DogsVitalSigns

Part 1             Part 2             Part 3

Arthritis: Arthritis has become a common ailment in dogs, especially the older dog. Several factors contribute to this condition, including an all-cooked-food diet, lack of exercise, poor absorption of minerals, and lack of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. It occurs as an inflammation in bones and joints. The onset is gradual and the owner notices the dog having increased difficulty in walking, getting up, lying down, running, and moving in general.

Putting an arthritic dog on distilled water exclusively will help to leach out some of the mineral deposits that have settled in the joints. Your dog also needs a live-food diet. You may use a good-quality dry kibble as a base, but along with it give your dog plenty of sprouts, grated raw vegetables, garlic, and raw fruits, all of which are alkalizing to the body. Meats and grains are acid-forming for the most part, and an arthritic dog already has too much acid in his diet. Any meat should be raw to slightly braised. Give chopped comfrey and parsley leaves in with the food.

Keep the dog in a warm, dry place, and try to give him some moderate exercise in sunlight. You can feed rosemary leaves daily as an infusion (steep them in water).The inflamed areas can be massaged with four tablespoonful of raw, unrefined  olive oil, one tablespoonful of linseed oil, and ½ teaspoon of eucalyptus oil. Nutrients that may be beneficial in treating arthritis are vitamins A, B complex, C, D, E, and F; calcium, iodine, lecithin, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, and protein.

Bad Breath: Bad breath is often caused by a constipated digestive system, locking in putrefying toxic wastes. This comes from having too much dead, refined food and not enough raw, live food or fiber (roughage) in the diet. A sluggish system will give back the stench of indigestion, all the way back up to the mouth again.

A dog can be constipated even if he has a daily bowel movement. In fact, only a few dogs are not constipated throughout their lifetime, although this is rarely evident to their owners. Infusions of rosemary leaves and flowers, lemon juice and water, apple juice, raw honey, and a short fast (several days) will all serve to sweeten up the intestines. Regular fasting, one day a week, on distilled water and raw honey, will help to rest the digestive organs on a regular basis, giving them a chance to catch up on their contents. Use lots of raw fruits and vegetables in the diet, give yogurt to reinstate the friendly bacterial flora, and feed only raw or slightly braised meat... >> Part 3