Looking for an anti-itch ointment you can make at home? Get some alcohol-free witch hazel and aloe vera gel.

Mix 3 parts witch hazel to 1 part aloe vera gel. Mix together well. Apply to affected areas as needed using a spray bottle or pump type bottle. That’s it!

Another great option for itching is apple cider vinegar. Use a mixture of 50/50 Apple Cider Vingear and water mixed together in a spray bottle and apply to itchy areas. Do not apply to open wounds. We used this occasionally with Tyson in the summer. You can also add 1 cup Apple Cider Vingear to bath water to aid with itchiness, too.

What the heck are Bubble Paws? Just one of our new favorite products! Bubble Paws are revolutionary, disposable, reusable, lightweight, waterproof dog boots.

Come in small and large size 16-pack in a variety of colors. They have a wide opening, Velcro adjustable strap, traction sole pad, flexible rubber, great for outdoors, great when doing a charcoal paw dip, great for rain, sleet or snow, hot pavement – it protects those feet!

Tyson’s Story
Many of you know Tyson’s paw problems. These are great for wrapping the paws when doing a charcoal paw wrap so they don’t make a mess.

Get your bubble paws today and tell them Mayor Tyson sent you!

What is it and how can it help my pet?

I know what you’re thinking; I’m not giving my pet CBD Oil, he’ll get stoned! Odessa’s Hemp Seed Oil and Treats contain phytocannabinoids, which are safe, non-toxic and can be given for any length of time. They are made of 876mg of hemp oil and full of Omega 3, 6 and 9s.

Benefits of CBD Hemp Oil include:

• Manages Pain
• Manages Inflammation
• Treats Anxiety
• Promotes Bine Growth
• Increases appetite

CBD is a non-psychoactive, organic compound found in cannabis plants with amazing benefits that can be enjoyed without the side effects and highs that come from the psychoactive substances extracted from cannabis plants. Studies are showing CBD to be a very strong anti-oxidant with impressive anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiety properties.

Questions you may have about Odessa’s CBD Hemp Oil:

• You can give for any length of time. It is safe and non-toxic
• You’ll see benefits anywhere from 5 – 60 minutes, depending on your pet. It’s best to keep an eye on them to determine the correct dosage amount
• If your pet doesn’t like the taste, put it in his favorite treat/snack. In a piece of cheese or a little peanut butter and bread works well, too
• Cats and dogs alike can use it and benefit from it
• Helps with arthritis issues, licking due to anxiety, nausea and more
• 600mg and 1200mg options available, plus a new recovery bar you can use as a treat.

Did you also know CBD Hempseed Oil helps with head tremors? Based on friends that have experienced them and used it, it has dramatically decreased the amount of head tremors that occur as well as immediately stop the head tremor itself in its tracks. A little CBD on a recovery bar treat is a great option.

Tyson’s Story
We’ve tried other brands and we were not impressed. After trying Odessa’s and seeing how it helped Tyson with his arthritis and anxiety issues, we became fans. So much of a fan that we stocked up on several bottles and when people started asking us what worked, we started spreading the word. We are now a proud supplier of Odessa’s Essentials. If you’d like a bottle, just reach out. We’d love to see you get the same benefits we and so many others have.

What are they and why does my dog get them?

What are hives? Hives are a skin problem that your dog may face at some point in their lives. They’re an allergic reaction to something that affects pets and people. They appear as round raised bumps that itch. Hives are fast to appear and generally develop within a half hour of exposure to the allergen. They can be caused by insect bites, topical creams, medications or even food allergies. Stress also tends to make it worse, as evident with humans getting a rash, bumps or extreme redness in certain areas.

Most vets will recommend an antihistamine to control the swelling and discomfort.

We recommend trying NATURAL methods first, such as:

• Hypoallergenic Shampoo Zymox or Barn Dog are great shampoos we’ve used in dealing with skin issues
• Use Ultra Oil, which is full of Omega 3, 6 and 9 for the skin
• Use Quercetin with Bromelain which is nature’s Benadryl
• Figure out what’s causing the allergy and eliminate it
• A homeopathic remedy called Apis 30c

Just because hive occurred, know the triggers and eliminate them and if they come up again, you know how to handle it without a vet or a medication or shot. Luckily Tyson never had an issue with hives, but if he did, these are exactly what we’d do. We hope they work for you, too!

