By Gregory L. Tilford With new herbal products popping up like weeds on store shelves everywhere, it can be difficult to decide which ones are right for you and your dog. There are herbal remedies for immune system support, cardiovascular health, worms, fleas, nursing bitches, and dogs with urinary problems. Herbal products with cute and clever labels (most of which tell us nothing) have appeared on the shelves of health food stores, pet supply stores, even in mainstream supermarkets. Some of these products are very effective while others are nothing more than gimmicks that serve only to take your money. And as if things aren’t confusing enough, federal regulators currently prohibit even the best manufacturers from making reasonable and valid label claims about the intended uses of their products. I hope this will change soon. An organization of natural pet products manufacturers, called the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC), is drafting legislation intended to correct this problem. If it is passed, manufacturers of natural pet products will be able to better educate their customers by permitting limited structure and function claims on product labels. In other words, it will allow natural pet product manufacturers to tell you more about the intended purpose and uses for their products. Until then, the job of learning which products are right for you and your animal companions is entirely up to you. Fortunately, a wealth of herbal information waits in every bookstore, and whether you know it or not, many of the most effective herbal remedies are already at your fingertips. In fact, they may be as close as the kitchen cabinet. Even the most experienced herbalists (myself included) sometimes fail to look in the kitchen when the need for an herbal remedy arises. “Kitchen herbs” seem lackluster – they are not as trendy or sexy as plant medicines with long, exotic-sounding names. Perhaps they just don’t appeal to the mental image of a wise old medicine woman carefully harvesting odd-looking berries from a dark, primeval forest. Nevertheless, some of the most useful and safest herbs for animals are stored in our kitchens. Here are a few of my favorites. Dill Dill is very good for relieving nausea and flatulence, especially when such maladies are secondary to a sudden change in diet, such as when your puppy swipes a tamale from your foolishly unattended dinner plate. The effectiveness of dill in this capacity is largely attributable to the plant’s numerous volatile oil constituents, which exhibit an anti-foaming action in the stomach, much like over-the-counter anti-gas remedies. The highest concentrations of these oils are held within the seeds of the plant, but the dried leaves and stems (the stuff you are likely to have in your kitchen) can be used, too. If your dog is belching something suspiciously reminiscent of what was supposed to be your dinner, and the problem appears to be getting worse, make a tea by steeping one tablespoon of dill seed in eight ounces of very hot water. After the tea has cooled, strain it and try direct-feeding two ounces of the liquid to your companion. If your dog doesn’t like the flavor, try adding the tea to his drinking water. Or if need be, disguise it as “yummy people food” by mixing it with some clear, low sodium broth instead of water. A sprinkling of ground dill seed on his food may also bring about symptomatic relief, but the liquid option tends to be more effective. Fennel Fennel seed represents another option for relief of gastric discomfort. A cooled tea works very well for this purpose; one teaspoon of the dried seeds in eight ounces of boiling water, steeped until cool. The tea can be fed at a rate of two to four tablespoons for each 20 pounds of your dog’s body weight, or it can be added to his drinking water, as generously as he will tolerate. A glycerin tincture also works very well, and allows the convenience of a smaller dosage for finicky animals; 10-20 drops (or more precisely, up to 0.75 ml) per 20 pounds of the animal’s weight, as needed. Fennel is high in vitamins C and A, calcium, iron, potassium, and varying amounts of linoleic acid. It is an especially good nutritional adjunct for dogs whose chronic indigestion cannot be attributed to a specific disease entity. Fennel also helps increase appetite, and freshens the breath – thanks to its antibacterial activity in the mouth – and by minimizing belching. Fennel also has estrogen-like properties, which may explain why the herb has been used for centuries to increase milk production in nursing mothers. Some herbalists find that fennel helps alleviate urinary incontinence in spayed dogs by acting on hormone imbalances that contribute to the problem. Rosemary Rosemary is an extremely useful herb. At the top of its medicinal attributes are nervine, antidepressant, antispasmodic, and carminative properties. These combine to make rosemary an excellent remedy for flatulent dyspepsia and other digestive problems that are secondary to general nervousness, excitability, or irritability. The rosmarinic