September-October201.. - Dogs Naturally Magazine

For Dogs Without BoundariesVolume 1Issue 5September 2010www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com

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Volume 1 Number 5 September/October 2010ContentsFeaturesDogs...Naturally!Editor in Chief: Erika Phillipserika@dogsnaturallymagazine.comAssociate Editor: Dana Scottdana@dogsnaturallymagazine.comPublisher: Intuitiondana@dogsnaturallymagazine.comAdvertising Inquiries:advertise@dogsnaturallymagazine.comSales and Subscriptions:subscribe@dogsnaturallymagazine.com_______________________________________________Published by Intuition5065 10th Line RR2New Tecumseth, Ontario L0G 1A0_______________________________________________Contents of this publication are copyrightedand may be reproduced only withthe permission of the editor. The views ofthe writers and advertisers do not necessarilyreflect those of the publisher.Contributions in the form of articles,artwork or financial support are alwayswelcome. We do not pay money forartwork or articles: these are consideredto be contributed gratis for publication.We reserve the right to edit articles, but itis our policy to make as few changes aspossible in the material that is sent to us.In sending an article for publication, theauthor represents that he/she is the soleowner of the rights therein. Copyrightand ownership of articles submittedremain with the author, except we wouldlike to retain the first magazine publicationrights for both print and electronicpublication.The deadline for submission for the nextissue of Dogs...Naturally is October 23,2010.On the Cover:‘Boogie’Border TerrierPhotography by Karen Delongwww.kdelongphotography.cominfo@kdelongphotography.comColumns4 Editorials6 Ten Minute TrainerIntroducing Dogs & Cats7 Secret GardenBladderwrack8 Show & TellGlenna Hugstedt11 The ApothecaryHydrophobium12 OverseesCatherine O’Driscoll44 Teacher Dogs10 COLD LASER AND VOM FOR HEALING YOUR DOGby Caroline Bartley, B.S., D.C., CVCP16 FIGHTING DOG REHABby Jean Donaldson19 ALOE VERA AND AMIMALS: NATURE’S GIFTby Emma Defeu20 FLOWER ESSENCESby Beth Lowell24 ROAD TRIP TIPS: TRAVELING WITH DOGSBy Julia Henriques28 LIVING AND TRAINING WITH MICAHby Susan Jenkins30 CONSEQUENCES AND CONTROL: CUESby Dana Scott32 THE GULF TRAGEDY UNFOLDSAND CONTINUES ITS DAMAGEby Dr. Robin Falcov34 REIKI AND THE AGGRESSIVE DOG:CREATING HEALING CONNECTIONSby Kathleen Prasad36 MY BUDDY MILTby Leonard Cecil38 WHAT’S IN YOUR DOG’S FOOD BOWL?by Dana Scott42 RABIES VACCINATION: 12 WAYS TO VACCINATEMORE SAFELYby Jan Rasmusenwww.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 3

EditorialsThe weather is getting cooler and the days are getting shorter. My dogs are enjoying the coolweather and I admit that I am ready for the change in season.My specialty season is also coming to a close and I am happy to report that my rdogs did extraordinarilywell. I am a small breeder and my dogs all live in my home as pets. It was a thrill when Ibrought my only two breeding girls to the Eastern Ontario Labrador Breeders back to back specialtyshows and was awarded Winner’s Bitch over 46 other girls and a Judges Award of Merit onthe first day with my Audrey. On the second day, my Alice took Winner’s Bitch with Audrey takingReserve behind her. I was over the moon and especially proud that my girls were naturallyreared. Now that the cool weather is coming and specialty season is over, it is time to turn ourattention to Obedience and Agility training. I cherish the time I get to spend with my dogs and Ilove being part of an enthusiastic and willing team.Erika and I are also an enthusiastic team and we are working hard to deliver the best magazine wecan. We have worked tirelessly to bring natural rearing to the forefront by offering webinars andan online forum to help our readers learn all they can about raising their dogs naturally. We are deeply indebted to our outstandingarray of contributors who are also working hard to educate our readers on alternatives to allopathic medicine. Wehave some new faces on board as well as our regular contributors. Please welcome Dr’s Caroline Bartley and Robin Falcov.We also have a nice article on Bach Flower Essences from Beth Lowell and an informative piece on traveling with your dog fromJulia Henriques. Enjoy the September issue with a nice hot cup of tea and relax by the fire with your dogs. Fall is a wonderfultime of year so enjoy this crisp and fresh season with a good read and some good company.Dana ScottAssociate Editor/PublisherSummer is out and fall is in. Whoo hoo for the dogs but boohoo for me! Not that Ilike the summer heat but I sure as heck don't like the cold either. Mind you I LOVEAutumn but sadly I know Autumn turns to winter and I'm not so much into walkingdogs in frigid temperatures with snow up to my waist. For now however I'm happilybooking dog shows and getting ready to start training my guys again. Dana andI have scored an awesome training building about 2 miles from the house and ourfirst drop in class is this coming Thursday. We have 6 dogs that will be titled byspring hopefully if all goes well and we pull up our socks. Of course the magazinetakes up a great deal of our time but we did make a promise to the dogs that theyalways come first!Speaking of the magazine we have had the addition of some great contributors. Dr. Caroline Bartley is one of only four chiropractorslicensed in the state of Colorado to work on dogs and horses. She has submitted an article about some interestingtherapies available for treatment. Dr. Robin Falkov is a Homeopathic Practitioner and Doctor of Chinese medicine. She hasjust developed her own remedy to help people and animals suffering from the effects of the Gulf Oil spill. Dr. Falkov has aradio program called The Micro Effect, and I have had the honor of being a guest. Julie Henriques has some great tips on travelingwith your dogs. Beth Lowell with a superb overview of Bach flower essences and many other great contributors. I welcomethem all and offer sincere thanks.You may notice that the magazine is slightly smaller than the last issues and there is a reason for that as you will find out inthe upcoming months. As usual we truly appreciate your support and we look forward to sharing more important andthought provoking information with you as our move into the second phase of the magazine takes effect.Erika PhillipsEditor-in-ChiefDogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

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IntroducingDogs and Catsby: Jean DonaldsonBefore AdoptingBefore taking the plunge, it’s important to knowwhether the dog is a good candidate to live witha cat and vice-versa. The best possible indicatoris confirmation that the dog has successfullylived with a cat(s) before and that the cat haslived with a dog(s).If there is no history of successful cohabitation,the next best thing is to gather history on theanimals and “audition” them with the otherspecies before proceeding. Dogs who are notwell socialized to cats are likely to react to catsas though they were either other dogs or preyobjects. This means they will direct play, investigationand posturing at cats or will give chase.Sometimes they will do both, partly dependingon what “role” the cat plays.If the dog is gentle, relaxed and friendly and isnot much of a predatory type (i.e. doesn’t chasecats or squirrels when outdoors), he is a goodprospect to develop a relationship with a cat.Predatory types are much more stressful for catsand must be constantly managed when aroundthe cat if they are to live with one. Predation isnot something a dog can be easily trained not todo as it is deeply ingrained.When you audition a dog with cats, do it onleash, to avoid overly stressing the cat(s) andany flat-out chasing. If possible, use cats withdog experience – they are less likely to flee or bestressed. It’s also good to try out the same caton more than one occasion and to try out morethan one cat.Good signs are cautious investigation andwagging, along with respect (i.e. backing off)for cat defensive signals. Bad signs are instantattempts to chase, out-of-controlstraining at the leash, whining, barking andagitation.Many dogs will fall somewhere in the middle,which will make your decision less clear.Sometimes, with diligence and perseverance,a dog with intense predatory drive can betaught to direct it at other outlets and tostick to carefully trained rituals and routineswhen around the cat, but this is tricky anddoes not work in every case. Dogs who areless intense are better prospects.It is important to know that dogs can and dosometimes injure and kill cats. Dogs who kill catsare almost inevitably highly predatory so oftenthey can be picked out. A pair or group of predatorydogs is of greatest risk.It’s also important to know that most dogs whochase cats are not in this category. They chasebut do no physical damage if they catch or cornerthe cat. The psychological stress for the catis still present with these dogs, of course, and isan important consideration.There is a range of temperament in cats and thisis a factor that will influence the success of dogcatcohabitation. In general, relaxed, laid backcats and kittens are the best prospects to accepta dog. They are also at lower risk to flee andtrigger chasing, which will allow a social – ratherthan a predator-prey - relationship to develop.Shy, skittish and de-clawed cats are less rosyprospects.De-clawed cats feel more vulnerable and aremore likely to display aggressively when cornered.Cats who have not been socialized to dogs willalmost always behave defensively, by fleeingand/or with an aggressive display the first timethey encounter a new dog. If the dog does notcome on too strong, and if the cat is given dogfreezones to retreat SSSSS!! to, many cats willgradually get used to the dog and sometimeseven become bonded.After AdoptingIf you’ve decided to blend a dog and a cat inyour household, here are some pointers:Have a “safety room” or rooms as well as highplaces the cat can access but the dog cannot.Baby-gates, cat doors and clearing high surfacescan accomplish this. It is important that the catcan retreat to regroup and relax away from thedog and then venture forward into “dog territory”at her own pace. The cat should have accessto food, water and litter in this area so nointeractions with the dog are forced.Never force the cat (or dog) into proximity byholding her, caging her or otherwise restrictingher desire to escape. This is stressful and doesnot help. Aside from it being inhumane, stress isa common reason for cats to break litter boxtraining.For the first introduction, have the dog on leashin case he explodes into chase. If it seems to begoing well, take the leash off and superviseclosely.If the dog is behaving in a friendly and/or cautiousway, try to not intervene in their interactions,except to praise and reward the dog forhis good manners.Interrupt any intense chasing and try to redirectthe dog’s attention to another activity – this isvery difficult so you may be forced in future tomanage the dog on-leash around the cat untilyou have worked out a routine or divided up thehouse.In the first few weeks, observe the trend: arethings getting better or worse? Monitor interactionsuntil there is a pattern or plateau in theirrelationship.If the dog is the newcomer, be sure to giveplenty of extra attention to the cat so she doesnot associate this change with reduced attentionand affection. If the newcomer is a cat, it’s also agood idea to make sure the dog associates thenew intruder with good things for him. Shoot forpositive associations always.Dogs should not have access to the cat litter box– it is too stressful for the cat and the dog mayeat cat feces and litter. Most dogs will also eatcat food the cat leaves behind – we suggestfeeding cats in the cat’s “safe” room or on a highsurface. Dogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

y: Erika PhillipsBladderwrack~ Fucus VesiculosusBladderwrack FactsBladderwrack, or kelp, is useful in thetreatment of underactive thyroid glands.People who are overweight due to thyroidtrouble may benefit from this herbas it can help reduce weight. The iodinein the kelp helps maintain a healthy thyroid,and the nutrients and oxygen increasethe body's ability to burn fat whenexercising. Bladderwrack is rich in theconstituents algin, mannitol, carotene,zeaxanthin, iodine, fucoidan, and bromine.It is reputed to have a beneficialeffect for relief of rheumatism and rheumatoidarthritis (and can be taken internally or externally applied to inflamedjoints).How Bladderwrack WorksBladderwrack contains three main constituents:iodine, alginic acid, and fucoidan.The iodine in Bladderwrack helpsthose people deficient in this trace mineralto regulate and improve thyroidfunction, thus it is beneficial for hypothyroidismand goiter. It works as an antiinflammatoryand possesses antirheumaticproperties to relieve arthritisand rheumatism. Bladderwrack's antibacterialproperties also help ward offbacteria and viruses. The alginic acidconstituent, a type of dietary fiber, isuseful in relieving constipation, diarrhea,and heartburn. The fucoidan constituent,another type of fiber, contributesto lowering cholesterol and glucoselevels.Possible Benefits Contributes to a healthy thyroidgland and better metabolism Helpful with hypothyroidism andgoiter Relieves rheumatism and rheumatoidarthritis Soothes irritated and inflamed bodytissues Aids in weight loss if thyroid problemsare a factor of obesity Helps burn more fat when exercising Boosts stamina by allowing cells toconsume energy efficiently. Lowers blood cholesterol andblood glucose levels Works as dietary fiber to help withconstipation, diarrhea, heartburn,and indigestion Acts as an anti-bacterial to ward offbacteria and viruses and to speedwound healingUsage Guidelines -Bladderwrack can be used either in tabletform, tincture or as a dried herb.www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 7

Show and TellPowerstroke AmericanStaffordshire TerriersHow were you first introduced to dogs?Well my mother bred Rough Collieswhen I was a child and they were my firstintroduction into the world of purebreddogs. They were wonderful family petsand were great friends of mine. I continuedto have several Collies throughoutmy life.Then when I was a little older I remembervery vividly, my aunt driving up tothe house in a Dodge Charger and in thebackseat were two of the most magnificentDobermans. That was where mylove of Dobermans began AND my loveof old cars (particularly Chargers!) Assoon as I was able to, I went out andbrought home my first Doberman. Mylove of that breed still exists.as I definitely wasn't going to returnthem to the "breeder", I had myself twobeautiful pit bull puppies!When did you then become involvedwith Staffordshire bull TerriersI got my first Staffie Bull in about 2000and enjoyed showing and competingwith them for nearly 10 years while stillkeeping my old guys with me. Unfortunately,health issues and circumstancesalways got in the way of progressing veryfar in the breed. That did not deter mefrom showing and just enjoying thebreed.And American Staffordshire Terriers?Am Staffs are another of my favoritebreeds. I progressed into Am Staffs becauseof my love of pit bulls and my loveof Staffie Bulls. I wanted a dog of thesame similar type but one that I couldshow and compete in AKC or CKCevents. I have several Am Staffs currentlyand am looking forward to theupcoming show season. I also have alitter expected around the middle of October.I am also proud to say that I am cobreederof the Canadian National specialtywinning Am Staff.When did you become involved inholistic health and raw feeding/I had been feeding raw on and off formany years but went completely rawabout 5 years ago. I feed a prey modeldiet. I have seen such amazing differencesin my dogs that I would never goback to kibble. I have had great successwith both prey model and barf type dietsso I'm not an advocate fro either reallyjust what works and what's healthiest.Some of my dogs like veggies, somedo not but I mostly feed what's convenHow did you get involved with Pit BullTerriers?That was a funny story. I had a friend askme to find a Pit Bull for her in my areabecause she was unable to find any inher area. I went on a search for a Pit BullTerrier and found a breeder in myarea. When I arrived to pick up herpuppy there were only two left. Feelingbad for the remaining puppy andnot knowing which one my friend wouldbe interested in, I brought him alongalso. I phoned my friend, excited to tellher that I had her puppy but by that timeshe had found a puppy elsewhere!! SoR-U Ring of Fire ‘Johnny’Dogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

