I know, a pretty nasty subject but the sad fact is that most pets have one kind of parasite or another, be it fleas, mites, round worms, tapeworms or all of the above.

As a natural pet care consultant, I believe that prevention is the best approach. I belive that a healthy, strong immune system will keep parasites away and/or be able to fight off and kill any that your pet may pick up along life's way.

Does your dog have fleas? Do you want to PREVENT fleas? Fleas bring tapeworms, does your dog have tapeworms too? How about heartworms? What about those roundworms? Ear mites? skin mites? Ticks? Giardia? Other protozoa? And on and on. It seems our beloved dog's world is loaded with parasites of all kinds.

What about Advantage or Frontline or HeartGard?

These so called preventives use toxic chemicals to kill parasites in and on our dogs.

Are Chemicals Bad?

We are all bombarded with advertising to prevent fleas with toxic, lethal chemicals of all types and strengths for all sizes and breeds of dogs. You probably have been using some of these chemicals that your own vet has prescribed and sold to you. You may have even seen your dog go into an epileptic seizure almost immediately upon being administered one of the lethal chemicals sold to the unsuspecting public to "protect" their cherished little companion". There are some breeds of dogs that are actually killed when administered these chemical products.

You may be using these chemicals and you are troubled because your dog's health has taken a turn for the worse. You aren't sure why, but you know it all began when a chemical based substance was added to your dog's body. Be it a vaccination or a chemical to kill worms, ticks, fleas or protozoa, any time a foreign substance is introduced into your dog's body, (yours too for that matter) there will be a reaction. Most of the time the reaction will happen internally and you will not be aware of how detrimental this foreign substance really is for a while. Imagine how extremely lethal a chemical has to be if it is administered only once a month or once a season.

Did you know that your dog's liver and kidneys are adversely affected by the use of topical flea treatments, flea collars, chemical de-wormers and heart worm drugs? The toxic chemicals can and most of the time, do, eventually, result in renal failure (kidney failure), liver damage to the point of the liver becoming unable to filter the blood and complete liver failure. Contaminated blood circulating throughout the body day after day will most definitely contribute to other more complicated health issues, such as diabetes and arthritis to name two of the most common long term side effects.

Did you know these toxic drugs cause severe skin rashes, loss of hair, epileptic seizures, brain damage. The list of adverse side effects amazingly goes on and on. (Ask your vet to give you the patient information insert on these products) Still people continue to use these drugs because they don't know there is a better, simpler, less expensive, safer, way.

Chemical wormers, even the so called safe ones can cause vomiting and intestinal upset, disrupting the natural flora balance. Chemical wormers kill the parasites, key word here is kill. The host (your pet) of these parasites will not escape the toxicity of the chemicals in totality. Actually your dog's liver has to work overtime to try to eliminate these toxins from the body.

Listed below some of the side effects from typical chemical wormers normally dispensed.

DRONTAL PLUS contains Praziquantel/ pyrantel pamoate/ febantel

• Central Nervous System : Frequent are dizziness, headache and malaise. Drowsiness, somnolence, fatigue and vertigo have also been seen. Almost all patients with cerebral cysticercosis experience CNS side effects related to the cell-death of the parasites (headache, worsening of preexisting neurological problems, seizures, arachnoiditis, and meningism). These side effects may be life-threatening and can be reduced by coadministration of corticoids. It is strongly recommended that all patients with cerebral cysticercosis are hospitalized during treatment.

• GI Tract : Approximately 90% of all patients have abdominal pain or cramps with or without nausea and vomiting. Diarrhea may develop and may be severe with colicky. Sweating, fever, and sometimes bloody stools may emerge together with diarrhea.

• Liver : Asymptomatic and transient increases of liver enzymes (AST and ALT) are noted frequently (up to 27%). No case of symptomatic liver damage has ever been seen so far.

• Sensitivity Reactions : Urticaria, rash, pruritus and eosinophilia in White Blood Counts.

