The Gruzensky Family Pack Product Review
Natural Relief for Dog Allergies with Natural Paws
My dog, Shasta, has Cushing’s disease if you’ve been a reader then you know. If you’re new to us, WELCOME, and you can check out our previous post-Shasta’s Diagnosis is… to read about his diagnosis. What we haven’t talked about are his allergies. The excess of cortisol, prior his diagnosis of Cushing’s, probably masked the allergies. However, since starting treatment and moving to a new area (I jokingly call our new area Central Allergy California as I and many residents have them as well) his scratching and chewing on his paws has really increased. There will be several posts over the next few months discussing many of Shasta’s health-related issues. For now, I’ll do a quick overview of allergies.
The process for dogs and humans with allergies is, again (see How to Tell if Your Child or Dog Has Diabetes), very similar. A symptom occurs when the immune system starts to see certain everyday substances as dangerous and then tries to get rid of the substance. The process activates the immune system. I promise more in a later post.
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Common symptoms of allergies:
Itchy, red, moist or scabbed skin
Increased scratching
Itchy, runny eyes
Itchy back or base of tail (though Pets Web MD says this is most commonly a flea allergy)
Itchy ears and ear infections
Sneezing
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Snoring from an inflamed throat
Paw chewing/swollen paws
Constant itching
I try my best to find natural pet products for Shasta. He is not able to eat a raw food diet since he is a pet therapy dog, but more on nutrition and supplements in later posts.
Before he was treated, Shasta had an excess amount of Cortisol (similar to steroid hormones). Steroid hormones are often used to treat allergies through their ability to decrease the immune system’s response. Therefore, his allergy symptoms were inadvertently treated. Treatment for Cushing’s disease aims to decrease the excess of cortisol releasing his immune system to again react to environmental allergies. He also has itchy paws as a result of food and environmental allergies. Since he spends several hours, a few days a week alone with access to a dog door, we are unable to wipe his paws after each outdoor excursion. We met Elyse over a year ago and she shared Tender Paws. We are so grateful she provided a piece of our puzzle.[bctt tweet=”Natural Paws has provided an invaluable piece to our Dog Allergy puzzle.
” username=”denisegruzensk”]
Elyse Horvath, the owner of Natural Paws, has developed a whole line of organic products to help with a variety of dog health issues. She was searching for a natural solution to help their Cocker Spaniel Sweet Pea’s constant itching and couldn’t find what she wanted. So she did what most of us wish we had the guts and imagination to do, she created it.
Elyse requested help formulating Natural Paws Products so it would be of the highest quality and backed by research. She consulted a peptide chemist with a background in Zoology, Anthropology, Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Chemistry. Sounds like a lot of school! Elyse personally determines whether or not the product will be a lotion, essential oil or pure tea and does the safety research. This also includes consulting a veterinary team. The ingredients for all of the products are impressive. For example, Tender Paws includes: “Distilled water, Essential oil blend (safflower, avocado, flax seed, vitamin E, tea tree, lavender), Leaf & Flower extracts (aloe, neem, pau d’arco, nettle, amica, chamomile, calendula, comfrey), Wheat protein, Grapefruit seed extract, Potassium sorbate” Source: NaturalPaws.net
Read the list again, do you see what is missing? I’ll give you the answer: No steroids or chemicals.
At first, I had trouble using it. Shasta d
idn’t and still doesn’t, like the spraying aspect. Elyse helped provide a workaround, now I spray some into my palm and then rub it onto his paws and skin (yep, though focused on paws, it can be used on hot spots besides the paws). I love how it smells so I certainly do not mind. Tender Paws helps decrease how much he chews on his paws and scratches his skin. It is important to note if they do still chew and/or lick it is fine since Natural Paws only uses organic plant ingredients that not harmful to digest. I love the story Elyse tells from a Holistic Veterinary conference she attended. The attendees were the 1st time she had customers tasting her samples. I laugh, but it also very effectively demonstrates the product’s safety.
Does your dog have itchy ears?
