Erny

Gotta thank you, RiverStar-Aura. I've been banging on about the use of Calendula Tea for a few years on here now. Lol, even to the point where it was so predictable, I think people tuned out. And to the point where I posted a photo of a broken record when I mentioned Calendula Tea, lol. It's a wonderful "first step" to take and potentially avoid otherwise unnecessary drug/chemical use and I love it when people are able to do that, knowing they are using something that has no harmful side-effects (either short or long term) to their dogs. You've really brought it to the forefront with your thread and that's brilliant :D. It also helps that we now have our very own DOLer who produces and sells it, and who is very aware and knowledgeable of its great qualities and uses. Good on you, Steve :) . Thanks to your tip about feeding the tea 'slops' to our dogs, I'm now brewing a cup-a-day, and feeding the used tea to Mandela. So we both benefit and no waste!! Prior to that, I used to save it mainly only for Mandela's use.

Ouch, if the ear canals are already irritated. I like bland, non-stringent, but effective. "Ear Clear" by Natural Solutions is good. Best thing that worked for my boy, who doesn't have the troubles with his ears that he used to (*touch wood*). I use it now on a make-up removal pad and wipe around the parts of the ear I can see. Soothing, natural components. Deals with yeast and mites.

Don't know what yourself or Steve did, but I prefer to let the tea cool before I drink it. I don't mind it. It doesn't turn me on, but I don't find it distasteful.

In the meanwhile of working out where this is coming from (and don't exclude diet in that), use Calendula Tea to bathe your dog's paws and butt. Refer to the health forum. Current topic is "OMG Calendula Tea works!!" (or something like that).

Yeah :) - I was replying to those who, beyond getting the yeast symptoms under control, use cleaners as a regular "preventative". However, we do need to be mindful about what we use for that purpose, as things too stringent to the delicate tissue inside the ear can cause the body to over-react to the cleansing. That aside, the result of yeast issue can be a waxy residue. The other thing for people to be mindful of is that a yeast issue in the ear can also be symptomatic of a burst ear-drum and if that is something the dog has, we shouldn't be putting liquids down the dog's ear canal.

Use of these sorts of washes as a standard cleaning proticol concerns me as the ear wasn't really designed to be cleansed so consistently. I could imagine constant cleansing resulting in the body reacting by producing an over-production of wax. In other words, we upset the natural balance of the body's own cleansing function. If the ears are inclined to be problematic and does require treatment, I'd be more interested in sourcing something that is more neutral to the ear's natural environment and opt (if possible) to merely using it to wipe the area of the dog's ears that can be seen, rather than pouring anything in and down the canal. This, of course, is merely dealing with and treating the symptoms. If the dog's ears do continue to develop yeast issues, something else is going on and should be investigated. IMO.

Did you use it as a rinse on your skin as well?

Excellent - but remember anything you can see is usually also about the immune system so let him eat the slops left over after you brew it - mix it with his food. It does marvellous things internally for the immune system and it's why they even use it for HIV in this way too. Cant do any harm That's fantastic news, Aliwake :) . And a great tip from Steve too. Using the 'slops' of the tea in the dog's food is not something I've thought of doing previously. Great thought

Ness - report to the AVA. Tell AVA you want your money back from the 1st Specialist and ask them to also let you know where he is currently practicing/what his address is. It sucks when you're having to deal with dog health issues but on top of that have to deal with shoddy record keeping or worse.

Try contacting Ross Wilson at Coburg Health here in Victoria. There are others like him around, but he's the only good one I know of down here. He works with natural herbal remedies which are prescribed to suit via hair-DNA analysis. If there's anyone closer, great, but this can be done via the post without the necessity to see your dog. It's a fairly simple process. Anyway, if you have a word to him via telephone and specifically chat with him about the chances of recovery/support for incontinence issues, you can decide from there as to whether you wish to proceed with hair-DNA testing and analysis and the natural herbal remedies he suggests. I've had some good responses in my dog, also my Mum as a result of the herbal support/remedies suggested for each.