acid contained in the plant is also believed to have painkilling properties, especially in situations where pinched nerves are suspected. In such instances 0.5 ml (about 1/8 tsp.) of the tincture can be given orally, as a starting dose, for each 20 pounds of a dog’s body weight, up to three times daily. Rosemary is also useful as general cardiovascular tonic, moderating and improving heart function and strengthening capillary structure. A cooled rosemary tea (two tablespoons to a quart of water) serves as a very good, pleasant smelling rinse for itchy skin, and because of the ursolic acid, rosemarinic acid, carnisol, and other antibacterial constituents it contains, the rinse can be very effective for relieving the symptoms of various bacterial infections of the skin. For itchy skin and fleas, cooled rosemary tea can be poured into the coat as a soothing, healing, flea-repellent rinse. Rosemary also has excellent anti-microbial properties inside or on your companion’s body. Scientific studies have shown that it is active against various types of fungi, as well as numerous Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. This makes it useful in antibacterial skin and eye rinses, minor cuts and burns, and for fighting infections of the mouth, throat, and the urinary and digestive tracts. Rosemary essential oil is thought to stimulate the nervous system, and may have a worsening effect upon epileptic seizures. Although rosemary in its natural form contains only a small amount of essential oil, it is probably best to avoid this herb altogether if your companion is epileptic. If applied in concentrated form, the volatile oils in rosemary may cross placental barriers and can effect uterine contractions. Therefore, rosemary is not appropriate for use during pregnancy. Sage Sage is an excellent remedy for infection or ulceration of the mouth, skin, or digestive tract. Most of its antimicrobial activity is attributable to its content of thujone, a volatile oil that is effective against a wide variety of harmful bacteria. In the mouth, a strong sage tea or tincture is useful for treating or preventing gingivitis, as well as infection that may be secondary to injury or dental surgery. For mild bacterial or fungal infections, sage tea can be added to drinking water. Make it by steeping one tablespoon of the dried leaves in a cup of near-boiling water. Stir the mixture frequently until it has cooled to lukewarm. Strain out the plant material, but don’t discard it if you are treating a localized gum infection; it can be used as a poultice by applying the wet herb directly to the affected area. If your companion doesn’t like the taste of sage tea, try sweetening it with a little honey (which has healing properties as well). The sweetened tea can be fed at a rate of one fluid ounce per 20 pounds of your dog’s body weight, twice or three times daily. Used in the form of a rinse, sage tea is useful for bacterial or fungal infections of the skin, and is especially wonderful when mixed in equal parts with rosemary and thyme teas. Thyme Most of the medicinal activity in thyme is attributable to the volatile oils thymol and carvacrol. Thymol is a very good antiseptic for the mouth and throat, and useful for fighting gingivitis. In fact, thymol is used as an active ingredient in many commercial toothpaste and mouthwash formulas. Combined with thyme’s infection-fighting qualities are its antitussive and expectorant properties, making the herb useful for raspy, unproductive coughs that are secondary to fungal or bacterial infection. As an antispasmodic, thyme helps ease bronchial spasms that are related to asthma. A glycerin tincture, or an alcohol tincture that has been sweetened with honey, serves well for most internal applications; use one-quarter of a teaspoon (1ml) for each 30 pounds of your dog’s body weight, fed as needed up to twice daily. A cooled tea will work too, provided it has been brewed with near-boiling water to draw out the volatile oil constituents. One teaspoon for dogs, ¼ teaspoon for cats, fed directly into the mouth two to three times daily. For infections of the mouth or as a preventative against gingivitis, the tincture or a very strong tea can be directly applied to the gum lines or infected sites with a swab. A thyme tea skin rinse, made by steeping one tablespoon of the herb in one quart of near-boiling water) is useful for various fungal or bacterial infections of the skin, especially if combined with equal parts of chamomile tea. Chamomile is another kitchen herb that is so incredibly safe and useful, that I’ll devote an entire article to it in a future issue. -Greg Tilford is a well-known veterinary herbalist, lecturer, and author. He serves as a consultant and formulator to hundreds of holistic veterinarians throughout the world, and is CEO of Animal’s Apawthecary, a company that develops herbal products specifically for use in animals. He is author of four books on herbs, including All You Ever Wanted to Know About Herbs for Pets (Bowtie, 1999), which he co-authored with his wife, Mary.

