If you're reading this, I sure appreciate you! : )
My interest in herbal supplements for the dogs isn't something new. You might remember previous herbal highlights covering cinnamon (the first ever herbal supplement we tried!), rosemary, and most recently wheat grass. Learning new ways to use herbs and other natural supplements for improved health has become a large part of our lives recently for two main reasons.
ONE: Bear is officially a senior. At nine years of age, there really is no denying it anymore.
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| Good 'ol graybeard |
TWO: Scooter is handicapable and needs all the preventative care he can get. His trachea has been a source of problems lately, maybe herbal treatments offer a solution...?
Currently Bear's eating Iams Lamb & Rice kibble with Nupro and a sprinkle of cinnamon added twice daily. We use garlic and thyme (along with the ever constant cinnamon and Nupro) on their food about twice a week. I'm too leery to use garlic daily, even when paired with thyme because I've heard it can build up in their systems. I always lean toward the side of caution, since I'm not a nutritionist by any means and am just learning as I go.
Lately, I've been feeling like we're ready to add another vitamin/supplement/mineral to their diet. Right now, the anatomy of their food dish usually looks like this....
And just so you can tell what's going on here... the black arrow points to Bears morning portion of Nupro. White arrow points to his 3/4 cup of kibble, green to the 1/4 cup french style green beans, and red points to the two shakes of cinnamon (barely visible-sorry!) Scooters dish is similarly assembled, with everything measured in smaller portions for him of course.
Bear likes his food mixed with a little water so that it creates a gravy with the Nupro, and then everything all mixed together. Scooter on the other hand won't eat unless his food is all kept separate, and he hates water mixed with his Nupro. Go figure. Guess how long it took us to figure that one out? I'll tell you....FOREVER!
My husband and I have both been suffering from severe allergies this year. I've read from several sources that consuming local honey can be a helpful solution to the suffering. The honey contains small amounts of the pollen which our bodies are able to gradually build a resistance to. Local honey wasn't hard to find, we were able to obtain some at our local farmers market on our first stop. We now try to incorporate it into things like yogurt and cereal once daily. But then I got to thinking...what about honey for the dogs too?
As it turns out, honey can be advantageous both when consumed orally, and applied to the skin. In both humans and dogs, liquid honey has antibacterial qualities when used on burns and wounds. It apparently makes a wonderful face mask, and can be used to help heal pimples and blemishes too.
Starting today, I'm going to start adding 1 TBS of honey to Bear's food, and 1 tsp in Scooter's food. They're fed twice daily so this means I'll do it consistently each evening, and skip it for the morning feeding. I'm always in a rush in the morning, so I know I'll stick to the routine better in the evening. I'm going to start adding honey three times a week to start, and may make some adjustments from there depending on how things go. I'll of course be back to share all the juicy details on how this works (or potentially doesn't work) for our family.
What herbs or natural supplements do you feed your dogs? Are there any herbs in particular you'd like to learn more about (the effects, dosage methods etc.)? Or how about this, what's the weirdest thing your dogs have ever eaten? For us, it's always been Bear and his bad bee eating habits...
Image Credits: honey comb
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