Rescue dog with painful/possibly broken leg and more!

[chitalpaStudent]

In February a very sad, starved ( think Auschwitz) scabbed over hairless mastiff? mix showed up to my mother’s ranch. His feet were swollen and painful with white pads. His eyes

were swollen and gooped over. Our first thought was abuse and mange, but on further research, we believe was abuse and meth burns. ( We live in a drug corridor.) Initially, we

began to treat him with turmeric and coconut oil, and then moved on to an aloe, plantain, comfrey, lobelia, coconut oil and silver mixture. He was put on a raw, grain free diet, and

within no time, he gained weight, the scabs were falling off, his hair is coming back, and he is looking like a dog rather than a horror. The swelling in his feet went down, and he

began to walk more normally. However, about three days ago, the lead dog in mom’s pack went after Horatio for some canine indiscretion, and he was knocked over. His Right front

paw below the carpus became painful and swollen and he was toe tapping. We gave him lobelia, plantain, comfrey and coconut oil. We also applied a topical poultice of the same,

adding peppermint to the poultice mix. The lobelia seemed to make him more comfortable. Today the swelling has traveled up the leg and he is intermittently crying in pain. We

dosed him again with the lobelia, plantain, and comfrey, but we are unsure quite what to do next. We are somewhat reluctant to go the vet for xrays as the local guys are rather

conventional, difficult, and never met a billable service they did not like. Are you aware of any likeminded vets near Yuma, AZ or San Diego, CA? What else might be effective in this

instance? He is eating! (lots) and drinking, no vomiting or diarrhea, he may be somewhat feverish, I have not attempted to take a temp, but he is acting lethargic. We are just

getting started with the HGH school, and we have been researching, but I think we need some big guns here. Any suggestions???

[IdahoHerbalist]

If you think he has an infection then get some berberine into him (barberry, goldenseal or oregon grape root.) I have used those for sinus infections in the past with success.

[chitalpaStudentTopic Author]

O.k., so I haven’t been able to get anything with berberine yet, but we did go and get some xrays. There were no fractures or breaks which we were happy about. However, he is not wanting to walk at all and he is not putting any weight on his right front foot and holds it out to tripod along. The vet did a skin scraping, and surprise!! he has demodectic mange. My understanding was that demodex is present in the normal flora of skin on healthy dogs, but their immune system is able to keep it at bay. This guy being starved and sick it is a no brainer! The venerable old vet was very gentle with us, but he did not have a good prognosis. He believed that the dog is suffering from a genetic condition and would not be able to satisfactorily overcome it. So, he encouraged us if we wanted to continue trying, but it probably would not resolve. We have now brought big boy into the house (which was a major undertaking ) and he is resting. He sure is a great dog. Any thoughts???

[chitalpaStudentTopic Author]

Well, this just gets weirder. Now the dog cannot stand up on his own, but has to be helped up. His heart is thumping out of his chest. He is sleeping alot and drinking alot. ( And eating alot!) He is enjoying his new digs in the air conditioning, however taking him out to visit the bush is a workout. He still is not putting weight on his right front leg, except to balance himself. I am wondering if maybe the canine altercation was not the cause, but maybe a sting or a bite??? He was hanging out in the cool garage, and the garage has been a haven for many, many creatures. I am watching the bite and sting lecture, because I don’t know of anything else that could come on so suddenly and rob him of all his strength, make him feverish, and make him so sick. Really, we are just trying to support him through this now, but if anyone has any experience or ideas with this kind of thing, I would be grateful. And Horatio too. He greatly enjoyed his bentonite clay poultice mixed with turmeric and aloe today. He thought it was delicious. We’ll have to try again tomorrow, but try to keep it on his leg and not in his tummy.

[Dr. Patrick JonesHomestead Instructor]

Do you have any pictures?

Mastiffs are notorious for having weird circulatory issues in their legs if they get an injury. They are prone to swell up as you’ve described. I’ve had success with these sorts of edema-in-the limbs issue with mastiffs by addressing the lymphatic system. Cleavers, Echinacea and Calendula often help. That combo also helps if there is an infection process going on. Plantain is also great.

Here are some easy buttons you might consider:

https://homegrownherbalist.net/products/lymphatic

https://homegrownherbalist.net/products/infxn-bugbuster

https://homegrownherbalist.net/products/immunity-formula

https://homegrownherbalist.net/products/cornerstone-formula

Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

[chitalpaStudentTopic Author]

Thank you for the info! I will be ordering the lymphatic and bugbuster tomorrow. Fortunately I have some of the herbs on hand that make up the mixes, but not everything. I have some pictures but we have been struggling with getting them to post here. The files are too big I am working on it. He is continuing to eat well, he is more active, but now he is having trouble with his hind left leg. He is staying down mostly, but gets up and goes where he wants. He has his own ideas of what is comfy! We are continuing to use plantain, comfrey, rosehips, lobelia, and have added in echinacea and cayenne as a tea we mix with some of his food, until we receive what you have recommended. Topically we are using plantain oil or coconut oil, aloe, plantain, comfrey, and turmeric. Thank you!!!

[IdahoHerbalist]

Attached files

[Dr. Patrick JonesHomestead Instructor]

Has he been diagnosed with mange (demodex or scabies)?