ient and that is prey model. Sometimes Ijust have the time to mix up the Barfdiet. I travel to shows a lot as well andthat can be easier with pre-packedground meat frozen in little baggies andput in a cooler.I treat homeopathically and with herbalswhen necessary and try to avoid antibioticsand other allopathic treatmentsunless absolutely necessary. I also feelthat exercise is paramount in keeping adog healthy and so accordingly my dogsget several miles a day of off leash exercise.I continue to learn about holisticalternatives and eventually would like touse it exclusively.What is your take on Vaccinations?Well I have to admit I am still on puppyvaccinations but that's the extent. I donot vaccinate after the initial puppy shotand Rabies is done at a year old and thenas we feel is needed depending on thearea and incidences. I would like to getaway from the 'need' to vaccinate. Iknow for the most part that they are notas necessary as people make them out tobe but unfortunately old habits die hard.As I venture further into the holisticrealm I hope to have confidence to eliminatethem totally.What breeds of dogs do you currentlyhave in your house?Currently I have some very old souls. A15 year old Kuvasz, a 14 year old CaneCorso, a couple of Staffie Bulls, severalAm Staffs and a couple of Akitas.What do you see for the future?With the upcoming litter of Am Staffs, Iwill hopefully be keeping a puppy to continue on in the show ring and in ourbreeding program. I am not a bigbreeder, having had only a couple of litters,but I still consider myself a very importantpart of the breeding pool. I believein thoroughly health testingprospective parents, placingpuppies in responsiblehomes and making sure thatno puppy of mine ever ends upin a shelter situation. We haveto support the responsiblebreeders or all dogs are atgreat risk.I have also been involved inAkitas for a number ofyears and for the first time Iwill be breeding a litter in acouple of years. As soon as Ifinish my youngest Akita’schampionship, cleared herhealth tests and foundthe appropriate stud dog I hope to enterinto preserving the quality of thesemagnificent dogs.Skyline’s Northern Lights ‘Poco’R-U-N Powerstroke’s Born Ready ‘Socks’www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 9

y: Caroline Bartley, B.S., D.C., CVCPCold Laser (low level laser therapy-LLLT)and VOM gave Shadow, my black lab,three additional years of quality lifewithout drugs after he had been diagnosed with degenerativemyelopathy (spinal cord injury from trauma.)The first sign of a problem was Shadow’s refusal to jump into theback of our SUV even though he obviously wanted to go for aride. He then started stumbling when he walked. Never wasthere a change in his affection or love of life to indicate pain. Yetwith these changes, we made a trip to our vet. The diagnosis/prognosis was devastating. The veterinarian said the initial causewas probably a sprain/strained low back. The vet determinedShadow had approximately 3 months before becoming paralyzed.As a human chiropractor, I felt there had to be more than drugsand a short life of pain for Shadow. That’s when I became a VOM(Veterinary Orthopedic Manipulation) and Cold Laser practitionerfor animals and have been witnessing extraordinary healing since.What is V.O.M.? It is NOT manual adjusting. It is an effective,drug-free way to restore joint mobility and normal nerve communication.VOM is a method of treatment with a high success rateof over 90% to manage back, disc injuries, etc. A treatmentschedule is specialized for each patient and usually consists of fiveto seven treatments over a month.Long-standing spinal problems can become visible years after theinitial injury causing bone changes seen on x-rays. These changesindicate inflammation and pain. VOM reveals these problemslong before they become evident on x-rays and corrects or treatsthem. Often when the spine cannot move, this problem generatespain and shuts down or reduces the nerve’s communication.Even this slight impingement on the spinal cord or the nerve rootsaffects the organs of our dogs that these nerves supply. For example,reduced function of nerve supply to the colon could resultin irritable bowel syndrome.Primarily, VOM is used to treat spinal disorders such as degenerativemyelopathy (like Shadow’s), Wobbler’s disease (instabilitybetween several adjacent neck vertebrae), hip dysplasia, and discdisease. It is also effective in addressing visceral diseases, such asthyroid disease, as well as performance and behavioral problems.The potential to prevent these conditions as well as treat them isthe most exciting aspect of VOM.What is Cold Laser therapy? In the world of humans, Cold Laser isutilized in treating 95% of my patients. I use an FDA approvedclass III laser. These do not generate heat, therefore, do notcause cellular damage. Cold Laser therapy does result in the restorationof normal cell function and enhances the body’s healingprocesses without adversely affecting normally functioning cells.In addition to the short and long term effects of pain reductionand healing, Cold Laser stimulates the immune response and improveslymphatic drainage.Some conditions/diseases treated by VOM and Cold Laser include: Lameness Progressive Myelopathies (“down in rear”) Hip Dysplasia-like symptoms Narrowing Discs and other Disc Related Disease GI Disorders Agility Dysfunction Urinary and Fecal Incontinence Tendonitis and Bursitis Osteoarthritis Wasting Disease Dermal UlcersBy combining the 91-93% success rate of VOM and the healingeffects of Cold Laser therapy, we are providing our canine companionswith: low cost, effective, non-invasive adjunctive treatment ofdiagnosed conditions; alternative to surgery (minimizing risk to older dogs); preventative health care; and a more healthy, pain-free and longer life. Dr. Caroline Bartley, B.S.,D.C.,CVCP, is a graduate of Parker College ofChiropractic. She has been practicing in the Denver Metro area since1998 and practicing Animal Chiropractic since 2002. She is 1 of 4 doctorsin the State of Colorado who is state licensed in an approved chiropractictechnique for dogs and horses. Her office is open three days a week fordogs and also does house calls. For more information on her pets andpeople practice go to: www.dogchiro.comor www.activehealthdenver.comDogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

theby: Erika PhillipsHydrophobium (or Lyssin, as it is sometimes called), is the nosodeused for Rabies Miasm. The nosode is made from thesaliva of a rabid dog. Reaction to the rabies vaccine is a verycommon occurrence and the side effects can be devastating.As you read the symptom list below, you might notice manysimilar behaviors in your pet or those of your friends and/orfamily. The rabies vaccine is known to cause swelling of thebrain and therefore has numerous effects on sensory organs.The symptom picture includes but is not limited to;Everything is made worse by water; aggression, urination, seizures,headaches, salivationConvulsions made worse by running water or bright lightsIncreased aggression, trouble focusing, difficulty in trainingBluish discoloration of woundsIntolerance of heatProlapsed uterusScanty urineCloudy urineAbnormal sexual desireThick, stropy saliva usually accompanied by swollen glands andsore throat.Has an intense fear of being alone.Desire to bite and snap. Biting/snapping at air, flies, pillows,toys, dog dishes, heelsSensitivity to light, dilation of pupils, dullness, blindness,watery eyes, bloodshot, redDrinks lots of water despite the physical aversionCan be dysentery with loose dark stools or partially digestedfood or constipation with very dark stool, sometimespainful with the passing of foreign objects likewool or cotton ( from shredding toys or clothing)During phrensical fits, snapping motions are made withthe jaw in an involuntary or spasmodic character, bearingsome resemblance to the motions of bitingA chilling, biting, burning sensation on inner side ofright upper lip, as if a corroding acid had touched thespot ; sensation passes up and back, in a lesser degree,to the right nasal cavity, where it produces tickling andsneezing; subsequent increase of saliva. Swollen lymphglands, difficulty swallowingTongue usually moist and clean; frequently slightly coatedmore seldom dry and thickly coatedTongue coated with thin layer of yellowish white fur.The Rabies Nosode can be used as a prophylaxis and to treatthe disease itself.For chronic cases, Lyssin ( Hydrophobium) should be given ineither a 30C liquid dose daily for 3-4 weeks or in 200C once aweek for 4-5 doses. Note that each case is unique and shouldbe analyzed by a professional as not all cases will respond toLyssin alone and may need to be followed up with subsequentremedies. Lyssin given immediately after a rabies vaccine in a30c dose has been known to have a marked effect on the potentialside effects of the vaccine itself.Considering the symptoms of the Rabies Miasm, it is evidentthat there are a large numbers of dogs suffering from vaccineinducedbehavior and health issues. Many of these issues areimporoperly diagnosed as other diseases and treated accordinglyif unsuccessfully. If your dog has health or behavior issueswhich have not responded to other treatment, a closerlook at Lyssin or Hydrophobium may be a good idea. Evencommon problems such as Parvo, Distemper, aggression, seizuresand blindness can be traced back to a Rabies Miasm.www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 11

Raising Puppies The Natural WayToday, Freddie and Ruby are 18 weeks old. They’re still enchantedby raindrops; they still chase butterflies; and they’restill surprised by household things that were there all along,but went unnoticed. Just now they’re lying next to my deskplaying with a quilt I put down. Everything is here to be explored;to have its joy discovered and experienced.People keep remarking how peaceful they are, how well mannered,how sensible. I think this is because they’re raw fedand haven’t been vaccinated (vaccines can certainly affect theneurology). We showed them how to sit about twice, and nowthey sit on command. Housetraining was easy, bearing inmind that a puppy will want to ‘go’ around 13 times in the day,and we were there to anticipate and get them outside withpraise before any accidents happened. Luckily, it being summer,the door has been left open, and these wise little soulssoon realised that outside was the place to go.Our darlings came to live with us when they were seven weeksold. They were tiny little things whose neuro-networks hadn’tfully formed. Put your hand out to give them food, and they’dmiss it completely. Call them and they didn’t seem to hear.They were double trouble, albeit sweet double trouble, chargingaround, threatening to fall off the garden wall, and puttingabsolutely everything into their mouths. We were exhaustedtrying to keep them alive. Thankfully, we had a safe room withdoggie gates to put them into so, sometimes, we could get ourwork done.A few weeks ago, they graduated to sleeping with us in thebedroom. Every morning, Freddie looks into my eyes andbeams out rays of love, as deep as the universe and backagain. A week ago, I was sitting with him and, when I glanceddown, I saw his body rippling with pink and green light – thecolours of the heart chakra.Ruby is, by contrast, a little punk. She’s usually the first towake us up, and life for her is one big party. She’s delicate anddainty like a ballet dancer, but loves to sink her teeth intoFreddie’s leg and roll and tumble with him on the grass. I loveit that already, she’s following me around the house, lookingfor the action. We call her ‘Little Bird’ because she’s so flightyand full of joy.As you might expect, these two babies are raw fed and no vaccineneedle will ever pierce their skins. Although we had ournames down for fourth-generation naturally reared pups,there were people ahead of us in the queue and too few puppiesto go around. So Freddie and Ruby haven’t had the fivestarstart in life – their ancestors were vaccinated and fed junk- but they will have the five-star life.It’s my belief that even if their parents were reared the commonway, if we feed raw and don’t vaccinate our dogs, we canexpect them to go at least to the autumn of their breed averagein robust good health. If we’re lucky, they might just exceedthe breed average. They say that it will take at least fourDogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

generations of raw feeding and no vaccines before you canhope to have an optimally healthy dog. We need more naturalrearing breeders!There are a number of factors which determine good health.These are, of course, the dog’s genes – what they come inwith. To me, the second most important factor is whether ornot the dog is vaccinated. We’re lucky in the UK because thereis no rabies, and no mandatory rabies vaccine. Right from thestart, we don’t have to destroy their little immune systems andset them up for ill health.vegetables from the garden; some will help themselves to berriesoff bushes; some will eat windblown apples. Nearly alldogs will eat ruminated vegetation if they get the chance(otherwise known as sheep, horse, rabbit and other vegetablebasedpoo). I remember one dog eating the bark off a specifictree. When diagnosed by a homoeopathic vet with vaccinedamage and given Thuja, his owner was stunned to realise thatthe specific bark he had been eating was from a Thuja tree. Allanimals self medicate when in nature, so being able to muscletest and ascertain the right diet for each individual dog is ajolly useful thing to be able to do.The third factor is, of course, diet. The breeder sent us awaywith a bag of allegedly ‘complete and balanced’ dry puppyfood, asking us not to change to raw too quickly lest we upsettheir puppy tummies. Our aim was to switch them over asquickly as possible.Life, according to a John Lennon lyric, is something that happenswhile you’re busy making other plans, and these littlepuppies didn’t go to plan. If we gave Freddie anything otherthan the puppy kibble, diarrhoea ensued. If we gave Rubyanything other than raw, diarrhoea ensued. At this time, westill had our old and beautiful Edward with us, and Georgie the‘special needs’ Papillon also needed to eat.Seven-week-old puppies need four meals a day. Aged GoldenRetrievers and tiny Papillons need two. So Rob was serving uptwelve meals a day, all different in six different settings – andworking out a way to stop the puppy trots. It’s not a greatidea to fast puppies, which is the traditional thing to do whenan adult dog gets the trots. So we gave them scrambled eggand mashed potato to help ‘soak it all up’, and cooked chickenor fish until they stabilised.Now that they’re teething, and Freddie was getting a bit fractious,we are giving them homoeopathic Chamomilla 6c threetimes a day. It has certainly helped Freddie, who is happiernow.And then, one day, it all came together. To be honest, wefeared that Freddie might be one of those rare dogs whowould never be able to tolerate the raw diet – but today bothhe and Ruby had chicken wings for breakfast and raw meatand vegetables for tea, and (if you’ll forgive me for saying so)their poos are impeccable.It must be said that, initially, we did spot bone shards in theirpoo, so we backed off on the chicken wings for a day or twoand then reintroduced them one at a time until we were satisfiedthat their stomach acids were breaking the bones down.Now, I appreciate that some raw feeders are opposed to vegetablesas a suitable foodstuff for dogs, but muscle testingdoesn’t bear this out. Some dogs don’t need any vegetables atall; some dogs do. Some dogs will self medicate by stealingBearing in mind that we don’t vaccinate, we put the puppiesonto the homoeopathic canine combination nosode as soon asthey came home with us. I appreciate that this is another controversialissue, because some natural rearers believe thatnosodes should only be given in the face of a disease risk. All Ican say is that this is the way we do it in the UK. ChristopherDay, probably our most senior homoeopathic vet, believesthat it’s irresponsible to leave puppies totally unprotected.We also give our puppies a Transfer Factor each day. This isconcentrated colostrum (mother’s milk), and studies haveshown it to be effective against hundreds of viruses and bacterins.The result of getting them on nosodes and Transfer Factorfrom seven weeks old has been that, from ten weeks of age,www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 13

we were able to take our puppies out and socialise them. Westarted by walking in the lanes and fields around our house(we live in the hills in Scotland so there are very few people orcars around.) At twelve weeks we took them to nearby villages,and gradually built it up until they came with us tonearby cities. If you can introduce your puppy to all sorts ofsights and sounds before they are 16 weeks old, you’ll probablyhave an adult dog who is bomb-proof.of having a healthy puppy. Rob and I work towards making thehome as peaceful as possible, and then – in the evenings – thepuppies are allowed to do what puppies do, and chargearound and play. We get to enhance our immune systems,too, because we play with them and we love to watch them,and they make us laugh. More bubbling energy is expendedduring twice-daily walks. Their bodies are still growing, so thewalks at first were short and are gradually getting longer.The fourth factor to dictate our dogs’ health is stress. Essentially,the immune system and the emotions mirror oneanother,so if you have a happy puppy you have more chanceFor the rest of it, we can only hope that we grow healthy, wellrounded,confident pups, and pray that God will bless us withtheir presence for many, many years to come. Dogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

