A Path With Paws

Lately I’ve been realizing that my girl, Alli, is starting to show her age. More and more white hairs are springing up in her muzzle and her gait has been a little slower, her back tighter, and her hips sorer. It’s hard being the acupuncturist’s daughter, because sometimes it’s easy to forget to do acupuncture for her after a day of treating other dogs. But at the same time she is my beautiful, loving companion and anything I can do to slow down her aging I want to do.

So what do we do to help our older animals age well. Alli so far gets the first four.

• Acupuncture – I bet you could have guessed that one coming! But really, I have found nothing more effective for slowing down the aging process, helping with pain, wellbeing, and vitality. Acupuncture helps keep the body strong and the blood moving!
• Walks – Alli gets a least two 15 minute walks a day, often they are longer. Walking helps with blood flow, brain health, strength, and joint mobility. Exercise helps to prevent many diseases and provides brain stimulation to your friend. Studies have actually shown that walking can reverse dementia in dogs.
• CBD oil – I love using CBD oil in older cats and dogs. It is a super great anti-inflammatory, has anti-cancer effects, helps the heart, cuts anxiety, and helps with pain. Dr. Robert Silver has been studying the effects of CBD oil and so far the results are impressive. It is the best pain killer I have seen work in cats where there are few good options and most cats tolerate it extremely well. Also great on pain in dogs and safe to combine with many other pain drugs because the action is different. Rob’s product is available in two concentrations, HempRx for cats and smaller dogs and HempRxForte for larger dogs
• Fish Oil – great brain support and joint anti-inflammatory in dogs. Fish oil helps with overall wellbeing. I like the Nordic Naturals brand



• Senior Dog Support – this is a formula that I developed years ago and use in many of my older dog patients. It helps with pain, inflammation, blood flow, and organ health.For more information see my article.
• Brain and Heart Support – this is a simple formula that I use in any dog who starts to show brain decline. It helps with blood circulation to the brain, regulates blood pressure, and supports the heart.

There are many other great ways to support our older animals but these are usually my starting tools!

I can heal, I do believe this. Yes I know Parkinson’s is progressive, yes I know I have a mutation that causes it. I’m a doctor, I’m aware of what my brain scan shows, I’m aware that I am l-dopa responsive. But I am getting better and it’s not just because of my drugs because I haven’t changed them yet I get better ever month. Anyone who has seen me recently can see this. I can type again, slowly but I am typing. I barely shake anymore. I forgot sometimes that I have this. I’m comfortable, I no longer feel like my skin doesn’t fit me. I can smile easily again – believe me this was hard a few months back. I have a bit of an abnormal gait and my left arm doesn’t swing but I can twist, turn and balance better than most 20 year olds.

Yes, I take over 30 pills a day; yes I make exercising every day a priority. But in many ways my health is incredibly good. My naturopath has a scale to measure quality of life. When I was diagnosed in October I was an 800. Normal people are below 300, excellent quality of life is below 500, good below 1000, fair below 1500, and above that is poor. Wednesday I was a 57. Yes 57! That’s better than most normies. My left side is still slow, I tremor a bit but that is it.

I don’t know what beating this looks like but to me it means staying under 500 for the rest of my life; learning how to do that and sharing any knowledge I gain with others with this disease. I think I will always be prone to get bad again if I don’t take care of myself, if I live in fear, if I stop living and enjoying ever moment. My Parkinson’s will always be there to remind me how to live and how not to live.

I’m going to Toronto in a few weeks, with my best friend, to work with Dr. Joquin Farias who specializes in working with movement disorders and neuroplasticity. I believe that I can make my dysfunctional cells work again.

Meanwhile I’m so happy to be walking, dancing, loving my animals and work and smiling! An incredible thank you to naturopaths Sam Evans and Laurie Mischley for sharing your knowledge. And every animal in the past 12 years who has showed me that nothing is impossible. Little did I know that in helping you I was helping myself.

For those of you with Parkinson’s see Using Supplements to Treat Young Onset Parkinson’s. I’ve recently updated this.

I just saw a very cute little Cocker Spaniel today with a history of seizures and it made me realize I needed an article on the starting points in working with seizures. Once we get to directing herbs at seizure disorders it is a little more complex, maybe I’ll attempt an article about that someday.

