O M G! Calendula Tea Rinse

[Erny]

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?

Edited January 18, 2014 by Erny

[Steve]

Very true and not all herbs and essential oils are equal

Some people have grown ordinary marigold - nice and bright and numerous varieties, dried them and marketed them as the real McCoy.

These have none of the active chemicals That Calendula Officinalis has and some add colours and preservatives others put in oat straw and various other plants and herbs to bulk it up.

The whole organic thing is a bit of an issue too - not as easy as it sounds and a bit of a scam. If Im drinking something I want to know no one has used chemicals on it though its hard to see why anyone would use chemicals on Calendula. How is it harvested and dried and packed as well.

Personally I think if you used 2 tablespoonsful to a litre and poured it on or sprayed it on that it' that might discolour the fur on a really white dog - you would need a patch test to be sure.

No point in me trying that on my Maremma as they have an orange tinge most times anyway due to the red dirt around here. I make a shampoo with calendula, lavender and myhrr formulated for white dogs ,no soap,salt,bleach, parabens, sulphates, enzymes or phosphates but the rinse left on might be needed too if its a really itchy dog. I can send you a free sample to make one rinse if you like for you to give it go

Edited January 18, 2014 by Steve

[Yonjuro]

How much tea would you recommend to use for a spray bottle for a puppy (husky)?

[Steve]

How much tea would you recommend to use for a spray bottle for a puppy (husky)?

1 tablespoon x 500ml

[BC Crazy]

I'm no nutritionist expert, BC Cazy. Most of my own learning has come from first-hand experience with my current dog "Mandela" whom I'm sure you've read around the traps here of his early problematic beginnings, to now. When it all started, I really didn't know where to go or what to do. The only thing I did do was I avoided use of antibiotics and cortisone (that's where the great use of Calendula Tea came in - phew!, life saver!!) and worked as hard as possible to find out what the problem was. My boy did not do well on any dry food (top of the range stuff was all I tried). In my boy's case, hives, boils, and other skin eruptive lesions, as well as yeast over-production, were all a part of his symptoms. So, my boy is a big exaggeration of what you may be experiencing, but nonetheless not necessarily dissimilar. Hope that makes sense.

After running the gauntlet of all the likely/possible dry/commercial foods (yep - I was scared to go to a DIY diet back then because he was just a growing pup), veterinary lines inclusive, I finally ran out of likely, plausible alternatives. (And yes, I'd had every plausible test run imaginable - as much as I thought feasible and not detrimental to his condition.)

So then I turned to the Augustine's Approved recommended diet. I'm not here to push or sell this diet - others may have knowledge of what a complete, total balanced raw diet is - but I needed something to not only BE right, but to help my boy's system, which was obviously under a good deal of stress and needed nurturing. In essence, this diet is about raw meat, selection of raw (blended) vegetables (to a ratio), the addition of coconut oil and also the AA's own product of a mix of herbal supplements. Each component included for nutritional value and also to promote harmony within the system.

What is right for one dog isn't always right for another. In my dog's case, the salivary tests I undertook through Dr Jean Dodds showed my boy was sensitive to every commonly available meat protein source and even to those not so common. (Disclaimer : whether this test is relevant for Aussies is a question mark in my mind, as the base line for testing would be relevant to what the USA cattle/sheep/etc are fed, not necessarily what the Aussie Cattle/sheep/etc are fed. But it was a basic guideline, at least. And my dog pretty much confirmed certain things as he had already begun to refuse to eat beef, then lamb, then chicken. But anyway, I digress …)

So I went for one simple meat protein - one that is as organic as one can reasonably readily get and one my dog would eat. i.e. Kangaroo. And I had to balance it with something. And that's where (for me) AA came in. That was two years ago - the longest so far I've been able to feed my dog anything without him turning off it and him being the most abdominally comfortable that I've seen him since he first began to exhibit symptoms (which was about 5 years ago).

I guess I've rambled on a lot here when really what I'm saying here is "start with the KIS" mind-set, and work upwards from there.

ETA: If the home-made raw diet you have him on is one which could be considered as balanced, why not increased that to 100% and drop the commercial? Give it time - watch (patiently) and wait, to see if the yeast balance rights itself. You can use the calendula tea rinse in the mean time, to keep the symptoms in check. If it doesn't right things, then perhaps the problem relates to the raw-diet components. But at least you're working one thing at a time to narrow it down some.