Personally, if it is just "occasional" I wouldn't worry too much about it. Maybe it is some anal gland discomfort (commonly that's the case) but it may be righting itself in between times. I would look at diet as this in itself might need a bit of adjustment. I do agree that where there is a problem with bum scooting frequently and it is as a result of anal gland issue, this can be quite painful for the dog and can get to the point where it can't clear itself so it needs a bit of prompting. BUT if I can avoid having the anal gland manually expressed I do as it can become a cyclic issue. I don't believe the anal glands are designed to completely empty and when they are as a result of manual expressing, the anal gland can go into over-drive to reproduce the anal gland secretion. So if it isn't a major or urgent issue for the dog and you can right it naturally with diet adjustment, that's the way I'd go.

When my boy's eyes get "goopy", I know that his 'system' is running low and that his digestive issues are likely to show another flair up. If they're not red and the goop isn't at the really green stage, you should get some improvement via the Calendula Tea wash. After rinsing them in the mornings, use fresh pads (I use make-up removal pads) saturated in the Calendula Tea to wipe through the day. Tilt your dog's head upwards as you do this, as it helps the excess liquid make its way through the lids. Try to hold his head up until he blinks and then wipe across the eye lids (which he should close). I find it helps to teach your dog to be backed to a corner when treating as it helps to free up your hands from holding and stops him backing away. I only have to say "in your corner" to my boy now, and he positions himself to the right spot :) . He knows he always gets a treat straight after any treatment.

Are his eyes red? Goopy? You should see signs of improvement inside first 24 hours. Whether that be the goop-iness reducing, the redness reducing - it depends on how 'bad' they'd become before treatment. But the point being, there should be signs of improvement. Make sure you're getting the Calendula Tea brew to his eyes. I've done this with my boy and had to prise down the lower lid, aiming the Calendula into the corner of his eye. It's all a matter of working out the best handling position and tilt of head so that the tea washes over when he blinks. After I've put the Calendula Tea to his eye, I give a wipe over his (by then) closed lids and that seems to help. If you know you're getting the Calendula to his eyes but not seeing any signs of improvement, or if the problem worsens, don't delay with seeing a Vet. Eyes are not something to mess around with.

It's funny, DD ….. it's not a great taste per se, yet I will 'crave' it in certain circumstances when I don't feel 'right'. I tend to find my dog will do the same.

It's great to always have a jar in the pantry - great for dog and human ailments alike :) . Same goes for Calendula Tea :) .

I agree with Trifecta. Supplementing a dog who is already diagnosed with hypothyroidism can help towards reducing the amount of thyroid medication the dog would otherwise need (although this needs to be carefully monitored to ensure correct levels) but conversely, over-supplementing an otherwise 'normal' dog can induce hypothyroidism. So whilst kelp can be a really beneficial supplement, you do need to be careful not to over-do it. Have you considered that there may be an underlying cause for the loss of coat colour your dog is exhibiting? Maybe it is unbleached, or perhaps it could be symptomatic of hypothyroidism in itself? Just a thought. If this was the case or if you believed it could be possible, you'd need to confirm via bloods and for that I would highly recommend that you do so via Dr Jean Dodds in the USA, rather than running the test and analysis via Aussie laboratories.

Active Manuka Honey (AMH). Has more to it than general honey. The higher the UMF the better. I like to use at least 25 UMF but will use 20 UMF if anything higher is not available. I don't much bother with anything less than 20 UMF and have no faith in the supermarket varieties that are (e.g.) 5 UMF. The better AMH is sourced via health food stores. The higher the UMF the more expensive it is though. Be prepared to fall over backwards. But it is great stuff. I dosed my boy with it (from the teaspoon and periodically as a drink to encourage hydration) - his version of canine cough evidenced as a sore throat and a cough. I caught it early and symptoms were diminished inside 24 hours and gone inside 48 hours. I still kept him in and avoided stress for the minimum 10 - 14 days beyond symptoms though. He loved the honey treatment :) .

Try it, DD. I know of a couple of people who suffer eczema and they've found it soothed. I've used it on myself and found it soothing - not necessarily for allergy but just for some irritation or unknown cause of itchiness and it worked. No harm in trying :) Can also try drinking it. I don't find it as distasteful as Steve does - I would describe it as a bland taste more than anything else. You can let your dog drink it too, if he or she wants to.

In my opinion, given the extent of the itchiness, I'd skip the shampooing for the time being, at least. Use the Calendula Tea brew only as the wash and leave-in rinse …. give the skin every chance to calm down and heal. It cleanses fairly well and you may be quite happy enough with the results from that anyway. But that's the way I'd start it off at the very least. ETA : How do you know it's not the shampoo that is causing a problem, perhaps even rendering their skin as more sensitive than it should be? Not saying that is the case, but "KIS" (Keep It Simple) …. minimise what you use by keeping it to one thing. Then you have an idea of what works, what effects, what affects, and what doesn't and you can work from that platform forwards.

