Dog care - Natural hygiene & parasite prophylaxis

Species-appropriate care of your dog is very important to us, as well as its natural care when it comes to holistic well-being. Gentle care starts with high-quality, natural ingredients. Without chemical additives and tailored to the special needs of each individual dog for health, vitality and a shiny coat.

Fleas, ticks, mites, giardia or any other parasite, all jeopardise your dog's health. They can also be dangerous to you as a dog owner, unfortunately they lurk everywhere. No matter how hard you try, sooner or later your dog will come into contact with parasites. Whether out walking, romping with other dogs, sniffing the grass or eating grass with relish - contact cannot be avoided and parasites can transmit diseases. 

As a dog owner, you can influence their hygiene and therefore the well-being of your dog. In addition, a healthy organism with strong defences can better defend itself against parasites than an organism with weak defences. As a dog owner, there are ways you can support your dog.

• Firstly, you can use natural supplements to help your dog build up a strong immune system, which can help to make them less attractive to parasites. 
• Secondly, you can use natural care products to care for your dog's coat and skin - in this way you can help to ensure that your dog's body can develop as free as possible from substances that can burden its metabolism and irritate its immune system.
  
   

It is important to note - any dog can get parasites, however the risk of infection can vary greatly from dog to dog, and there are different guidelines/parameters that apply in the many areas concerning dogs, which you as a dog owner must also observe. An active hunting dog, for example, has a higher risk of worm infection than a family dog, unless it regularly eats carrion, grass or soil. A therapy dog, on the other hand, needs to be checked more closely for parasites than a normal family dog simply because of its activity. We therefore recommend adapting parasite prophylaxis to your dog's individual risk of parasite infestation and lifestyle.

You have the opportunity to help your dog build up a healthy, robust body with a strong immune system through its diet, as health can have an influence on how attractive your dog is to parasites. 

Skin parasites - basic information on mites, fleas, ticks, bacterial overgrowth and fungi 

Parasites such as mites, fleas or even fungi are a problem for many dogs. It is more noticeable that younger, older or dogs with weak defences are usually affected.

From a holistic perspective, intestinal health and the health of the immune system is reflected on the surface of the body, i.e. the skin - the protective barrier. A weakened gut often goes hand in hand with a weakened immune system and this can have an impact on the health of the skin and mucous membranes and be reflected here. Not only does the gut have an individual intestinal flora, but the skin also has a skin flora, which contributes to the fact that pathogenic factors such as germs, fungi and various parasites cannot easily spread or penetrate the organism due to an individual pH value and an individual bacterial colonisation. 

The body comes into contact with these potentially harmful external influences every day and fends them off or keeps them in check. It can even be assumed that there will always be a few parasites somewhere on the dog's skin. If they are in the minority, this is not a problem at all. However, if the skin flora is weakened, for example as a result of an intestinal infection or after antibiotic medication, then their defence mechanisms no longer function properly. It is then very easy for parasites to multiply on the skin and cause problems. 

This applies not only to parasites such as mites, ticks and fleas, but also to bacteria or fungi that can cause problems on the skin. 

So if your dog has recurring problems like this, you should always check how well they are doing in general. Are there any abnormalities, such as a disturbed coat change, sporadic itching, recurring diarrhoea? Do they suffer from allergies or intolerances? Are they on medication or are there other factors, such as illnesses, that may keep their metabolism on its toes and may contribute to the immune system being under constant strain? Does your dog often drink from puddles outside, do they eat soil, do you often take them for walks along roads or is your dog generally a restless, anxious character? All these factors can have a negative effect on your dog's health and put a strain on their metabolism.

For this reason, we recommend that sensitive dogs in particular are regularly supported with natural supplements that can strengthen their immune system and promote a healthy gut structure. Because only when the body has enough nutrients available can it access its self-healing powers and defence mechanisms and this can have an impact on how attractive the dog is to various parasites or how quickly it can recover from an infestation.

Mites – harvest/autumn grass mites, ear mites and ticks - annoying pests that just cause itching and more

From June each year until the first heavy frosty nights, dogs' paws in particular can  be infested with Harvest Mites. Unfortunately, there is no known 100% effective remedy for autumn grass mites, neither in conventional medicine nor in naturopathy. However, harvest mites cannot tolerate heavy night frost very well, which means that a real winter heralds the end of the haravest mite season each year.

You can strengthen your dog's immune system with our Canis Extra Petflora, while Canis Extra Tausendgrün Organic Herbs for BARF provides it with valuable vitamins, minerals and secondary plant substances. A dog with a strong immune system generally has fewer problems with parasites such as mites, ticks or fleas than a dog with a weak immune system. This is why it is so important for dogs to build up their intestines (healthy gut) and optimise their nutrient supply during this time. We recommend starting the supplementary feeding 2-4 weeks before the start of the harvest mite season so that the dog is well prepared.

