Far be it from me to pretend that I’m an expert in animal health. However, the following remedies have done wonders for my dogs as well as my mom’s cats!
My sweet dogs are thirteen and a half. The day they don’t want to chase balls, go for walks, and bark at the postal carrier, I’ll be worried. Every day, they teach me more about how to grow older with grace. Every day, I do my best to make aging easier on them.
While I know dogs and cats aren’t physiologically exactly like humans, for an extra safety precaution, I often try remedies on myself before enlisting them. In addition, I start off slowly and keep a close watch for possible overdosing and any bad reactions.
Turmeric
This wonderful golden root, touted to aid just about everything, has helped heal my broken knee. Unexpectedly, turmeric also helps me sleep better.
For the past few months, I’ve been splitting an extra high potency turmeric capsule among my pets, sprinkling the contents over their meals. Within two days, they were greeting the day with renewed spryness!
Cod Liver Oil (super fine grade)
About the same time, I found I was constantly wiping gooey/crusty schmutz from the corners of their eyes.
Their eyes are different from ours in a variety of ways:
- They have three eyelids!
- The placement of their eyes depends on the shapes of their faces and noses.
- Their rods-to-cones ratio differ from ours.
- We see color and close-up better. They see movement better.
Ultra fine grade cod liver oil squeezed into canine eyes, I read somewhere, could refresh their eyes and possibly slow cataract formation.
Hmmm …oil in the eyes?! The idea took time to warm up to. With great trepidation (and secrecy from dear ones who would surely have been horrified) I squeezed some into my own eyes.
Lo and behold, down to the fishy smell, it was no big deal. The wee bit of blurry vision righted within minutes, and there was no sting. Whew!
Moving onto my furry beloveds, to my supreme delight, within two days, their eyes were clear — plus!! — they could see better! As a result, they’re more responsive and obviously happier! The wonderfulness of this makes tears spring to my own eyes!
Mondays have become ‘oil days.’ They’re never thrilled by the application, but any dog with Labradors in it aims to please. All the more so as they age.
More about what I do for my dear furry ones.
More on turmeric for dogs here.
I’ve heard wonderful things about turmeric.
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Nice one blog
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thank you 🙂
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I’ve heard of the benefits of turmeric, but didn’t know about the cod liver oil for eyes. It’s good to know. You are clearly doing something right, as your dogs are so well at 13 1/2. My own Little Monkey is only 12.
btw I mention an older post of yours, 2 Fab WordPress Tips, in my blog tomorrow. I’m writing about spam and found your tips really useful. If you’d prefer I didn’t mention you, please let me know. 🙂
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I would be honored to be mentioned on your great site, scifihammy 🙂
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hahaha Thank you! 🙂
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great post 🙂
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Thank you very much 🙂 – and thank you for the tip in the first place. 🙂
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Vry interestng… 👍👍👍
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Hi Daal,
Good article, especially the warning to be careful. Regular medication, like for instance acetaminophen/paracetamol, for human purposes are dangerous for our dogs and cats. However, natural cures can be very helpful indeed. For dogs the size like yours, you can use the amount prescribed for children.
This vet I followed for years, really worth to look at his site; http://www.theinternetpetvet.com/
Big hug, XxX
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Excellent advice on all counts, Patty. Will check out the site soon. 😀
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Definitely love turmeric for my own health. It really soothes my stomach. I was surprised to find out it’s one of the main ingredients in yellow mustard, so now I have an excuse to slather it all over my food. 🙂
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I love mustard!
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Interesting ideas here. I wouldn’t put anything in my eyes without consulting first with my optometrist but I take a zeaxanthin and lutein vitamins every day.
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do they help?
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Yes, according to my optometrist. He tests my eyes every year. They protect your eyes against ultraviolet rays and are thought to be most efficient with doses of vitamins C and E, which I also take. Dark green veggies, especially kale and spinach, help and oddly so do orange peppers – better than other colors, for some reason. Also acai berries. I’m cautious about what I eat but these are natural foods. The supplement has been researched pretty well. They may delay onset of cataracts among other things and maintain better vision overall.
The only thing I put in my eyes is one contact (left eye) and saline without preservative, on occasion when allergies are acting up.
Tumeric of course has long been known to have health benefits.
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good to know – many thanks 🙂
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I give my doggie tumeric mixed with pepper and honey. I used to use castor oil on her eyelid since she has a wart there, but she does not allow me…… she hates anything in her eyes, so the wart is still there. Maybe I will use cod-liver oil
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sometimes I try things on them when they’re especially relaxed. also, the older they get, the less they’re bothered by my fussing over them. good luck to you & your furry one 🙂
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Yeah. Thanks. 😊
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Beautiful photo of you and your dog! I will definitely try the fish oil on myself and my doggie! Who knew 🙂 So, so glad you shared this.
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Interesting! I think I’m gonna try it on our Lab. Thanks for sharing!
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please let us know how it goes for you & your hairy ones 🙂
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Haha..yes, will do!;)
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