Hi everyone!
Allergy season is in full swing around here, and I’m sure it must be for your pups too. Emma is itching like mad, and poor Phoebe has already rubbed the hair off around her eyes, they are watering terribly! The last few years, it seems like the season has started a bit early, during the last week in July. This year it was mid July and it came on fast. Are any of you noticing the same changes?
I just ordered a new products to try from Herbsmith called AllerQi. It’s a blend of chinese herbs that are supposed to cool the skin and balance the system. I’m guessing it will be here by the end of the week. I will let you know if we see any improvement.
Now, to discuss the wonders of Oregano Oil. I had been doing some reading about it and discovered it might be a good yeast fighter. As you know, Emma is constantly battling systemic yeast and gets build up in her ear, around her mouth, and on her lady bits. She has been on the Oregano Oil capsules since June 30th and we have seen MAJOR improvements. I started her on 2 capsules per day, 1 AM/1PM. The capsules contain 181 mg’s of Oregano Oil, 17.6 mg’s of Ginger Oil and 19.3 mg’s of Fennel Oil. I started to notice improvements within the first week. Her ear was the first to clear up and then her mouth. She still had a ton of build up around her lady bits, so I decided after two weeks to double her dose. So she now gets 2 capsules AM and PM. That made all the difference. She is almost completely clear of her buildup now, and the staining in that area (from all the licking) has almost gone away. I am so happy that I’ve finally found something to help her. We bought the NOW Foods brand and I found it in the natural foods section of our grocery store. It’s around $9 for 90 capsules.
Oregano Oil is antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral. It helps to prevent the spread of germs, bacteria and fungi, plus it has been known to kill viruses. I’ve read a few articles about people using it to get rid of intestinal worms and to ward off fleas. It can also be helpful for dogs with arthritis and allergies, although it doesn’t seen to be helping with Emma’s itching. I would like to try it for Phoebe, but it’s so hard to give her a pill. It does come in liquid form, but dogs are extremely sensitive to the taste, making it hard to administer this way. Oregano oil is safe for short term use such as the allergy season, or when clearing up an infection.
I hope you’ll give it a try if your dog is having yeast issues. It has really helped Emma out. I’ll keep you posted on her progress, and let you know how the Herbsmith AllerQi powder works out for us. Take care and I’ll talk to you soon!
Andi
Dogs with Allergies
http://dogswithallergies.wordpress.com
Tags: allergies in dogs, herbsmith, herbsmith AlllerQi, itchy dog, natural allergy treatments, natural antibiotic for dogs, natural treatments for candida overgrowth in dogs, natural yeast treatment for dogs, oregano oil, oregano oil for dogs, systemic yeast in dogs, systemic yeast remedy, yeast infections in dogs
Andi,
Thanks for the information about Oregano Oil, I will certainly be looking for it as the allergy season is starting here. What did you mean by it is safe fr short term use. Two weeks or two months? Another alternative remedy that I have used successfully, after spending time and money at the vets, is apple cider vinegar (1 part vinegar/3 parts water)for cleaning my dogs ears and feet. I use it on a cottonball to clean the outer part of her ears,(Bernese Mtn Dog)and put 1 or 2 drops in her ears that I massage in. The smell has gone and she does not scratch at them. During allergy season I do this once a week.
Hi Mary!