SUPPORT THE RABIES CHALLENGE FUND!Between September 1 and November 30, 2010, donations to the Rabies Challenge Fund will bematched by an anonymous donor, dollar for dollar, up to $10,000!All cash gifts under $1,000 will be matched until the $10,000 is reached.~~~Learn more about making vaccination safer for your pet and about the vaccine study atwww.RabiesChallengeFund.org This project depends primarily upon grassroots gifts from kennel clubsand private individuals. The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust is a federally registered501(c)(3) charitable organization [Fed. EIN # 84-6390682].The Urban Carnivore Proactive Pet Health Center10 th Anniversary Fund-Raiser forThe Rabies Challenge FundSunday October 10, 2010Holiday Inn3202 East Empire StBloomington, ILGuest SpeakerDR. RONALD SCHULTZ10:00-12:30Raffles- Merchandise, Gift Certificates and 50-501:00Dr. Schultz“What Every Pet Owner Should Know about Vaccines”3:00Question and Answer Period with Dr. SchultzMust Pre-Register and Pre-Pay a Minimum $30.00 Donation to attend the Mini-Seminar with Dr. SchultzAll proceeds from the seminar and raffles are donated to The Rabies Challenge Fund and are tax deductible.Call The Urban Carnivore @ 309-820-7890 | www.theurbancarnivore.comwww.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 15

Dear Jean,by: Jean DonaldsonSix months ago I adopted a pitbull from a fabulousrescue group. They screen the adopterscarefully and all the dogs are thoroughly tested.Abigail is now a year and a half and the sweetestdog I’ve ever owned. She loves everyone and isexcellent with other dogs. The rescue groupcautioned me that she could still become aggressiveto other dogs but that her dispositionwith people would not change. How can thisbe? And, if she does become dog aggressive,can training help?It surely is a sign of a conscientious rescue groupthat they not only screen dogs and prospectiveadopters but fully disclose the warts of the breedthey rescue. All breeds have warts and, in the caseof pitbulls the ugliest wart is the potential for“gameness”: a strong propensity to fight with otherdogs. Whether this genetic predisposition is presentin an individual dog can be difficult to predict. Thisis because of drift in most lines away from thebreed’s original function. Pitbulls were originallybred for bull-baiting and dog-fighting around the turnof the last century, and there was strong selectionpressure at that time for the suite of characteristicsthat made a superior specimen: off the charts pugnacitywith other dogs, unwillingness to back downin a fight, failure to read appeasement gestures fromother dogs admitting defeat, the characteristic bodytype and, interestingly, a strong inhibition againstredirected bites to humans meddling in the fight.Dogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

This last quality comes as a surprise to many peoplewho have been swayed by the spectacular mediacoverage of pitbull attacks against people. While aggressionto other dogs is central to correct breedtype, aggression to people is anathema. In more recenttimes there has been massive random(“backyard”) breeding of pitbulls. Once the selectionpressure for game characteristics was lifted in favorof size, look or nothing in particular, the genetic cardswere shuffled. So whether some, none or all of thecharacteristics of a fighting dog will be present in anindividual animal is impossible to tell until the dog issocially mature. This is because there are two onsetperiods. One is early – often evident while the puppyis still in its litter, relentlessly fighting with siblings in afashion that is much, much more intense than theplay-fighting that all normal puppies engage in.The second group of game animals present normallyas puppies and as young adults. Then, in spite ofextensive socialization to other dogs and normal playskills, gameness creeps in sometime between ageone and three. This is the reason your rescue groupis being prudent about whether your dog is out of thewoods with regards to dog-dog aggression. And, asthey point out, this quality is completely unrelated tothe dog’s disposition toward people.How to rehabilitate game-bred dogs is a fascinatingquestion. It is of course a different question fromwhether such behavior modification should be attempted.The position of most responsible pitbullgroups is that dogs with propensities to fight shouldbe tightly managed, i.e. diligently kept away from opportunity.In my opinion, this is the best approach interms of both safety and efficiency. But rather thanexplore the ethics or cost-benefit merits of approachingsuch dogs with behavior modification, I’m going tofocus on the technical aspects of a rehabilitation atrainer did at San Francisco SPCA.game dogs. There was no social behavior whatsoeverdirected at dogs. The choices appeared to be:1) adopt her out to a remote home with strong admonitionsto the adopter about the results of dog encounters,or 2) euthanize her. The trainer, Kim Moeller,who had worked on more routine dog-dog aggressionproblems before, pitched the idea of takinga few months to work on her. The prospect of gainingknowledge – success or no – was too great topass up so everyone was supportive of her plan.A key question when approaching aggression casesof any kind is that of whether the dog is “upset,” i.e.whether there is any component of fear, anxiety orother negative emotion. If the answer is yes, it behoovesthe trainer to have classical counterconditioning,the replacement of that emotion with amore favorable one, as part of the agenda. But if theanswer is no, straight operant conditioning, the manipulationof consequences contingent on specifictarget behaviors, is the way to go. Because a plausiblecase could be made both ways in the case of severedog-fighting, Kim decided to both build a favorableconditioned emotional response (CER) and employnegative punishment for the worst outbursts ofaggression.Those well acquainted with applied behavior analysiswill see a paradox here. The desensitization andcounter-conditioning (D&C) procedure, wherein thedog is exposed to stimulus dogs at an intensity thatdoes not elicit aggression and the pairing of the pres-The dog in question was an apparent pitbull-chowcross that came into the shelter four years ago.While stellar with people, she attacked any dog withinsight and in the relentless fashion characteristic ofwww.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 17

ence of other dogs with gobs of praise and extremelyhigh value food, hinges on the presumptionthat other dogs are a fear-evoking stimulus. If so,the D&C will make gains. And, if so, any negativepunishment, which would be removing her from thesituation, should actually function as a negative reinforcer.Removing someone from something thatscares them should be a reinforcing event, not apunishing one. And, if it was a punishing event, it isa “liked” stimulus and so there should be no need forD&C!Interestingly, both techniques seemed to pay dividends:the dog improved. The key desensitizationhierarchy variables turned out to be the stimulusdog’s novelty to her, the stimulus dog’s degree ofanimation and how “warmed up” our pit-chow was.Until she was very advanced, the first trial of the daywas always dicier than mid-session and late in thesession trials, independent of the other parameters.And so, early in training, the stimulus dog would befamiliar to her and passive. Less familiar dogs andnovel dogs were introduced late in the session andthe dogs would be passive or kept still.Gradually, these parameters were edged up independentlyand, eventually, piled up. Another elementthat varied was the degree of mechanical control.In early training and at key raises in stimulusintensity, she wore a (pre-desensitized) secure muzzle,a Gentle Leader headcollar and was on a sixfootleash. In the earliest sessions, she wouldcharge the stimulus dog at any level of stimulus intensity.Kim’s strategy was to physically prevent theattack using these physical controls and then supplythe broad praise and food (remember, this is a classicaltechnique – the food is not contingent on herbehavior but rather on the presence of the stimulusdog). Over time, as so often happens in thesecases, the presence of the stimulus dog caused herto anticipate the food and orient to the handler fromwhom the food would be coming, rather than chargethe dog. At this point the variables above came intoplay.Around this time, time-outs were applied for charging.This brings us back to our apparent paradox.Why would removal from the situation be punishing?It is possible that, by this point, the sessions were awelcome diversion to her and a source of praise andtreats. Being marched back to her kennel thereforefunctioned as a strong punisher. It’s also possiblethe kennel was stressful and so an element of positivepunishment crept in. And, it’s possible that for afighting dog, being removed from dogs is a punisherand so the technique would have worked well rightoff the bat. But if this is the case, then desensitizationand counterconditioning should have been ineffective.A possible answer here is that she was beingdesensitized to attack triggers such as noveltyand movement, rather than to dogs as a fearevokingstimulus per se.Six months into the training she began playing withother dogs. We were all floored. Her social circlewas carefully expanded, the physical controls liftedand she was adopted out with full disclosure and alot of post-adoption support. Amazingly, her gainsheld on follow-up and to this day she regularly attendsdog parks without incident. © Jean Donaldson, all rights reservedJean Donaldson is a native of Montreal, Canada. A graduate ofMcGill, Jean holds degrees in Music and Comparative Psychology.In 1996 James & Kenneth Publishers published Jean's firstbook, The Culture Clash, which has won numerous awards,including The Dog Writer's Association of America's MaxwellAward for the best training and behavior book of theyear. Since its publication, The Culture Clash has been thenumber one recommendation for dog trainers of TheAssociation of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) each year it has had arecommended reading list. Her other books include the multipleaward-winning MINE! A Guide to Resource Guarding inDogs, Fight! A Guide to Dog-Dog Aggression, and the newlyreleased Oh Behave! Dogs From Pavlov to Premack toPinker. She has also recently authored a DVD on basic obedience,Perfect Paws in Five Days.In 1999 she founded The Academy for Dog Trainers at TheSan Francisco SPCA, which has gained a reputation as the Harvardfor dog trainers. Jean is currently pursuing a doctoraldegree in Evolutionary Biology. She lives in the San FranciscoBay area with her Chow, Buffy, adopted from The San FranciscoSPCA in 2002, and currently the only Chow registeredwith the North American Flyball Association.Dogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

y: Emma DefeuAloe looks like a cactus but is actually a member of the lily family.There are four medicinal species but only one is used extensively– Aloe Barbedensis Miller.Known as an adaptogen, the body uses what it needs from Aloeto help the condition it is suffering from. Aloe helps the body toheal itself by restoring the body’s natural balance. This means itcan be used to help extremes of the same condition. i.e. forboth diarrhea and constipation. It can help conditions relating tothe immune system and skin. (External & internal). That includesany ailment that ends with an “itis”. Such as diverticulitis,colitis, arthritis etc.“1991 Baxter, G.M. Management of burns, Equine medicine andsurgery, 4 th edition Vol II pp. 1625-9 an American VeterinaryPublication. Reported that Aloe Vera Gel relieves pain, decreasesinflammation, penetrates deeply into the skin, stimulates celldivision and kills bacteria and fungi.”Here are some of the properties that aloe contains, this will giveyou a good idea of how amazing it is.Aloe contains 75 nutrients (identified so far) including 9 mineralsand at least 10 vitamins, along with 20 amino acids, of which 8are essential to animal diets.Lignin – This helps skin penetrationSaponins – Cleansing, antiseptic, soapyAnthraquinines - Laxative/purgative, analgesic, antimicrobialMinerals (9) – Ca, Na, Fe, K Cr, Mg, Zn, Mn, CuVitamins – A, C, E, B1, B2, B6, B12, Niacin, Choline, Folic acidexercise and we find givinghim a small measure of thealoe combined with the jointsupplements, Glucosamine, Chondroitinand MSM it helps relieve this stiffness. As he gets older itwill be a part of his every day diet regime as a preventative aswell as to ease any problems. The aloe helps the body absorbthe supplements better than if you took them with out it. Thealoe on it’s own is a natural anti inflammatory and would benefithim without the added supplements.You can add it to their food or water, but ours take it readily intheir food. There are no hard and fast rules about specific doses,as with all complimentary herbal preparations, but starting with2mls daily for a weaned puppy and gradually increasing this to15mls over 10 days. With older/larger dogs we work with 10mlsper kilo initially, increasing to 20mls per kilo after a few weeksfor specific treatments. You are looking at a long term maintenance/preventionlevel of 5mls per kilo after the desired resultsare seen.In fact when our younger dog, Rosie, was recovering from havingpuppies and a major operation all in the same day, she tookthe Aloe on its own as I am sure she knew it was helping her. Shewas back to full strength and completely recovered within 7 daysand her wound had healed with no soreness or infection when itwas time for the vet to remove the stitches a week later. As wellas the drinking gel she was taking throughout whelping, we alsosprayed an aloe solution on her scar to help it heal and keep itfree from infection whilst nursing her pups. Unlike steroid andantibiotic creams that can only be applied once or twice a day,topical aloe gels and creams can be applied more often, wheneverneeded.Amino Acids – 20 of 22. All 8 essentialEnzymes – Aid digestion and absorption of foodFatty Acids – Plant steroids, Anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antisepticSalicylic acid - (not aspirin) which has anti inflammatory, analgesicand anti bacterial properties.Simple sugars - one in particular, Accemannan – which has immuno-modulatingproperties, which means it helps return theimmune system to normal and is anti viral, particularly againsttumour producing viruses such as feline leukemia.We use the Aloe drinking gels ourselves on a daily basis and tokeep our dogs well. Our older dog, Zeik, an 8 year old bordercollie, has this year started to get stiff in his hips after prolongedAloe has no known side effects and is safe to use with otherdrugs, in fact it enhances the action of other drugs such as antibioticsand homeopathic preparations. If your animal has a particularlysensitive digestive system, then introduce the aloe tothe diet slowly and in very small amounts for the first few days.If you would like more in depth details of Aloe Vera in veterinarypractice, then I would recommend David Urchs’ book, Aloe Vera– Natures Gift. Emma Defeu runs a successful dog boarding business inGlouchestershire, UK. Her business Pure N Forever is also a supplierof raw and natural health care products.www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 19

