Sulphur

[cowanbree]

I have had a look round and other than the sulphur pills from the health shop the only powder sulphur I can find is call Flowers of Sulphur from the garden centre. Is that ok to use?

[BC Crazy]

I have had a look round and other than the sulphur pills from the health shop the only powder sulphur I can find is call Flowers of Sulphur from the garden centre. Is that ok to use?

I am not sure as I remember only ever using sulphur in powder form & it was from the local chemist but that was about 15 years, don't know if you can still get it though.

[Erny]

As far as the washing/bathing is concerned, I'd recommend you stop using shampoos and bath the dog using Calendula Tea. You can do this by steeping a good amount of it (encased in the foot of a tied off stocking) in a couple of inches of very very hot water in a tub - wait until water has cooled to tepid before putting dog in - or brewing a smaller amount and using a saturated flannel to wet through to the dog's skin.

Yes - you do need to try to work out what is causing the skin issues/allergic reactions, but in the meantime, using shampoos tends to strip the skin of protective oils and changes skin pH levels. This can swing the dog's system into corrective over-drive and this can actually exacerbate the skin problems, regardless of the original cause.

[goldchow]

Hi Erny great to see you here and agree, many of the shampoos which are touted to assist with itchy skin can actually do more harm than good.

Becks my breed is double coated, and in particularly hot humid weather the odd hot spot can emerge. Advice from naturopaths and holistic people that the dog licking the sulphur mixture off does no harm and in effect tends to cool the blood which is possibly warmer than normal in the heat. Juliette de Bairacli Levy in her excellent book The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog & Cat also advocates the use of natural barley flakes as part of the dogs diet to help 'Cool the blood" She has bred Afghans for many years in Middle Eastern contries and provides excellent guidelines for Natural Rearing which is becoming increasingly popular amongst dog breeders/owners.

Flowers of Sulphur can be purchased from the chemist however its usually only in small quantites, virtually the same product can be bought at good produce places by the kilo much more cheaply.

Edited July 30, 2011 by goldchow

[sas]

I used to get yellow sulphur from the stock feed supplier for my horses. Never heard of it for use in dogs for allergies though.

Sway from Whelping supplies sent me some to try - might be the same stuff, however you put it in the water. We didn't personaly have any success but I hear alor of Exibitors use it on coated dogs who tend to get hot.

http://www.whelpingsupplies.com.au/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=341

Edited July 30, 2011 by MEH

[sas]

Not Sulphar from the garden centre!

You'll need to look for MSM supplements from the health shop/ supermarket.

That said - if your dog is suffering from allergies how is your vet treating this? Have you tried a course of cortisone?

When I had this problem the vet put my dog on a course of cortisone...it worked temporarily but the symptoms came back within a couple of days of completing the course. The vet suggested she might just have to stay on cortisone for her whole life but that isn't healthy at all! Maybe it's worth a try but I would use it as a last resort when nothing else works.

Alot of dogs live their lives on Cortisone because they have no other choice. Quality of life is most important so Cortisone is usually the last choice when nothing else works.

[stormie]

This is the stuff I used to use

http://www.vetproductsdirect.com.au/itemdesc.asp?ic=VAL815&eq=&Tp=

[Rysup]

Have used sulphur a few times over the years. I keep a copy of an article on my website about it.

http://www.rysup.com/thecure.html

[bigboy]

you can sponge your dog down with a wash . 1 tbspoon copper sulphate (powder from produce shop)

1 tbs cider vinegar(from produce or chemist the pure stuff)

500ml of water

also suitable for ringworm

mange and ezma ,skin rashes.

[goldchow]

I've used the wash Bigboy mentions successfully to control mild Demodex while other environmental issues were being sorted but care needs to be taken that the quantites used in this wash are in the correct proportion otherwise it can make the skin go hard and scaly.

[goldchow]

Rysup that article on your website was given to me many years ago by a well knowm shar-pei breeder after I had nearly killed one of my dogs, (a rescue with demodex) using a Tak Tic solution given to me by my vet. Apparently the dog was very allergic to it, end result was a mad dash to the closest vet some 50 ks away at some ungodly hour of the morning. The dog recovered but I have been very wary since of any of those chemical type products. Its an excellent article but vets still won't accept that it does actually work.