I’m clean thanks to the Halo Cloud Nine Shampoo for dogs!

Cloud Nine Herbal Shampoo is a revitalizing infusion of botanical oils and extracts – turning grooming into a pleasurable experience

Ingredients: Saponified Oils of Coconut, Olive and Jojoba, Tea Tree Oil, Rosemary Oil, Sage Oil Cedarwood Oil, Peppermint Oil, Sweet Orange Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Pine Needle Oil, Aloe Vera, Rosemary Extract (as a preservative)

There are several other great shampoo products for dogs on the market. My pet humans decided on the spur of the moment i needed a bath and bought this at Whole Foods. Now they are going to spray me with some stinky Neem oil to keep away the ticks and fleas.

Swami Dog-ananda is the patron of all homeless, flea ridden dogs.

In shelters devotees of this Master place a biscuit at his image in hopes of finding a new home. Others chant his mantra….Home Please find me a Hooooooome

. Swami Dog-ananda has stayed in embodiment until all dogs find homes. Go to your local shelter and adopt a dog. Good DOGma…Good Karma.
Find the Swami Dog-ananda Throw Pillow and other pawsitive gifts for dog lovers at The Tao of Dog Galleria

“Neem oil is derived by pressing the seed kernels of the neem tree. It is very bitter with a garlic/sulfur smell. A single seed may contain up to 50 percent oil by weight.

Neem oil is an excellent moisturizing oil and contains various compounds that have insecticidal and medicinal properties. It is used in making shampoos, toothpaste, soaps, cosmetics, mosquito repellants, creams and lotions, pet products like pet shampoo, etc. It also contains vitamin E, other essential amino acids and some percentages of fatty acids. Neem oil is used for treating many skin diseases viz. eczema, psoriasis, skin allergies, etc.

A compound found in Neem Oil and neem leaves extract- ‘Salannin’, has been proven to be safer but more effective insect repellant than DEET. Neem provides protection from not only mosquitoes, but also from biting flies, sand fleas and ticks. ”

To read more of this article please click “Neem oil is derived by pressing the seed kernels of the neem tree. It is very bitter with a garlic/sulfur smell. A single seed may contain up to 50 percent oil by weight.

To read more of this article please click here

Aromatherapy to the Rescue

April showers bring May flowers with fleas, ticks and other bugs that attack our pets.

Ticks carry the dreaded Lyme disease as well as yellow-spotted fever disease and others. Fleas are annoying to both humans and animals as well as dangerous.

Many people have asked me about recommendations for natural pest repellents for their dogs. There are a few essential oils that can help combat ticks and fleas, however there is no guarantee that these aromatherapy mixtures will completely protect your dog. Always err on the side of caution when bringing your dog into an area that is known to have ticks.

Please note that certain aromatherapy oils are toxic for cats. The following essential oils are for human or dog use only.

Here are a few essential oils to make your own Pest Away Repellent.

* Geranium oil is said to be one of the best oils to repel ticks and fleas. It can also be used as a hair and skin conditioner.
* Lavender oil is soothing, calming and repels most bugs, ticks and even scorpions.
* Lemongrass repels ticks, fleas and mosquitos.
* Sage and thyme are also used with other oils to repel ticks.

To make your own essential oil repellent, take about 4 drops of one or more of the above oils mixed into 8 ounces of pure water in a dark glass spray bottle.

You can use this mixture on your dog, the dog’s bedding and even yourself! Please be careful not to spray near eyes or any orifices.

Too busy to make your own bug repellent? Visit our friends at Bella’s Oils to find natural sprays, shampoos and other green products for you and your pets.

It feels like spring and i want a dog. I want one now. I should join a 12 step program for dog-aholics. It is overwhelming and it is all i can think about. It has been so long since i had my own dog. When i lived in San Diego i had three German Shepherds, Nina, her son Merlin and his wife Liberty. All passed away before i left the west coast. My heart tugs every time is see a shepherd. I can spot one from a distance. More than once i have almost wrecked my car gazing at a shepherd walking down the street.

I know that there is a dog in my near future- but my inner child is having a hard time being patient for that right rescue dog to appear. Yes, this next dog will come from a rescue group or shelter unless Rin Tin Tin knocks at our door or the Monks of New Skete call and say “Congratulations! You just won a New Skete Shepherd!”. There are too many dogs who need homes and i do not want a designer dog. And i promised my husband and 3 cats i would wait until April or May to begin searching for that dog.