So here’s a few simple things to consider if you have a dog with seizures

• Remove any toxins from the environment. Get rid of any herbicides or pesticides in the home and on the lawn. That means no chemical bug baits, no herbicides or grass enhancing agents on the lawn and no artificial chemical smelling agents in the house. Many of these products are neurotoxins, your brain is made of neurons, we don’t want anything that could hurt these neurons.
• No chemical flea products. These are neurotoxins and can potentially contribute to seizures. If you have flea issues in the home consider using natural agents like diatomaceous earth. If you need to treat for fleas consider using the safest product you can find, Revolution is the one I normally recommend, and only on the other animals in the home.
• Food!! Food is important for animals with seizure disorders and some seizures will actually go away with a proper diet. Feed a diet with no grain which is minimally processed. I like raw, freeze dried raws, or cooked whole food diets. In Seattle I often turn to Natural Pet Pantry, which makes an excellent cooked stew product and a raw, or Darwins for raw food. Other options are Stella and Chewy’s, Honest Kitchen, My Perfect Pet or Instinct raw.



• Consider a consultation with a holistic vet to see if there are underlying imbalances that can be corrected or if acupuncture would be helpful. Many of these animals have underlying issues.
• Hemp/CBD products. There is some question about if these will stay on the markets but I have had dogs with seizures significant improve on HempRx.

Seizures are a hard to treat condition and not every dog is simple to get under control. If dogs are having potential life threatening seizures then medications need to be started but for those with milder or less frequent seizures some of these other things can be tried first.

I’ve been receiving quite a few questions on heart disease in dogs and though it was time to address it in a blog post. I’ve been pretty impressed on how much herbs and acupuncture can help stabilize these dogs.

You all know where I’m going with this! I do believe acupuncture is a great treatment to slow down heart disease. Acupuncture works with blood flow, helps keep blood pressure stable, and helps assure blood flows smoothly and easily throughout the body. I really love to work with dogs with heart issues because I think it helps them feel better and live longer!

I just want to say a word about medication. Unless they are very early in disease, most of the dogs I work with are also on medication. This is a disease where western and eastern treatments work well together. Don’t skip the meds!

Below are a few of my favorite herbals/supplements

1. Hawthorn is about the best heart supporting herb out there. It is also very safe. I combine it with ginkgo, which also supports the heart and blood flow. I sell a version on etsy called Heart and Brain support and Animal Essentials also has a product called Heart Health.
2. Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang. This Chinese formula helps with blood stagnation especially in the chest. Most of the heart disease we see in animals is due to blood stagnation (not true in humans) and I’ve seen this formula really help. You can use the formula I make with added E Zhu and Sang Leng or the formula without the added two herbs.



3. Coenzyme Q10. I’m more of an herbalist than a supplement vet but I do really like CoQ10 and use it in some of patients. It is a powerful antioxidant, helps supplement the health of the heart muscle and studies have shown it prolongs survival in people with heart failure. It also helps protect the heart from drugs that can damage it like the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin. I use 200mg a day for average sized dogs.

There are other supplements and herbs that can help with heart disease but these are my favorites!

Soon we will celebrate July 4th. Unfortunately for many of our animal friends this can also be a stressful time because of the loud fireworks that many people set off. For many animals, fireworks can seem like the world is ending and every year animals injury themselves by trying to escape out of houses or by running away and getting lost or hit by cars.

If you have an animal who is afraid of fireworks or a new animal in your household this is a good time to be home with them if at all possible. Here are some things you can do to avoid stress and injury to your furry companion. Not everything works for every animal and many of these suggestions can be used in combination. Some animals get such severe anxiety that they need to be sedated with medication, so if your animal falls under that category this is the time to call your veterinarian. Most of the suggested products below can be purchased at natural pet supply stores or online by clicking on the links.

1. Put on loud music or turn up the television to cancel out the noise. If your animal is prone to stress I would suggest classical or other calming music.
2. Use pheromone sprays such as Feliway for cats and D.A.P. aka Dog Appeasing Pheromone for dogs to calm them down. The comfort zone products are the same as the vet products that are called just Feliway and DAP but are cheaper and can be bought at pet supply stores.
3. Spray a natural lavender product around the house. Lavender can be very calming but make sure you use a natural product and not one full of chemicals. Do not spray directly on your animal.
4. Bach flower remedies such as Rescue Remedy can be very helpful for stressed animals. These are homeopathic in nature and very safe for even the oldest of animals. Put a few drops in their mouth or on the ear and a few drops in all the drinking bowls in the house.
5. My Kingdom of Basil Calm and Peaceful formula is great for taking the edge off anxiety in dogs. Animals’ Apawthecary’s Tranquility Blend works well for anxiety in both cats and dogs. However check with your veterinarian if your animal is on any medications or has any major health issues before using these.
6. Wearing a T-shirt, Thundershirt , or Anxiety Wrap can help your dog if they have problems with anxiety from fireworks. It sounds weird I know, but it actually does work.