As additional support during tick season, you can add our Canis Extra Organic Egyptian Black Cumin Oil to the food. This also helps with intestinal complaints. You can also spray Canis Extra Mineral Spray  on areas of skin affected by skin irritation or clean them with a cotton pad. A small amount of Canis Extra Organic Coconut Oil can be massaged onto the affected skin area as well to provide additional skin care.

Ticks in dogs

Ticks are blood-sucking parasites that prefer to attach themselves to thinner areas of the dog's skin and suck on them. During this process, diseases can be transmitted from the tick to the dog. Ticks can also be dangerous for humans, as they can also transmit diseases to people. These parasites, awaken in spring - so the ritual of tick prevention begins in spring.

A natural diet is basically the foundation for a strong immune system that is less attractive to parasites. In addition, you can support your dog both internally and externally in its defence against ticks and other pests.

From feed-related internal support, e.g. with our Organic Egyptian Black Cumin Oil, Brewer's Yeast and Organic Coconut Oil to,promoting a strong defensive body odour from the outside, you have various options for supporting your dog.  

Fleas - an uninvited guest rarely comes alone

Unlike mites, fleas are not arachnids, they are insects - which unfortunately does not make them any less annoying for dogs. Once a flea has found its way into your home, it starts to multiply very quickly. A big problem is that although the flea sucks blood from your dog, it is otherwise more likely to be found in the dog's environment (i.e. on the dog's resting areas, your furniture, in the carpet, etc.). Basically, if your dog shows symptoms of a flea infestation and you find a flea on your dog, then you should assume that there are another 99 fleas in your dog's environment. Your dog will start scratching more and more.  In more severe cases, it may even go as far as scratching and biting itself bloody, which can lead to skin infections. 

Some dogs have an allergic reaction to flea saliva. The annoying itchiness is then compounded by an allergic reaction that can lead to itchy skin inflammation (known as dermatitis). There is also a risk that the dog will become infected with worms via the fleas if, in a desperate attempt to satisfy the itching, it catches a flea and bites it. 

So if you want to get a flea infestation under control, there are two things to bear in mind - you should promote a strong body/skin odour in your dog that the fleas dislike. 

Natural feeding for worm infestation

Animals in the wild would forage for their own herbs to solve intestinal problems, our dogs are dependent on our help. Dog owners should act responsibly, because quite apart from the side effects of chemical parasiticides, there is the additional problem of resistance development.

Because dog owners want to avoid this and prefer natural products, natural products are increasingly being fed to support dogs with severe endoparasite infestations. We therefore provide two feed supplements for dogs that have a positive nutritional effect on the intestinal environment and can therefore help dogs to remain worm-free in a natural way. A worm-hostile intestinal environment can prevent recolonisation.

In any case, it is important to remember that any dog can get worms, but the risk of infection can vary greatly from one dog to another. For example, a hunting dog is at a higher risk than a family dog, unless it regularly eats carrion, grass or soil. As chemical worming treatments can affect the dog's metabolism, we recommend weighing up the individual risk for your own dog. If your dog reacts sensitively to worming treatments, they should be used as rarely as possible. As a general rule, we recommend having poo samples tested regularly to make sure that your dog is really worm-free.

In the case of increased worm infestation, Vermcurat® can be fed to provide nutritional support for intestinal cleansing, during which worms can be excreted in the faeces. Our Vermcurat® is suitable for dogs from 4 months of age.

For regular support of intestinal flora, which makes it difficult for worms to colonise due to nutrition, we recommend regular feeding of Vermprevet®. Vermprevet® is also suitable for dogs from 4 months of age.

Environmental hygiene in the event of a parasite infestation

Not only should you make sure that your dog's environment is cleaned regularly for fleas, but environmental treatment also plays a decisive role for giardia, mites and other parasites.  All the places where your dog spends more time, the bowls, toys, blankets, puddles from which they regularly drink from, etc. are potential places where they can re-infect themselves with parasites. So pay particular attention to the following measures.

• Vacuum several times a day. If you vacuum away the fleas' droppings, the flea larvae will no longer find any food as they feed on flea faeces. By meticulously vacuuming, you deprive the larvae of their food source, which means you can influence the development of the flea population.
• Vigorously boil the dog's bowls  
• Dispose of your dog's droppings so that they cannot become infected
• Do not allow your dog to drink from puddles or flower pots in your garden if they have had giardia – they can become re-infected with giardia.
• Do not allow your dog to eat any soil or grass and, of course, any droppings left by other animals.

Do you have any questions about our natural care products, nutritional supplements or our feeding recommendations, e.g. because your dog needs special support due to a pre-existing condition? Feel free to contact us, our team of experts will be happy to answer all your questions.