Dagmar

Brigitte, My dogs weigh about 30 kg, and I am using 1-2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds for them. So your dog should be fine with 1/3 of that, I would say about 1 good teaspoon? Make sure to keep the flax seeds in the fridge to avoid getting rancid and also always grind them fresh. Let us know how Maggie likes it! Dagmar

Hi Dagmar, this is the article I read that made me put some sesame oil in Maggies food occasionally. Its supposed to also have a good amount of Vit E... http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/flaxseed.htm Its not specific to dogs so if you dont think its appropriate let me know. I have not been using the grounds seeds, but am chasing up a coffee grinder so I can start asap. thanks Brigitte Thanks for the link, sounds pretty interesting. So far I only knew about the benefits of sesame oil when applied to human skin, I definitely have to dig deeper into that. I could not find a source yet regarding the use of sesame oil in dogs, so I honestly cannot say if it is good or not. Another good oil (which can be used in animals) would be coconut oil. Aldi has very cheap coffee grinders at the moment, I believe about 15$. I use my coffee grinder only for the flax seeds and it works very well. BTW - is your dog getting any Australian Bush Flower Essences? They work especially well in balancing the emotional side of things. Dagmar

That is so good to hear! Dagmar

It really depends on your dogs' chewing habits. Make sure, whatever bones you are feeding, you should be there and watch them. Not only bones can cause injuries, but they are also considered 'trophies' in dog world and can be the cause for serious fights. If they were my dogs, I would not get different sized bones for the dogs as there is always the possibility that the larger dog gets one of the smaller bones which might cause him harm. When going to the butcher I always have a close look at the so called 'dog bones' as I do not believe they are all suitable for dogs. Well, again it depends on the dog. Some dogs just nibble off the meat and leave the bone, others chew down the bone, and the greedy ones (like mine) would try to swallow the bone or large fragments of it. You have to experiment and see how your dogs eat bones. Make sure, you do not buy bones with mainly fat attached (or cut it off) and start with reasonable large bones to see how they eat them. Weight bearing bones like marrow bones are harder than a dog's tooth, if your dogs would not think of chewing them down, fine. In my experience the butchers do not leave a lot of meat on them, hardly anything. And the marrow is very fat, so I would not feed them too often. I found a butcher who has dog bones, which are basically parts of the spine (the cannot cut out the meat between the vertebrae, so there is still lots of meat on them). The other bones I am buying are lamb pelvis, but I always have to cut away the fat that is attached. I never ever use ribs, they splinter, can get stuck in the roof of the mouth, in the airway or cause an internal blockage. If they are in a bag of bones which I like, I buy the bag and prepare a nice broth out of the bones which I am not feeding to the dogs. My dogs love it, when I pour that broth over their food! I hope that helps. Dagmar

Just for my understanding - are you concerned that your dog does not eat her dry food or that she does not eat at all? Honestly - I am not a big fan of dry food, usually contains too many carbs, can get mouldy, moths love it and it is not very natural (they would not have it in the wild). Of course it is convenient, but I personally do not feed it any more. My dogs get a diet with mainly raw food, sometimes I cook it for a change, I prepare all their food myself with human-grade ingredients and they thrive! Never had a problem with picky eaters, they gobble it down with high speed. Another issue could be the feeding routine. Do you leave the dry flood sitting around the whole day for her to help herself when she wants some? Better would be to put it down, if she does not want any take it away. She will quickly learn that she better eats. Dagmar

Oh no! Good on your vet to react immediately. Sounds a bit like a mast cell tumour, lets hope it is something benign! Please keep us updated! Thinking of your little darling. Dagmar

Hi Brigitte, Ok, I do not know about that. If you can remember where you read it, it would be nice, if you could let me know. I am always interested in learning new things! I see, you could use some cod liver oil or fish oil instead, I believe you are using fish oil already? I always use human Vit E and C for my dogs, but I get the ester Vit C for them (it is not sour and does not cause diarrhoea). The dog dosage is 100mg Vit C per 10lbs of body weight twice daily, and 100IU Vit E per 10lbs body weight twice daily. Some people successfully also use Selenium, as I said before, better check with your vet before using it, I can tell you the dose, if needed. I just thought you could also alternate the Essiac tea with Green tea (Camellia) as that as well inhibits tumour growth and stimulates the immune system. Have you ever considered using some Australian Bush Flower Essences for immunostimulation? Dagmar

Brigitte, You are doing a great job there! And by what I am reading, you got yourself quite educated, well done. A few little things I will add which might be helpful. You mention she is getting a bit picky. Most important in a dog with cancer (I have one myself) is keeping her eating. I would not worry about the carrot so much (too much sugar in them anyway). But if she refuses to eat her food, there are a few tricks to make it more appealing to her. You are already adding diluted broth, which is good. Another idea would be to warm up the food a bit, it smells better. Some dogs love the smell of garlic, mine does, so I add just a tiny bit of garlic powder. Regarding the Budwig diet, I am not saying the results for dogs are as good as for humans, as I do not know if there are any scientific reports about dogs on a vegetarian diet. But it definitely seems to make a difference. It has for my dog and many of my clients dogs and it doesn't hurt. If she was my dog I would definitely add some Vitamins, at least Vit C and E. Also a sprinkle of Turmeric over the food (contains curcumin) might inhibit the growth and spread of tumours and it has also been shown to decrease the side effects of chemo. Good that you puree the veggies and also that you only feed organic chicken! Sardines are also good, I would take it easy with the parsley leaves as parsley is also a diuretic and you do not want to give too much. Also, olive oil is good for the skin, but to my knowledge it has no positive effects for a cancer dog. I would stay away from peanut and canola oils, they are the worst oils, canola can quite often even be genetically modified. I do not have any information on sesame oil, does she really like it? I know it from Asian cooking, not sure my dogs would touch it! :-) For her tummy issues with the chemo you could try Slippery Elm bark, mix with water (then you will know where it got its name from!) and feed at least 10 minutes before her meal. Some dogs love it and eat it without trouble, others are not so convinced, a bit of good honey added often helps. If not, it still can be mixed into the food, but better would be before the meal. Any changes, make sure you check with your vet, so that it does not interfere with the chemo. I do not believe so, but it is always better to keep the vet informed anyway. Dagmar