Thanks so much Erny for taking the time to explain this in such detail. Geez your poor boy Mandela really had some serious allergy issues, poor boy. He is very fortunate to have such a dedicated owner who was hell bent on getting to the bottom of his issues & correcting his diet.

I have decided to do as you suggested & stop Sonny's dry food altogether. I happen to have some Augustine's Super Boost in the cupboard actually, so I will add this to raw roo meat with some sardines etc & see how we go. He has a meaty bone or half a small chicken carcess of a morning. I will try this & hopefully see some results in time. I think I have been a bit impatient in the past when I have tried to change him over & expected to see improvements too quickly & when nothing happen I stopped. See how we go this time :)

[Yonjuro]

How much tea would you recommend to use for a spray bottle for a puppy (husky)?

1 tablespoon x 500ml

THanks Steve,

How often can it be used?

Cheers

[Steve]

How much tea would you recommend to use for a spray bottle for a puppy (husky)?

1 tablespoon x 500ml

THanks Steve,

How often can it be used?

Cheers

As often as you like - no side effects.

[Yonjuro]

How much tea would you recommend to use for a spray bottle for a puppy (husky)?

1 tablespoon x 500ml

THanks Steve,

How often can it be used?

Cheers

As often as you like - no side effects.

THanks Steve!

I'll be contacting you when I run out, thanks to you and Emy for the heads up and advice.

[Erny]

Thanks so much Erny for taking the time to explain this in such detail. Geez your poor boy Mandela really had some serious allergy issues, poor boy.

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.

He is very fortunate to have such a dedicated owner who was hell bent on getting to the bottom of his issues & correcting his diet.

Thank you. (Where'd the 'blush' emoticon go?)

I have decided to do as you suggested & stop Sonny's dry food altogether. I happen to have some Augustine's Super Boost in the cupboard actually, so I will add this to raw roo meat with some sardines etc & see how we go. He has a meaty bone or half a small chicken carcess of a morning. I will try this & hopefully see some results in time. I think I have been a bit impatient in the past when I have tried to change him over & expected to see improvements too quickly & when nothing happen I stopped. See how we go this time :)

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.

Edited January 19, 2014 by Erny

[Loving my Oldies]

Thank you. (Where'd the 'blush' emoticon go?)

Here 'tis

[Loving my Oldies]

Edited: After several tries, have managed to place an order.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Danny's Darling

[aliwake]

I've been reading these calendula tea threads with interest and am about to give it a try - firstly cos my boy has a bit of a mucky eye at the moment, but I hope to try the bath too, as he does seem a bit itchy lately - particularly his tail!

Anyway, did I read somewhere that you can't keep the tea for too long once it's made up? I've lost track of what I've read where...

If I could make up a spray bottle and keep it indefinitely (or even a week or so), that would be great - I'm not going to need much to just clean his eyes.

If it does need to be discarded, would refrigerating extend the life a little?

How much tea would you recommend to use for a spray bottle for a puppy (husky)?

1 tablespoon x 500ml

THanks Steve,

How often can it be used?

Cheers

[Yonjuro]

I've been reading these calendula tea threads with interest and am about to give it a try - firstly cos my boy has a bit of a mucky eye at the moment, but I hope to try the bath too, as he does seem a bit itchy lately - particularly his tail!

Anyway, did I read somewhere that you can't keep the tea for too long once it's made up? I've lost track of what I've read where...

If I could make up a spray bottle and keep it indefinitely (or even a week or so), that would be great - I'm not going to need much to just clean his eyes.

If it does need to be discarded, would refrigerating extend the life a little?

How much tea would you recommend to use for a spray bottle for a puppy (husky)?

1 tablespoon x 500ml

THanks Steve,

How often can it be used?

Cheers

Good question, I will look forward to the response.

