Turmeric

[ruthcatrin]

Apollo does that. Infact, when we give him fish oil pills he'll frequently chew them up and spit out the empty gell cap. We have to stuff pills down his throat or forget about getting them into him. Arty's not much better.

Speaking of which, you can buy empty gel (or vegi) capsules in various sizes to fill with supplements etc. I used them to create pills for my old cat, the doctor gave me her meds in powder form with measurement instructions and I created the capsules at home for her, rather than try to get several pills into her at one time I only had to give one at a time.

 

[QY10]

You know, the health-organic-hippy store HAD turmeric capsules and I opted for the powder. At the time, I was thinking about how much the girls hate pills, but how they will eat ANYTHING. I totally was not thinking about Angus and his wacky ways.

Making my own capsules is a great idea though and if he isn't receptive to the turmeric idea, I might have to go the capsule route with him.

 

[ruthcatrin]

They may have the empty capsules, thats where I got mine (at my local store), but if not you can get them online a variety of places. The biggest issue was figuring out what size I needed and that was definitely easier by looking at them, but even then I ended up cutting them down shorter for my cat. For a dog it'd be less of a problem anyway.

 

[DennasMom]

Our asian grocery store carries tumeric root... the real stuff... right next to the ginger and galangal.
I've put it in a smoothie a few times, and really, really liked it (felt energized afterward... although that could be mental ).

Haven't given Denna much... might have to start!

 

[QY10]

The hippy store said that they do typically carry fresh turmeric, but had recently sold out. I honestly did know that it was so popular!


Well, my suspicions were correct. The girls ate their meals as per usual with both the turmeric powder and kelp powder added in.

Angus refused his meal and tried to bury it in his crate under his blanket. So, I gave him something else that was turmeric free.

Then I got the genius idea of mixing the powder in water, drawing it up in a syringe and trying to give it to him that way. He took all the liquid in his mouth and then spat it out. Thalia, cleaned up most of the mess for me.

Going to have to try the capsules and disguising them in something irresistible.

 

[ruthcatrin]

lol, watch out, it'll stain stuff orange!

 

[QY10]

I got to the floors pretty quickly! Although Angus did drool a little bit on Thalia. We'll just say that she wants to be brindle for Halloween.

 

[ruby55]

We've recently started using an herbal supplement with Bella for her arthritis & elbow dysplasia. It's called Canineactive. I'm amazed at the turnaround in this dog. She went from being old & cranky to a jumping barking, slap happy girl again. It's derived from 8 different herbs, turmeric being the first. Some of them are to also prevent digestive upset, so she doesn't even act all pukey after she takes it. I don't know which of the 8 are most effective, or if it's just the combination; but she's a new girl, although she still limps a little.

 

[Hector]

This article was pretty interesting. I came across it while reading up on ARNICA.

Homeopathic Remedies for Canine Sprains and Strains | Dogs Naturally Magazine

 

[QY10]

We've recently started using an herbal supplement with Bella for her arthritis & elbow dysplasia. It's called Canineactive. I'm amazed at the turnaround in this dog. She went from being old & cranky to a jumping barking, slap happy girl again. It's derived from 8 different herbs, turmeric being the first. Some of them are to also prevent digestive upset, so she doesn't even act all pukey after she takes it. I don't know which of the 8 are most effective, or if it's just the combination; but she's a new girl, although she still limps a little.

That's awesome! Do you have a link that I could look at? I tried googling it, but nothing came up.

 

[QY10]

This article was pretty interesting. I came across it while reading up on ARNICA.

Homeopathic Remedies for Canine Sprains and Strains | Dogs Naturally Magazine

Oooh, I read that article, too! It was a really informative read. I wasn't sure how readily available Arnica was though in comparison to things like turmeric.

 

[ruby55]

That's awesome! Do you have a link that I could look at? I tried googling it, but nothing came up.

Canine Activ NSAIDs

I had to do a ton of research after we got the little trial sample pack. The inserts & package only listed the ingredients in their pharmaceutical names. For instance, turmeric is listed as curcuma longa.
In case you're interested the ingredients are: turmeric, licorice root, devils claw, alfalfa, feverfew, yucca, & indian frankincense. While yucca, turmeric, & devils claw could cause stomach upset, the other ingredients are good for both arthritis & digestive issues. So they cancel each other out. The yucca should not come in contact with oral mucosa, according to everything I've read; but the capsules are very small & are easily hidden in cheese, peanut butter, or in Princess Bella's case, 1/4 of a fig newton.

 

[QY10]

Thank you!

 

[Boxergirl]

Arnica is really great stuff. I use it in a muscle balm I make and it's wonderful. Good for bruises too. If you want to give it a try for dogs, please make sure it's the kind referenced in the article Hector posted. The homeopathic kind. That's the only kind that is safe to take internally. Products containing arnica shouldn't be applied to broken skin or injested, so nowhere that a dog could lick it.

 

[QY10]

Awesome, thank you Boxergirl!

 

[Hector]

Awesome, thank you Boxergirl!

Yeah read this:


Ottawa Valley Dog Whisperer : Arnica Montana - Herbs for Dogs and Cats

 

[QY10]

Wow, it really sounds like a cure-all kind of herb.

 

[ruby55]

I use a topical arnica cream for arthritis in my hands & wrists. I never thought of using it for bruises. I get lots of those, from dogs @ home to dogs @ work, to just being a klutz. I'll try it.

 

[ruthcatrin]

It works very well for bruises!

 

[QY10]

I'm happy to report that Angus is now eating about 1 tsp of turmeric on his meals. Now that his eating is mostly back to normal, he is much less fussy than he has been. He is also accepting 1 tsp of kelp powder on his breakfast. Hooray!