Can you imagine a food so easy to assimilate that even the most impaired digestive tract absorbs it on contact?

Now imagine that this food speeds the healing of wounds throughout the body, repairs digestive organs, alleviates nausea and vomiting, stops diarrhea, supports the liver during detoxification, reduces the side effects of chemotherapy and possibly helps prevent or reverse cancer, prevents toxemia in pregnancy, rescues newborns from Fading Puppy Syndrome, helps elderly dogs maintain their strength and stamina, helps all dogs recover from chronic and acute illness, stimulates hair growth, reduces urinary tract infections, reduces or eliminates allergic reactions, prevents hot spots, improves mobility, reduces pain, and even enhances the effectiveness of homeopathy and herbal therapies.

That miracle food exists, and dogs love its taste. They should. It’s an odoriferous powder made from fermented fish.

Seacure was Invented to Combat Hunger

Forty years ago, scientists at the University of Uruguay, who were searching under the direction of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences for a way to feed starving children, perfected a fermentation technology that predigested fish, creating a highly absorbable protein supplement. Fresh, deep-sea whitefish fillets were broken down by marine microorganisms, then dried to create a fine powder.

During the 1970s and 1980s, physicians in Uruguay and adjacent countries used the formula to save the lives of thousands of premature, underweight, or malnourished infants. In clinical studies, these infants showed significant improvement in weight and immunity factors (globulin and gamma globulin levels) within 30 to 60 days. No premature infants receiving the fish formula developed edema. When other infants developed edema, use of the formula caused its disappearance within 48 to 72 hours.

Uruguayan researchers tested a combination of two-thirds mother’s milk and one-third fermented fish powder for premature infants and found that the fish powder improved assimilation and weight gain. The researchers reported a “most remarkable” disappearance of dysergia (lack of motor control due to defective nerve transmission) in cases of dystrophy. When given to pregnant women, the supplement was also found to be very effective in promoting normal birth weights (preventing low birth weights).

When the fish supplement was fed to babies who were allergic to milk or had other food allergies, their allergic reactions disappeared, along with symptoms such as acute and chronic diarrhea or blood-based immune disorders. Soon physicians were documenting health benefits for patients with all kinds of illnesses. However, when the formula’s key developer died, production stopped.

Donald G. Snyder, Ph.D., then director of a Fisheries Research Laboratory at the University of Maryland and a member of a U.S. National Research Council committee on protein supplements, formed a partnership to obtain the technology and produce the powder, which he named Seacure®.

Seacure, which is made from Pacific whiting caught in the Pacific Northwest, contains beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and other fish nutrients, but its amino acids and peptides (the fundamental constituents of protein) are its primary healing ingredients.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Proper Nutrition, Inc. is the maker of Seacure® and licences its use in other supplements. Still other supplement makers manufacture and sell similar biologically hydrolyzed whitefish products. All of the product studies and research referred to in this article were conducted using Seacure®.)

Seacure is a Different Kind of Protein

Most protein supplements sold in the United States contain ingredients that can be difficult to digest and assimilate, such as meat, animal skins, milk, eggs, or soy. Dr. Snyder (who recently passed away) felt these proteins were inferior sources for supplements.

“Often,” he explained, “these raw ingredients are contaminated or of low quality, such as rejected eggs or excess milk, or they are processed using harsh physical or chemical methods. Severe drying methods are often used, resulting in a deterioration in the final protein quality. And protein from the byproducts of processing may be of questionable value to begin with. The key thing is the quality of a supplement’s protein and the pre-digestion factor that makes it available to the body.”

All proteins are formed from long chains of compounds called amino acids. The body (both human and canine) can synthesize or manufacture some amino acids, but others are called essential because the body cannot manufacture them and they must be provided by protein in the diet. This use of the word “essential” can be confusing, for many amino acids are necessary for optimum health, but only those that must be provided by protein in food are called essential.

The World Health Organization established a model or ideal balance of the essential amino acids (isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, cysteine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, threonine, tryptophane, and valine) in terms of milligrams of amino acid per gram of protein. The value of the protein provided by Seacure exceeds the model in every category. In addition, the quality of its raw materials exceeds that of other protein supplements, and its assimilation requires no digestive effort from the dogs and people who take it.

Seacure for Dogs

At Proper Nutrition, Inc., the company he founded, Dr. Snyder worked closely with marketing director Barry Ritz in research and development. “We receive many reports from veterinarians,” says Ritz, “indicating that Seacure’s benefits are as dramatic for dogs as they are for people.”

For example, he explains, malnourished, premature puppies have no ability to handle intact, complex protein. Seacure’s predigested protein can literally save their lives. In addition, it nourishes growing puppies, adult dogs, and any animals with malabsorption problems, such as sick or elderly dogs.

“It is no exaggeration,” Ritz observes, “to say that any dog of any age can benefit from Seacure’s high-quality predigested protein. The results, which are cumulative, include everything from improved wound healing to a thicker, glossier coat; a calmer disposition; improved digestion; and improvements in coordination, stamina, range of motion, and athletic performance.”