If she was my dog, I would probably ask for the x-rays. Not all dogs have to go under, some are quite calm when held by their owners (and if she is old I would insist they don't use anaesthetics). Once you have a diagnose and know what you are dealing with, you can do the next steps. If it has to do with bones/joints an accredited dog chiropractor could be the best option. If more muscular, therapeutic massage, best combined with acupressure can be the solution. For the time being, I would probably give her the Emergency Essence of the Australian Bush Flower Essences for the pain and emotional upset. All the best - and keep us updated how she is going! Dagmar

What do you mean by upset tummy, is it hard, extended or do you hear gargling noises? Anything else? Is she eating and drinking normal, is she alert or lethargic? Did you get a stool sample to your vet to check for worms or other bugs? It is getting cold, can it be that Jaxx was exposed to cold temperatures? You mention she seems to be better when warm? If she is lethargic, not eating/drinking, then please get her to the vet asap! If she was my dog and if she was alert, eating/drinking and seems to be ok otherwise, I would try a few things: fast for 1 day Probiotics (I use the human grade ones, which are kept in the fridge, save your money on the ones they keep in the shelf, those cultures are already dead) digestive enzymes (same as for Probiotics) Slippery Elm Bark cooked organic chicken cut into small pieces or minced Australian Bush Flower Essences Acupressure gentle leash walks to get things moving filtered drinking water All the best for Jaxx! Dagmar

So your vet did not aspirate the lump? I would just be a bit concerned as it could well be a mast cell tumour, they suddenly pop up, change size and consistency and can even disappear. No one can say by just looking or touching a lump, if it is a benign tumour or a cancerous one. I do not want to worry you, but if Molly was my dog, I would definitely have it checked out for peace of mind. All the best! Dagmar

I tried the blender myself before, it did create a different consistency, but was so hard to clean! So I am using the normal mixer now and it works fine. I think I would prefer low fat cottage cheese or quark (both are fine), and add the fat in her diet in a different way. You want to add good fats and another option would be to add cod liver oil or fish oil to her food? With the flaxseed oil in the cottage cheese mix she should have plenty of good oils. What supplements and medications is she on? And what do you feed? You also ask about the ratio, I would stick to the recommended amount of Prof. Budwig, she was THE oil expert and if you do a bit of research about her you will find out that she picked especially those cancer patients which were hopeless cases and she had a success rate of I believe 95%, so she knew what she was doing. I actually love the taste myself and I always prepare more than I needed and eat some myself (not out of the dog's bowl though LOL) Dagmar

Hi Brigitte, If she was my dog, I would not give her raw eggs anyway. Raw eggs contain avidin which depletes the liver of biotin. Just boil the egg, this will help and you still can benefit of the protein of the egg. I give my dogs the Budwig diet every day and get asked so many times about the right amounts, so I decided a while ago to write it down. I hope it is ok to place a link for information here: http://animalconnection.com.au/index.php/t...udwig-diet.html All the best for your dog! Dagmar

Maybe check, if you have anybody around who does water treatment? I will hold a Dog massage Workshop later this year to teach owners how to do it, but I might be a bit too far away from you ;-) I am near Brisbane. Dagmar www.animalconnection.com.au

Looks like hot spots to me. Tricky to treat as they are in between the paw pads. One of my own dogs had that once and I usually do not like to use chemicals, I had to this time. So I washed the paws with Malaseb (you have to leave it there for 10 minutes, then rinse thorougly). I did that every 3 days only. There are a number of other things I added. The first and important thing is to dry them out. After washing (and also walking through wet grass), always pat them dry. Do not allow your dog to lick! Next was to wash the hot spots with either Neem tea or Chamomile tea. Once a day I washed with black tea with a dissolved aspirin in it (dries out and the tannins of the black tea are very soothing). Afterwards I applied a bit of Colloidal Silver (desinfection), then fresh Aloe Vera mixed with 1 drop of tea tree oil. Additionally she got 2 Arnica 30C tablets per day. I also did acupressure and Quantum Touch. No chicken for a while as according to Traditional Chinese Medicine chicken is considered a warming food. Not to forget I gave her some Australian Bush Flower Essences. I know, it is a lot of work, but hot spots can be quite nasty, especially when they are on the feet and it is worth the effort. Dagmar

What a great idea! I would have done exactly the same. Hey - do you know, if a Boxer would fit in such a pram as well? I have one with elbow dysplasia... Dagmar