The Possible Canine’s Blog
Midsummer Sale on Nutrition Courses
Hello, all! I am posting today to share a flash sale with my readers - I generally try to do two sales per year, one approximately around each of the Solstices. A bit late this summer, but here we go. From today until Friday June 30, the following (major) discounts...
Canine Cancer – a few thoughts on diet
This morning I made a comment - accidentally - on a post I saw on Facebook, sharing a highly sensational trailer regarding the power of nutrition with canine cancer. (When I say "accidentally" I mean I thought my comment was on a Friend's post, but it was actually on...
Ten Herbs series: expanding the familiar
Those of you who follow my Page on Facebook might've seen today, my post about finding the herbal solution for my dog Amara's rather challenging issue - and finding it by using one herb , which I had selected as a test, a diagnostic, but that turned out to be all we...
Yeasty dog? It may not be the carbs
This morning I am compelled, finally, to get this brief but important article up for all those who are dealing with yeast infections in their dogs. On my Facebook group and elsewhere around the net, I frequently hear about people struggling with yeast infections in...
Beautiful Dandelion – for you and your dog
Spring is dandelion time! While I use dried root and tincture in my clinical practise all year long, there is just nothing like the fresh, whole plant - flowers like bursts of sunshine, young leaves not yet too bitter - to inspire creativity and get us all out into...
The Raw and the Cooked, or why I sometimes delete links on Facebook
Spring has finally arrived here in the Gatineau Hills and I have been having a very busy year so far. I can't believe it has been months since my last post! Today I am sharing some thoughts, briefly, on my position regarding raw and cooked diets for dogs; I often...
Carob/quinoa treat recipe
I’m not sure when I actually bought Todd Caldecott’s lovely and informative book Food as Medicine, it might be about 5 years ago. Although I practise as a Western Herbalist, I have a long standing interest in Ayurveda, and Todd is a great herbalist, someone to be...
Slippery Elm and Marshmallow – a little differential
Yesterday, a member of my Facebook group asked a simple question, and it prompted this post. In keeping with my commitment to adding shorter but still detailed articles, I thought I'd elaborate my answer here for those who need it. And since digestive issues in dogs...
Pet Blogger Challenge 2017
When did you start your blog and, for anyone who is just seeing it for first time, please provide a description of your site. Would you say your blog focuses more on sharing stories with your readers, or providing a resource for your audience? Answer: This version of...
Kelp for Dogs- the Good, the Bad, and the Mumbo Jumbo
Happy New Year to my friends and readers, I am looking forward to a great year ahead, after what many described as an Annus Horribilus -- 2016! One of the comments I've received a lot, about this blog, in email and on my Facebook group, is that my entries are...
Paw Wax for Dogs – my version, and a few little pointers
So, this time of year always brings out a few recipes for home made "wax" that can be applied to a dog's paws and act as a barrier against cold, salt and gritty stuff during walks in the cold wintertime. I make this stuff every year too, with a few of my own twists,...
Holiday Recipes Part Two – Gingerbread cookies
Hello all, and a very happy Holiday to everyone! Whatever you celebrate (and tonight is Christmas Eve) I hope this season finds you well, hopeful, healthy and at peace. I and my little zoo here in the Gatineau Hills are enjoying a respite from the extreme cold, and...
Calendula for dogs
Over the past week I have had a flood of emails asking about calendula, a wonderful and easy-to-grow herb that I utilize in many ways, for both topical and internal issues, for humans, canines, and other species.. The biggest question in my Inbox right now- is it...
Holiday Recipes Part One – Turkey loaf, many ways!
Seems that everywhere I look, people are baking and starting shopping lists for holiday food - and many are asking me what's safe to give their dogs, for a special meal, too. Everyone knows I'm a great supporter of feeding a fresh food diet, whether raw or cooked; at...
Herbal Help for Canine Hot Spots
...Excerpted from a Plant Healer Magazine article last fall. Hot spots It’s possible that hot spots are THE single most asked-about canine issue I encounter on the net, over 20 years of yahoo, AllExperts, various forums and now Facebook. Hot spots are very nasty to...
End of the Year Sale
... because I do this every year - for the next ten days I am offering a special price on the two nutrition courses. (The Herbalism course already is at a rockbottom price, until the New year when it will be going up - so it's staying as is). If you take one of the...
Remember “Cookie of the Week?”
...well, that fell by the wayside with all the other stuff I have to get done all the time. However - I do bake cookies and other treats for dogs, and once in a while I hit on a tasty and healthy delight I have to share. Today is one of those days. Fiddling around...
Herbs for the Urinary Tract
Common Conditions – Lower Urinary Tract Disorders of the Dog Overview To start with, conditions of the urinary system in both dogs and cats are very common, and form a significant percentage of my own clinical cases. Diseases of the bladder and urethra are related...
I Can’t Stress it Enough…
Response this morning to a few emails I've received - friendly questions, so I'm glad to respond. The jist of it all is, my recipes may be balanced and cover the essentials, but where are the Superfoods? Isn't it boring to feed just sweet potato or quinoa, chicken,...