According to Ritz, veterinarians and dog owners report that doses of 6 to 12 capsules a day cause shaved fur to grow back in record time, broken bones and other wounds to heal quickly, and ailments like allergies, diarrhea, and inflammatory bowel disease to improve or completely disappear. Even dogs with autoimmune disorders like lupus have regained their mobility and appetite. Some owners report pigment corrections or a reduction in an older animal’s gray hairs.

“Seacure also helps dogs with diabetic leg ulcers and other slow-healing wounds. It speeds recovery from surgery, bite wounds, cuts, abrasions, burns, pulled muscles, and sports injuries. Dogs in obedience or agility class are more attentive as well as more efficient in their movements. And dogs with arthritis or joint pain just keep improving,” Ritz says.

Most dogs tolerate Seacure well. Dogs with kidney disease, for which low-protein diets are often recommended, should not have a problem because Seacure is already predigested and does not add stress to the kidneys.

The levels of mercury contained in Seacure are below the threshold of detection in mercury toxicity tests, 0.01 parts per million.

Understanding Detoxification

In our polluted world, detoxification has become a health buzz word. Like people, dogs are said to benefit from supplements and dietary changes that stimulate the removal of chemical residues, stored toxins, and stagnant wastes.

But too-rapid detoxification can be painful as well as harmful. Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, confusion, overwhelming fatigue, and skin eruptions such as hot spots often accompany rapid weight loss, the switch from commercial pet food to a raw, home-prepared diet, the use of herbs and supplements that cleanse the liver and blood, the acute phase of any illness, treatment with conventional drugs, treatment for parasites, or exposure to environmental toxins.

We often forget that detoxification is an ongoing body process. It never stops. If the body receives the nutrients it needs to break down and remove waste products well, it maintains itself in a state of health. If the process is impaired, health suffers. Unfortunately, many if not most of America’s dogs are overwhelmed with the ongoing burden of detoxification.

During the first stage of detoxification, the body identifies and separates waste products and toxins from the blood and lymph. Water-soluble material that can be excreted goes to the kidneys. Dehydration complicates the detoxification process, which is why access to clean drinking water is so important for dogs.

In Phase I of detoxification, during which waste products are made water-soluble and sent to the kidneys, the liver uses antioxidants and key minerals such as vitamins A, C, and E, bioflavonoids, selenium, copper, superoxide dismutase (SOD), zinc, and manganese. In phase II, the liver needs glucuronic acid, sulfates from glutathione, acetyl-cysteine, and the amino acids taurine, arginine, ornithine, glutamine, glycine, and cysteine.

When a dog is deficient in either Phase I or Phase II nutrients, backups and spillovers occur. Partially processed toxins traveling through the bloodstream may find a home in fatty tissue, or they may stay in the blood, infect healthy tissue, and cause new illnesses.

Many herbs and supplements are recommended for canine detoxification support, but few address the body’s need for amino acids. Seacure not only fills that gap and reduces the symptoms of detoxification, but also literally heals damaged organs and improves the dog’s digestion. Like people, dogs can suffer from leaky gut syndrome. Tiny injuries to the intestinal wall cause it to become too porous, allowing large molecules of undigested protein, bacteria, and microorganisms to migrate from the digestive tract to the rest of the body, which stresses and impairs the liver, pancreas, and immune system. Leaky gut syndrome is associated with food sensitivities, allergies, hyperactivity, and autoimmune disorders.

Giving meat and other high-protein foods to dogs with leaky gut syndrome or other digestive disorders doesn’t help because the damage prevents the food from being completely digested and assimilated. Seacure doesn’t require digestion, so it allows digestive organs to rest while supplying the amino acids and peptides needed for tissue repair and recovery.

Even dogs who suffer from vomiting, chronic diarrhea, and wasting diseases can usually accept Seacure, which can be mixed with water and administered with a dropper or feeding syringe. Seacure is not yet available as a powder for the convenience of feeding dogs and cats, but most dogs are happy to swallow the capsules whole. Or, the capsules can be opened and the powder sprinkled over food or mixed with water.

Whether you make Seacure part of your dog’s everyday diet or use it for a short time to speed recovery from an illness or accident, Uruguay’s solution to Third World famine problems can help your dog lead a longer, healthier life.

Also With This Article
Click here to view “Favorite Remedies Revisited”
Click here to view “Supplements and NSAIDs for Dogs”

A regular contributor to WDJ, CJ Puotinen is also the author of The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care, Natural Remedies for Dogs and Cats, and several books about human health, including Natural Relief From Aches and Pains.