For what it is worth, when it comes to eyes, I like to use fresh - each time. I'm probably being overly pedantic in this respect, but that's just how I am :) . In other cases (such as for itchy/irritated paws), I've made up some and kept any left over in the fridge. It may last for a day or two, but if I could only think its effectiveness would diminish - but if it is not for a major/urgent problem, that doesn't worry me too much.

I agree with Dogbesotted. That's one area to check. In my own personal opinion, no dog "smells" bad (save for wet coats that when drying can smell 'woolly', but that's not what I class as a bad smell, IYKWIM). A constant unpleasant odour normally indicates smell from the skin and that means the skin (which is an organ) is excreting excessive substance/s - quite often this is the body's way of getting rid of toxins from the body, toxins or bacteria that the liver or other organs were unable to filter efficiently. That's why I do tend to look at diet; to what you wash your dog with normally (shampoos can send the skin pH into a bit of a spin, which doesn't help with any 'over-production' issues); and to medical conditions such as that which Dogbesotted has mentioned. I don't agree that constant unpleasant smell is something to be accepted as a "breed" thing.

I didn't see stress. Saw a dog who didn't want to go but who has worked out what works for him and is reinforced for it. I chuckled, and whilst I wouldn't chuckle at the time for the want of not reinforcing this avoidance behaviour, I'd have a hard time keeping it to myself.

The worst was at the beginning, when the whole issue sprung at me. His whole body was covered with hives and they were massive and threatening secondary skin infection. He shivered - I could only imagine that for him it was such an overall immense itch sensation it was unbearable. I admit I was beside myself on his behalf and just wanted to do something to give him urgent relief - I was inclined at the time to think "what the heck - I'll go the cortisone route if that's what is needed". It was Dr Bruce Syne (Castlemaine - Victoria) who I telephoned and who informed me of the use of Calendula. Relief was immediate and within 12 hours the hives had reduced to half their size and no longer did his coat have that unhealthy oily residue to it. Within 24 hours, the hives that had already erupted had begun to dry out and those which had not erupted began to disappear. I was quite (pleasantly) amazed at the result. I have used Calendula since then to keep symptoms in check whilst I worked on finding the best diet to suit him. Thank you. (Where'd the 'blush' emoticon go?) I wish you well with it and hope you find the answer swiftly - it can take quite a while and I've learnt a lot to not panic, use the Calendula to keep symptoms in check, and keep watching and searching. Something else in addition to AA+ diet that helped that little bit more was that I had Mandela's hair dna tested via a natural Nutritionist. Supplements provided in accordance with the 'story' Mandela's hair told has increased the success I was already seeing with the AA+ diet.

Can't answer directly but I can't help thinking that no matter how natural, if it kills, then there's toxin. I don't trust the idea of them. Couple of things I have done that made a huge difference (not to suggest the first thing listed looks great) : 1. I tacked up an old rubber backed curtain to a door that I generally keep open when I'm home, so my dog can go in and out at will. It did two things - it vastly reduced the number of flies to my home and it helps to keep the cool in/heat out - or vice versa in cold weather. 2. I use the bench spray you can get from the supermarket - it's natural based and includes peppermint oil (I have grant benches, so it works well with them). This discourages flies and other insects and I tend to find that in addition to the curtain idea, this helps that bit more. Disadvantage to curtain? Don't close the door without pulling the curtain back as for those on the outside (humans and dogs inclusive), they can't easily tell the door is shut and it's like walking into a brick wall. Just an idea that may or may not suit you.

I can only say, Rosetta, that it shouldn't. One person here (i.e. DOLer) wrote in to say it did stain white patches on her dog's coat, however it turned out that the brand of tea she purchased contained colour additives (some places do that to enhance the colour of the tea to make it appear fresher than it is). I sent her up some of mine and she had no staining issues with that. So when you purchase, go for a brand with no added colouring or other stuff. I'm sure Steve's brand would not contain those sort of "no-no's". But as a disclaimer, do a patch test on your dog's coat first, just to make sure. Steve - do you know any different?