Flea, Tick, Heartworm

Hi Dr. Steve! My integrative vet recommended I put my youngest pup on Jing Tang Lyme Formula due to her numbers creeping up...I've noticed that giving one capsule daily she is producing mucous in her fecal - would it be wise to do every other day? What are your thoughts? Her QC6 number is 27. Thank you!

Dr. Steve's Advice - I don't use Jing Tang products myself, so you'd best connect with the veterinarian that sold you the product and ask how to proceed if you want to keep using it.

For me, personally, to get rid of Lyme, I use Voltrex (https://goldstandardherbs.com/products/Original-Voltrex-85g-p647327438), which is something your vet can stock for you or that you can obtain yourself through Gold Standard Herbs. Although advocated for joint issues in general, the product normalizes immune function to eradicate the Lyme bacterium rather than focusing on trying to kill it. That seems to be the secret of its success. 

The reaction of your dog to the Jing Tang product suggests your dog is prone to Dryness (i.e., inflammation) of the Stomach and Large Intestine, which Voltrex takes away the predisposition to. In the meantime, though, while using the Voltrex, I would also add Glehnia and Rehmannia from Kan Essentials. Your vet can stock that, too, but if not, you can access it from Aleksandra Topic, a Kan distributor who is a friend of the page. To get a hold of it, use her instructions here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1158575954706282/posts/1420037418560133/

The two formulas together should lower that Lyme titer steadily while getting rid of all your dog's symptoms. If you've been happy with the Jing Tang product, though, then connect with your vet to find out if a lower dose will suffice.

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Good morning Dr Steve!! Thank you for a great live on the inside scoop!! 

I recently adopted a lab hound mix. He was in shelter at the end of April tested negative for heartworm. I fostered him and wound up adopting him and tested him for heartworm at the end of June and he was positive. The vet did a chest x-ray and she said his heart looks good so was OK with me following your protocol in your book. Unfortunately he is still heartworm positive. I got really concerned so I allowed her to start the first treatment which was the prevention to kill off the microflora. 

He is raw feed with a variety of different commercially made raw foods and I do add steamed vegetables and several supplements including CoQ10.  He also gets raw goat milk. 

I had stopped your protocol after she gave him the heartworm prevention for the microflora. Is it OK to continue your protocol and see if that one dose of heartworm prevention as well as the protocol will take care of it. 

Any suggestions is greatly appreciated! I really want to do what’s right and not create any problems at the same time I am concerned about the long-term effects going the traditional route to treat him. 

I don’t know if any of this is helpful but he did come to me with round worm and hookworms. He also had some allergy symptoms which are clearing up. 

Thank you so much!!! 

Dr. Steve's Advice - thank you for your patience as I slowly worked my way to your post! The heartworm protocol in the textbook worked slowly for me, too, but I could tell if was slowly being effective since we were doing quantitative tests on heartworm antigen, and could slowly see the levels dropping. If that kind of test is available for you, consider adding it in.

Meanwhile, no problem using those herbs together with the preventive medication. Please let us know how that goes as it would be a nice option - using a herbal extract and heartworm preventives - compared to using the much more dangerous pharmaceutical treatments for active infection

Lastly, here is an article by Cynthia Lankenau on how she resolved an active heartworm infection with herbs (https://ivcjournal.com/case-report-using-herbs-to-treat.../), should you want to go that route. The secret is basically to combine known antiparasitics (like the ones in Manual of Natural Veterinary medicine) with a constitutional treatment for your dog. For example, if your dog has Blood stasis, you'd use an appropriate Blood mover like Blood's Palace. If they had Shao Yang disharmony, you might use Harmonize the Qi. A holistic veterinarian could help identify which Chinese medical diagnosis your dog best fits, and then prescribe something with the best chance of supporting them in particular, while you continued the antiparasitic

Hopefully this helps you out!

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Hello Dr Steve, 

Hope you are well! I found an engorged tick on my dog MooMoo 12 days ago and I immediately started the homeopathic protocol using Ledum Palustre 200c, as well as sending the engorged tick to get tested for pathogen. Unfortunately the result came back positive for Lyme bacteria. 

My questions are: 

1. Does this mean MooMoo will definitely be infected with Lyme? My vet says it’s not always 100% the case but she didn’t elaborate further. 

