [If you wish, to reduce the volume in the food processor,  you can grind the seeds in a high speed blender  – hemp, pumpkin, sunflower, and put them in the dry mix. Use a chopstick or end of a wooden spoon to remove the ground seeds to preserve the sharpness of the blades in the blender or processor.] If your processor will not hold all of the wet mix, divide the ingredients of the wet mix into two parts, process.

3.      In Kitchenaid 6-quart mixing bowl, add wet mix first, then gradually add dry mix (on Number 2, no higher) using the dough blade until well mixed. (It is very important to start with the wet mix in the mixing bowl and then gradually add the dry mix to the wet mix.)

4.      Refrigerate the dough until cold. ( I put it in Zip Loc bags.)

5.      When dough  is very cold, Preheat oven to 300 or 325 degrees F.

6.      Flour hands (buckwheat or spelt or oat) and surface to keep from sticking. For normal size jelly roll pan/ cookie sheet (11” X  17”) measure out 3 cups of dough. Put the rest of the dough back in the refrigerator.  Form dough into flattened rectangle about 4” X 6” and sprinkle some flour on the rectangle.  

7.      For kibble, place on oiled (coconut oil) jelly roll pan / cookie sheet.

8.      Roll dough as evenly as possible to about 3/8 inch thick. I use a Kitchenaid non-stick rolling pin. (They cost about 30 dollars, but you will not regret buying one. Bed, Bath and Beyond sells another brand.)  If you use a wooden rolling pin you will want to keep flouring the rolling pin to avoid sticking.) Rotate the side of the pan ¼ turn each time and keep rolling until the dough is evenly distributed. Sprinkle and rub flour over dough to avoid sticking. Shake excess off dough.

9.      Cut dough in pan with a K9 Kibble Cutter (www.fantes.com go to cookie cutters, then dog-related cutters), or with a pizza cutter. Or, if you are making cookie cutter treats, roll out dough on surface, cut with cookie cutter, and then place on pan. If you dust the rolled-out dough (I use a small sieve.) in the pan with flour, tap the pan over cutting board or surface to remove excess flour.

10.  Bake for 20 minutes at 300 or 325 degrees.

·         To make crunchy (good for healthy teeth!) place in a warm oven at lowest temperature for 2 or more hours. OR, dry in a dehydrator oven at 105 degrees for 6 – 8 hours until crunchy, OR leave out to air dry for 2 or 3 days (Cover with waxed paper to avoid mold.)

·         This recipe can be rolled out on a cutting board and cut into cookies for treats, or rolled out in the pan and cut into kibble-sized pieces for dry dog food.

·         Each recipe makes over 18 cups of dough, 5 to 6 sheets o kibble ( 3 cups per pan). I always make 2 batches at a time, and the kibble lasts for 2 weeks.  (This will vary depending on what you feed your dog in addition to the kibble.) Valentina love sooo many vegetables – broccoli (raw and cooked) cabbage (raw and cooked), lentils, brown rice, beans (black, garbanzo, etc.) , cooked squash, greens broken up in food processer, green beans, etc.  (Check out Vegan Heartland for suggestions to feed your dog.)

·         Because this whole process takes time, I usually do this over three days (unless I’m in a hurry.)  I do the dry mix the first day, the wet mix and the dough the second day, and the baking and dehydrating  the third day. If I’m running out of kibble, I do it all in a day!

·         This dough is impossible to handle unless it is cold.

·         I usually buy bulk flour from Natural Grocer / Vitamin Cottage because of the reasonable price, accessibility and convenient bulk packaging. I store the open bags of the flour in the plastic jars in which Costco nuts are sold. Similar containers can be purchased at Walmart.