Why it’s Great to Feed and Use on Your Pets

Feeding and Using Coconut Oil for Your Pets:

• It helps with weight loss
• Disinfects wounds and soothes cracked pads
• It’s great for skin and coat
• It can help improve gut health
• It improves brain function
• It can be used to clean teeth
• It can repel and expel parasites
• Use it with Turmeric to make Golden Paste

Coconut Oil Benefits:

• It helps with weight loss by balancing the thyroid.
• It helps with disinfecting cuts and wounds and soothes cracked paws. Coconut oil has anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and acts as a topical natural antibiotic versus chemical based products.
• It’s great for the skin and coat. Coconut oil hydrates the skin and increases skin surface lipid levels. Acts as an effective moisturizer if your dog suffers from dry skin or dandruff. Helps combat the stinky smell.
• It can improve gut health. Coconut oil showed the greatest impact on stopping yeast growth. Improves digestion and nutrient absorption. Reduces inflammation and helps heal digestive disorders like IBS.
• It helps improve brain function. It can improve cognitive function in older dogs by providing the brain with energy in the form of ketones, promoting good nerve and brain function and preventing dementia.
• It can be used to clean teeth. It has anti-microbial properties that make it the natural perfect teeth cleaner. It also helps eliminate harmful bacteria in the mouth. It helps to prevent plaque from forming.
• It can repel flea and ticks. Rub it on your dog before a walk in the woods.
• It is a part of golden paste when added with turmeric and black pepper has great anti-inflammatory benefits as well as many other healing factors.

What kind of coconut oil do you get and how much do you feed?
If you feed it every day or every few days, give up to 1 teaspoon per 10 lbs. body weight. Start with 1/4 tsp. and work your way up to avoid loose stools. Most dogs don’t mind the taste and will eat it happily. If they’re picky, try adding coconut milk or coconut water to their meal.

Be careful it doesn’t contain sugar or preservatives.

In a nutshell, coconut oil is an inexpensive healthy addition to your dog’s diet!

Homeopathic Remedies – Where do I even start? Are you looking to treat the natural way? Not sure how? We love HomeoPet Homeopathic Products!

What is a homeopathic remedy? It is a holistic, natural approach to treatment of the sick. Homeopathy treats the person as a whole, rather than just the diseased part.

Cats and Dogs – Issues pertaining to skin, digestive, UTI, anxiety, fireworks/storms stress, cough/respiratory, travel and more – they’ve put all the remedies needed to treat specific issue in one for you at www.homeopet.com. They have symptom checker online that helps you find your best remedy.

Where can you find these products? Check out our Amazon Shop, your local specialty pet shop, www.homeopet.com.

We are not a paid sponsor for HomeoPet; we’re just sharing what we love and what worked for us.

Why Does My Dog Get Them and How Do I Get Rid of Them?

What are tear stains? Tear stains are excessive tear production caused by many different issues, including: ingrown eyelashes, unusually large tear glands, glaucoma, eye disease, medications, poor diet, stress, entropion (inverted eyelid), ear infection, plastic food bowls, teething in puppies, second hand smoke, eye infection.

What causes tear stains? Typically, the result of porphyrins. These are naturally occurring molecules containing iron waste products from the breakdown of red blood cells and are mostly removed from the body via popping, peeing, tears and saliva. These tear stains are rust colored and more noticeable on lighter colored dogs. If they are browner than rust colored, it’s more likely a yeast infection. This of it this way, if the face smells, it’s a yeast infection. This could be the same for raw, red fold issues on the face, or even nose rope concerns. It could be yeast thriving and surviving in the face areas.