Floppy ears, wet weather, and constant scratching can be the source of ear yeast infections. Yeast infections potentially lead to ear infections requiring antibiotic treatment.
Signs of a yeast infection include
Scratching of the ear or area around the ear
Brown, yellow or bloody discharge
Odor in the ear
Redness
Swelling
Crusts or scabs on the inside of the outer ear
Hair loss around the ear
Rubbing of the ear and surrounding area on the floor or furniture
Head shaking or head tilt
Loss of balance
Unusual eye movements
Walking in circles
Hearing loss
Photo Courtesy of My Life with Dogs PDX
EARoma theEARapy gives an extra, but worth it, step to our ear cleaning. As noted before, Shasta is at higher risk for infections. I’m all in for anything to prevent needing to use antibiotics, especially when natural.
My usual routine is to clean his ears whenever he has been wet and as needed:
1. Clean with a doggy safe Q-tip.
2. Lightly mist with EARoma thEARapy.
In between times, if your dog has frequent infections, you can lightly mist as much as weekly and/or as needed. Another way to help avoid ear infections is regular weekly cleaning and professional grooming. Again, and actually, like all Natural Paws products, it smells terrific and is a spray. If you have ever had to put a liquid down a dog’s ears you will immediately see the value in the spray.
The Natural Paws line includes:
Not all scratching, itching and yeast infection symptoms are related to allergies/yeast and also may be a sign of a bigger health problem so please be sure to consult your vet.
Win a Natural Paws Winter Care Pack
Purchase Natural Paws and enter to win a Natural Paws Winter Care pack below
HELPFUL LINKS (where we dug up our information & you can get more)
Allergies in Dogs –Pets Web MD
Ear Infections in Dogs: Symptoms and Treatment-Pets Web MD
UPDATE: Look what just happened for Natural Paws!! Well Deserved!
We are excited to be participating in the 1st annual Holidays, Hounds and Hot Buys Giveaway and Gift Guide hosted by 6 elite pet bloggers. This year we have over $1,000 in prize packages to giveaway. A rundown of the themed prizes and participating brands were featured on #BlackFriday as well as the #houndsandholidays complete Gift Guide. Click on each blogger’s logo below to be taken directly to their gift guide and Rafflecopter entry form. Be sure to save each of the participating bloggers to your favorites so you can visit each of us daily increasing your odds to win.
The information we’ve shared in this blog post is not a substitute for professional veterinary care. These are our experiences and things that helped us while under veterinary care. It should not replace professional veterinary advice. If your dog/pet has a health issue please seek veterinary care.
Denise’s Dog Dish & Shasta’s Yorkie Yap/ denisegruzensky.com received Tender Paws and EARoma ThEARapy for an honest review. We did not receive monetary compensation to review/promote this product. We only accept products that we use ourselves, believe our readers and ourselves will benefit from learning more about & feel you will enjoy. Natural Paws is not responsible for the content of this post.
Happy Holidays,
Smiles, Barks and Wagging Tails,
Denise & ~Shasta
We have joined the Holidays, Hounds and Hot Buys Blog Hop
Poor Shasta. I’m so glad Rita doesn’t have any allergies (at least none so far!) My sister’s dog just had a really bad reaction to a ficus tree they’d had trimmed in their yard. She climbed around on the cut branches and was covered in welts the next day. They were in and out of the ER vet and regular vet over the whole T.g. weekend! Luckily she’s better now, but they were really worried about her for a few days there!
Wow, poor dog!! I’m glad to hear she is doing better! Allergies can be so scary!!
Poor pup! We’re glad you found some relief!
Natural Paws, diet and supplements have done wonders!! Teasers for the other puzzle pieces ?
Allergies suck! Mr. N has a flea allergy that drives him crazy. Luckily, it doesn’t bother him year round.
What do you use for flea control?
i have come across a post online regarding salmon oil i used it i found it really useful i would suggest wild alaskan salmon oil
Thank you! I will look into it.
I love reading about all the natural solutions available. I had a dog that had mange, and it took such a long time, and too many chemicals, to get it under control. Sounds like some of these products would have been a great help.