   It is based around the ideas from Tellington TTouch of using an ace bandage. Wearing the shirt enhances your dog’s sense of their own body and makes them feel more confident in their movements and behavior. You can use a snug fitting human T-shirt, a Thundershirt , or an anxiety wrap.

7. If you are home, talk to your animal calmly and rub them gently. If they become agitated try to stay calm. Your stress will only make them more stressed.
8. Make sure all windows and doors are closed. Do not leave your animal outside.

Have a wonderful new year and thank you for visiting!

It’s been awhile since I’ve had time to go into my pharmacy and play! I love working with all the herbs and using them to help my animal friends. Spring is in the air and along with it the explosion of pollens and allergens. Spring is also a good time to clean out any toxins in the blood, because as the weather warms our circulation picks up.

So today I got to make a wonderful and safe little western formula for our animal friends. Although I’m also sitting here while sipping the tea I just made from the formula. I love the supportive and bitter aftertones of the flavors!

So what herbs volunteered for this spring detox formula?

• Nettles Yes they can string you but they are also great for allergies and are a good tonic for the blood
• Dandelion root and leaf – My favorite weed is a great tonic and liver cleanser
• Burdock root – Roots are great tonics. This one helps to support the blood, clears the skin, detoxes the liver and clears waste materials out of our bodies
• Milk Thistle – A very strong liver protectant.
• Goji Berry – I love goji berries! Yummy and very good for the blood.
• Oregon Grape Root Oregon grape is a great liver tonic and is also antibacterial. A great herb for spring detox!
• Eyebright I bet you can guess what eyebright does! However I also find it has a quality of helping us to see the world clearly and be present in every moment. Very appropriate for the new beginnings of
  spring if you ask me!

As with all the formulas I make, this one is available in my etsy shop Kingdom of Basil

Did you know that spring is one of the hardest seasons for older dogs and cats?

Often times we think of fall with the dark coming and winter with it’s cold short days as the most difficult but coming out of the dark into spring is also a large time of transition and when I unfortunately loss many of the older animals I work with.

I think part of it is that spring is a time of rebirth. Many new animals come into the world, flowers spring out of the earth and the winds bring change into our lives. The other side of this is that many animals who are near the end of their lives choose the transition of spring to do it in. Whenever there are new beginning their are also endings.

From a practical standpoint I think the ups and downs of weather in the spring as particularly hard on our older friends. It is warm one day, freezing the next, dry than wet and the wind can come in and weaken those who are already vulnerable.

From a Chinese medicine standpoint, our bodies change with the seasons. In the winter we hold more blood in our core, preserving our warmth in our organs. In the summer we send more blood out to the extremities which can cause the inner body to be more deficient. In spring we began that process of pumping more blood out. In yin and yang terms we externalize our yang and if we don’t have enough yin to hold to the yang in our bodies it can cause behavior changes such as anxiety, sleep disturbances, organ failures or if yang is not held at all death (the ultimate separation of yin and yang).

So what can we do to help?

• Consider putting a coat on your older dog when you take them outside, especially one that covers the neck area. The Chinese say that external pathogens can easily get into a body which is already weak and that they come in through the neck.
• Consider adding some of the tonic foods to your animal’s diet. Bone marrow or a broth made with marrow bones is awesome. Make sure your animal is getting enough protein i.e. meat. Shiitake mushrooms or a mushroom supplement such as Host Defense My Community can be helpful. Tender spring bitter greens such as spinach or dandelions help to keep blood moving well.



• In the older ones consider using infrared light therapy. See Infrared Light Therapy for dogs and cats.
• If you are in an area where acupuncture is an option it can be helpful with some of the issues of transition.
• In older dogs the formula Xiao Chai Hu Tang can be helpful to balance yin and yang and to help with times of transition. Do not use this formula if you have a dog in kidney failure without the direction of a veterinarian.In younger or middle aged dogs consider this Spring Detox Formula.
• Help your older cat and dog to get some exercise. Exercise is one of the best ways to help with brain function and to help keep blood moving well.
• Love them every moment. All of us will pass at some point in time. Unfortunately our dogs and cats live shorter lives than us. Sometimes no matter what we do they are ready to move on and all we can give them is our full love and acceptance.

