Any ideas for my dog that has a heart problem?

[Guest guest]

Hi, Does anyone know of anything natural that I can give my dog for his

heart problem?? He has been taking " Enalapril Maleate " 5 mg. for a

year now. He weighs about 12 Lbs. He is going to be 11 yrs old next

month. I would love to be able to get him off the RX Med. & give him

something natural!! Thanks for any help!! God Bless!! ~Karen

[Guest guest]

If the dog will take it, miracles have happened with Strauss Heart

Drops. It is an all natural product made by a herbal family here in

B.C. The ingredients are garlic, hawthorne, cayenne, motherwort

and bilberry. I have hugged Jim Strauss and can attest to the fact

that he looks just as vital as his publicity picture!

http://straussheartdrops.com

 

Ien in the Kootenays, collecting all the ingredients!

http://freegreenliving.com

[Guest guest]

yes......there is a site called jsj for yr animal companion,also healing touch

for animals......both are treasurd

 

rod helfenstein; crescentwrench2003

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/12/2008 8:47:10 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,

ienvan writes:

 

I believe garlic is bad for dogs, and any kind of pepper gets my dog's

stomach really upset, and he vomits up his food. I think if I were worried

about

my dog's heart, I'd consider dietary changes first, and whether he needs to

lose weight and get more exercise, and maybe get a tincture of the hawthorne

and add just a little to his water. I have an eighty pound Siberian Husky,

and when I give him herbs, I use either tinctures or the dried herbs. With

tinctures, if I can find it brewed for a child, I use that. He gets Astragalus

if I feel he's under the weather, to boost his immune system, and I use dried

parsley to ward off intestinal parasites, and dried mint to ward off biting

insects. Those get stirred into his food.

 

I cook most all my dog's food myself, and he gets a lot of whole grains,

including oatmeal which helps lower cholesterol, so I'm trusting that will

prevent a lot of things. He has more chicken and fish than beef and pork too,

and

I trim off fat before cooking. It's like with us... prevention is the best

medicine.

 

 

<<<If the dog will take it, miracles have happened with Strauss Heart

Drops. It is an all natural product made by a herbal family here in

B.C. The ingredients are garlic, hawthorne, cayenne, motherwort

and bilberry. I have hugged Jim Strauss and can attest to the fact

that he looks just as vital as his publicity picture!

_http://strausshearthttp://st_ (http://straussheartdrops.com/) >>>

 

 

 

 

 

Love & Light, Barbara

BarbaraJean1732

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

What type of heart problem does your dog have? Most heart problems with dogs

are due to heart murmurs/damaged valves that usually don't effect a dog until

later in life. For most small dogs this happens around 10 years of age and

presents itself as congestive heart disease. Because the defective valve cannot

prevent the back flow of blood back into the heart chamber from which it is

being pumped out, the heart works harder and becomes enlarged.

 

The primary focus of treatment is to make the heart not have to work so hard and

this can be done using vasodilators or treatments that promote maintaining

oxygen to the heart muscle. Diet is important. Dogs do not have cholesterol

problems like humans do as they are genetically designed to be carnivores and

process cholesterol differently than humans. However, maintaining a reduced fat

diet is important as well as maintaining a healthy weight. The more a dog

weighs the harder the heart has to work not just because of the additional

weight but the miles of blood vessels that exist to support that weight.

 

Another concern is that if the heart becomes enlarged it will press on the

esophagus and can cause the esophagus to collapse. A persistent cough is often

an indication of this.

 

You also want to provide a very low sodium diet which some pet food stores offer

and you can purchase directly from a veterinary clinic. You want to avoid water

retention that will often occur in the lungs and abdomen of dogs with congestive

heart disease. If the dog is small enough to lift you can actually tell when

the dog is retaining water as there will be a noticeable change in weight. I

would recommend weighing your dog daily.

 

I recommend Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats –

Richard Pritkin, DVM. He has recipes for dogs and cats specific to medical

conditions.

 

Exercise your dog according to the dog's daily energy level. If your dog has

congestive heart disease then it often presents itself in a inconsistent manner.

I had a dog who one day would be running around and the next day could not walk

half a block.

 

Most therapies that work for humans tend to work for dogs as well though not

all. This includes prescription medicines as well non prescribed supplements.

 

CoQ10 is suppose to be beneficial for congestive heart disease as it help

maintains the health of the heart cells.

 

Do as much research as you can. Before the advent of the internet I had a dog

with congestive heart disease. Luckily I had a number of books about pet

health. I walked into the Vet Clinic and told the Vet what I thought should be

the first course of treatment should be based on the effectiveness of each

medicine. She stated I was absolutely correct. The more educated you are on

your dog's condition the more you will be able to discuss and decide on options

for treatment. Some dogs are able live normal a lifespan with heart disease.

It all depends on the degree of disease and how well the dog responds to

treatment. Just like humans not all dogs are created equal.

 

Best of luck to you. Having gone through this with my first dog who I loved

with all my being, my heart goes out to you. Never under estimate the power of

love. It heals in more ways than just the physical being.

 

Richard

 

Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.

 

---Pema Chödrön

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Garlic is not bad for dogs but onions are. Also dogs do not get cardiovascular

disease due cholesterol like humans do. They are genetically able to process

cholesterol from their diet without plaque building up in the arteries. A study

was done with dogs and rabbits. Dogs were given large quantities of butter over

a period of time and there was no change in their arteries. However just a few

grams of cholesterol per day had a significant effect on the rabbits' arteries.

Carnivores also tend to have a shorter intestinal tract as carnivores because

plant matter with cellulose and fiber is a more complicated digestive process

which is why herbivores like cows have more than one stomach.

 

However, a high fat diet can lead to obesity, pancreatitis and a host of other

problems in dogs. Dogs also require less protein in their diet than carnivores

such as cats. Dogs generally get congestive heart disease from being over

weight, infections or heart valve problems. We have to be careful when we

equate dog physiology to humans. There are some things that are similar but

some things very different.

 

Richard

 

Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.

 

---Pema Chödrön

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Oops. Dogs have a different metabolism from people. Good point. I don't have a

dog, should have kept my mouth shut.

But for people, the drops are wonderful!

 

Ien