2. I understand I will have to watch for symptoms (if any as I understand only about 5% of dogs will show symptoms) but how long should I wait before have him tested for the Lyme Quant C6 test? (Or is it not necessary unless he starts having symptoms?) And if he’s asymptomatic does it mean he fought it off successfully on his own? 

3. Anything else besides Ledum Palustre 200c I can give him to help him fight the potential infection/strengthen his immune system? I.e., any natural antibiotic that you would recommend? And would you know whether Ledum Palustre is actually effective?

FYI MooMoo is a healthy 6yrs old, 19lbs, neutered Havanese currently on gently cooked food, fed fresh garlic, bone broth daily, as well as ester c, coconut oil, pre+probiotic, omega-3 oil, plant based mineral & amino acid and naturally fermented multivitamin. 

I should also add that he was tested positive for Anaplasma bacteria from Accuplex4 test (negative for Lyme and Ehrlichiosis) last week for another engorged tick I found on him two months ago. Pending results on the PCR test. He did have some mild symptoms (lameness and lack of appetite) for a couple of days but all went away on his own. 

It’s been two years since I stopped giving him Nexguard and switched to natural prevention. This is the first time I found engorged ticks on him. I do check him multiple times a day and spray him daily with tick repellent before going out. I’m disappointed in myself for not checking thoroughly enough but I want to channel my energy into learning more about how to help him overcome this instead of guilt and fear. 

THANK YOU from the bottom of heart for reading this and any advice you could share with me. 

Here’s a cute pic of my MooMoo …

Dr. Steve's Advice - if your dog doesn't show symptoms, there may not be a lot you have to do. Most dogs vanquish Lyme disease without a lot of help.

If he does become ill, you can use the Lyme Quant C6 test to track progress, but you don't have to. Prevention or resolution of symptoms is a reliable guide that your dog is improving or safe, respectively

If the Lyme disease becomes clinical and causes joint pain and lameness, I would use Voltrex by Gold Standard Herbs (https://goldstandardherbs.com/products/Original-Voltrex-85g-p647327438). It tends to resolve joint pains and help oust the bacterium pretty quickly. It's also useful for Anaplasmosis. If your dog develops the puffy joint presentation of Lyme, then I use Free the Sinews from Kan Essentials (known as Yi Yi Ren Tang from Natural Path, available through vets).

The best defense against Lyme becoming a problem is a real food diet, which you're already feeding. Because of that, if you're lucky, you may see no problems at all

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Hi! I have a 3 yr old male chocolate lab fed a raw diet. He went hunting with my husband this past weekend and picked up a tick. My husband is pretty sure this is the spot he picked off a tick Saturday morning and by Saturday night he started developing this. We went to the vet today and they said it is an infected bite and could be from a tick. They gave us 10 days of clavamox and carprohen. She said not to put anything topically on it because she wants it’s to ooze out infection. Is there anything else I can do? Pic of the bite and my boy at the vet today.

Dr. Steve's Advice - that should work. If the tick was not on for longer than 24 hours, then once the bite is healed, that should be the end of it. Think about homeopathic Ledum or Silicea to help expel any foreign material from the bite. A warm compress (using a hot damp facecloth) once or twice a day, perhaps with some bentonite clay applied afterwards, should draw out the infection, too 

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Hello Dr. Steve,A year ago I adopted a 4 year old rescue dog that was heartworm positive. She was treated and is HWM neg now. Since HWM and mosquitoes/ticks are prevalent where I live, I must keep her on the HWM medication, currently Simparica Trio.

1. Any suggestions on what HWM medication is less damaging? Should I rotate them?
2. 1 year ago she was given rabies, DAPPV, Bordetella shots lasting 1 year. My vet suggested I "re-vaccinate with all, since titer tests are going to be a waste of money." She is only very occasionally in contact with other dogs. Thoughts?
3. She has been throwing up white foam (sometimes food) once or twice every other week. Her favorite treat is cat poop. I try hard to prevent her from that. All my vet did so far is inject anti-nausea meds (once). I don't like her to be on meds/vaccines unless I must. I'm trying to keep her as healthy as I can. I feed her the healthiest AAFCO balanced raw I can find and gently cook it because I can't put up with the idea of pathogens. I add pre-probiotics, and a pinch of moringa, stinging nettle, flax, kale, hemp, milk thistle (all organic), Cessorex in the mix.
4. Sincerely thank you for your input and all you do!