It’s sad to see our animal companions no longer be able to do the things they once could do as they age and grow older. All older animals have some amount of arthritis, although some have many more problems with it.

Unfortunately, Western medicine has very few options for treating arthritis and uses mostly drugs, to treat the pain. This is starting to change with some veterinarians doing stem cell and plasma rich platelet injections. However these treatments can still be expensive. Ask your vet about if these treatments are right for your dog. Some animals are not able to tolerate these drugs and many times animals are on three different drugs and it still isn’t enough.

In some animals arthritis manifests as weakness caused by the inflammation pushes on the nerves. Many dogs walk around like their feet are asleep, tripping over things, stumbling and no longer having the strength to jump into the car or onto the bed. Unfortunately because they can no longer walk as far or do as much as they used to, their muscles start to atrophy or waste away, causing a vicious cycle. As the weakness increased, they do less, which causes more atrophy from disuse, leading to more weakness and more atrophy and less activity. In the end many of these animals can no longer get up on their own or even take a short walk.

In other animals arthritis will manifest as pain, which can also prevent movement and cause the weakness/atrophy cycle. Many of these animals will become moody and withdrawn and may even snap and bite at their people out of fear of pain. It is so hard to see our friends have so much pain that they no longer want our affection.

In most animals there is a combination of pain and weakness.

Usually dogs suffer more than cats because they carry more weight and are used to daily activity. Also people often don’t notice that their cats are painful because they spend so much time sitting and sleeping

So what do we do for our friends to help them live out their old years happy and pain free? Often the best approach involves both drugs for pain and holistic treatments to support the body.

• Acupuncture Being an acupuncturist, I always recommend acupuncture first. Of course, this is also because I have seen how well it works in the animals I treat. I often find that if I can work with animals when they first have problems, they do so well, I only need to treat them every one to three months. Unfortunately most of the animals I see have had problems for a while and their people only learned about acupuncture when they had tried everything that western medicine had to offer. In these animals, acupuncture can still work and work well but usually treatments need to be closer together.

  It is so nice to see these animals happy and able to enjoy life again!



• Hydrotherapy is a great option especially in dogs who have muscle atrophy. Unfortunately it cannot be done with cats, although Sheila Wells at Wellspings has told me they have worked with rabbits before. Hydrotherapy is done in a small swimming pool and involves massage and physical therapy in the water. I have seen excellent results with hydrotherapy especially combined with acupuncture. Hydrotherapy helps to rebuild muscles, increase range of motion and work out sore and sensitive areas of the body without the impact on the body of exercise on land. My favorite pool is Wellsprings in Seattle Washington. They have a great website with lots of information and photos that I love to refer people to. Click on the link to check it out!



• Herbs
  I have worked with Chinese herbs with many of these arthritic dogs and some cats. The combination of acupuncture and herbs usually helps with pain and movement and helps animals maintain between treatments. I rarely use Chinese herbs in cats because they are very sensitive to them and it is hard to medicate cats. I sell an senior dog herbal formula called Senior Dog Support, through my etsy shop, that helps with arthritis pain and improves blood circulation into the joints. Your holistic veterinarian may have something else they recommend.



• Fish oil/ Omega oils
  The Omega 3 Fatty Acids in fish and cod liver oil actually helps decrease arthritic inflammation in dogs (not true for cats although it helps with other things). Adding a little fish oil to the diet can help many animals.My favorite brand is Nordic Naturals – Pet Cod Liver Oil . Nordic Naturals is one of the best brands for quality and they test for heavy metals and contaminants.
• Glucosamine/MSM/chondroitin
  These supplements help to decrease inflammation and rebuild damaged cartilage. They are often sold in combination. The nice thing about these supplements is that they have few side effects and are very safe. Some animals have a wonderful response to them and some have almost no response. It usually takes a month to six weeks to see if your animal will have a positive response. Adequan, similar to glucosamine is also available in an injectable form and works better in some animals. It is also a lot easier to give to cats who are hard to medicate daily. After the initial series of injections it usually only needs to be given once a month. Adequan can only be purchased through your veterinarian. My favorite glucosamine product is Sea Mobility Beef Joint Rescue jerk treats, they work well and are very tasty. There are other good ones out there.