They really have been great for Shasta.
I will ask our vet is Lyla could have this. I am sure if she did he would have said something since she visits him regularly BUT some of these symptoms are what she goes through. Thank you for the education!
I’m so glad I could help, even if, hopefully her Lyla’s sake, it is ruled out. Please keep my posted!
Im so glad your pup is finding relief with these products ~ I’m a big believer in natural products wherever possible.
I feel very blessed to have met Elyse. Shasta is especially grateful!
Oy Allergies, story of our life although phew phew we have been allergy free for about a month. I will check into those products as am always looking for solutions when they arise so thanks for telling me about them
Sounds like you definitely know our struggle! I hope you like Natural Paws. We definitely notice the difference! What else have you done?
Love hearing about organic stuff. Natural Paws looks like a fantastic range of products the before and after picture of Shastas paws have done all the talking. I hope this line of products makes its way to India soon
I’ll have to ask Elyse and have her answer here.
Ruby has some immune system issues and was diagnosed with ear vasculitis last year. And just a few months ago she started getting itchy red flaky skin on other areas of her body as well. We started using the Natural Paws Spray Ditch the Itch about a month ago and it works wonders on her itchy skin!
I’m so excited it worked for sweet Ruby too!!
What an informative post! It’s so important for people to recognize little things about a bigger problem than waiting until they become big things about a big problem. Thanks for sharing this!
Thank you, I’m glad to hear the feedback. That is the new focus of Denise’s Dog Dish, helping inform with health information and answering questions….
With environmental allergies, I’d always consider immunotherapy.
I’ll look into that. Do you know, off hand, how it might effect Cushing’s?
That’s so great that Shasta is feeling better. Allergies just suck. I’m glad you’re able to find a natural product to help. Just FYI on the raw and therapy visits. There are organizations that do allow a raw diet. If not, you can look into home cooking, that’s what we do. 😉
Thank you for that update on therapy programs and raw diets.
Such a great post full of info! Thank you for sharing. I’m Pinning this on my “Bark about” board!
Thanks for the feedback and share. You do such an amazing job with canine epilepsy awareness!
We are fans of this line and have used it on Dexter. We love the paw spray and the anti-itch spray, both are super effective.
We are glad to hear another great testimonial of how it has worked. Elyse has created such a great product line it makes it easy to recommend!
This sounds like a great product to help with the Cushing’s Disease.
It is really terrific for pets with allergies in general. Shasta’s Cushing’s makes his allergies that much worse and has been a lifesaver.
I never realised dogs got cracked paws, but I do know that natural is best and you should always try natural stuff first. Healing and patience and both take time!
I don’t know if my message got through but this is a just in case. We believe in natural remedies, they can be a huge help to animals. These are great to know about, Thank you!
The both got through, thank you Dash Kitten. We like natural remedies too!
My poor Nelly has an ear infection right now. I’ll be taking her to the vet tomorrow. This is the second one she has had this year, but up until now, she’s only had a few. I think I need to look into that Earoma Eartherapy.
It worked for us and I’ve seen other great reviews that it worked for them too. Definitely worth a go poor little Nelly. Please let us know how it goes.
I’m glad to learn of more options available. Henry suffers terribly from allergies too. Thank you for sharing.
I’m hopeful Natural Paws will help Henry too. Let me know how it goes and if you have more tips/tricks.
Poor Shasta! I’m glad that you found something that works to relieve all of that itching. These products sound wonderful. I’m glad that they are all natural and can be safely ingested if they are licked off. It has to be really hard to have itchy paws and ears!
It is terrible to watch him so itchy and such a relief to have him feeling better!
I am going to have to order some of this for Houdini as he needs it
We definitely love it and hope you & Houdini do too!
We are lucky that neither Ralph or Luna have bad allergies. They get itchy skin sometimes, so we make sure to bathe them often enough and use moisturizing shampoo. I’ve been meaning to try Natural Paws and have heard great things. Glad it’s been helping Shasta!
I can’t say enough about much I love their products. Glad to hear your fur kids don’t have allergies!