y: Beth LowellFlower essences help a sweet Boxerend her destructive waysRaised by a loving family since puppy hood, Fordwas a lively Boxer who loved nothing more than to play withher older brother Ozzy. Both dogs got plenty of exercise andattention, and aside from having had housebreaking challengesin the beginning (okay, some counter surfing issues,too) Ford appeared to be the picture of happiness and health.Shortly after she turned two though, Ford started acting out.She managed to figure out how to open her crate and escapeduring the day when her human mom, Kristen, was at work.Once the door of the crate was secured with a special lock,Ford started trying to pry apart the bars and squeeze through.Afraid that Ford would injure herself, Kristen stopped cratingher.But then Ford started destroying the house. The rug, walls,and corners of the coffee table all fell victim to Ford’s gnawing.Of course, Kristen sought help. The dog walkers were instructedto give Ford a vigorous workout each day, as well asleaving her a variety of expensive chews, kongs and other toysdesigned to keep her occupied. But no matter how much exerciseshe got, or how many diversions she was given, the destructioncontinued. Kristen attached metal reinforcements tothe corners of the table, and applied a well known commercialsolution called Bitter Apple and even underarm deodorant tothe surfaces in the living room to try to prevent Ford from literallyeating her out of house and home.As one of Ford’s caretakers, I was concerned. When I took acloser look at her behavior patterns, I realized they were classicsymptoms of separation anxiety. While it may seem obviousto readers in the know, it wasn’t so clear cut with Ford.She didn’t whine and cry or appear anxious when people left,and her robust and cheerful nature made it difficult to acceptthat beneath the surface, something was causing her greatunhappiness. Upon deeper contemplation, I realized that anotherfactor was that Kristen, who worked as a consultant, hadbeen assigned to a job that required a long commute on top ofthe hours she was normally gone.I recommended a flower essence to Kristen, who was morethan willing to try anything at this point. On the day she firstgave Ford the flower essence, Ford stopped the destruction.Ford, now four, still gets plenty of exercise and chew toys –but stopped her destructive ways for good.Flower essences can often yield this type of dramatic result,but sometimes their impact can occur over time, or not at all.Why is this? There are many reasons – but let’s first take alook at what flower essences are.What are flower essences?Flower essences, simply put, are non-aromatic liquids createdby placing the petals of a flower in a bowl of water and settingit in the sun. The healing properties of the plant are capturedin the water. The petals are discarded, and the liquid is bottledwith a preservative, usually alcohol. No part of the plant isdestroyed in the process, and the alcohol, which burns offquickly, poses no danger to animals or humans, even if theysuffer from liver ailments. For those still concerned about alcoholuse, most flower essence manufacturers will formulate aspecial batch using vinegar instead.Because of the way that flower essences are made, they donot affect individuals with allergies to plants and flowers. If theessence is not of therapeutic use to its consumer, it will causeDogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

no ill effect. Because it is usually administered toanimals in a bowl of drinking water, this aspect offlower essences makes it very attractive to peoplewith multi-pet households in which the water bowl isshared. And flower essences are inexpensive. Theyusually cost under $20.00 (US currency) a bottle, andoften, one bottle is all it takes.Flower essences are effective for treating matters ofthe spirit that are not and cannot be resolved bytraining or medicationWhere do I start?The place to start when choosing an essence is tofirst determine what the issue is. This is not always aseasy as it seems. When it comes to dogs, we’re conditionedto think in terms of catchwords that we’vebecome accustomed to hearing, like:My dog is fearfulMy dog has separation anxietyMy dog is aggressiveFlower essences can address all of these issues – butlooking deeper, is the “fearful” dog afraid of everything?Only new things? Only certain things? Maybethe “fearful” dog isn’t really afraid, but stressed oranxious, again, separate and distinct issues, both ofwhich can make him appear as though he is “fearful”.Is a dog labeled with “separation anxiety” really experiencingseparation anxiety, or merely missing herhuman (or other animal family members)? Or perhaps,she is lonely. Again, all of these are distinctlydifferent issues that are commonly lumped in onecategory.Likewise, aggression. Is it fear driven? Caused byguarding or other insecurity issues?Determining the heart of the issue is sometimes asdifficult for humans as it is for animals. The key is touse powers of observation and intuition to the bestof your ability.Bach’s 38 remedies:Agrimony - mental torture behind a cheerful faceAspen - fear of unknown thingsBeech - intoleranceCentaury - the inability to say 'no'Cerato - lack of trust in one's own decisionsCherry Plum - fear of the mind giving wayChestnut Bud - failure to learn from mistakesChicory - selfish, possessive loveClematis - dreaming of the future without working in the presentCrab Apple - the cleansing remedy, also for self-hatredElm - overwhelmed by responsibilityGentian - discouragement after a setbackGorse - hopelessness and despairHeather - self-centeredness and self-concernHolly - hatred, envy and jealousyHoneysuckle - living in the pastHornbeam - tiredness at the thought of doing somethingImpatiens - impatienceLarch - lack of confidenceMimulus - fear of known thingsMustard - deep gloom for no reasonOak - the plodder who keeps going past the point of exhaustionOlive - exhaustion following mental or physical effortPine - guiltRed Chestnut - over-concern for the welfare of loved onesRock Rose - terror and frightRock Water - self-denial, rigidity and self-repressionScleranthus - inability to choose between alternativesStar of Bethlehem - shockSweet Chestnut - Extreme mental anguish, when everything has been triedand there is no light leftVervain - over-enthusiasmVine - dominance and inflexibilityWalnut - protection from change and unwanted influencesWater Violet - pride and aloofnessWhite Chestnut - unwanted thoughts and mental argumentsWild Oat - uncertainty over one's direction in lifeWild Rose - drifting, resignation, apathyWillow - self-pity and resentmentwww.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 21

Bach Essences and Their UsesPerhaps the most well known brand of flower essences isBach, named for its creator and the father of flower essences,Dr. Edward Bach, who abandoned his traditional medical practicein 1930 in order to follow his true calling of natural healing.Though not a schooled homeopath, Dr. Bach’s workclosely parallels the principles of homeopathy and he was soonrecognized as the second Hahnemann (the founder of homeopathy).His work focused on finding remedies in nature that addressedhuman mental and emotional states. To take a closer look athow to choose an essence, try this exercise.Suppose you are an intelligent person who (for purposes ofthis exercise only) despite all your education and qualificationsjust can’t seem to get anywhere in life. People might call youlazy, stupid, or a loser. You might start to feel that these statementsabout yourself are true. But if you take a look at Bach’sremedies, you may find one that resonates with you. Perhaps,although you are smart, you fear new situations, or you don’ttrust in your own ability to make a decision. You could be discouraged,or even suffer from self-hatred. To get yourself outof the seemingly endless cycle, you need to determine themost deeply rooted issue within yourself. For instance, youmay feel overwhelmed and guilty, but these may be symptomsof a larger problem, such as a lack of confidence. In this way,you can treat the cause of your problem, rather than a symptom.Choosing an essenceSo what if your dog is moping all the time and you have noidea which essence to choose based on the list of Bach’s essences?Fear not. You have several options, including consultingwith a Bach Remedy animal expert, using your own intuition,or choosing a remedy by a different maker.Flower essences are made on every continent of the world,and some, like Anaflora flower essences are even formulatedspecifically to address the issues that animals face. Just asBach and other essences formulated for humans are safe foranimal consumption, flower essences formulated for animalsare safe and effective for humans as well.Anaflora’s single flower essences and formulas address issueslike:separation anxietylonelinessDogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

jealousybereavementend of lifespay/neuterLitter box avoidanceto name only a few.A simple Internet search will help you find a wide array offlower essence brands, all of which can be effective in helpingyou resolve your dog’s (or other pet’s) emotional challenge.Still can’t decide? Try using your own intuition, a pendulum, orenlist the aid of a trusted and reputable animal communicator.People have often found that using an essence based on aname that resonates with them is effective in treating theiranimal’s condition.Using Flower Essences with Other TherapiesIf you like, taking the essence yourself along with your pet is agreat way to bond with him or her.If your pet does not consume the whole bowl of water, theessences will still be effective.If your pet does not drink from a water bowl, you can placea few drops in food, or rub a drop into the paw pads or ear.Do not use flower essences in aquariums.You may place a few drops into the toilet bowl if that’s theonly place (and it is for some!) your pet will drink from.Flower essences may be used in communal pet bowls withoutnegatively affecting other pets.Do not use more than two formulas or three single essences atonce. Often if you hit the root of the problem with one essence,other symptoms will clear up as well.Be sure to store the bottle out of sunlight in a cool, dry place.Refrigeration is not necessary.Flower essences can be used in conjunction with other therapiesand do not interfere with medications or homeopathicremedies. If you are working with a Homeopath, do ask abouttrying a flower essence. Often your homeopathic vet may eitherrecommend an essence or ask that you not use one, inorder to determine if your homeopathic remedy is having itsdesired effect. Using too many protocols may muddy the waters.Flower essences are supported by balancing methods ofhealing, like Reiki, which also does not interfere with medicationsor other medical protocols.Administering Flower EssencesAdministering flower essences is easy, yet instructions are oftenomitted from bottles and other packaging.Often, flower essences like Bach’s Rescue Remedy, are used asa first aid measure in an emergency situation. Rescue Remedycan be used after an injury or traumatic event, or before a carride or trip to the vet. Homeopathic remedies are also used insimilar ways, for instance in the case of bee stings, or a case ofpoison ivy. While highly effective when used in this way, usingflower essences, like homeopathic remedies, based on specificissues and over an extended, regular period of time can yieldlong lasting or permanent results.This list is by no means complete but is intended as a startingpoint for those interested in finding out more about floweressences. Flower essences are manufactured on every continentof the world. 1. Tap the bottle against the palm of your hand to potentizethe solution. This is similar to the succusion method used forbottled homeopathic remedies.2. Add 2-5 drops to your pet’s water bowl each time youchange the bowl.3. Use until the bottle is gone.Beth Lowell is a Reiki teacher/practitioner and natural remedyconsultant whose practice focuses on animals. She lives in Morristown,New Jersey.www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 23

I love to share vacations with my dogs. My rescue SamoyedsMuddy (who died in October 2009), Willie (who is completelyblind) and Tarka (a foster dog who became a permanent familymember), have traveled 12,000 miles by car in the past year orso between them. Over these many miles, we haven't becomeany better at packing lightly, but we manage to keep our travelsrelaxed and stress-free, and we are prepared for just aboutany emergency!What we take, and what goes where. First of all, the car ispacked to the gills, but we try to keep the dog space only fordogs, so that means most of the gear is in the rooftop cargobox, or on the passenger seat beside me. We fold the rearstakes in case we have a flat tire and need to get the dogs outto get at the spare. And yes, I can change a tire if I need to: agirlfriend and I once changed a tire on a rental car, about 30miles from Albuquerque, where we had planes to catch, inseven minutes flat. I might be a bit slower on my own, but Iknow how to do it.Room for dogs. The dogs have the whole back area, though, asyou'll see from the photo on the right, I have been known tosqueeze a small overnight bag or two into a corner and theyhaven't complained. They have their travel mats for comfort,and their portable water bowl, which leaves plenty of room forthem to relax. Willie settles down and usually stays put unlessby Julia Henriquesseat flat in our Subaru WRX wagon, so they have plenty ofroom to relax.In the front passenger seat area is everything we might needfor a day's driving: water, leashes, dog treats, human snacks,maps and directions, camera, wallet, cell phone, any clothing Imight need for our walks at rest stops, a folding shovel (in casewe get stuck in the snow), a sleeping bag (in case we can'tshovel our way out of the snow and have to spend a night inthe car), a lantern, a couple of old towels to dry off the dogs ifnecessary, and anything else that won't fit in the cargo box(that includes my skis on our annual trip to Taos, NM). WhenMuddy was alive, the dog ramp was also stored in front of thepassenger seat, or bungie- tied on its side up against thehatchback. Behind the back seat I keep a couple of tie-outhe is ready for a break; Tarka, like Muddy, likes to watch theview from all windows, and moves around a bit, especially ifwe're on slower roads, but for expressway travel he also settlesdown and snoozes. He hops up as soon as he senses thecar slowing, ready for the next mini-adventure.Safety. Both dogs’ harnesses are hooked up to a zip line whichallows them to move around the back of the car, but will preventthem from flying into the front seats - or worse, throughthe windshield - in the event of a sudden stop or accident.Dog essentials. The rooftop cargo box is crammed with everythingwe need for the journey. Of course my luggage takessecond place and the dogs have several bags with their suppliesfor the trip.Dogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

First, needless to say, is food. They're on a raw food diet sowe travel with several days' supply in a cooler. They eat rawbones as part of their regular diet, and it’s also a great way tohelp them settle in a strange place. They get so engrossed ingnawing that, by the time they’re done, they’re sleepy andrelaxed. I usually separate their meals for a couple of days,along with their supplements, into a small cooler that I takeinto our lodging each night. In winter we just leave a large,soft cooler, with the rest of the food for the trip, in the cargobox overnight, where it stays frozen. There was no problemwith that on our latest trip when we encountered freezing rainbetween Oklahoma City and Kansas City and had to chip theice off the cargo box and the car. We can remove as much aswe need to defrost each day and thaw it in our motel room orinside the car if we're on the road, and we take along a plasticcontainer or sturdy freezer bags for this purpose. In summer,we pack the food in the cooler with lots of ice packs. Hopefullywe stay overnight in a room with a working freezer andcan refreeze the ice packs overnight. If not, we buy a bag of iceand empty it into the cooler. But even with lots of ice, themeat will thaw fast in hot weather, so we suggest only takingenough for 3-5 days if you're traveling in summer.Dog extras. The dogs also travel with plenty of toys, a coupleof grooming tools in case I get inspired to brush andcombthem or trim their toenails (none of this usually happens,which is fine with them). We take some emergency medicationwith us: we usually have a supply which would keep usgoing until we can get to a local vet, wherever we are.Water? Some dog owners travel with water from home butdrinking water in strange places has never seemed to affectmy dogs so we don't bother.Human gear. I try to separate my own clothes into twobags: one with just enough clothes and toiletries for the drivingpart of the trip, and the other with everything I'll needonce we arrive. That minimizes the unloading and reloading atour nightly stops.Walks and pee breaks. I usually try to give them a break every3-4 hours (with Muddy it was every two hours as he had severehip dysplasia and needed to loosen up more often). Interstaterest stops are great for walks and picnics, and there areusually special dog walking areas. One thing I’m very cautiousabout: since I travel alone with my dogs I rarely pee myself atthe rest stops, because I've heard so many horror stories ofdogs being stolen from cars. I don't know if these stories areapocryphal, but I don't think it's worth the risk. Perhaps dognappershang out at rest stops waiting for attractive dogs. Inany event, I assume that if people see you walking your dogsthere's more likelihood of them being stolen if you then leavethem unattended.So the dogs use the rest stops but I usually wait to go until agas station or McDonalds (and that's all I do at McDonalds,except buy the occasional plain cheeseburger as a special junkfoodtreat for the dogs for being such good travelers). You canrun in and out fast and the bathrooms at McDonalds are alwayson the right! If it's hot, the rest stops may not involvemuch walking.Dog friendly lodging. We stay with friends whenever wecan. It's a great opportunity to visit people we don't see veryoften, and it's much nicer than staying in a motel. But it'spretty easy to find dog-friendly motels, and there are quite afew online resources. The site with the widest range of information(lodging, restaurants, activities and services for travelerswith dogs) is GoPetFriendly.com. Petfriendlytravel.comand dogfriendly.com also offer good information on dogfriendlylodging. Some motels have a small extra charge fordogs, others don't. Best Western and Days Inn are pretty reliablydog-friendly, and Holiday Inn Express is decent. SometimesI book ahead, but other times I'm not sure how much progressLet's go! The first morning we leave on a trip, I don't usuallywalk the dogs at home because they are so excited that allthey want to do is get in the car. If I can get them to pee beforegetting in, I do, but often they are just frantic to go. So westop about an hour out for a walk and breakfast. They don'tseem to mind eating out of plastic containers, and the firstwalk of the journey always seems to be a thrill for them.www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 25