Infra-red light therapy – Infrared light helps ease the pain of arthritis in joints and increase blood circulation to the area. It is very cheap to do and can be done at home. See my article Infrared Light Therapy for kidney failure, incontinence and arthritis.
Chiropractics
Many animals have subluxations of their spine especially as they age. A good chiropractor can often help with mobility and pain. I have found that chiropractic adjustments work best in animals with a very tight back and more pain then weakness. For my own cat, chiropractic adjustments have worked better than anything else we have tried and have made his life much better. Make sure you find a chiropractor who is used to working with animals and knows animal anatomy.
• Massage/Acupressure
  Massage can help to loosen tight muscles and increase blood circulation. It also can help with pain.We know it works for us, why not for our animal friends. Once again make sure you find a massage practitioner who is certified to work with animals. I have two amazing massage therapists I work with in Seattle, Kim Rogers and Jen Streit. Kim also does humans!

  Acupressure works with the acupuncture points and helps decrease pain and relax muscles.

  There are many great books on acupressure and massage for animals. Here are a few
  The Well-Connected Dog: A Guide to Canine Acupressure
  Acu-Cat: A Guide to Feline Acupressure
  The Healing Touch for Dogs: The Proven Massage Program for Dogs, Revised Edition
  The Healing Touch for Cats: The Proven Massage Program for Cats, Revised Edition
  Four Paws Five Directions: A Guide to Chinese Medicine for Cats and Dogs



• Reiki/Bowen/Polarity/Craniosacral and other energy therapies These therapies help stimulate the body to heal and can decrease pain and improve quality of life. Since there is little regulation of these therapies it is important to get a referral before seeing someone. This is especially true of Reiki since there are so many people who practice it. A good practitioner can make a huge difference in an animal’s quality of life.

It is better to do one thing and stick with it than to jump around between therapies. Often times animals will began with me doing acupuncture and herbs and then we will add in other therapies as needed. If I can’t help an animal with acupuncture I will refer them to another practitioner to try something else. Don’t make too many changes all at once in an old animal’s life. Go slowly instead.

Here is the article that everyone has asked for and I have been hesitant to write. How to treat that nasty, oozy, itchy skin with herbal treatments. If you haven’t read Itchy Dogs – the Link Between Inflammation and Diet please start with it first. Consider this article part two.

Why have I resisted writing this article?
Mostly because skin is one of the most frustrating things to treat. The reason for that is it often takes a long time to see improvement. There can be a lot of ups and downs along the way. It involves switching formulas as you go along, using multiple formulas together and understanding your dog’s (or cat’s) disease.

I rarely see mild skin disease in my practice. Usually by the time dogs come my way they have been on multiple drugs, diets and supplements. They are often hairless or with large areas of baldness and redness. And their human caregivers are often in tears. Skin disease that is resistant to treatment can be more heartbreaking than cancer. These dogs scratch until they bleed, they are often in e collars or jackets, they itch all the time, they don’t sleep at night and everyone is miserable. Ok they aren’t all quite so bad but many are.

Even with everything I do I feel like I can only get about 60% of these dogs to a good place. But remember that about 90% of dogs I see have already tried everything so in reality 60% isn’t bad. It usually takes time, 6-18 months to get good improvement and most importantly it takes people who are willing to be patient.

