★★★★★
Garlic
★★★★★
Garlic
★★★★★
Garlic
★★★★★
Garlic
★★★★★
EC: Read much more about Garlic for Dogs here.
Garlic
★★★★★
On ANY day, it could be successfully argued that ROXANNE is a difficult/high maintenance MUTT (Rottweiler/Russian Shepherd/Basset mix) but, THIS TIME, she kept telling me -- and I had no problem recognizing her message -- that she was actually "in stress".
*******
Initially, I attributed her discomfort to: (a) bugs (fleas and ticks -- trust me, not the problem), (b) the heat, and perhaps a rash she had developed and needed to "scratch" to the point of creating "sores" on herself; or (c) a food allergy (even though I've been feeding her "people food" -- along with her Science Diet menu -- as a TREAT ever since she was a puppy).
To these ends, I had been both showering and shampooing her (warm) and "hosing her down" (gently; cool) on a bi-daily basis (alternating between "commercial shampoo" and a baking soda/olive oil paste for relief).
In addition, I had been applying AloeVera, Olive Oil, NeoSporan and even some commercial "moisturizers" to her back and "hiney" areas (areas that seemed to be bothering her the most) on a regular basis.
***********
After all of this and just six (6) days ago, she FINALLY squatted and rubbed her hiney on a patch of grass. My reaction:
Oh, my God! (and OK) She's got WORMS! (poor baby, but "fixable" and controllable!)
***********
My Grandmother (God rest her soul) actually bred/raised cocker and springer spaniels in her NYC apartment during the 1930's and 1940's. In addition, she would "rescue" any/all strays that may come her way until the day she died (1985).
And one of the most significant (albeit basic) things she ever taught me about treating a dog with parasitic WORMS was to somehow get GARLIC into that dog's system (I know not about cats in this regard, but I can't see any reason why my Grandmother's "formula" wouldn't "work" for cats, too).
***********
Day 1: I didn't have any clove garlic on hand, so I sprinked powdered garlic over ground beef ("hamburger meat"), cooked it, and fed it to ROXANNE (along with the same carrots, potatoes and peas I had earlier served to my own family).
After HOURS, there was no "appreciable" result.
Day 2: I purchased a GARLIC bulb at my local supermarket, took it home, broke it up, and BOILED 3 cloves in a nominal amount of water, sliced the cloves up, and poured the liquid over a couple of cans of commercial dog food.
And while ROXANNE gobbled up the meal, after HOURS of waiting, there was still no "appreciable" result.
Day 3: I was at my wits end, but totally believed that my Grandmother had told me TRUE about what to do (naturally) if/when a dog was experiencing this particular kind of "distress".
And so I boiled 2 more GARLIC cloves and, along with an approximate 1 T. of ground GARLIC, poured a "mixture" (which included this approx. 1/2 cup of water -- garlic cloves removed -- 1/4 cup Heavy Cream, 1/4 cup Half & Half and a can of Evaporated Milk into a bowl snd simply served it to her (cooled)).
Day 3 -- LATE NITE. ROXANNE awakens me, and tells me it is URGENT that she go outside and (very) reluctantly, I abide/consent/concede and respond to her "signal".
And, in retrospect, I am REALLY glad I did.
Because not only did ROXANNE "poop" like she had never done before (meaning 3 times, in various locations along our "path") but, when I "picked it up" (as is required by law) and "inspected" it (YUK! EWWW! and all of that), there were not only 2 really "super long" (but DEAD!) WORMS evident in her "elimination", but also evidence of "smaller" parasites ("white things") that had not survived our GARLIC onslaaught.
*******
Day 4:
ROXANNE SLEPT for a really long time for her (perhaps 6 hours straight) after that particular "elimination experience".
But what was most STRIKING (to me, at least) is that, when she did eventually wake up from her nap, she was TOTALLY the smiling (yes, she DOES smile), dysfunctional (in so many ways, I just can't tell you!) MUTT (Rottweiler/Russian Shepherd/Bassett mix) I would do ANYTHING for (as she would do for me, I have NO doubt).
Day 4-6 (meaning, to present):
FINALLY, SHE was able to SLEEP. And therefore, so was I!
And FINALLY (and once again), it became a pleasurable experience (as far as I can take that) to "deal" with ROXANNE.
We (me and ROXANNE) have had 2 "good days" now.
And (optimist I usually am not), I am actually looking forward to many, many more days of ROXANNE being happily "cured".
*******
Make no mistake: I will continue to watch for any/all other symptoms of ROXANNE's discomfort.
But as of right now, I feel pretty comfortable that her "problem" has been FIXED.
And I feel pretty stongly that's that's on account of GARLIC having been significantly imposed on her diet over the course of no fewer than 3 consecutive days.
********
IMO (and experience), my ROXANNE is perfectly imperfect.
It's been a difficult couple of weeks, but (especially after our most recent "trials"), I cannot thank my Grandmother (or GARLIC) enough -- specifically because, on account of ROXANNE feeling better, I, too, have been sleeping better and am feeling a whole lot better about a whole number of things now.