I'll make and just have an idea of where I might stop, so I takea list of places in a couple of cities. Once I decide where I'mstopping, I call ahead to book a room.And if you're ever in southern Missouri, or northern Arkansas,which is very close, the Applecreek Inn in Isabella, MO is oneof the most dog-friendly inns you’ll ever encounter. Bill andRuth Holtorf and their dogs (Samoyeds, Odeo and Phoebe -and American Eskimo, Kia) will offer you and your dogs a warmwelcome, and, for a very reasonable price, a cosy rustic cabinfor the night. And if you're there Wednesday through Saturday,you'll find delicious lunches and dinners at their restaurant,including some of the best steaks and burgers we'vetasted anywhere. The Inn is a mile from Bull Shoals Lake andthe surrounding countryside is beautiful.More luxury? Once in a while, if you feel like splurging, youcan find some luxury dog-friendly hotels. In Chicago for instance,the Four Seasons allows dogs. We also stayed once atthe Inn of the Anasazi in Santa Fe, which is lovely, and theyeven arranged a dog sitter so Muddy didn't have to be cratedwhen we humans were out for dinner. We don't travel with acrate anyway - all my dogs have hated crates, probably becausethey all spent time in shelters. I don't leave the dogsalone in the room other than to unload the car), and will usuallyorder out, or continue with my car snacks (which getspretty tedious on a long trip).Exercise. It's hard to get them enough exercise on the roadwhen you’re trying to get to your destination as quickly as possible.If you have time to explore and take detours, it’s noproblem to find city or state parks (even National Parks) andforest preserves for great hikes and picnics. Otherwise,if you’re on the move, you can get decent walksat the interstate rest stops, but of course you don'tusually want to waste too much travel time.Willie and Tarka both love being out in the countryside, so wetry to find green, rural spaces for them to enjoy. Muddy nevercared about finding green space; he was an urban dog andloved wandering around motel parking lots, gas stations andother not-very-picturesque places.On the last day of our drive to Taos in 2010, we only had a fivehour trip, so we weren't in a hurry. We’d heard about somevery nice trails beside a frozen reservoir, just south of San Luis,Colorado, and we stopped there for a lovely walk. Tarkalooked very much as if he wanted to run across that frozenexpanse so was not allowed off-leash as I didn't know if the icewas safe. Blind Willie enjoyed wandering along the trailsamong the chamisa and sagebrush.I'm lucky that Willie and Tarka are great little travelers, just asMuddy was. They may be a little confused and wonder wherewe're going, but they always seem ready for an adventure, andjust trust that if they're with me, everything will be alright.Julia Henriques writes on www.askmuddy.com about her experiencecaring for her special needs dogs; she prefers alternative health practitionersand treatments whenever possible, and hopes the informationon her site will help other dogs enjoy naturally healthy lives.If you're staying in a motel, there are usually not manyplaces to walk once you arrive at your nightly destinationas so many motels seem to be beside a gas stationor fast food restaurant (or worse: in Lexington,KY, we found ourselves next door to a strip club).Sometimes you can find a vacant lot or small parknearby; often you just end up on a patch of grass atthe back of the motel parking lot......where nobodyelse has bothered to pick up poop, so step carefully.Dogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

y: Susan JenkinsTwo years ago this past May, a twelveweek ball of black fur named Micah cameinto my life. I own an Obedience andTraining center and it is important for mybusiness that I keep active and work tostay at the higher levels of CompetitionObedience. Caleb, my current dog (a yellowLabrador Retriever) had been workingon his AKC Utility Dog Excellent at thetime and his Obedience Trial Championshipbut we had stalled out. Enter Micah.Caleb had been fed raw since he was sixmonths old and I had also learned enoughabout natural health care that I was nolonger vaccinating him. With my newpuppy I knew I would be switching him toraw as soon as I got him and I began lookingfor a suitable breeder. During mysearch, I happened to be on a LabradorRetriever breeder’s forum and “met” abreeder of Labrador Retrievers whoweaned directly to raw and did one Parvoand Distemper vaccine at twelveweeks. To top it off, she has competed atthe higher levels of obedience with multipleHigh in Trials and knew what I neededin a competition dog.When I contacted the breeder, she hadalready bred one of her girls but unfortunately,the litter was all spoken for. I wastoo late this time around but that did notstop me from watching the puppies’ progresson her website. Shortly thereafter,the breeder contacted me as a boy hadbecome available and she thought hewould be a good obedience prospect.Woo hoo! She informed me that hewould be a driven worker and that hewould be a bit much for a pet home. Littledid I know just how right she was!At twelve weeks Micah flew from thebreeder’s home in British Columbia toOntario, then caught a car ride to Buffalo,New York and finally arrived at a Bob Evansin Ohio where I was to meet his‘taxi’. I went to the back of the van totake my first look and Micah burst out ofthe crate and leaped into my arms andheart.I was amazed at how quickly thebreeder’s assessment of Micah becamereality! Within the first few hours of beingwith me, I found him at the top of the A-Frame set at full height, looking over theedge as if he was thinking of jumping! Itried to be as calm as I could and quicklygot him off before he decided tojump. That was a sobering sign of thingsto come!I knew Micah would be a competition dogso another first day event was getting amassage. Caleb gets massaged twice amonth and it just so happened that Mariathe massage therapist was at the trainingcenter the day I brought Micah in (and offthe A-frame). I wanted Micah to get useto people working on him since thatwould become a regular part of his life.Micah’s first massage sure turned out tobe work and it was a good thing we gotstarted early! It was a real challenge tryingto keep him from rolling over on hisback and squirming all over, trying tokeep him from stealing the water bottle,squirming to get to Maria’s dogs, and tryingto prevent him from gnawing on peoplewith his incisors while the therapistworked on him. Even now, he loves toroll over and be silly during his massages.I must admit both Maria and Iwere laughing pretty hard at him!Dogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

Five days later we had our first privatelesson with an OTCh handler/trainer andAKC judge who was my regular instructor.Micah would be joining a Super Puppyclass as soon as she had one starting but Iwanted to work with him immediately toavoid some of the problems that Caleb andI had struggled with. So at twelve weeksMicah started to learn his formal lessons.Luckily, his breeder had started himoff with some training and It was nice thathe came already doing a tuck sits ratherthan a rock-back sit and that he was clickertrained. My first big challenge was teachinghim to do a nice fold-down drop whichmany obedience and agility competitorsprefer. Unfortunately, Micah did not wantto drop! It took me three long weeks toget Micah to the point where he wouldfinally do a fold-down drop on command.Being clicker trained did come inhandy with this, but it still took a lot ofwork and a good three weeks to conviceMicah that drops were a good idea.During his early training, I quickly learnedthat Micah is the King of Avoidance Behaviors.I have never had a dog that was sucha master at evasion! Micah had learnedsomewhere along the way that screamingis a perfectly acceptable form of avoidance.All I have to do is reach for his collarand he will throw himself on the ground,rolling dramatically on his back and emittingan earth-shattering and quite embarrassingscream. I had once caught himtrying to manoever out of a Long Down byrolling onto his side to try to sniff the dogbeside him, thinking that I might not noticehim. When I grabbed his collar, he letout this blood-curdling scream and anybodywithin a one mile radius would havethought I was killing him! It soon becameapparent that the larger the audience, themore likely it is he would pour on the dramatics.He also has tried it at a couple ofshows, much to my horror. That alwaysgoes over well and I fear my reputation asan obviously abusive trainer has started!Thankfully he is finally learning that it doesnot work. What a set of lungs!We also quickly learned that Micah has adefinite sense of humor. A few weeks afterwe had brought him home, it was veryhot outside. I had let the boys in from thebackyard—or so I had thought. Caleb waswith me, but I could not find Micah anywhere.I called and called and got to thepoint where I was nearly in a panic wonderingwhat might have happened tohim. We have a bathroom downstairs off Susan with Micahthe kitchen which has a pocket doorwhich we keep closed. As I was running by living and training Micah would be an adventure.And the adventure continues!looking for Micah, I noticed the door wasopen. Not only was the pocket door open but the shower door was open as well, andinside, there was Micah, laying in theSusan has been training and competing forshower looking at me as if he were saying almost 30 years, and presently owns Papp's“Mom, what is the problem? I’ve been Dog Services in Akron, Ohio.here all the time!” Micah had figured out Before getting her first purebred Lab, Susanhow to open not only the pocket door but was involved in horses, and was even gettingready to show but happened into a dog showthe shower door as well! Now, we have towith obedience and was hooked!warn any unsuspecting visitors that MicahSusan is currently working on her AKC ObedienceTrial Championship with her yellow Lab,could join them in the bathroom at anymoment. How embarrassing!Caleb, and will soon start competing with herblack Lab, Micah. Her heart is to give peoplethe tools they need to have a well behavedWithin a very short period of time it becamepainfully and happily obvious that people into the sport ofmember of the family and to introduce moreobedience.www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 29

y: Dana ScottPart 4Cues: Knowing your ABC'sWhen training your dog, you have taught him that certainbehaviors will earn him good consequences (Reinforcementor food and fun). You have taught him the following:The next logical step is to teach your dog which behavioryou would like him to do and when you would like him todo it. This is a cue: a word or signal that lets your dogknow when you want him to offer the associated behavior.The use of cues or commands is where clicker trainingis very different from traditional training methods. Traditionaltraining methods are command based; they operateon the assumption that commands drive behaviors. Traditionaldog trainers say a word such as Sit, then manipulatethe dog in such as way as to get him to perform the sit. Thisis absolutely backwards and although dogs can be taughtwith these methods, they are inefficient and often stressfulfor the dog.B (Behavior) > C (Consequence)An Antecedent is something that comes before a behavior.Cues are a form of Antecedent called discriminativestimuli: an antecedent that lets your dog know that if heperforms a certain behavior now, he is likely to get reinforcedfor it. When you put behaviors on cue, you nowhave the following:A (Antecedent) > B (Behaviour) > C (Consequence)It is useless to teach the dog a cue before he understandsthat the behavior will earn him reinforcement. This is whyyou must reinforce the behavior first through shaping; youmust first focus on the B > C. Remember, consequencesdrive behavior, not cues. Cues merely suggest to the dogwhich behavior will earn him reinforcement at thatparticular moment.Let's say you are out in your car and stopped at a redlight. You wait until the green light flashes, and then youstart driving. It may appear that the green light is whatprompted you to start driving when in fact it did not. Youstart driving because you need to get home from work. Arrivingwhere you want to go is the happy consequence tothe behavior of driving. Going home reinforces driving.The green light merely suggests that it is an opportunetime to resume driving but it does not compel you todrive. The green light is mere an antecedent or a cue.In order for a cue to function as an antecedent, it must bepredictive which is to say it must come before the behavior.To add a cue then, you would give the dog the cue beforehe engages in the behavior and the cue should not beattached to any other behavior. For example, if you want toteach your dog to sit, you would begin by shaping it. Onceyou click the dog for sitting, the dog will begin toDogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

offer you sits. He must be offering sits in a predictable mannerso that you can add the cue just a moment before hesits. If you say Sit while he is already sitting, the cue will notwork because it will not be an antecedent. It must come beforethe behavior to be effective. On the other hand, if yousay Sit and your dog is not ready to sit, he will not learn thecue because the cue will again not predict the behavior.In order to add cues, your dog must first be proficient at thedesired behavior. If you want to put Sit on cue, your dogshould be offering sit regularly and predictably. If your dogis offering you a sit every two to five seconds, you can easilyadd the cue and know that the dog will offer the behaviorafter the cue. Putting sit on cue will look a little like this:You cue the dog to Sit (antecedent) > Dog sits(behavior) > Dog gets cookie (consequence)Now that you understand how to add cues, you just need afew more details to develop skill with the clicker.You must be careful when adding cues that you are actuallygetting the behavior you want. If you want your dog to sitstraight up and not flopped over on one hip, do not add thesit cue until your dog is sitting straight with predictability. Ifyou add the Sit cue and your dog flops over onto his hip, youare attaching the Sit cue to the wrong behavior. When itcomes to cues, the quality goes in before the name goes on!Now here is the best part about clicker training. Cues willbecome rewarding for your dog. He will love it when you askhim to do something for you. If you are skeptical of this, youjust need to learn a bit more about the sciencebehind behavior.You might remember Ivan Pavlov from highschool or college. Ivan Pavlov was a physiologistdoing research on digestive functionand he used dogs as a part of his experiment.He would feed the dogs a meat pasteand measure the amount of saliva and digestivejuices produced by the dogs in response.He started to run into difficultyhowever, when the dogs started salivatingbefore he was ready to measure them. Asthe dogs gained experience, they quicklylearned that white coats proceeded meatpowder and they would begin salivating assoon as somebody entered the room.Despite earning a Nobel prize for his work in physiology anddigestion, Pavlov was fascinated by this response. Hechanged gears completely and began the experiments thatmost people are familiar with today. He would ring a bellbefore feeding the dog and the dog would soon salivate everytime they heard the bell, whether food was present or not.Pavlov called this Classical Conditioning or relational learning.The dogs learned that because the bell preceded food,the bell was a predictor of food. Since food was a stimulusfor salivating, the bell that predicted food become a'conditioned' stimulus and the dog reacted to the bell thesame way he did food.Within the context of Classical Conditioning, cues becomepredictors of food. This is why it is important to train thebehavior before adding cues: when we add the cue, fullyknowing that the dog will comply, he will get a reward inresponse. In this way, cues such as Come or Sit are conditionedstimuli and our dogs look at them as money in thebank! Your cues will trigger an emotional response in yourdog that will motivate him to want to comply.Now that you understand how to add cues, you just need afew more details on develop skill with the clicker. We willtake a look at this in the next issue The owner of WatchMe! dog training, Dana Scott has a degreein animal behavior and has titled her dogs in obedience, rally,conformation and in the field. Dana breeds Labrador Retrieversunder the Fallriver prefix. She can be reached atwww.fallriverlabs.comwww.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 31