1. Where to start – Diet! So before anything else – Dogs with severe skin inflammation and itching need to be on a 100% raw diet unless they absolutely can not tolerate it and then they should be on cooked whole foods diet. The diet should be 100% grain free and very low in starch – so no potatoes. If you haven’t read part one Itchy Dogs – the Link Between Inflammation and Diet, go and read it now! I have cleared some dogs up with just a shift to 100% raw food.
2. Keep any medications that are helping on board as you work with herbs. I want to see how the dog is doing and if I pull away medications too fast I may not be able to tell what the herbs I am adding are doing compared to what the drugs are or are not doing. These dogs are uncomfortable and it takes time for herbs to work. I want them to stay comfortable as we work at the root of the disease.
3. I almost always put these dogs on a liquid alcohol nettles tincture at a dosage of 0.2ml per 5lb of body weight 3-4 times a day. This reduces the itch and also starts the process of desensitizing your dog to any environmental allergies they may have. If you buy this commercially it can be quite expensive. I make it in large batches for my clients or have them learn to make it themselves at home. To make nettles tincture fill a mason jar with 1/3 dried nettles (I use Mountain Rose Herbs). Fill to the top with Vodka. Shake lightly daily for 3-4 weeks. Drain and make sure to squeeze the nettles leaves to get the liquid out.
4. Chinese herbals – Almost all my dogs go on one or two of these formulas. We are often jumping back and forth between them, adjusting dosages and making small changes. Because of this it is best to have a holistic vet to help you. Often the first changes are improvements in skin quality, reduction of lesions and improvement in pulse/tongue. The itch is the last part to go and can take 6-12 months to improve significantly. Part of why I start nettles is that it can have a more immediate effect on itch. Below are the most common formulas I use.
   • Qing Ying Tang – When I get a dog in with severe itching and they are scratching constantly, if they are bald and there skin is hot and/or red, I immediately put them on a formula called Qing Ying Tang. This formula helps with blood flow to the skin, has antibiotic properties and reduces inflammation and “cools the blood.” If you are into pulse diagnosis these dogs often have a superficial fast “hot” pulse. They may actually have cold feet even with their body radiating heat. They have so much inflammation in their skin that the blood flow has been impaired. The first step is to get back the blood flow to clear out any infection and inflammation. It is not uncommon for them to get worse for a few days when you start this formula and then they get better.
   • Si Miao San – this is one of the workhorses of Chinese medicine, and though milder than prednisone, often something we will reach for as we pull dogs off of prednisone. This is a great anti-inflammatory formula and works well for yeast. It is really good for itchy skin mostly on the belly, arm and leg pits and in skin folds. If most of the inflammation is centered in these areas I start with this formula. In the dogs I start on QYT I often find in 2-3 weeks they will improve and than get worse again, with the inflammation now being worse in the pits and on the belly. When this happens I add in SMS but keep the QYT also. Over time I teach the dog’s people to work with balancing these two formulas. If the pits and belly get more itchy –more SMS and less QYT. If the back and sides are the focus of the itch then more QYT and less SMS. This formula can also improve dogs with chronic yeast infections in their ears. Si Miao San is also a formula I use quite often for dogs prone to diarrhea and smelly gas so if you are unsure if you should start with QYT or SMS and your dog is very gassy, SMS might be the way to go
   • Xiao Feng San – this is a formula I use often for mild itch and in dogs with more severe itch that have skin that still looks healthy. These dogs will often act like they are biting at bugs and the place of itch will rapidly shift. This formula can be used short time for mild periods of environment allergies and more long time for dogs with chronic itch. Make sure you check for fleas if your dog is acting this way. This formula is a milder mix between helping with inflammation and improving blood flow.

   

   • Si Wu Xiao Feng Yin – this is a formula that I don’t use that often but sometimes it is very appropriate. I use it mainly for dogs with itchy skin that is dry and flaky where the itch is along the back and on the sides of the body. This formula helps with blood flow to the skin but is not as cooling as Qing Ying Tang. These dogs also do well on a fish oil supplement. This is also a formula I sometimes switch dogs on QYT to as they are doing better when the itch is mainly on the sides and back.
5. I have long held off on writing this article because I think it is so important to work with a holistic vet on this issue. You really need someone to direct you. This is a hard issue and I find we are often going back and forth between formulas. I sometimes adjust formulas to better suit a dog or use formulas not in this list. I hope this can still be of help for those of you out there without vet access and also to vets who want to work with Chinese medicine and help their clients.
6. Remember this takes time! Many of these dogs have had skin disease for years. It can take a year or more to get them back in balance.

Happy, healthy skin travels!

Here’s a neat little formula for supporting young dogs with papilloma virus outbreaks.

If you don’t know, papilloma virus in dogs can cause warts. Young dogs can easily pass on the virus to other young dogs. Sometimes there is just a wart or two that forms in the mouth or on the face and other times you can have dogs with many, many warts. With time they will go away but I have found this formula really speeds up the time to resolution, often times with warts starting to fall off within a week of starting it.

It is a simple formula of four herbs

• Echinacea purpurea which is a strong antiviral and immune stimulant
• St. John’s Wort helps with its antiviral effects
• Cat’s Claw also often used for pain and inflammation also is a strong immune stimulant

and finally

• Licorice root helps to balance this formula and helps the body to integrate and use it. It is also though to have more direct immune stimulant actions.

This formula is usually well tolerated by dogs. I love making it because of the wonderful textures and colors of the four herbs. It is now available as Wart Immune Support in my Kingdom of Basil store.