Herbs for Rescue Issues
Rescued animals of all species, ages, and backgrounds can present with a range of physical and emotional issues –which are very often, if not always obviously, deeply connected. Some of these problems are apparent immediately, while others will emerge over...
Thirty Day Herb Challenge
This was an idea I put forth to my student group, and it was met with so much enthusiasm, I decided to go ahead and set it up. The only questions were, how hard to make this? I have students of all levels in my course, from total beginners to a couple of veterinarians...
Update on the Practical Herbalism course
Good morning all - my Inbox and PMs are full of inquiries so I thought I'd put the answers all in one place today. With regard to the course progress and launch date or any news pertaining to the course: 1) Check my website – right here! the latest blog entry...
Astragalus/Mushroom Medicine Balls
I've been promising to share the mushroom/astragalus Medicine Ball recipe, and I just made a batch to make sure my (usually eyeballed) proportions are right - so, here it is. There are loads of variations to try - I'll share some below - but this is a basic...
Five Top Reasons that “Herbs Don’t Work”
Something I hear an awful lot of, in my work as a herbalist for humans as well as other species, is the simple lament that "herbs don't work". Sometimes expressed with chagrin, other times with dismissal, it's a familiar refrain to me and for many of my herbal...
Learning Never Stops
With all the focus on my new herbal course, I've been neglecting to talk about the two canine nutrition courses I've run for years, seems like they are well known and I always have a steady stream of new students along with graduates. That said, I think it's time to...
The Pre-Sale Continues…
Recently I've been receiving messages here, on Facebook and by email, all of which lament the idea that the Practical Herbalism course is "now closed" and all asking when it will start up again. In light of what appears to be a major misunderstanding, here's a few...
Update on the new course, and other stuff
Today I want to bring my readers up to date on a few changes here, as I've been delayed a fair bit, with computer woes, and may have appeared to disappear, for a while. Early in March I finally switched computers after 8 years, and it has proved to be a real...
Using Herbs Wisely
Using Herbs Wisely Today I want to share a little general wisdom about herbs; their strengths and proper applications for animals, and how readers who are interested in herbs, can sort through the ocean of information (and misinformation) regarding their use. Some of...
Herbs to Know – Yarrow
Herb – Yarrow Achillea millefolium Continuing the series with a wonderful “old standby” herb, but again one I feel is underused in animal herbalism – yarrow! This is a common “weed” that grows everywhere, so one virtue is availability, for sure. An important herb in...
Live Herb-chat on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/events/868226859961447/ A quick entry today to let readers know that I'm hosting a Live Chat on Facebook this Sunday, 1pm EST, and to invite you to drop by with questions or to "listen in". The main purpose of the chat is to discuss my new...
The Possible Canine’s Blog
Top Twelve Herbs for Dogs – Updated
As I sit down to write this, it is the day we set our clocks forward "for spring" and I am gazing out my ground floor window at snow that comes higher than my ledge, and more coming down. It is hardly springtime in my part of the world - yet! but I am thinking ahead...
Astragalus
Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus) Family: Fabaceae (legume family) Part used: root The roots are harvested from three- or four-year-old plants for maximum potency and sliced thinly. Once dry, they look like cream-colored tongue depressors. Also available in...
Herbal Support for Smoke Exposure
With all the fires raging across California, and smoke thick over the whole area but also moving Eastward across the continent, the herbal world is filled with ideas to support humans exposed to the bad air...but what about our animals? I'd like to address every...
The Spotlight Series…Vitamin D
Hello readers, and first let me say how amazed and delighted I am by the number of people registered already, for the Home Cooking Tutorial! I knew there was a need, but still - I've had a very enthusiastic response, just a few days in. I've known for some time that...
What I’m Feeding Danny
This started off as part of an exercise for the Cancer Tutorial, and as it grew I decided to share it with a wider audience. One of the things I am most adamant about is ensuring that home prepared diets meet all nutrient requirements - fatty and amino acids,...
Consultations for your Dog- a Service Update
Today I’d like to talk a bit about my Consultations, what they entail, what you as a client can expect and how the process works. After providing these services for close to two decades, I have had the opportunity to see what works best for my clients, and to that...
Christmas Cookies – especially for Seniors…
...dogs of any age can have them too, of course. I developed this cookie a few days ago, after seeing a recipe shared around, for "candycane" treats that used wheat flour, a bouillon cube and red food colouring - I mean, none of these are tragic, I dislike...
Energetics 101
This is one of those "by request" posts - since the whole topic of energetics has been tossed around so much lately in the natural health world, and there is a bit of popular confusion, I hope to be able to help sort some of it out. Plus, it's a favorite topic of...
Chamomile – much more than tea!
Chamomile (Matricaria recutita, Chamaemelum nobile) Family: Asteraceae Parts Used: Flowers, fresh or dried Actions: antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, relaxing nervine, carminative, stomachic, antiemetic, vulnerary, diaphoretic, mild antimicrobial, aromatic, bitter...
Adaptogens for Dogs – an introduction and recipe
Last week on my Page (Facebook) I had promised a couple of new recipes, and then alas, life, work and all that jazz simply got in the way. So I promised to share a recipe, an existing one from my (hopefully) forthcoming ebooklet...this is one I make and use with my...