Healing naturally

There is a big incease in folks seeking out natural complimetary and alternative healthcare for themselves. In some cases, animal owners also make use of these types of healing for their pets and farm stock. I have always tried to apply the use of natural alternative healing sciences to support those offered (usually at horrific cost) by our vets. Some time ago, before the Kennel Gazette underwent a slimming down, I was employed by the K.C. to write a regular series of articles on just this topic. I would like to re-introduce some of the topics I wrote about then as they seem quite pertinent now. Also, with the excellent 'Grow Your Own Drugs' being aired on T.V. there is ample advice and direction on how to prepare some of the suggested remedies. Should you miss the the  programmes I can heartily recommend the book that accompanies the series - and which is available on Amazon at half price at the moment.

We are in early spring now and unless you already have a well-stocked cupboard of herbs and prepared remedies you will need to be thinking about what to plant and what to gather for the future. Now is the time to stock your garden! I have already sown several pots of Marigold (Calendula) seeds. I use Calendula Oil on skin problems - from scratches and healing cuts - to dry eczema and any irritated rough patches of skin. Marigold petals are rich in Beta-carotene and Vitamin C, something that most dried diets are lacking in and which can result in a dull lack lustre coat. Depending on the dog's size, anything from half a single flower head to a small handfull of petals mixed into the feed can help ensure your animal's diet contains suffiecient of both these essentail elements.

One plant that you can usually be sure of finding from now until the first frosts is Chickweed (Stellaria media). For animals, this is one truly amazing plant! I once used it to draw out a grass seed lodged between a Rottweiler's toes. The poor dog had picked up a seed that had then buried it's self deep in the flesh, setting up a very painful, hot and grossly swollen foot. Our vet said there was nothing for it but to operate and take the seed out with a knife - so surgery was scheduled for the following day. I have always feared putting my dog's under a general anaesthetic  - especially for what seemed a trival problem. After consulting several herbals I made a Chickweed poultice and fastened it as best I could on the dog's foot. Within two hours he had got it off - but I noticed when I picked it up the poultice pad that it was saturated with pus. Jake's paw seemed to have gone down and felt cooler to touch. I found another handful of Chickweed out in the garden and made another cold poultice - this time fixing it on with masking tape to ensure he couldn't get it off. The next morning I took the poultice off and there on the pad was a grass seed!! Even my vet couldn't believe that such a simple plant could have affected such a result - obviuosly surgery was avoided and the remedy cost me nothing. Incidently, I noticed that the site of the injury healed very fast and no scar was visable. Since then I have used Chickweed many times for a variety of injuries or skin problems. It's particularly effective where you need to draw out a localised infection caused by a splinter or thorn entering the skin - as well as drawing out the offending article itself!! If you want more information about how to prepare and use a poultice - or any other herbal preparation - 'Hedgerow Medicine' is a must have( by Julie Bruton-Seal & Matthew Seal) - a book worth every small penny you pay for it - again available from Amazon.

I've just spent a busy few days in my greenhouses - yes, I have more than one! There are rows and rows of seed pans and flower pots all with slumbering seeds waiting to burst into life. One that I'm impatiently waiting for is Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium)l. This humble litlle member of the mint family has a big part to play in my plans this summer. Fleas, ticks and lice absolutely hate this herb. If you take a fresh sprig, crush it slightly and draw a circle around an ants nest the ants will not cross over the line until the essential oil has evaporated. Don't believe me? Try it and see. As soon as the plants are up and growing I'll be pinching off sprigs for drying and adding to small satchets that I tuck under all the dog's bedding. I'll also be slipping a few down the sides and backs of chairs. If I see 'someone' scratching more than normal they'll be marched into the shower where the last rinse will contain a strong infusion of Pennyroyal and Nettle - the Nettle just adds gloss to the coat. One word of warning 'tho - don't use on or near a pregnant bitch as large doses of Pennyroyal can induce abortion (it was used in times past for just that purpose - in humans, not dogs!!).

I'm delighted to see that my Elecampane (Inula helenium) plants have started into life in the garden. This is number1 in my list of favourite plants - let alone herbs. Not only is it a very attractive 'statement' specimen for just about anywhere in the garden (except in deep shade) but it will yield THE BEST cough/respiratory remedy going. Yes - this beats Benylin into a cocked hat, folks! My experience is that it will break up Kennel Cough in four days flat. You will need about 250gms of the root - from a 2 year old root at that - which needs to be made into a decoction. Take the decoction and make it into a syrup, bottle it and sterilize it so it keeps. OR... take the decoction and pour it into an ice cube tray, freeze and keep in the freezer (where it will keep for up to a year). Pop out a cube when you need it, mix with a couple of teaspoons of honey or sugar and give to the victim. You should find that as the decoction cools down it turns bright green (even greener than the snot that comes out of your dog's nose!!). As long as the fluid is bright green it can be used. As soon as the colour fades throw it out, it's lost the active principles. You might well recognise the smell of Elecampane root - it's grown commercially for the pharmaceutical industry and is used in many OTC cough remedies - usually at too low doses to be effective against the bugs that cause Kennel Cough. In vitro studies have shown that Elecampane can kill the Tuberculosis baccillus and has strong antimicrobial activitiy. I have yet to find any known reported side effects for this herb and there are no warnings about usuing it in pregnancy. You will always find a tray of bright green ice cubes in my fridge- which, if put into your squash will make it taste funny!!

I was at the Royal Norfolk Show recently -  when the sun shone without mercy and the temperature soared into the 90's. I thought I had been careful with the old sun lotion but I had forgotten about my face. Next day I woke up with a very sore, red face that was threatening to blister in parts. Now the best remedy I know for a burn is Aloe vera. You slice off a large leaf, split it down the middle and rub the goo on the skin. Oh! What blessed relief. Almost immediately the stinging pain from the burn stopped. My skin looked les angry and the small blisters started to subside. this remedy is also excellent if you get a dog with a 'hot spot' on it's body. You first have to trim the fur away from the affected area and scrub off the revolting green mess that is the infected surface of the skin. Hibiscrub is probably the best thing to use to scrub off the gooey mess -  or Savalon antiseptic lotion neat. If you have some Myrrh tincture in the house, use that to scrub the area again to prevent the Staph. or Strep. agents getting back into the skin. Then use the inside of the Aloe vera plant to sooth and promote healing. You will need to make sure you have clipped enough fur away from the infected area so that the infection can't use the long hairs of the fir to move to another part of the body. You also need to do this quickly in order to contain the infection in the smallest area - leave it even for a few hours and you could fnd that the 'hot spot' has doubled in size. Once you are sure that you have nipped the infection in the bud and the skin is clean and healthily pink again, use some Comfrey lotion or cream to speed up the healing and regrowth of fur.

It's always a pain when you have a bitch that is due to come into season, she's late and you're trying to work out your show schedules. You can bet a pound to a penny that if you gamble and enter the bitch for a show she'll be bang in season on the day. So, you need to give Mother Nature a bit of a prod to remind her that the girl is due on. With my Rottweiler girls I use a low dose of Black Cohosh . This is a North American remedy, originally used by the Native American women,  which helps regulate the female reproductive system. From my own experience I've found that girls that are more than a couple of weeks late will be bought into season fairly quickly by Black Cohosh, usually after just 3 days of using this herb. Incidentally, is also very good for helping reduce or controlling some of the more unpleasant symptoms of the menopause - like the night sweats and the hot flushes. Again, I speak from personal experience!!