How to Treat Tear Stains Safely:

• Feed a high-quality diet
• Provide fresh filtered water
• Replace plastic bowls with stainless steel, porcelain or glass
• Use milk thistle, dandelion, colostrum or probiotics to decrease amount of staining
• Clean your pets face with colloidal silver, which is completely safe around the eyes. Use a cotton ball with colloidal silver on it and wipe the face. The antimicrobial properties will help reduce yeast infections and moist dermatitis that occur in the corners of the eyes
• Use coconut oil on the moist areas where tear stains accumulate to prevent infection
• When skin infection present, use some diluted baby shampoo twice a day until gone

How to Treat Tear Stains Homeopathically:

• Belladonna 30c will usually clear up anything that is bacterial or inflamed
• Three pellets, three times a day for three days

It’s always a good idea to become familiar with your dog’s body, folds, ears, issues, etc., so you can ward off anything oncoming. A good rule of thumb is to wipe them down daily, especially the face region.

Paw Cysts – AKA Interdigital Cyst

What are they? Painful nodular lesions located in the webbing/paws of dogs. Cyst like sacs that become red, inflamed, painful, sometimes bleed and ooze.

We tried everything and listed to our vet for cysts. We did the following:

• Take an antibiotic
• Give a steroid
• Soak in Epsom salt
• Soak in povidone iodine
• Give another steroid
• Change kibble
• Give a different antibiotic
• Do allergy testing
• Give Apoquel and Atopica
• Send to Dermatologist
• Give more steroids
• Give Cytopoint shots
• Give another antibiotic
• Try another kibble

It was all BS. For SEVEN years, it didn’t work.

Tyson’s Story
He started with a cyst at 8 months. The vet gave antibiotics and steroids and the cyst went away. As soon as the steroids were done, they came right back and worse. It was a vicious cycle for seven years, always doing what the vet told us and spending over $20,000 in the process to fix it. They wanted to do surgery, we said no. So we kept trying until eventually the steroids took over his body, causing Calcinosis Cutis. Why? For a cyst? Really?

The vet just wanted us to keep coming back for visit after visit, one issue leading to another. We trusted him. He was the “bulldog expert” after all and had bulldogs himself. We couldn’t have been the first bulldog with a cyst? Seven years of steroids, all types of antibiotics until Tyson became resistant. Then came Apoquel and Atopica. Same thing – helped right away, but after a few months, cysts were back with a vengeance. Back to steroids! Shots were no help. Neither was every kibble on the planet. It wasn’t until using all those medications for a cyst caused Tyson to almost lose his life that then the hot spots, calcium deposits, more cysts and skin falling off started.

Until we addressed the issues from the inside out – fixing diet, throwing kibble in the garbage, quit feeding yeast, were we able to properly address what caused the cysts.

We worked on his diet and supplements, we fixed his broken immune system, incorporated probiotics and goats milk, started charcoal paw dips and wraps, detoxed from over medicating and over vaccinating.

What’s a Charcoal Paw Wrap?

Charcoal Paw Wrap Instructions
Gather the following items:

1. Activated hardwood charcoal (we like Starwest Botanicals from Amazon).
2. Indian healing bentonite clay (we like Starwest Botanicals from Amazon).
3. Gauze wrap.
4. A baby sock or our favorite reusable rubber Velcro adjustable disposable Bubble Paws (www.bubble-paws.com).

Then:

5. Make a paste using 1 spoon of charcoal, 1 spoon of clay, use a little warm water.
6. Apply to cyst area and under paw.
7. Wrap with gauze, then apply sock or boot.
8. Leave on for up to 30 minutes. Remove, wash and repeat until cleared.
9. Cyst may burst – that’s okay. Do it again. The charcoal will clean out any bacteria from the area.

Believe me when I say, nothing worked except the paw dip and changing the diet.

Activated charcoal is carbon treated with oxygen. The carbon absorbs a wide range of impurities and contaminants including odors, pigments, bacteria and yeast. Because absorption works by chemically binding the impurities to the carbon, the active sites in the charcoal eventually become filled from removing those unwanted impurities. Indian healing bentonite clay works in soothing redness impurities from the pores and skin. These dips/paste/masks not only work on your pet’s cysts, but also are great for a wide range of skin issues for pets and humans alike.

