Do you care for your pets with natural, herbal remedies?

Reader Contribution by Stephanie Nelson
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<p>A year and a half ago my boyfriend and I fell in love with Addi, a 1-year-old Queensland Heeler, from the pound. The first month was a little strange as I had never owned a dog before and my pet resume was limited to cats. Fortunately, my boyfriend grew up around dogs, specifically Australian Heelers. Since reading articles about herbal pet care written by <a title=”Randy Kidd” href=”https://www.motherearthliving.com/search.aspx?search=randy%20kidd”>Randy Kidd, D.V.M.</a> on <em>The Herb Companion</em> website, we have tried to treat Addi with natural, herbal remedies.</p>
<p>Addi already knew basic dog tricks when we got her–sit, stay, etc.–but we decided to teach her a few more, like how to high five and how to play dead. Rather than buy dog treats, I decided to bake them knowing I would have control over which ingredients would go in and more importantly, which ingredients stayed out. I used Janice Cox’s recipe for <a href=”https://www.motherearthliving.com/pet-health/body-and-soul-dog-biscuits.aspx”>Basic Doggie Biscuits</a> from the September 2008 article <a href=”https://www.motherearthliving.com/pet-health/body-and-soul-treat-pets-to-natures-gifts.aspx”>
<em>Body & Soul: Pet Treats</em>
</a>.</p>
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<strong>Basic Doggie Biscuits</strong>
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<em>Makes about 2 dozen biscuits</em>
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<p>• 1¾ cup whole wheat flour<br />
• 1¼ cup oatmeal<br />
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil<br />
• 1 cup water</p>
<p>1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together, then pour in oil and water.?<br />
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2. Mix well until dough is firm. Roll dough out on a floured board and cut into shapes.?<br />
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3. Grease a cookie sheet. Use a spatula to carefully transfer biscuits to cookie sheet. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until biscuits are golden brown.?<br />
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4. Cool. Store leftovers in an airtight container in a cool place.</p>
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<p>Clearly Addi hates baths. Although we live where fleas and ticks are rare, we treat Addi with an herbal flea repellent rinse after her much-dreaded bath. Some <a title=”flea collars” href=”https://www.motherearthliving.com/the-good-life/protect-your-pet-without-chemicals.aspx” target=”_blank”>flea collars</a> contain tetrachlorvinphos or propoxur. Both are harmful chemicals that can damage a dog’s immune system, nervous system and brain. Luckily there is another option. Kidd’s <a title=” herbal flea remedy” href=”https://www.motherearthliving.com/pets/pet-corner-controlling-fleas-and-ticks-28.aspx?page=2″>herbal flea remedy</a> works great on Addi and isn’t harmful to her health. We combine lavender (<span style=”FONT-STYLE: italic”>Lavendula angustifolia</span>), rosemary (<span style=”FONT-STYLE: italic”>Rosmarinus officinalis</span>) and eucalyptus (<span style=”FONT-STYLE: italic”>Eucalyptus globulus</span>) to make this herbal remedy.</p>
<p>Do you have a great dog or cat? Have you tried any herbal pet remedies? Drop me (or Addi!) a comment and lets chat about it.</p>
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  • Published on Jul 21, 2009
Tagged with: Reader Contributions
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