Expert: Susan R Griffin - 2/5/2012

Question
Hi there

I have 2 dogs. One is a toy poodle who has always had digestive issues - he was diagnosed with an undersized liver. I have always treated him successfully with homeopathics and fasting when he has colitis attacks. The other dog is a 1.5 year old chihuahua who has until now has had very good health. After being away on holiday we came home and both dogs have had bad skin. The poodle a red dermatitis ( for the first time) along with a slight ear infection and an upper respitory problem - sneezing etc. The chihuahua has had extreme itching along with darkened skin and hair loss.Now he has also contacted a throat virus and has been extremely sick, although is getting better on Belladonna 30x. The vet put both dogs on antibiotics, the chihuahua also prednisone. The vet also insisted I give them chemical flea treatment for mites etc.It's after the chemicals that the wee one got very sick, the poodles skin has cleared up but is still sneezing. Both now also have diarrhoea attacks. I have stopped all chemicals. I have always given the dogs probiotics ( which one do you recommend?), grated raw veges, rolled oats and Ziwipeak air dried meat. I am now giving them both silica cell salts for hair growth etc. We own a grooming business and day care place and the vet is really pushing me to vaccinate and use the flea treatments although until this year I never have and just would bath the dogs in peppermint and eucalytus oils. Can you give me any suggestions on what I can do for them? The poodle is also a liverish little bugger and quite irritable, his liver I guess. Many thanks, Annelies

Answer
Dear Annelies,
First of all, your intuition to not vaccinate or use chemical flea treatments is a good one..they will only make your problems worse and your vet wealthier. That said, you are already doing appropriate homeopathic treatment. As for probiotics, I really have been impressed with one put out by Sedona Purely Pets called "iFlora". It is very complete and high quality.

You may want to track down a Micro-Particle form of Colloidal Silver, or even get your own generator to make it. There is a very good generator put out by The Silver Edge.Their phone number is 1-888-528-0559 or url: www.thesilveredge.com .The benefits of micro-particle colloidal silver are awesome both internal and external.

You may wish to consider my product Critter Oil for both topical and environmental assistance with fleas,skin problems, etc. We have used nothing else in my grooming shop for over 20 years. Its benefits to skin and coat when used as a shampoo are tremendous and your clients will love the smell and softness of their pets' coats. We have dealer pricing available. Check it out at www.critteroil.com and get back to me.

There is an Australian based herbal product called NK9 that is excellent for immune support. I'm sure you could find it locally on-line.

That's about it for now. I hope to hear from you soon.

Sue