This dog also must meet criteria set my family and myself. He or she must get along with all 3 cats and not try to eat them. He/she must be a big dog, not a small lap dog. And if possible this new dog will be trained as a therapy dog. The reality is when the time is right the dog appears. They pick us. But….oh the anticipation of who will choose us?

The sun was out this weekend with a heat wave of 55 degrees. The urge to roll in the grass was unbearable. It was wet, so i showed restraint. … And i really did not want to embarrass my husband anymore than usual. He is quite patient with my dog obsession. (well actually its an animal obsession but our small apartment will not allow us to have a horse, pig or elephant.) More than once Salem residents have approached me with “Oh.. you’re that Dog Lady.” ( I am sure they were all kind or scared enough not to say “Oh, You’re that crazy dog lady.)

My husband Norm, also an acupuncturist has recently diagnosed me with Gou Shen Shi Syndrome translated as Dog Mind Excess. (Gou is Chinese for dog. The rest is TCM speak.) The symptoms of Gou Shen Shi Syndrome usually appear around the same time as spring fever. It is estimated that 30% of most people suffer from chronic Dog Mind Excess.

TCM Signs and Symptoms of Gou Shen Shi Syndrom

Tongue: long and dry from panting like a dog
Pulse: Big and fast from over excitement

Symptoms include:
* Obsession with dogs.
* Identification of good sticks. (Size matters.)
* Running after other dogs to greet and play with.
* Sticking head out the window during car rides. (I don’t usually do this one.)
* Heightened sense of smell. (I can smell smoke coming from the next town.)
* Scratching fleas – real or imaginary
(Last week i had to throw away my “dog coat”, the coat i wore making house calls because it had fleas. It took me a few days to realize that it was the coat that had fleas, thus the reason i had flea bites on my arms. My family is grateful that they were not attacked by the coat fleas…. and they were not imaginary fleas.)
* Ogling the Planet Dog toys at WholeFoods. (guilty)
* Drooling on cool leashes and collars at the local pet shop. (Drooling is such an ugly word.)
* Thumping rear leg when happy.
* The urge to bite when annoyed. (no comment!)
* The urge to howl along with other dogs. (why not?)
* Exhibiting symptoms of dog ailments such as hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, knee problems and lower back pain. (all of the above)
* Subscribing to dog magazines, watching dog movies and surfing pet finder for dogs to adopt. (it beats shopping for designer clothes.)
* Stalking neighborhood dog owners when they walk their dogs. (Some no longer make eye contact with me.)
* Carrying dog treats in car, purse and pockets at all times when possible. (mandatory)
* Knowing all the dogs’ names in the neighborhood but not their owner’s. (guilty)
* Chasing loose dogs down the street in hopes of capturing them before they are hit by a car. (I now have a leash in my car for this purpose.)
* Reprimanding other irresponsible dog owners for leaving their dogs in cars on hot days with the windows rolled up, leaving their dogs outside during frigid temperatures while they are shopping and those who allow their dogs to be unleashed on a busy street. (Probably how i earned the Crazy Dog Lady title!)

So i ask… what Traditional Chinese herbal formula does one take for Gou Shen Shi Syndrome?

I think the cure is a dog.

In May’s Four Paws Aupuncture E-letter, aromatherapy oils that repel bugs were featured. For those who do not have the time to make their own natural insect repellent, Burt’s Bees makes a safe spray for all!

DO NOT USE ON CATS!

Burt Bee’s website reads. “Our 100% natural blend of bug-fighting oils repels even the most stubborn of pests. Rosemary, Lemongrass, and Citronella oils mix with 5 other oils that bugs hate, creating an all natural solution for keeping them away. Since there’s no DEET in this formula, it’s safe enough to apply with confidence to children and pets.”

Ingredients: glycine soja (soybean) oil, ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil, cymbopogon schoenanthus (lemongrass) oil, thuja occidentalis (cedar) leaf oil, mentha piperita (peppermint) oil, cymbopogon nardus (citronella) oil, eugenia caryophyllus (clove) flower oil, geranium maculatum (geranium) oil, tocopherol

To learn more about this product visit www.burtsbees.com

To rid your home of fleas, spread a box of Mule Team Borax (available in your store’s laundry soap isle), over your carpet. Use a broom and sweep it into the carpet. Wait a couple of hours then vacuum. The residual borax that remains in the carpet will kill the fleas and their larvae simply by drying them out.

Make sure your pets do not walk on the floor while the Borax is there. It can be absorbed into their feet.