Herbs for Pets : the Natural Way to Enhance Your Pet's Life

330 Pages·2011·36.38 MB·English

by  Mary L.

SECOND EDITION
Tilford/
Wulff
Herbs
SECOND
EDITION
Pets
for
H
e
The natural
r
b
way to enhance
s

your pet’s life
f
o
r
P by Gregory L. Tilford &
e Mary L. Wulff
t
s
A HOLISTIC
• Cancer and Other
GUIDE TO
Health Issues
• Care for Senior • Parasite Prevention
Animals and Treatment
• Anxiety and • Diet and Nutrition
Behavior Concerns Supplements
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Herbs
Pets
for
SECOND EDITION
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Text copyright © 2009 by Gregory Tilford and Mary Wulff
Photographs copyright © 2009 by Gregory Tilford
Additional photographs courtesy of: Isabelle Francais/BowTie Inc. and Tara
Darling; cover, Tara Darling (cat), Lesley Ward (horse), and Karen Taylor (dog)
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval sys-
tem, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy-
ing, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of BowTie Press®,
except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tilford, Gregory L.
Herbs for pets : the natural way to enhance your pet’s life / Gregory L. Tilford &
Mary L. Wulff. — 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Rev. ed. of: All you ever wanted to know about herbs for pets / Mary L. Wulff-
Tilford & Gregory L. Tilford. 1999.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-933958-78-1
I. Wulff-Tilford, Mary, 1955– II. Wulff-Tilford, Mary, 1955– All you ever wanted to
know about herbs for pets. III. Title.
SF745.5.W86 2008
636.089’5321—dc22
2008055534
BowTie Press®
A Division of BowTie, Inc.
3 Burroughs
Irvine, California 92618
Printed and bound in China
16 15 14 13 12 11 10 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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Herbs
Pets
for
The natural
way to enhance
your pet’s life
by Gregory L. Tilford &
Mary L. Wulff
SECOND EDITION
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Contents
Acknowledgments 6
Introduction 8
Chapter 1
Principles and Practices of Herbalism
15
Using Herbs Naturally 15
The Many Faces of Herbal Medicine 18
A Few Words About Toxicity 27
When to Take Your Pet to the Vet 27
Basics of Herbal Preparations 30
The Connection between Herbs and Diet 37
Using Nutritive Herbs as Dietary Supplements 39
The Ethical Use of Herbs 39
Chapter 2
Materia Medica: An A–Z Guide to Herbs for
Animals
47
Supplemental Herb List 202
Chapter 3
An Herbal Repertory for Animals: Ailments and
Treatments
213
Anxiety, Nervousness, and Behavioral Problems 213
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Arthritis and Hip Dysplasia 217
Cancer 222
Cardiovascular Problems 227
Digestive System Problems 229
Ear Problems 237
Elderly Animal Care 237
Endocrine System and Related Problems 240
Epilepsy, Convulsions, and Seizures 245
Eye Problems 246
First Aid 249
Immune System Care 258
Mouth and Nose Problems 262
Parasite-Related Problems: How to Live with Fleas,
Worms, Mites, and Other Things That Suck 264
Pregnancy and Lactation 276
Respiratory Problems 278
Skin Problems 282
Urinary Problems 294
Glossary 302
References 309
Index 320
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Acknowledgments
It’s funny how a book takes on a life of its own. This one began like most others—first
as a compilation of research, expressed knowledge, and the inspiration and ideas of
an author or two. But now after many years have passed and many thousands of peo-
ple have read, shared, used, and reflected on the content from its pages, this book
has grown into something much more—something far greater than anything I ever
expected. For many, Herbs for Pets has become a gold standard—the definitive guide
to herbs for pets. But it is not the authors, nor even the information contained in its
pages, that stand at the forefront of this book’s resounding success. It’s the growing
audiences of pet loving people who are realizing that the biggest rewards of animal
companionship can come only after we learn to accept and respect the true nature of
our animals. Without people like you, this latest edition would not exist. Thank you.
And once again—thank you to my now ex-wife and forever friend, Mary, who
remains one of my foremost herbalist teachers. Thanks also go to Nancy Kerns, editor
of Whole Dog Journal magazine, who throughout the years has been keeping the
“holistic word” alive and visible to so many like-hearted animal lovers. And thanks to
my dear friend Ikuko Kanada, who not only translated this tome into Japanese but also
has been at the forefront of a new natural pet care revolution in Japan; your work
brings renewed hope and inspiration to all who truly care about animal wellness.
Thank you to Gail Pope and all of the incredible people at Brighthaven Sanctuary—a
place where, because of you, miracles really do happen.
A special thanks to all of you who came to our rescue when my home burned in
the Montana fires of 2000. There is absolutely nothing to describe the feelings of love
coming from so many people.
And of course, thank you to all of the wonderful holistic veterinarians and natural
pet-care providers who work on the front lines to bring the gifts of human intellect,
love, and compassion to the true innocents of the world: the animals.
—Greg L. Tilford
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I would like to thank and acknowledge my parents, George and Dixie Wulff for allow-
ing me to be who I am and for letting Uncle Eldon give me my first puppy; Cindy
Nicholls, a dear friend; Jan Newman, my cousin and friend: Jeanie Notti-Fullerton, a
dear friend who shares a deep love and devotion for all creatures; to all of my animals
past and present, for sharing their love and lives with me: Mister, Max, Mollie, Cedar,
Willow, Stephanie, all gone but in my heart forever; Sage, the new Heeler in my life;
Lili, the new cat in my life; and to Frog (the Doberman) and Kyra, the Shepherd; to
my ex-husband, Greg, who made this book and many things possible, thank you for
being a good friend.
—Mary L. Wulff
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Introduction
Herbs and animals have lived together for a long, long time.
Millions of years before the first human walked the earth, creatures large and small
were using plants as their primary source of healing. In fact, much of our modern
medicine originates from what early humans learned through observation of wild ani-
mals and their instinctive uses of plants. For instance, we know that Indian tribes of
the western United States learned of the powerful antimicrobial properties of
Ligusticum porteri by observing bears ingest and roll in the plants to heal themselves.
Even today, the plant is still known by many as “bear medicine.”
In the face of diseases such as AIDS and cancer, modern-day pharmaceutical
researchers continue to scour the remaining wilds of our planet in search of cures, and
once again we are turning to the animals for answers. Zoopharmacognosy, a new dis-
cipline of science that investigates how animals use plants to heal themselves, is
attracting attention at leading research universities throughout the world. At the fore-
front of the zoopharmacognosy effort are Dr. Eloy Rodriguez, a biochemist specializ-
ing in natural products and synthetic chemistry, and Harvard primatologist Richard
Wrangham, who has been studying chimpanzees and gorillas in their native African
habitats. Rodriguez and Wrangham have discovered that the apes have an innate abil-
ity to select specific plant species for use against internal parasites. In fact, not only
can the animals select plants that possess specific medicinal compounds that are effec-
tive at expelling their parasites but somehow they know exactly how much plant
material is needed to initiate a cure without causing toxic side effects.
As zoopharmacognosy recaptures our attention and as our respect toward the
healing wisdom of animals grows, our quest for herbal curative answers is becoming
more urgent. But we’re faced with a problem. Strains of bacteria once thought to be
conquered are reemerging despite our antibiotics, and healing resources are disap-
pearing faster than we can discover them. Tens of thousands of acres of wild lands are
lost each day to the effects of a growing human population and the relentless
demands we place upon the planet. The Smithsonian Institution and fifteen other
research organizations recently completed a twenty-year study that concluded that at