y: Dr. Robin FalkovIt was with great horror, that I watchedthe news on April 20, 2010, and theweeks following this disaster. The responsibilitywas heavy on my shouldersto find a way to help the people and animalsin the Gulf Coast area. I knew thedamage that was taking place to theirown physical well being, not just the environment,wildlife, sea life and plants.This damage creates long term problemswith risk for cancer and other deadlydisease.As a Homeopathic Physician, I knew thata remedy was possible, but only if it includedthe contaminated waters. Could Irely on someone else to care enough tomake sure they collected the water properly?Well, the only way to know forsure is to do the job yourself.Leaving New Mexico on June 1, 2010, Idrove through Texas and Louisiana toGulfport, Mississippi. There I interviewedpeople on the beach and collectedmy water samples. It was tragic tosee children and their parents playing inthe water. At this time, reports werealready in about tar balls washing up onthe beaches of Pensacola, FL, furthereast than Gulfport.At every restaurant, gas station and hotel,I asked the people I met what theythought of this continuing disaster.Some were afraid to talk with me,but the many who did, shared their outrageand frustration.The horrors seen from the massive oilcontamination of the beaches and watersshowed dead bodies of birds andsea life, on these waters, beaches andcoastlines in the early news reports. Theblack oil was everywhere. It was in thewater, on the beaches and covering thepoor, helpless creatures. The lack ofaction on the part of our own governmentimparted a surreal quality. How inthe world could nothing be done?Reports of illness had been coming in, ofvolunteers trying to clean birds of thedeadly oil. Many could not continue becauseof headaches, nausea and gastrointestinalupset. Even reporters on thescene experienced the very same symptoms.Yet why was British Petroleumrefusing to allow the cleanup workers towear respirators and protectivesuits? The ugly answer seemed all tooclear. If proper protective gear wasworn, then the extreme dangers facingthe population along the Gulf Coast hadto be officially acknowledged.Oil has many components, including benzene,toluene, and hydrogen sulfide toname the most dangerous. After longterm or concentrated exposure, symptomsfor us, our pets and other mammalsmay range from: Headaches that last an unusual lengthof time Burning of the skin, eyes, nose, throatand lungs Runny eyes and coughing up of mucus Excessive coughing that can progressto bronchial and lung infection anddamage Confusion, difficulty thinking and withcoordination Bleeding from the nose and rectum, aswell as internally.Pay attention to changes in eliminationThere can be loss of hair and thickeningof the skin, as well as rashes, peeling anditching.We must be good detectives and thoroughobservers for our pets. That meanswatching closely to see if their appetite isaffected, if they are sleeping more, notsocializing and have tender areas to thetouch. Note this information and checkgently. Your happy and playful kitty ordog may become withdrawn and have nointerest in eating.Please be sure to keep a diary to chart allthe symptoms for yourselves and yourpets. Write what makes it better andwhat makes it worse. Just as you mightsee your child smile more brightly andskip and play, when feeling better, thesame will take place with our dogs andcats. Where they had been quiet and offon their own, as symptoms improve,Dogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

their interaction with us and other petswill increase.Corexit, has been used extensively as adispersant to break the oil up into smallmolecules, mainly for cosmetic purposes,i.e. less big plumes of oil floating on thesurface. It is made up of many components:http://www.lmrk.org/corexit_9500_uscueg.539287.pdfhttp://www.inspectapedia.com/oiltanks/Oil_Dispersants_MSDS.htmMany of you are not familiar with HomeopathicRemedies. These are veryhigh dilutions of substances that stimulatethe immune response. Chances ofside effects are extremely rare. There areno problems with interactions betweenHomeopathics and Western Medicine,drugs, herbs and supplements or foods.I chose to combine Homeopathics thatprovide drainage with the greatly dilutedGulf Sea Water. This helps to eliminatethe toxins from the body. It is a criticalpart of the healing process, while supportingorgans of elimintion. Otherwise,there is a risk of reabsorption of theharmful substances.The Gulf Oil Remedy has been hand successedin the Homeopathic Labortatory.The formula is in one bottle, for ease ofuse, compliance and affordability. I recommendwaiting 15-30 minutes beforeand after eating, when using the formula.Five drops are to be taken underthe tongue, three times daily for the first2 days. On the third day, you may increasethe amount to ten drops under thetongue. This method of administration issublingual - under the tongue. There is arich plexus of blood vessels there thatabsorb the remedy quite easily.Please succuss the bottle before eachuse. Do this by holding the closed bottlein one hand and gently hitting it againstthe open palm of your other hand, atleast 10 times.When using this remedy for our pets,there are three different, easy approachesfor administration. I like toplace the drops directly on my dog’stongue or make a pocket at the side ofher mouth and place the drops in there.The treatment is easily absorbed betweenthe cheek and gum, as well as on thetongue.In anticipation of the rare occurrencewhere a person or pet just doesn’t likethe taste of the formula, it can be imbricated.Imbrication is when an area ofskin, such as the tummy or thigh, isrubbed with a terry cloth towel till it reddens.You may then apply the drops onthe reddened skin. The reddened skinshows that there is increased circulationin the area to facilitate absorptionthrough the skin. My first choice is to givethe remedy by mouth.Animals prove to be excellent case studiesfor Homeopathic treatment. Theirpositive response to treatment and continuedimprovement clearly reflect thebenefits of using the appropriate remedy.While we have very close bonds with ourfurry friends, our words alone will notconvince them to have the desired results.Great care has gone into the formulationof this remedy. I am proud to provide aneffective treatment that will not have sideeffects. The effect will be the lessening ofsymptoms and improvement of health.Gulf Oil Remedy comes in a 2 ounce glassbottle, with a dropper for ease ofuse. Please do not pack in checked luggagewhen traveling by air. Ask for ahand check at security. The bottle is labeled:do not x-ray.Be sure to drink good quality water foryou and your pets throughout the day tohelp with elimination of toxins. Carry awater bottle and bowl with you whiletraveling, hiking, at work, etc. Rememberhow important it is for you and your petsdrink enough fluids to help eliminatetoxic wastes.You are welcome to contact me with anyquestions you may have. I look forwardto hearing your before and after experiences.This will be of great benefit toothers experiencing health challengesfrom this disaster. DrFalkov@healthfreedomrights.comwww.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 33

y: Kathleen PrasadAggression, like any other physical oremotional issue a dog may face, is, froman energetic perspective, simply an imbalancein the dog’s energetic state. Asenergetic balance is regained, the symptomsof the issue improve. When the dogreaches a fully balanced state, aggressiondisappears. In this article, I’d like to introducethe idea that Reiki can be a wonderfulway to support a dog on the road torecovery from aggression.Reiki is a Japanese system of energy healingthat utilizes specific breathing andmeditation techniques to help the practitionercreate inner conditions of peaceand relaxation that stimulate self-healing.Often, there is a pronounced ripple effectwhen these Reiki techniques are used inthe presence of someone else needinghealing—in other words, relaxation andstress relief can often be seen in animalsthat are sitting with a person doing Reikimeditative practice. In this way, the selfpracticeof Reiki can also be used to supportan animal needing healing—for example,an aggressive dog. When an aggressivedog allows himself to fully relax,he can open to the possibility of peacewithin himself, the place where healingcan begin, and can take the first steps onthe road to becoming a balanced dog.There are many reasons for dogs to showaggression (growling, snarling, strainingat the leash), and many methods (such asa calm and consistent program of socialization)have been shown to prevent andalso heal this problem. According to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention,more than 4.5 million people arebitten by dogs each year, and 20 percentof these bites are serious enough to requiremedical attention. First and foremost,education is a wonderful way toprevent these bites before they happen:Children should be educated from anearly age about proper behavior arounddogs and dog safety. In addition, adultguardians of dogs showing the first signsof aggression should take immediate proactivesteps with a professional who isexperienced and qualified in this area. It’salso important to rule out physical reasonsfor the aggression through an examwith a trusted veterinarian. Once thedog’s guardians have educated themselvesand begun working with a trainedprofessional, a regular Reiki program canhelp support the healing process. Reiki isan easy way to empower yourself to helpyourself and your dog along the roadback to balance.Treatment ScheduleDogs exhibiting aggression should be offeredReiki treatments on a regular basisas the issues are worked on. OfferingReiki before and/or after a training orsocializing session is a good idea.Inner Awareness and FocusIn order to have a successful Reiki energeticconnection with your dog, it’s importantto create an inner state that yourdog will want to connect to, and also remainneutral and open. In other words,it’s important not to put our intentionsand wishes onto the dog as we offerReiki. This is not always easy, as we mayhave many emotional concerns and fearsregarding the aggression the dog is exhibiting.Allow yourself to examine your own emotionssurrounding the aggression issues ofyour dog. When you’re going to connectenergetically and offer Reiki, it’s importantto let go of these emotions and focuson maintaining an inner attitude ofpeace, calm and receptivity. To help youdo this, acknowledge your inner fear orworry, and then let it go like a cloud floatingby in the sky. Try not to hold onto it orattach yourself to it.Then, allow yourself to see your dog aspeaceful, calm and steady in every situationand with every being—in otherwords, as already healed and in perfectbalance. See it in your mind and allowyourself to believe it as if it’s already happened.Your own attitude of hope andpossibility will help support your dog. Setyour intention that you are there to supportyour dog’s healing process, for whateverhe is open to receive or nothing atall. Embrace the idea that any healingthat happens here is completely up toyour dog’s choice and openness.When offering Reiki to a friend’s dog or adog that you don’t know, be aware thatthe guardians of the dog may be unawareof or in denial about how aggressive thedog may be. If you are working with ashelter dog, it is possible that the staff isunaware of any aggression problems. Sofirst and foremost, think protection andprevention. Make sure the dog is either ina kennel or on tie-down. Offer Reiki fromDogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

a safe distance and do not attempt tomake physical contact with the dog.RemindersReiki practitioners do not diagnose problemsand are usually not professionaltrainers. Reiki works because the verynature of the energy creates and supportsenergetic balance as a whole forthe dog (in other words, on all levels:physical, mental, emotional, spiritual). Bysetting our intention and then sitting in ameditative Reiki space, we simply createa supportive state of balance that theanimal then either chooses or doesn’tchoose to take part in.There is no manipulation of energy beyondsetting the mental intention to allowthe energy to flow, if the animal isaccepting. It’s good to remember wecan’t “send” the energy here or there, or“heal” this or that problem. We simplycreate a space where healing possibilitiesexist.Reiki Exercise to Try:Being Peace With Your DogOpen yourself to the energy of peace andcalm. Sit in a comfortable position, spinestraight, shoulders and arms relaxed.Relax your entire body as you breathedeeply a few times. Imagine there areroots growing down from the base ofyour spine, deep and wide into the earth.Imagine that the powerful, groundingenergy of the earth can flow up theseroots into your heart center, giving youstability and peace. Take 10 breaths, andon each in-breath, feel the earth energycoming up into your heart. On each outbreath,release any emotions, fears orworries you may feel inside you. Witheach successive breath, feel more andmore stillness and stability within you.Once you have completed the 10breaths, allow yourself to sit for severalminutes in the space of earth energy andstability that you have created with yourbreath. Once you feel yourself fully calmand connected to the earth, bring yourdog to your mind. Imagine that yourheart can expand out of your body, creatinga beautiful state of peace allaround you. Simply invite your dog intothe space. Imagine that within this heartspace, all is perfect and balanced. Feelharmony enveloping both you and yourdog. Let go of your expectations (alongwith any worries about what needs to behealed) and continue to breathe thecalm and strength of earth energy intoyour heart as you share this space withyour dog for several minutes up to anhour.Common Dog ResponseMost dogs clearly sense and appreciatethe energetic space of calm and peacethat you are creating with your breathand intention. They will show their opennessto your invitation into the energeticspace with signs of relaxation and stressreliefsuch as yawning, deep breaths,sitting or lying down, or even fallingasleep. Often after treatment, symptomsof aggression will show immediate shiftstoward improvement. Frequency andduration of treatment will be determinedby the dog’s response and openness (Forexample, more severe cases may requiremore frequent treatments for longerperiods of time). Physical contact is notneeded to achieve effective results. Infact, for many dogs, keeping a physicaldistance during the treatment allowsthem to relax even more deeply.Although aggression problems can bescary and make you feel powerless, asyou walk the road to recovery and true“balance” with your dog, Reiki is an easyway to empower yourself each andevery day. In connecting to your dogfrom an inner state of stability andcalm, you will be able to support theinner healing and peaceful possibilitiesof your pooch.Kathleen Prasad is an animal Reikiteacher, founder of Animal Reiki Sourceand president of the Shelter Animal ReikiAssociation. Kathleen, a student of classicalJapanese Reiki methods, trained withinternationally recognized Reiki researchersFrans and Bronwen Stiene of the InternationalHouse of Reiki. She is a registeredpractitioner with the Shibumi InternationalReiki Association. She has coauthoredThe Animal Reiki Handbook(Lulu, 2009), Animal Reiki (Ulysses Press,2006), and edited and contributed to thebooks Tails From the Source and AnimalReiki Tails, Volume 2. She has writtenmany educational articles on animals andReiki for holistic publications around theworld.Kathleen has taught Reiki to the staff oforganizations such as the San FranciscoSPCA, the East Bay SPCA, The HumaneSociety of Silicon Valley, BrightHavenHealing Arts Center for Animals, GuideDogs for the Blind and The ElephantSanctuary. She has also authored TheAnimal Reiki Practitioner Code of Ethics,which has been published in professionalReiki publications and adopted by practitionersaround the world.Visit Kathleen online atwww.animalreikisource.com.www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 35

y: Leonard CecilI met Milt when I was sniffing around in the fields behind thatbig white house in our town, the one where the music sometimescomes out. Milt is a good-looking dog with a strangestripe of fur on his back that always stands up, like if he weremad, but he isn't. He also speaks with a funny accent.When I first met him, dad and I first did our “look-at-me" gameso I could cool it and not scare him or his human with my maddash to greet. Milt had his human attached differently that Ido with dad. I have these straps around my chest and a longcloth line is attached on one end to the straps in front of mychest and the other to dad's hand. That way I can tell dad Iwant to go right or left or stop and he can tell me to hurry upor slow down or just walk with him. Milt had attached hishuman with a short metal line around his neck and one thatwas attached at his neck and to his dad's hand. As soon as Miltsaw me, he took off to meet me and it was hard not to run tohim, but dad and I had worked on this and I knew, if I waited,dad would let me go. Milt's dad however suddenly yelled „NO"and then I saw Milt almost fly up and then back to the groundand he yelped. That stopped me cold. I'd never seen anythinglike that before.A little while later, dad let me go and Milt's dad let him go andwe ran all over playing and jumping and running and sniffingeach other (I won't get into that, I know dad doesn't likehearing about that) and in a break I asked Milt if he was ok.Milt said yeah, but that one really hurt. I asked why his dad didthat and Milt didn't know. “He's not a bad dad, but sometimeshe does that and it hurts. I don't know why he does that,though. Doesn't your dad do that to you?"I replied, rather stunned “No, dad used to do that, but Ishowed him, that that wasn't necessary if he'd only show mewhat he wanted me to do instead."Now Milt was stunned. He thought a moment and then asked“How did you show your dad that wasn't necessary?"I took up the challenge: “Well when dad put that long thing onme and jerked, I got scared of him, that he'd jerk it again, so Ididn't want to walk with him. He jerked anyway. But I just kepttrying to get away from him. And he kept jerking. I'd lay downand he tried to drag me, but I just cried. And then I didn't wantto come to him any more, even when he didn't have the longthing on me."Milt stood first shaking his head and then replied: “If I don'tcome to my dad, he gets really angry. He starts talking reallyfast, saying stuff I can't understand...."I interrupted. “Yeah, do they even know that we don't speakhuman? I mean I KNOW they don't speak dogese, but whydon't they understand, that we don't speak human?"Milt continued: “I dunno, but the more I didn't come, thelouder he got and he got all red in the face. He then took outmy favorite toy and despite everything, I went to him thinkinghe was really wanting to play with me. But then he grabbedthat chain thing around my neck, hit me on the backsideseveral times - WOW did THAT hurt! - and then threw me onmy back!"I was astounded: “Why did he want to KILL you? Mom told me,that if a furry ever did that to me to run away as fast as I can,'cause he wants to kill me! I'm glad my dad doesn't want to killme."Milt shaking his head again: “That was the strange part. Mymom told me the same, and I was really afraid, because hewas yelling at me and pushing me so hard into the ground Icouldn't breathe. At first I tried to run away, 'cause my momtold me the same thing. I tried using my teeth - I may haveeven gotten him once or twice, but he just pressed harderDogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