• Other Locations/Body as a Whole : Low Back Pain, myalgia, arthralgia, fever, sweating, various cardiac arrhythmias, and hypotension.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praziquantel
http://www.stanford.edu/class/humbio103/ParaSites2005/Toxocariasis/wh ole%20thing.htm

Other drugs such as Febantel, Fenbendazole, Ivermectin, Milbemycin oxime, Piperazine, and Pyrantel Pamoate may also be used.

Risks of side effects of this medication may include:

A dog (or person) with allergies
pregnant or lactating dog (and women)
children less than 30 pounds
older animals (and adults)
a dog simultaneously being given other medications:
confusion
severe diarrhea
hallucinations
irritability
loss of appetite
severe nausea and vomiting
skin rash
itching
muscle and joint aches blurred or yellow vision
chills
seizures
dark urine
fever
back pain
pain while urinating
yellow eyes and skin
extreme lethargy
redness, blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin

Pyrantel Embonate- one of the contradictions for this ingrident in Drontal plus is acute liver failure

Take heart, there is a safe effective alternative for your dog!

You can do it without chemicals!

There are many alternatives to toxic chemicals and they are more healthy and beneficial to your dog's health. God has supplied Nature with ways to eliminate parasites, you can draw upon God's own pantry in nature and provide your beloved companion what our creator has been providing for centuries.

One of these is what organic farmers have been using to get rid of parasites for their pets and livestock for years.

Diatoms or Diatomaceous Earth (DE)

Diatomaceous earth is fossilized, single celled organisms called diatoms.Diatoms walls consist of two parts and contain a mineral called silica. Under a very strong microscope, diatoms have very sharp edges.

Diatomaceous earth's surface is sharp to a flea or parasite's skin (totally safe on our pets and our own skin). When a flea, tick, ant, spider, etc comes into contact with the remaining sharp edges of the diatoms, they lacerate the waxy exoskeleton of the bug and the DE (diatomaceous earth) absorbs the body fluids causing death by dehydration.

DE (Diatomaceous Earth) are composed of approximately 3% magnesium, 85% silica, 5% sodium, 2% iron and many other trace minerals such as titanium, boron, manganese, copper and zirconium. When you sprinkle it on the daily food rations, your dog will get the essential trace minerals that are lacking in most canine food products, thus it enhances your dog's diet as well as eliminating internal parasites.

Silica is needed for many body functions, one being collagen formation. Collagen is what holds connective tissue together and is largely comprised of silica. If you think of cells as bricks, collagen would be the mortar. Without enough collagen, your dog can't build muscle tissue or bone, either, because collagen forms the honeycomb holding the minerals in place in bones. Hence, DE which is high in Silica can be helpful in cases of Hip Dysplasia or to help support or build healthy joints in arthritic dogs.

The Whole Dog store is proud to carry a DE based powder called All-in-One Flea Remedy

All-in-One contains Diatoms!

All-In-One Flea Remedy aids in getting rid of fleas, mites, and ticks on the outside of your dog and DE its self is equally as powerful in getting rid of tape worms, round worms and other types of internal worms that are sucking the nutrition and life out of your dog. Worms also leave toxic substances in your dog's body which can contribute to renal failure and liver failure and cancers. Thus the importance of getting rid of these parasites.

HERBS
Herbs are another of God's natural remedies for ridding the body of worms.

The following is a list of herbs that safely and effectively kill and/or expell worms naturally:

Wormwood Herb (Artemisia absinthium), may help to expel round worms, pinworms, tapeworms, and parasites from the intestinal tract

Malefern Rhizome (Dryopteris felix-mas), may relieve pain and control bleeding associated with killing worms, may be a soothing herb that coats inflamed areas of the large and small intestine, may help paralyze worms (tape, round, seat, pin and liver flukes)

Wormseed Herb, American (Chenopodium anthelminticum), may help kill and expel round worms, hookworms, small tapeworms, and amoebas

Sage Leaf (Salvia officinalis), may aid in digestion and expel worms, may help soothe the stomach and intestinal tract

Papaya Leaf (Carica Papaya), may help break down proteins and mucus surrounding parasites and expel them, may act as a digestive aid

The Whole Dog reccomends a formula containing all of the above, called Pet Para-Gone

Another great product we are proud to carry with DE in it is ComforTone.