What Does It Matter What I Feed My Pet?

A complete and balanced diet is essential to maintain your pet in good health. They need fresh water, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamin and carbohydrates. Water is by far the most important nutrition your pet requires. The proper balance of nutrients is essential when feeding your dogs. Each and every nutrient in your dog’s food has a purpose. Without adequate nutrition, your dog would not be able to maintain muscle tone, build and repair muscles, teeth and bone, perform normal daily activities with ease, or fight off infection.

Understanding what you put in your pet’s body is a result of what you’ll get out.

Regardless if your pet is experiencing an issue or not, your pet’s health and overall diet is in your control. Did you realize, many if not all of your pet’s health issues boil down to what they’re eating?

Before we discuss what goes into nutrition, diet and recipes, you need to understand what goes into the kibble that you may be feeding. Making the change is not as hard or as expensive as you think.

Itchy, red skin, runny watery eyes, head shaking, foot licking, and gunky eyes are issue that seem to plague many dogs.

If your dog is experiencing any of these issues, consider how nutrition plays a part in it.

Your vet may prescribe antibiotics, but know that these will temporarily solve the problem, not eliminate the cause. You must get to the root of the problem to know what changes to make in your dog’s diet or environment.

When dogs are fed commercial foods for a long period of time, the body can develop and immune response whereas the body no longer recognizes the food as normal. The allergic reaction is an autoimmune system response.

Prolonged use of commercial foods can lead to digestive issues such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome/Colitis, Pancreatitis, Kidney Stones, Suppressed Immune System and now Congestive Heart Failure.

A healthy immune system is your dog’s first line of defense in fighting any illness. This cannot be accomplished with steroids, Apoquel or Atopica, as these suppress the immune system, which is why you see them stop working after a few months and the onset of sometimes terrible side effects.

This is why when many request our help, the first question I ask is, “What are your feeding?” Just like humans, our bodies are products of what we put in them. If you want to see change, you have to make change.

The right diets and supplements can make all the difference in your dog’s health. We’ll talk supplements later.

Want to change the diet but don’t know where to start? Start with a whitefish protein. This is the most non-reactive meat source you can use in keeping it simple.

Whitefish Diet
You can make a week’s worth and freeze/defrost as needed.

1. Cut the fish up and brown in a stock pot. Set aside.
2. Do not add any water, oil or salt when cooking.
3. Cook/steam/boil the veggies separate. Stir frequently so they do not burn. In a minute or so, the veggies will release moisture and create their own broth, or you can add a cup of simple veggie broth.
4. Add the fish to the veggies and mix.

I do an 80% protein to 20% vegetable ratio. I also use at least three veggies.

Whitefish Sources
Tilapia, Halibut, Cod
(We used tilapia with Tyson)

Green Vegetable Sources
Kale, Zucchini, Broccoli, Green Beans, Bok Choy, Dandelion Greens, Spinach, Celery
Fresh, frozen or canned, but as organic as possible is preferred
(we used green beans, spinach, broccoli and zucchini as our greens).

Stay away from fruits, sugars and starches.

When starting out, we suggest adding a digestive enzyme. Make sure it includes PROTEASE (helps break down and digest carbohydrates and starches), LIPASE (helps breakdown and digest fat) and CELLULASE (helps breakdown fiber).

We also suggest adding a probiotic on an empty stomach. Probiotics are important for dogs that have taken a lot of antibiotics. Don’t take antibiotics and probiotics at the same time, as they negate each other.

You must also add a multi-vitamin such as NuPro (or similar).

Add goat’s milk/fermented Goat Milk as it is a great source of positive bacteria.

Kefir is another source of probiotics your dog can benefit from.

A clove of garlic. The garlic must be chopped up and added after 15 minutes for maximum potency. Once your dog is cured, you can add garlic once a week. It acts as the body’s natural antibiotic. If safe to do so, stop all medications, Benadryl and steroids.

The objective is to make the body stronger, not suppress his symptoms that make it weaker.