Bees Pollen Following Hair Analysis

[Ptolomy]

Looking for anybody who has used bees pollen

I have recently had a hair analysis done on one of my dogs by a homeopath. The results shows severely low levels of magnesium, zinc, Vitamin E, problems with joints and muscles, his lymph system wasn't working and he is severely stressed. :cool:

He has been having lameness issues for over 9 months now which seems to fit in with the problems with joints and muscles that showed on the analysis.

Somebody suggested I give him bees pollen. I am prepared to give anything a try - but would like to hear from anybody that has used bees pollen in the past, what they used it for, the weight of their dog and how much they gave and how often.

[Akitaowner]

Hi

I think you mean 'Royal Jelly'? which comes from bees.

Its quite expensive but very good (reputably) for getting coat condition. I used it for a while to try to boost my boys coat whilst i was showing - personally i could tell any difference but he didnt actually have any complaints like dry or irritated skin? so i would imagine it would help in that respect.

Good luck!

[malsam]

i'm trying the bee pollen now. Its in capsule form and I just sprinkle over their food. So far a week plus already, dun see any difference yet. Royal jelly are the honey from the queen bee right?

[Ptolomy]

I actually have bees pollen and that was what I was told to get - so I think this is possibly different to Royal Jelly. It is yellow and looks like very small ballbearings, so no it is not in a tablet form either and I just sprinkle it on the dogs food.

What I am unsure about is how much to feed an 18kg dog.

Malsam why are you using it?

[Poodle wrangler]

No offence intended, but if I had a dog with lameness for about 9 months, I'd be looking to some conventional medicines as well.

People criticise anti inflammatories and steroid medications- they can have serious side effects- but they're widely used on humans and are also very effective. Dogs can be very stoic and I wouldn't want my dog to suffer.

Just suggesting not to discount conventional treatments altogether.

Apologies if you've already had this well investigated by a vet.

Best wishes for your dog.

[Ptolomy]

Ha - have to laugh - we have one of the best specialist vets in Perth and we see her on a regular basis - and I think we have funded her last 3 overseas holidays. This vet is used by 90% of the agility and obedience people in WA and is brilliant in her field. I have also tried bowen therapy, accupuncture and trigger point therapy. He has been thoroughly investigated - will be sound after treatment and in a short period of time he is lame again - so we are now thinking outside the square. Yes he has been on anti-inflammatories and yes these do help - but are not a long term option. He is also on cartrophen.

His training has been cut back to a minimum. His heeling style does cause issues - but even when he is not training he is still sore, and in fact, he is stiffer than when he is training - so doing nothing is also not an option.

So conventional medicine has been exhausted - hence the hair analysis and now the bees pollen.

[malsam]

I used bee pollen because that time I saw an article on bee pollen and know that its gd generally....be it anti-bacterial, protein, vits & mineral etc. But I also saw somewhere that it will add some sheen to the coat which I wanted my dogs to have also after seeing some collies coats. In any case they are all natural and health promoting, I dun add a lot just small amt for supplementation.

[4 Paws]

here's an artical i found on honey and bee venom for dogs http://www.i-love-dogs.com/dog-articles/Do...A_Solution.html

[Ptolomy]

Thanks for this 4 paws. Interesting reading.

I had actually stopped the bees pollen due to this article being sent to me

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelate...cs/DSH/bee.html

SO now I am more confused than ever

I am seeing the naturopath on Saturday and the specialist vet on Monday so I will see what they have to say and will then try and make a decision which way to jump. I just want to be sure it wont do the dog any harm.

[Monah]

Sorry I know nothing about bees pollen etc. Have you been xrayed for HD? I'm guessing you (doggie of course) has as you've financed os trips It gets a bit that way doesn't it? A friend of mine takes her dogs to a greyhound guy, don't know exactly what his proper title is but he fixes racing greyhounds, muscles, bones (chiro) etc. and is excellent and fixed her dog after many months of nothing. There must be many of these people around with all the greyhound racing going on. He really knows his stuff in this area. Just a thought. Good luck, what breed of dog do you have?

[Ptolomy]

Hes a 4 year old Duck Tolling Retriever - who is not over weight and doesn't have short legs

[pie]

Good old internet giving conflicting advice as usual

Could you maybe just try it for a couple of weeks and see if there is an improvement?

Edited November 30, 2007 by amypie

[peigirl]

I would also be concerned about risk of allergic reaction. They plaster huge warnings on bee pollen for people. A little bit of bee pollen for my dog would most certainly cause a massive reaction for him as he is highly allergic (not anaphylactic thank dog) to bees/wasps.

[laffi]

Ptolomy, what did you end up doing to help your dog?

[Ptolomy]

UPdate.........

He is on Magnesium suppliments and also large doses of Vit C and B + drops from the homeopath. I stopped the bees pollen only because I couldn't be sure I wasn't going to cause a bigger problem.

He is currently on an 8 week break from obedience and agility and up until today I thought he was travelling quite well - but then he hasn't done anything to test the problem. Today I took him swimming in a hydrotherapy pool and this afternoon I noticed that he was very stiff in the back drivers side leg. Not sure if this is related to his original injury or if he used muscles today that haven't been used in a while. I am going to take him swimming twice a week for the next three weeks to see if this helps.

Mid February he has 2 appointments to see the vet for needle therapy and stretching........so the saga continues

[ness]

Mid Feb you start funding yet another overseas trip . Poor boy Ness sends her sympathy and she says lucky she doesn't have to see that horrible needle person again but Scoota must be a brave boy .

Edited January 5, 2008 by ness

[peigirl]

Ptolomy was breed is your boy out of interest? Wrong thread but what did you decide to do re the distemper vacc?

[pie]

Peigirl, I'm not Ptolomy but Scoota is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

[peigirl]

Thanks Amy

[Ptolomy]

Thanks Amypie - yep he is a toller.

As for the distemper issue - you can't get a single distemper vaccine in Australia although you can in the US - argh. My girl has just had a meltdown as Dermatology Mandy at Murdoch calls it. She came off all her meds prior to steralisation due to possible bleeding issues during surgery and then ate something at an obedience trial on the 14th Dec. The next day she crashed - chewed her foot until she couldn't walk on it - pulled her hair out and was red raw. 2 days later I took her in for her op - unsure if the vet would go ahead. He decided it was OK and put her on antibiotics as a precaution. She was on these for 10 days - which unbeknown to me caused the balance between bacteria and yeast on the skin to get out of alignment and now she has a raging yeast infection (very similar to thrush so is continually itching - so is now on a month of 2 lots of tablets.

So in answer to your question regarding the distemper vaccination - she will not be vaccinated again unless her parvo titres fall to unsafe levels. Interesting that the vet who took the titres suggested that her distemper titres could be low because her immune system hasn't be challenged with this virus.