until I was so tired and scared and couldn't move. Then Ithought, that maybe if I just stopped, he'd finish the job andI'd see mom again in doggie heaven. So I just closed my eyesand waited for that final bite that would send me to her."“And what happened?" I asked breathlessly?„Nothing" Milt gasped... „Nothing at all. That bite never came,but he didn't get off of me, either. He only got a little quieter.I still didn't understand what he was saying, but he had atleast not killed me. But I was still so afraid - he still could killme. Maybe if I just lay there and played like I was alreadydead, he'd leave me alone."“And did he?" I whispered the question.Milt paused a second and then „Well it seemed to all go by soslowly, but eventually he did get up. He was even somewhatnice. He then stroked my head, which I HATE, but I was soscared I let him do it. I tried to show him I don't like that byleaning away, but then he grabbed me hard again, so I just satthere and didn't dare move. Then he got up and startedwalking. He called my name and I followed him, ready to run,but right behind him."“Was that the only time he did that?" I asked.“No, he did that when I got into that box with the chickenbones and meat papers, cans and stuff, looking for somethingto do. But I worked out, despite my horrible fear, that if I layreal still, he would eventually stop pushing me into theground. The hits still hurt, but except for once where he alsobit my ear, he never did anything worse. But I'm still afraid heCOULD. Maybe though these humans don't know aboutpushing us into the ground like that. Do ya think?"“I really don't know. My dad never got that far." I replied.“When my dad jerked that line and I got scared, once hesuddenly stopped pulling and jerking and instead held a pieceof chicken in front of me. "When I came to get it, I heard this„click" and another piece of chicken came. Then right aftereach other „click"-chicken; „click"-chicken; „click"-chicken;„click"-chicken; “Then he called my name and as soon as Icame: “click"-chicken. That was the last time I ever was afraidof him, the last time he pulled that long thing. I'd shown him, ifhe just called my name and let me come and was nice to me,I'd come."“Wow" Milt exclaimed “Can you get your dad to talk to mydad?"“I dunno" I answered. “My dad tries hard, but he just can'tspeak dogese and I can't speak human. We understand eachother sometimes, but sometimes also not. Maybe if your dadSAW me and my dad."“Oh, that would be sooo cool!" Milt sighed. “D'ya think?"...and that's how I met my best buddy, Milt. Born 1952 in Swindon GB, raised in San Francisco, Leonard Cecil hasbeen living in Switzerland since 1977. After escaping high school inSan Francisco, he completed a Bachelors of Music Education. He isnow an IT-Geek at the University of Zürich.Although he grew up with dogs, the first dog he really trained (Luna, aGreater Swiss Mountain Dog mix) was using "balanced" trainingmethods. His present dog, Vela (a Flat-Coated Retriever) changed hislife due to her reactivity. After tossing everything he thought he knewabout dog training and starting anew in order to help her, he is nowenrolled at James O'Heare's CASI school and is preparing to do dogtraining and behavior modification when he retires in 3-4 years.HOLISTIC HEALING AND SPIRIT TO SPIRIT COMMUNICATIONSERVICES FOR PEOPLE AND THEIR PETS. A NATURAL APPROACHTO IMPROVED HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND EMOTIONAL BALANCEIN OUR LIVESENERGY HEALINGHealing Touch for animalsMeridianReikiAromatherapyCrystal therapySPIRIT TO SPIRIT COMMUNICATIONRose ReadingsPast livesLayers of the AuraAnimal Communicationwww.enlightenedanimals.comwww.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 37

y: Dana ScottI am a reformed kibble feeder. I admit that many years ago Iused to love going to the pet supply store where I would poreover food bags, sagely pontificating on the confounding andlengthy list of ingredients on the labels. I would stroll throughthe aisles, taking in the beautifully packaged bags that smuglybeckoned me with sexy promises such as ‘nutritionally complete’,‘holistic’ and ‘performance’ and I would take in the picturesof winning show dogs and plates of meats and vegetablesand then wisely pick my winner. I would take my prize tothe check-out counter thinking ‘what lucky dogs I have’ as Ilaid my money down for the best kibble I could buy.I can’t remember just why I moved away from kibble, but I didall the same. It might have been the fact that I did not eatfoods that came in bags and boxes and it just seemed logicalthat my dogs shouldn’t either. I tend to not do things halfway,so I researched alternative diets for my dogs as much as Icould before jumping in but decided that feeding chickenwings to dogs was a frightening leap of faith that I was not yetready for. So I decided that I would cook for my dogs. I did sopartly because I was not yet ready to trust that bones weresuitable foodstuffs for dogs, and because it was most like thecomfortable ‘nutritionally complete’ kibbles I had now swornoff of. I began filling my cupboards with quinoa, brown rice,oats, brewers yeast and ground meats. I would spend hourscooking these concoctions on my stove, feeling just as warmand fuzzy as the oat and hamburger blend I began feeding mydogs. It was a labour of love and I justified the time investmentwith the knowledge that fresh, whole foods were betterthan processed and extruded foods.I had been home cooking for about a year when I first learnedof Dr. Ian Billinghurst, shortly after his first book was published.I had attended a Patty Ruzzo obedience seminar andPatty was very infectious and very much in love with her dogs.Patty advocated Dr. Billinghurst’s diet and her dogs seemed toglow with energy and good health. At this point, I was desperatelytired of cooking complicated dog concoctions and I’mreally not sure whether it was the relative ease of feeding orthe common sense approach that made me want to try rawfeeding. It just seemed ‘right’ and I bought Dr. Billinghurst’sbook and read it cover to cover three times.Anyone who has been feeding raw for a number of years willbe familiar with how it has evolved with time. When Ian Billinghurstpublished his first book, he advocated a lot of bones:a lot. I had a new puppy at the time I made the switch to hisBARF (the aptly named Bones and Raw Food) diet and fed himan alarmingly large amount of chicken wings and legs. Hefought epiphysitis as a puppy but went on to pass his hip andelbow clearances although he became noticeably unsound atfour years of age with terrible elbow dysplasia. I don’t know ifit was the high bone content that led to his ailment or just thebad luck of poor genetics: I suppose I will never know for certainbut I suspect that feeding a growing dog 85% raw meatybones was not the wisest thing I could have done.As a breeder, I was launched into an accelerated learning programand over the years I watched my puppies and adult dogsgrow and thrive, tweaking my raw feeding here and there toreflect recently garnered information or unwelcome changesin my dogs. Over the last nearly fifteen years, I have changedmy dogs’ diets numerous times and may finally have settled ona feeding plan that I feel quite comfortable with.I still remember the anxiety and terror I had when I firstswitched over from kibble as I did not have much support orguidance from other breeders: so I was forced to learn theDogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

hard way. I understand that people new to raw feeding all havethe same question: ‘what exactly do I feed’? All too often, theyare not given the information or confidence they need to beginand this is an unfortunate barrier to getting their dog off kibble.I hope that what follows is not a recipe plan but rather an outlineof what I have learned in my years of study and observation.This is the way I choose to feed my dogs. I don’t know if itis the right way, nor does anyone else. I certainly do not advocatethis as the only way to raw feed, nor would I condemn peoplewho choose to feed differently. As you will learn, therereally are only a few hard and fast rules in nutrition and unfortunately,the more you learn, the more you discover that youreally don’t know much at all. So you roll with the punches anddo the best you can with the knowledge you have at the time.My method of feeding is not easily categorized into one of thecurrently popular groups (such as prey model, Bones and RawFood, or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food, etc.). If I had tolabel my diet, I would call it ‘My Best Guess Based On ExperienceAnd Research’. In time, you will come up with your own“Best Guess Based on Experience Diet’ but in the meantime,here are some tips to help you along the way.WHAT TO FEEDOne common concern with raw feeding is that it is not‘complete and balanced’. This is untrue for two reasons. First,nobody knows what complete and balanced is, so it is difficultto make this claim. Second, balance can occur over time: everymeal does not need to be completely balanced as long as thenutritional needs of the dog are met over the long run. Youdon’t calculate the exact percentages of protein and carbohydrates,and the exact amount of vitamins and minerals in eachof your meals, and you don’t have to do it with your dog’smeals. If you are prudent, then it will balance out over time.The majority of my dogs’ diet (about 50%) is raw, meaty bones(RMB). This can include chicken backs, wings and necks (or evenwhole carcasses), lamb necks, pork necks, turkey necks, ox tails,beef ribs, turkey tails; any meaty bone that can be completelyconsumed by your dog. If you are feeding meatier meals (turkeyor lamb necks), feed about 60% RMB, if your choices are bonier(chicken backs, pork necks, wings or ribs), feed about 40% RMB.Large, weight bearing bones such as marrow and knuckle bonesare not considered RMB’s if the dog is not able to consume theRAW FEEDING GUIDELINESThe key points to remember with a raw diet are: Balance over time The calcium and phosphorus ratio should be 1:1. Meats arehigh in phosphorus, bones are high in calcium and wholeprey, fish, eggs and tripe have a balanced ratio. Organ meat should not exceed 15% of the diet. Feed liveronce a week (or several small servings per week) and try tofind an organic source if possible because the liver is responsiblefor filtering toxins out of the body. Feel free to feed 'weird and icky things' such as chickenfeet, beef trachea, tails, lung, kidney, testicles and pizzles.Beef trachea, trim, chicken and turkey feet are loaded innatural chondroitin and glucosamine which help to buildhealthy joints. If feeding pork or salmon, be certain to freeze the meat fortwo weeks before feeding to reduce the small risk of parasites. NEVER feed cooked bones of any type. Raw bones are softenough to bend and digest easily. For optimal safety, mealtimes should always be supervised.Try to find grass fed animals that are not given hormones ormedications if possible. Younger animals in general will haveaccumulated fewer toxins to pass on to your dog.A touching and informative account of the benefitsand obstacles to creating safe and social environmentsfor off-leash dogs. By Julie Walsh.Release date: January 2011www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 39

one. These can be given as a recreational bone although I donot use them because they can break teeth and the softerjoints can cause impactions or blockages. I do find beef neckbones to be a wonderful recreational bone for my dogs.Raw fish (preferable whole) can be fed for one or two mealsper week. You may also opt to feed fish oil. This supplementationis necessary if the meat you feed is not grass-fed becausegrain-fed animals lack Omega-3 fatty acids which protect thedog's joints and immune system. Flax seed oil also contains agood amount of Omega 3 but it is plant based and many dogshave an allergy to it. It has also been linked to reproductiveissues. Organic butter, Coconut oil or Omega-3 eggs might be agood, safe alternative to the above if the mercury and toxinlevels in fish are a concern (and they should be).Raw offal (organ meat including heart and liver) from a varietyof meat sources should be fed for one or two meals per weekor 10-15 % to of the diet. Some dogs do not tolerate offal well,so it may be best to divide it up and feed a little each day toavoid loose stools.Raw green tripe should be fed two or more meals per week (tryto find green tripe, not the bleached human stuff: it is verystinky, but very nutritious). Tripe is a perfect balance of calciumto phosphorus (1:1), is rich in digestive enzymes and LactobacillusAcidophilus, vitamin B, and contains the essentialfatty acids, Linoleic and Linolenic in the proper ratio.Tripe from grass-fed animals is preferred.you can not find fresh farm eggs, feed commercial eggswithout the shell and count them as a meat meal.Fruits and vegetables can be beneficial as supplemental feeding.Vegetables must first be run through a juicer or food processoror lightly steamed. Dogs will not get the entire nutritionalvalue from the vegetables if they are not first physically brokendown. Dark green leafy vegetables are high in vitamin B. Ripenedfruits are more easily digested by dogs and are alsopacked with vitamins. Many people choose to forego fruits andvegetables as the dog is most closely related to the grey wolfwhich does not typically eat vegetables. The wolf does haveberries in his scat on a fairly consistent basis and for this reason,I feed my dogs fruit on a fairly regular basis (and they foragefor it themselves). I do not feed vegetables all that oftenexcept when I have leftover vegetables which might need disposingof. In their place, I feed nutritional herbs such as dandelionleaf, nettle, spirulina and alfalfa which are high in vitaminsand minerals.Grains (in my opinion) are not a natural part of the dog’s dietand I choose to not feed them to our dogs. Dogs do have theability to digest some grain content and it might not be tooharmful to include a small amount of grains in training treatsbut try as much as possible to use more species appropriatechoices.Raw muscle meat from a variety of sources should befed several times per week. You can feed heart as amuscle meat but not exclusively.Raw eggs with shells (a perfect ratio of phosphorous tocalcium) should be fed about two or more times perweek. Whole eggs have a balanced ratio of calcium andphosphorus. You might have heard that raw eggwhites contain a protein that binds with biotin and thatis true. To avoid deficiencies, feed the entire egg yolkand all. The yolks are where most of the nutrition isfound anyway. Egg yolks are an excellent source ofmagnesium, calcium, iron, folate, vitamins A, E and B6.It is best to feed Omega-3 or free-range eggs. If youbuy your eggs commercially, they are likely sprayedwith wax and other chemicals to improve their appearance.These chemicals are harmful for your dog so ifOne of my puppies enjoying his Drive-Thru chickenDogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