[Steve]

If its kept refrigerated it extends its life and freezing too - but you don't have to make up these amounts - just a big pinch about what you would normally put in a tea bag is enough in boiling water. Smaller pinch half a cup etc . Don't forget you can actually let the dog eat the "tea leaves" too so put the leaves after they are brewed in the fridge and chuck a bit over the dogs food as that increases the immune system and does a heap of other good stuff too. I think its filthy to taste but the dogs don't seem to mind it

My link

Health & Nutrition Benefits Of Eating Marigold

• Calendula extracts are known to show anti-cancer effects, especially in diseases like leukemia, melanoma, fibrosarcoma, breast, prostate, cervix, lung, pancreas and colorectal cancers.
• The flower extract is used to treat bee stings and scorpion bites.
• Since it is anti-inflammatory, calendula constricts blood vessels and helps stop bleeding.
• Calendula tincture is used to treat ailments like bruises, sprains, pulled muscles and sores.
• The oil is applied directly to the ear for reducing earache. Calendula tea is prepared and consumed for treating ear infections.
• Calendula tea is used as eyewash for sore, reddened eyes.
• The tea is also used to aid digestion, stimulate the immune system, detoxify the body and regulate the menstruation cycle.
• Calendula helps in forming new blood vessels and heals wounds such as cuts and scratches.
• Its oil stimulates blood circulation and induces sweating, thus reducing body heat and fever.
• Calendula is applied topically to aid abrasions, acne and burns.
• When taken orally, calendula helps in soothing stomach ulcers and inflammation.
• It is also very effective in fighting boils, abscesses and recurrent vomiting.
• Calendula is used in ointments that help in treating vaginal itching caused due to menopausal tissue changes, insect bites, eczema, diaper rash, acne, hemorrhoids, burns, scalds and sunburns.
• The flower forms a part of many cosmetic creams that help in decreasing the appearance of wrinkles and hydrate skin as well.
• It is also used to treat capillary engorgement, chronic ulcers, varicose veins and congestion.
• Calendula ointments are used to treat chapped lips, bedsores and shingles.
• It is widely used as a cleanser for liver, gallbladder and other organs.

[aliwake]

Thank you! I've just made up half a cup. Will put it in the fridge after the first application, and hopefully it wil stay effective for a couple of days.

[Erny]

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.

[aliwake]

No worries Erny, I appreciate the thoughts of an expert!

I used a clean cotton pad for each eye (no double dipping), so might just use this batch again in the morning then re-brew after that.

I was planning on doing it twice a day, so hopefully that's enough to help.

And hopefully I actually got some in his eyes! He had them scrunched shut pretty tight :)

[Skruffy n Flea]

I've used calendula tea on numerous occasions but only when I 'thought' to use it following the use of numerous other products that are on the current market; I need to think 'calendula' more promptly...

following each walk I rinse my dogs with tepid water to remove pollens etc followed by the occasional rinse using ego brand 'flare up' leave in bath oil [or water mixed with vinegar] and after a towel dry, they each get a coconut oil massage. this process obviously helps them stay smelling pleasant.

I must work in to my morning routine the steeping of cal tea so it's at a reasonable temp when I return from our walk...

Q1: would steeping say a fist-full of tea [2 dogs] in a small amount of boiling water then adding adequate tap water have the same or similar benefits?

Q2: how often can one use such a rinse on their swf? and

Q3: can I follow [or do you think I can follow] a cal tea rinse with a coconut oil [an excellent carrier] massage?

thanks so much for the advice :}

[Steve]

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.

The chemicals which are active in it wont diminish but the worry is bacteria. If you use boiling water and make sure your container is sterile and airtight glass where bacteria cant get in then its not such a risk but using plastic , not sterilising effectively and not keeping it in the fridge in an airtight container all increase the risk .

You can use a syringe to rinse the eyes out too. I use glass syringes for everything I do but using plastic is O.K. if its a new syringe each day.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Steve

[Steve]

I've used calendula tea on numerous occasions but only when I 'thought' to use it following the use of numerous other products that are on the current market; I need to think 'calendula' more promptly...

following each walk I rinse my dogs with tepid water to remove pollens etc followed by the occasional rinse using ego brand 'flare up' leave in bath oil [or water mixed with vinegar] and after a towel dry, they each get a coconut oil massage. this process obviously helps them stay smelling pleasant.

I must work in to my morning routine the steeping of cal tea so it's at a reasonable temp when I return from our walk...

Q1: would steeping say a fist-full of tea [2 dogs] in a small amount of boiling water then adding adequate tap water have the same or similar benefits? yes

Q2: how often can one use such a rinse on their swf? as often as you like and

Q3: can I follow [or do you think I can follow] a cal tea rinse with a coconut oil [an excellent carrier] massage? yes

thanks so much for the advice :}