If so, you need to get that addressed too. It really sucks the resources out of the body and makes it hard for anything else to heal.

I don’t know of an herbal solution. Use meds for that if he has it.

Doc

Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

[chitalpaStudentTopic Author]

Thank you for the herbs! We got them on Monday and have been treating him with 1 tsp each of the bug buster and lymphatic twice a day with his food. He is walking much better, but still gimpy. He is very careful with that right front. His hair is growing amazingly quickly. Some of the bare patches from the previous pictures are now covered! He was diagnosed with demodex, which we have been treating with the aloe and coconut oil and herbs like plantain, comfrey and turmeric. I found an interesting article about mange…

We have been told that it is incurable, but I think the article spells out why it maybe would be if we had him on a regular diet. We have only been feeding him raw chicken of late, and I think that is helping him at the foundational level. The crusts and scales continue to come off, with nice, new skin underneath. He has finally found his bark, which is hilarious! He is happy to be one of the gang. We will try to get some more pictures, maybe tomorrow, so you can see his progress. I don’t know what happened to the boy, maybe a healing crisis??

It sure was weird. Thank you for your help! I think I needed the support as much as he did. I thought we were going to lose him.

By the way, we are learning so much from the course. We were watching the Truth about Cancer series with Ty Bollinger that is running right now for free, and they mentioned berberine as a cancer treatment. The girls turned to me and said “Oregon Grape”! LOL

[Dr. Patrick JonesHomestead Instructor]

Glad he’s feeling better. Mange is a disease of the young and the debilitated. Sounds like you’ve gotten him into a state where he can resist it better and make some headway. If it doesn’t completely clear, go ahead and get some meds. Modern medicine is a good tool if you don’t over use it or use it as a replacement for giving the body what it really needs to heal itself. 😉

Doc

Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

[chitalpaStudentTopic Author]

I agree! Having been on the receiving end of really good conventional medical help in emergency situations, I can appreciate the many wonderful things it can do. Having also been on the receiving end of some really bad!!! medical advice and care, I can say that I appreciate those that are willing to use the whole tool box, so to speak and not only rely on pharmaceuticals and conventional methods. This is partly what has put us on the road to studying nutrition, herbalism, and over all health. It is amazing what the body can do given what it needs! :nod:

[IdahoHerbalist]

By conventional do you mean traditional or modern?

[chitalpaStudentTopic Author]

Good Question. I guess I should define what I mean. Although even that is kind of difficult . I’ll give you an example. An 18 year old cat has leukemia for the second! time. The cat is

diabetic and has a feeding tube. The cat has it’s blood sugar monitored 3x a day and is given insulin. The cat has dirty teeth so it is determined that the cat should have a dentistry.

During intubation, the cat’s tongue falls off in the hand of the doctor because of the infection in the jaw. Still receives a dentistry. The owner is also seeing a feline oncologist Everything is modern and according to “best practice”. The owner is in the office at least 3x a week. Cutting edge medicine, right? Except for the poor suffering cat. In the human realm, how about cutting off both breasts of a young woman who has never had children, even though she only has cancer in one. That is considered conventional treatment. I guess when I say conventional, I mean what is accepted as best practice, without regard to the circumstance or actual condition of the patient. The vet we saw with Mr. Horatio hinted that we should put him down. A vet tech who rides at the ranch said he sould be put down because there is no cure for demodex. But he is clearly getting better, and regrowing hair. It is not happening overnight, but he is healing. If he weren’t I would agree with them. But I wanted to at least give him a chance because he is such a young dog, and really by rights he should not even be alive, the condition we found him in.

I have worked with two exceptional vets, but they were of the “old” mindset. They were good diagnosticians, used tests when they were warranted , not in every instance. If surgery was necessary they said so. If the dog or cat had something incurable, they said so, and tried to help the owner through the process of letting go. They would do little services like ear cleaning and nail trims free of charge if an animal had to go under anasthesia. I have also worked for some dastardly folks, who would color in parvo tests, and clean out used fecal cups for reuse! These were fond of billable services and would even cold call patients to try and inveigle pet owners to come in.

My youngest daughter is vaccine injured. My oldest daughter had a double mastectomy at age 23! These are conventional practices, but they have not had good outcomes for the patients they are meant to serve. I myself was put through the doctor mill and colonoscopy for a condition that my “old” school ob/gyn diagnosed in 15 minutes of detailed questioning. But the condition was not resolved until I stumbled across herbs and starting taking a boat load of alterative and blood building/purifying herbs. From there I started studying about nutrition and herbs for my youngest, and it has been an immense blessing. Soooo, from what I have described, would you consider the definition as traditional or modern orrr???? I really appreciate Doc’s approach, because from what I have gleaned from listening to his lectures, he has a very practical, common sense approach, and is willing to use the appropriate tool, whether it is a test, a medicine, a herb or nutrition.

By the way, I have been under the weather this past week, and I started sharing the bug buster with Horatio. Yowza, those herbs are POTENT. Noticed a difference right away! Thanks! And we do have new pictures, just need to get them uploaded. Horatio is now “loping” or lolloping around. He is quite the guy.

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