Dr. Steve's Advice - you can read my comments on heartworm, vaccines and titers at #DogVaccinations and #dogheartworm. There isn't really (in my opinion) an alternative to preventive heartworm medications, except not to use them if you're not in an endemic area and don't travel. Clearly that does not apply to you! I think some of the posts rehash which products are likely safer, when preventing heartworm.

I don't see titers as a waste of time. Per Dr. Ron Schultz, North America's pre-eminent vaccine researcher, the risk of adverse vaccine reactions increases with vaccine exposure, so the only way to 'do no harm' is to do titers on dogs, and wait on vaccinating (where legally possible) those that have positive titers. Laboratories offer the tests precisely because there is a utility to them.

Of the vaccines you mentioned, only Bordetella is not worth checking for, and I don't think any labs offer a titer for that organism. In the case of Bordetella, immunity wears off so quickly that it can be argued the vaccine does probably very little to prevent kennel cough, except in acute outbreaks.

Lastly, there are a lot of reasons dogs can intermittently throw up white foam. To see if it is gastritis, try adding some Slippery Elm powder to the food. If it stops, then the stomach wall is irritated and something like Glehnia and Rehmannia Combination from Kan Essentials may resolve it.

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Good morning Dr. Steve, looking for advice..I purchased your Voltrex and Lumbrex before he went to Vet, haven't tried your products yet..I will wait for your reply.

My raw fed chemical free (flea, Tick) no vaccines of 9yrs. Just Tested Possitive for Lymes He has collapsing Trachea, IVDD Neck...Rescued 3yrs of age bite Hystory...must be sedated at Vets. Using Holistic and Natural as much as possible, I cannot give oral homeopathy unless I put pellets in water, food or bone broth.Currently for tick bites Ledum, Bor L Immune Tincture. Pulling Ticks off since November Recently in the last 2 weeks 5, 2 were Nymph deer ticks..he had the start of  a ring pattern. Exposure to lymes could have been back in November..Do I treat with Doxycycline? Vet wants to check protein in Urine test next. What is the best blood test for Lymes, should I re test in 90 days. Is there a cure for Lymes? Once you have it..you always have it. Treat symptoms..no cure. He has been nippy to touch and comb lately...a wobble to his walk. Had 2 episodes of neck paralysis (IVDD) extremely painful couldn't move. No choice..Gabapentin, Metcam, Tramadol crate rest.Spraying him 3 plus times daily essential oils, flea tick collar, ACV in food, Earth animal powder in food 2 times, raw garlic. Trachea- slippery elm, bone broth, raw honey..bad episodes tried Cerena (Vet prescribed) thank you for your help.

Dr. Steve's Advice - sorry about the delayed reply. Voltrex and Lumbrex by Gold Standard Herbs certainly seem appropriate, so I hope you eventually got around to using them. The video shows your dog probably has significant neck pain, possibly from fixations, so a chiropractic treatment might be highly advisable. Some of the aggression your dog shows at the vet might be pain induced, from them tensing up expecting the worst, which in turn aggravates their symptoms. Valerian root extract is another neck muscle relaxant you could get to help relax your dog and speed the improvements along. Voltrex will likely help a lot with the Lyme disease, the collapsing trachea, and maybe even the aggression (i.e., stress) at the vet clinic.

No problem to do a urine protein:creatinine ratio on your dog. If it is above 5, the Voltrex will likely take care of it.

Given the low albumin and calcium levels, you may want to consider a Liver Blood tonic. Lumbrex may be enough for that, but otherwise, a third formula you could add in that will also help relax the neck musculature is Liver Support Formula by Kan Essentials. This is often available online at Amazon. If you use it, dose according to the table at https://nphc.ca/using/dosage. If the UPC is indeed elevated but less than 3, the Liver Support Formula will likely correct that, too.

Lyme disease can certainly be cured, probably in most dogs, especially with Voltrex. It doesn't have to be a forever thing. Your vet can do a quantitative test for the C6 antibody. If it is dropping over time, it is because your dog has killed off the bacteria. A single positive test such as the one in the lab reports does not tell you when your dog was exposed. It could have been long ago.

As to whether you need to use doxycycline, that is up to you and your vet. My preference is to use herbs to kill off the infection, but you can use antibotics at the same time as you want and hedge your bets. The Voltrex might protect the microbiome somewhat against any ravages from the doxycycline. If, on the other hand, your dog's symptoms all resolve on the herbs, then the antibiotics would seem unnecessary

Hope that helps!

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