Q.
My dog Abu constantly gets ear infections. Medicines that my vet gives him may help for a short period of time, but the minute he is off the medicine, the ear infection comes back. It only happens in his right ear. Is there anything natural that will help prevent him from getting chronic ear infections?

A.
There are a number of naturally based ear remedy/products on the market. Any one of these could help if you “hit the right one”; all patients do respond differently to any given product. The ingredients in these products range from mullein to garlic to clove oil, calendula and goldenseal. Some of the products we commonly recommend are those by Halo, Animals Apawthecary and Ark Naturals. One of my favorites over the years, especially for yeasty ear problems, is a simple dilute solution of apple cider vinegar in water. Chronic ear problems are very often allergy based. Therefore, changing a dog’s diet from poor quality food, especially dry kibble full of processed carbohydrates, to a raw diet or one with very high quality ingredients, while adding in some basic supplementation, including digestive enzymes, could really help prevent or cure the problem.

Q.
I have a 15-year-old cat who has been sleeping in window sills for the last two years. I just found out the sills are full of chipping lead paint. I’m very concerned about lead poisoning. Are there dietary supplements I can give him – sea vegetable powder, anything like that – that can help clear his blood of lead should it be present? I am generally very non-interventionist and treat him only homeopathically when he is ill. He eats a diet of raw meat mixed with TC Instincts powder and has been doing this since he had severe kidney problems in 2001 (he hasn’t had any since).

A.
Reports suggest that the minerals calcium, iron and magnesium may help eliminate and/or combat lead poisoning. For years, my favorite supplement used in cases like this is Extox by Progressive Labs. One caution: it does contain garlic powder and garlic is considered toxic to cats. I have personally used this product on cats, with precautionary qualification, and saw no observable problems over the long term. I have also given garlic to my own cats for many years – I routinely cooked it into my one’s cat’s food and he lived to be 24. But I’m not recommending it. The product contains other ingredients that have heavy metal binding properties, including vitamin C, bentonite, l-lysine, chlorophyll, dl-methionine and sodium alginate. You could use several or all of these.

Q.
My seven-year old cat, Oliver, was diagnosed with asthma. He has been on Flovent twice daily for two months. His breathing improved to a certain extent only. He is on dry food. What holistic approach would you recommend for Oliver? I would very much like to find a treatment and eliminate asthma.

A.
First, I would recommend changing his diet from dry food, which is often chock full of processed carbohydrates, to a food made with good quality ingredients high in meats. This can be home prepared or raw, or you can choose from premium canned foods containing these ingredients. I have also had success using BHI’s (Heel) homeopathic Asthma combination remedy, sometimes mixed with their Bronchitis remedy. I’ve also seen some excellent results using Seven Forest’s Pinellia 16. Although this product contains the controversial ingredient ma-huang, I have used it with both cats and dogs for years with no noticeable complications.

Q.
My 13½-year-old terrier mix has recently been diagnosed with Cushing’s disease. He suffers from itchy skin, excessive thirst, incontinence, panting and two ACL tears. My vet is treating him homeopathically with cortisone. We are in our third week of treatment with no changes in symptoms and I am beginning to get discouraged. I was wondering what direction to go from here if this does not work. Are there any new treatments or supplements that you can recommend?

A.
In my practice, we have a multi-directional approach to treating a Cushing’s patient. Much of each program is based specifically on an individual patient’s blood results, and what form or type of Cushing’s he has. Some general supplement advice I can share here is the use of Professional Complementary Health Products’ Adrenal Drops and also their Pituitary Drops or Pineal/Pituitary/Hypothalamus Drops. Add a pituitary and an adrenal glandular supplement. These are readily available through several different companies. Phosphatidyl serine, which is typically part of a supplement complex, has been demonstrated to have a natural cortisol suppressive effect on the adrenal glands, making it one of our favorite supplements for Cushing’s patients. Remember, all animals respond differently. In our experience, some still need the complementary support of allopathic medicine, but when they do it is usually in a smaller quantity than typically prescribed.

Other questions answered in this issue:

Q.
I have a four-year-old Lab/chow mix. About a month ago I noticed that she would run from one spot to another and check behind herself. She would also sit down and lift her left hind leg during walks. I took her to the vet and he checked her anal sacks and did a physical exam to check the mobility of her legs. He actually did what I thought was a thorough and rigorous exam. During the course of the exam she did not seem in pain or show any weakness. The only thing the vet told me to do was lower her calorie intake because she was about ten pounds overweight. I put her on [a light food] and noticed that she did not have any episodes after a couple of weeks. However she recently suffered what looked like a muscle spasm in her left hind leg. They are not frequent like the last time but it is unnerving because I have no idea what is happening.

Q.
Recently, our Gordon setter was diagnosed with hip dysplasia. She is scheduled for femoral head excision surgery. What can we expect from the surgery and how should we handle the recovery period?

Q.
I have four cats and have been feeding them a raw food diet with some supplements, including colostrum. I have recently seen some studies that indicate colostrum is ineffective after a few days or weeks of age. However, I have also heard that it can aid pets in anti-aging, joint support, immunity, etc. Which is true?

Q.
Our five-year-old Labrador retriever Mira just had surgery on her paw because of injury related osteoarthritis. I’ve read that bromelain can help with post-surgery pain and inflammation. Is this safe to give her? If so, what dosage would you recommend? She weighs 75 pounds (she gained some weight post-surgery due to lack of mobility, so we’re trying to get her down to around 68 to 70 pounds).

Q.
I recently got two six-week-old Manx kittens. One of the kittens keeps leaking urine as if she has no bladder control. She also has problems with diarrhea and constipation and with her bowel movements not coming out on their own. Her groin got infected really badly. I got some spirulina, brewer’s yeast, carob powder and cod liver oil for her. She finally produced solid bowel movements and her pot belly started to look normal. After about three days on these supplements, I stopped feeding them and her diarrhea and infection returned. I suspect that’s because I fed the kitties a natural cat’s canned tuna. The vet told me I shouldn’t have fed them that. The vet also told me that the disorder in nerve control happens because the kitty is a Manx. She told me all about disorders that Manx cats are said to have if they are tailless. My kitty is completely tailless. The other kitten (from the same litter) has about a ½” tail and has no problems. I told the vet I wanted to give the supplements another chance and see if they would work. Would you know of any Manx cats with similar issues, and if there are any success stories using holistic treatments?

Q.
My nine-year-old Siberian husky has discoid lupus. Have you had success in dealing with this condition using natural products?