Thanks so much for asking about the Oregeno Oil. I’ve read different suggestions for use so I can’t really give you an exact amount of time. Some suggest using it for two months at most, others say your can use it all the time, but that you should listen to your body and discontinue use if there are any side effects. I used it on Emma for 2 months and saw no issues with her. Just remember, it is similar to an antibiotic, so to keep your dog’s digestive system balanced, it should always be used with a probiotic. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks for the tip about the ear washing solution! Emma has one ear that is always full of buildup. I’m going to the ear wash on her. : )
Andi, I am so happy I found your blog. Our 5 year old Yellow Lab, Libby, has severe food allergies and we are just learning she might now have seasonal ones due to her new itchy skin, horrible hot spot and yeasty paws. We dealt with the food allergies years ago by feeding her Raw and she has been amazing but this new seasonal thing is heartbreaking!! Can you tell me how things are going with the Animal Apothecary Spring Tonic?? We had to use Benadryl to alleviate some of her discomfort but I hate giving her meds and my holistic vet is none too thrilled. Please let me know! Thanks! CC
Hi CC! I’m so sorry to hear that Libby is uncomfortable! Seasonal allergies are so tricky. We have major seasonal allergies her too and it is complicated to deal with. We didn’t have much luck with the Spring Tonic and ar no longer using it, but that doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t work for Libby. Every dog is different. I’m guessing she’s on a probitic & digestive enzymes since she’s on raw food? If not, that might be helpful for her. I love the ones from http://www.nusentia.com. I hate having to use Benedryl too, but sometimes there is just no getting around it. If she’s okay with baths, you might want to try that once a week or at least once a month to remove allergens from her fur and skin. We haven’t had a skin infection since we started bathing the girls once a week. Let me know if you have any other questions and I’ll be sure to post if I find anything that helps alleviate the seasonal allergies. Take care!
Hi Andi:)
My choc. Lab Willy who is 8 yrs. Old has always gotten yeast infections in his ears at least 2-3 times a year, which seems to errupt during the cooler, damper parts of the year(spring and fall) and he’s not left outside. I treat him with prescribed vet. drops that go in his ears, but would like to use oregano oil, which our family already takes. Do I need to buy special oregano for dogs or can I use ours and how should it be administered? Also, I do feed him top quality food, but have you thought about adding extra good bacteria(pro-biotics) to their diet? Any suggestions for this would be much appreciated:)
Thanks,
Denise
Hi Denise! I’m am way behind on responding to blog comments & I am so sorry for that! What kind of Oregano oil do you take? From everything that I have read, dogs do not like the liquid Oregano Oil. We use the NOW Foods brand of Oregano oil & started off giving our 70 lb lab 1 capsule AM & PM. After a week or two with limited improvement & no side effects, we bumped her up to 2 capsules AM & PM. That made a huge difference. Probiotics & digestive enzymes would be a great addition to Willy’s diet. They will help boost his immune system, balance the digestive system & flush out toxins, such as yeast. I love the ones from http://www.nusentia.com. You could also add Organic Virgin Coconut Oil to his food, it’s a great yeast fighter too & dogs love the taste. Good luck & I hope Willy feels better soon!
- Andi
Thanks Andi!:). We use ‘health first’ brand of oregano oil and I haven’t yet given it to him. He loves food too much so I’m sure he would eat it, but I’ll be nice…lol! and buy him capsules. I also use ‘Renew life’ brand of enzymes and probiotics, so could I use them or should I go and buy ones from the vet? Never thought about coconut oil, which I also use and will try. I’ll start this right away and let you know how it’s working. Your help is very much appreciated:)
Denise & Willy
You are so welcome Denise! I am more than happy to help. The Renew life is a great brand of probiotics & enzymes. You can definitely use those. Since you’re dealing with yeast & it is so stubborn, I would give Willy 2 probiotic capsules & 2 enzyme capsules every time he eats. The coconut oil dosage is 1 TBS for every 30 lbs, 2 times per day. I forgot to mention that earlier. Take care & keep me posted on Willy!
- Andi
I just tried oregano oil for a stubborn skin staph infection. We’ve been through 2 6-week rounds of antibiotics on my 5-year old pit bull. (He was given up to a shelter due to major allergy problems, culminating on full-body break-out, demodex, and staph infection. They thought they had him cleared up when I adopted him, but the staph infection had actually come back. Anyway, he got really bad on a Friday and my vet was out of the office until Tuesday. In despiration, I went online looking for something that might help. After reading multiple posts about oregano oil as well as a research study published in a scientific journal, I decided to try it. Wow! He’s improving more quickly than he did on the antibiotic. I’m thrilled! We’ve used it only one week, and he’s doing so much better.
Hi Andi:)
Sounds good. I just started Willy on everything a week ago and both of us are looking forward to no more yeast infections in the ears. But I know I will still need to keep his ears clean, so what do you recommend for cleaning their ears and how often should this be done?
Much Appreciated:)
Denise