WHEN TO FEEDMost people feed their dogs twice per day. Ifeed once a day and twice a day and somedays not at all. Dogs are not omnivores andare built for periods of gorging and fasting. Ilike to fast my dogs once a week because themajority of immune function is in the gut. Ifthe dog's digestive system is continually digestingmeals, there is no time for housecleaning and the dog's immune system willsuffer. Once a week, I turn my dogs out witha nice beef neck bone to chew on and that istheir fast day. The exception is puppies undersix months of age who eat three timesper day in my house.As you can see, raw feeding is quite simple. Ifit still seems complicated, try to visualize arabbit or cow whole, before it gets cut up andput into plastic containers. Try to feed yourdog the rough percentage of bone, meat andorgan meat that would occur naturally in thisanimal. This is what we strive to recreate forour dogs with raw feeding.Remember to feed a variety of meats, not just different parts ofa chicken or turkey. Try deer, pork, rabbit, goat, duck, turkey,beef, moose, a variety of fish and any other meat that you canget your hands on.HOW MUCH TO FEEDSpecializing in Homeopathy Herbs Nutrition Clicker training Behaviour problemsStarting this fallGroup classesOnline learningSeminarsConferencesConsultations available by phone or in person.We do not use aversive methods.www.controversialcanine.comthis age. A good way to tell if your puppy is getting enough calciumis to watch his pasterns (his wrists). If the angle at thewrists starts to increase, he may need more calcium in his dietand it might be a good time to consult with your breeder or aprofessional to make certain your puppy is getting the energyhe requires. Do not let puppies get too thin at this importantage as their energy demands are tremendous when cuttingnew teeth.As a starting point give your dog about two to three percent ofhis ideal adult weight. If your dog is very active, you may needto feed a little more and if your dog is more of a couch-potato,you may need to feed a little less. The best way to tell if you arefeeding the right amount is to run your hands over your dog’sribs. If you can feel the ribs, but not see them, your dog is at agood weight.Puppies should also receive about two to three percent of hisideal ADULT weight. My Labrador puppies gain an average oftwo pounds per week. When puppies are four to six months old,they will require a great deal of food and a good amount of calciumas they are building their adult teeth. If there is notenough calcium in the diet, they will take it out of their growingbones, so make certain that they are getting a good 60% RMB atOverall, raw feeding is quite easy and there are only a fewguidelines to follow. With time, you will become more comfortablewith your dog’s new diet and you will start to see the resultsin the form of better coats, cleaner teeth, fresher breathand fewer health issues. Good luck with your dog’s diet andfeel confident when you feed your last bag of kibble, you will bejoining the ranks of thousands of people who have safely andeffectively made the jump to raw and have never looked back.~~~Dana Scott breeds Labrador Retrievers under the Fallriver prefix. Herraw-fed dogs are show Champions, specialty winners, obedience andfield competitors and couch potatoes extraordinaire.www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 41

y: Jan RasmusenAnimal Control sends a notice stating that your dog’s rabiesvaccination is due. Some of us will vaccinate readily. Becauseit’s legally mandated, it must be safe, right? Besides, whatchoice do we have?Behavioral changes (aggression, separation anxiety, compulsivebehaviors and more)If you suspect a health or behavior problem may be connectedto a vaccine, prepare to convince your vet. It’s common tohear “it couldn’t be the shot” or “a reaction like that is impossible.”Even the drug’s manufacturer (to whom you shouldreport the reaction) may deny the connection. Insist on seeingthe product’s package insert. Also know that long-term reactionsaren’t usually documented or even studied.Many of us panic, desperate to avoid the shot at any cost. Weknow what happened the last time our dog had a rabies vaccination.We wonder, will our dog survive another?World-renowned pet vaccination scientist, Dr. Jean Dodds,wrote recently: “Rabies vaccines are the most common groupof biological products identified in adverse event reports receivedby the USDA’s Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB).”An adverse reaction to a rabies vaccine may exact a high price– to your dog’s health and your wallet. Here’s what you needto know to make vaccination safer:1. Learn to recognize adverse reactions. Short-term reactionsinclude vomiting, facial swelling, fever, lethargy, circulatoryshock, loss of consciousness and even death. (If your pet appearsdistressed, contact your vet immediately.) Reactionsoccurring days or months after vaccination can be difficult torecognize. They include: Fibrocarcinomas (cancer) at the injection site Seizures and epilepsy Autoimmune disease Chronic digestive problems Allergies Skin diseases Muscle weakness or atrophyPica (eating inappropriate materials, including feces)2. Vaccinate healthy dogs only. Vaccinating an unhealthyanimal can exacerbate illness. Also, immunity may not developfrom vaccination because of the dog’s compromised immunesystem. Pets with autoimmune disease or cancer are obviously“not healthy,” but neither are pets suffering from stressfrom a move or surgery, a virus or infection, or allergies or skinproblems.3. If your dog has documented health problems, ask your vetto apply for a rabies vaccination extension or exemption.Many localities permit them even if state law doesn’t specificallyallow them. If your vet won't apply for an exemption, goelsewhere. You may want to contact a holistic vet who maybetter understand the dangers of vaccinating. If local law forbidsexemptions, change the law. Numerous states are in theprocess of adding exemptions to their laws. Check your state’slaw and pending exemptions at http://www.dogs4dogs.com/rabies-laws4. Never vaccinate against rabies within three weeks of othervaccinations or medication for parasites. Multiple vaccinesgiven at once increase the chance of reactions.5. If you’re vaccinating a puppy, make sure your vet administersa one-year vaccine initially (as late as legally possible)and a three-year vaccine (or whatever is required in yourarea) thereafter. The one-year and three-year vaccines arevirtually identical medically – but not under the law. A oneyearshot must be followed by re-vaccination a year later.6. Vaccinate in the morning, early in the week, and watch forreactions for at least the next 48 hours. Reactions takingplace when the closest vet’s office is closed can prove disastrous.Dogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

7. Tell your vet you want a Thimersol-free vaccine. Thimersol(mercury) in vaccines has been linked to adverse reactions.Merial, for one, makes one- and three-year thimersol-free rabiesvaccines: IMRAB® 1 TF and IMRAB® 3 TF. Make sure yousee “TF” on the label. (You may have to vet shop to find thevaccine you want.)8. Find a vet trained in homeopathy to vaccinate your dog.Homeopathic remedies can lessen the chance of ill effectsfrom vaccination. Find vet referral lists at http://www.dogs4dogs.com/vet9. Report all vaccine reactions to your vet and make surethey’re recorded in your pet's file. Have the vet sign relevantpages, get copies and put them in a safe place. Also reportthe reaction to the drug’s manufacturer. (You’ll need thevaccine lot number.) Vets are notoriously bad at reporting reactions,but exemptions and drug safety require documentation.12. Support the Rabies Challenge Fund (http://www.rabieschallengefund.org ). This non-profit group of world-renowned scientists is working to increase the interval betweenrabies boosters by proving that the vaccine gives immunity,first, for five years, and then for seven years. They’re alsoworking to establish a blood “titer standard” to provide a scientificbasis to avoid unnecessary boosters with a simple bloodtest. This group is supported solely by dog lovers and doggroups.Before the next notice from Animal Control arrives, do yourhomework. A little time spent learning about the rabies vaccinecan mean the difference between your dog’s wellness andserious illness. © 2010 Jan Rasmusen***10. Don’t vaccinate within a week of travel. Pets experiencingreactions on route can die for lack of immediate medicalassistance.11. Keep copies of vaccination records and titer tests in yourcar(s) and license tags on your dog's collar or harness. Otherwise,you may be forced to re-vaccinate if your pet bites someone,runs away and is taken to a shelter or if you have toboard your pet unexpectedly.Jan Rasmusen is the author of Scared Poopless: The StraightScoop on Dog Care, winner of several national awards. Sherecently hosted San Diego’s Safer Pet Vaccination and HealthCare Seminar benefiting the Rabies Challenge Fund. Worldrenownedpet vaccination scientists W. Jean Dodds, DVM, andRonald D. Schultz, PhD, spoke and a DVD of the event willshortly be available at www.dogs4dogs.com/saferpet. Learnmore about rabies vaccination at www.truth4dogs.org andabout vaccination in general at www.dogs4dogs.com/shotsand at www.truth4dogs.com.DAWGS - Through the Eyes of Our Dogs, is the first volume in a series of books dedicated to the wonder of dogs. We can never be sure ofwhat they're thinking or feeling, but if we look more closely into their eyes we can begin to get a glimpse.DAWGS - Unconditional Love, photographically portrays the special kinship between people and dogs. This is the second volume in theDAWGS series. The photographs in this volume illustrate the strong bond that exists between pet lovers and their companions and canonly begin to tell the story of this unique partnership. The reader who understands will have a special awareness of this symbiotic relationship.A beautiful pictorial portrayal of dogs and the people who love them from acclaimed photographer Vic Neumann.Available now for a special early bird price at www.blurb.com. Offer expires September 2010.www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 43

Teacher DogsTeacher Dogs is dedicated to the dogs that have broughtus to this point in our lives, the turning point to naturalrearing and raising of our beloved pets. These pets mayhave been with us only a short period but the lessonsthey brought last a lifetime. We want your stories. Wewill feature a special story in each edition of ourDogs...Naturally!TAJby Joanne SureshWe did not know what else to do as at that time all this wasnew to us and I was being advised by a vet recommended bythe breeder. So we went along with it and soon Taj starteddisplaying signs of itching! We took him back to her and sheinformed us that he was just being a boy and had nothing toworry about.A couple of weeks later we then saw what we thought was aworm in his stool. We brought him in and she gave him a doseof Panacur. The next day Taj refused to walk and we had tobring him his food and water. He would not get up for anything!We then contacted the vet and she informed us that hewas having a healing crisis!February 28 th 2009 was a joyous occasion: that was when webrought home our brand new Labrador puppy named Taj. Wehad been looking forward to this day for the longest time. Iwas very enthusiastic and wanted to provide the very bestcare for him so I followed the breeder's vaccine protocol ofparvo/distemper at 12 weeks and 16 weeks. In addition, shealso recommended we feed him on a BARF diet. Our breederalso strongly suggested heartworm prevention at the 9th weekmark.As soon as we arrived home, we searched for a vet nearby andbrought the pup in for an initial exam. He then tried to sell us apuppy package that consisted of all the various vaccinationsincluding rabies, spay/neuter surgery and a list of other medicaltreatments. He also advised us to start him on Interceptorright away. We informed him that we would consider it andwent home.I then started my research for holistic vets and found one inthe SF Bay Area. We made an appointment at the twelve weekmark for his scheduled vaccine per the breeder's protocol. Weprovided all Taj's information and told the vet that we wouldlike to use the same vaccine as the breeder. However we wereutterly disappointed when we saw the treatment on the invoicesaid DHPP, which meant a cocktail of vaccines. We wenthome utterly disappointed.The next day Taj was throwing up and had diarrhea which weassumed to be a reaction to the vaccine. We contacted the vetwho was not of much help. We then contacted the breederand asked if there was any vet she could recommend. Wewere informed there was one about a 45 minute drive away.When we contacted that vet however, she still recommendedthat Taj continue with his vaccine schedule as she did notknow when his immunity from the mother stopped. She alsomentioned to us that she does her protocol with only oneparvo or distemper at a time.That was when I started researching more into the dangers ofvaccines and allopathic treatments. I was really upset withmyself that I did not discover all this information sooner. Iwould have saved Taj! I then ordered some colostrum andelectrolytes for Taj as my mother mentioned she used to givecolostrum to our family dog. Within a few days he started beinghimself again and was playing like the puppy he was. Howeverwe still noticed him itching himself and chewing himselftill he was raw.By this time we were so disappointed in the vet industry butwe also knew we needed to do something. In the meantimewe had to put on a shirt, booties and e-collar on him till wefigured out a solution to prevent more damage.The vets we researched in the area all wanted to put him onrevolution, interceptor and one even went to the extent torecommend IV treatment and muzzling him up! We refusedeach and every treatment and walked out of the clinics. Wecame to the realization that certain vets are not as altruistic aswe seem to think they are. Hence, I took it upon myself andtried to research on the internet as to what Taj's conditionmight be and came up with the idea that perhaps it was somekind of mange.We tried taking him to the beach for the salt water and wecould see slight improvements and his coat started growingback, however his scratching habit was still present.At this point we had given up on finding a vet and I thenstarted researching for a good homeopath. We found one thatprescribed arsenicum and sulphur which seemed to help for ashort time but his habit did not disappear and the search continued.By this time Taj was no better nor was he any worse until oneday I left him without his protective gear on for about five toDogs...Naturally! September/October 2010

ten minutes and when I came back he had scratched himselfsilly and took out his fur on his back. He was bleeding with pusoozing out and had a foul odor. At this point we knew we hadto seek some kind of help. I was on a natural raw food list andasked if anyone knew of a good homeopath. Some peoplewrote back and recommended a homeopath near San Francisco.I spoke to her and made an appointment to bring Taj inthat day itself. As soon as she saw Taj, she recommendedsome parasite dust, some homeopathic remedy and an appointmentwith her holistic vet in the SF Bay Area.We applied the parasite dust on Taj and on the wound whichreally helped him heal quickly. We brought him in to see hisnew vet and she mentioned she had treated a cat with a similarcondition but we had to have patience as it took her sometime to wean him off the e-collar. We decided to give it a gowith this particular vet as we were out of alternatives and shewas highly recommended. This vet informed us that she waswilling to do the very best for Taj and would come up with atreatment plan for him. We started with some vitamin B12and an herbal anti-histamine shot called the aqua-punctureshot. She also recommended some fish oils and Chinese calmingherbs.We have now been seeing this vet for around 10 months andthere is a remarkable difference in Taj. Although he still doeshis strange behaviors which the vet thinks may now be behavioral,his coat is so much better and he looks healthier andhappier. We do not put his protective gear (the e-collar, theshirt and booties) on as often.He only needs it whenwe are not home.be integrated with natural treatments. Some natural remediescan also be hazardous with prolonged use as with allopathicmedications, therefore the best form of treatment is to buildtheir immune system so you do not need either treatmentunless absolutely necessary.Currently, Taj is still seeing his new vet for checkups and hisaquapuncture shots. We are also working with an energyhealer who recommended an herbal detox. His pungent, sourodor is gone, his ears are so much cleaner and overall Taj issmelling better! He is still chewing and scratching, howevernot as badly as before.We are pleased with the results so far and are still trying towork with Taj to get him to the next level of feeling better viabehavior modification techniques. He is very calm with food,swimming, playing with other dogs, and gets plenty of exercisewhich we try to incorporate into his daily activities. It has beena tough 18 to 20 months for Taj and us but worth the effort.Taj’s experience has taught us a lot about patience, allopathicmedicine and the veterinary industry as a whole. We are continuingto learn more about raw diets, natural therapies, herbsand homeopathy for pets. Taj is not only the dog of my heartbut also the best teacher I ever had! He has a big personality,is a big talker and knows how to get what he wants when hewants. This is just the beginning for us and Taj will lead us onour journey of new discoveries in the natural world! I am so much wiser now havingbeen through this withTaj and have now chosen thepath of natural rearing withoutthe need of vaccines,flea/tick medications orheartworm preventives. Ihave chosen instead a rawdiet and natural/herbalremedies to build his immunesystem so Taj has theability to heal on his own.Having said that, I do believethat there is some need forallopathic treatments in anemergency or in an unusualsituation. I believe this canTaj at the beachwww.dogsnaturallymagazine.com September/October 2010 | 45