Dr. Kidd's Guide to Herbal Dog Care Book Review | Shorts

Hi, this is Rita Hogan, and welcome to the Dogs Are Individuals podcast. I'm a clinical canine herbalist and I've been practicing for over 20 years. This podcast is all about your dog through an herbal lens. So let's get to it and dive right in.

Hey, y'. All, how are you? You know, I used to live in Tennessee, so I can. I have the right to say y', all, y', all, I'm out. I'm now in the beautiful, lush Pacific Northwest in Olympia, Washington. Loving it, every minute of it, Every second of it. Absolutely. I even love the rain. I'm a writer, so I love the rain. I love the tea. I love sitting, you know, old school, jotting down ideas. I love that. So I'm perfect here. I do have to get out and get some sunshine and sometimes travel a little bit in the winter, but. But I love a good excuse to travel too. Hey, welcome to another edition of shorts. The short episodes are brought to you by Green Juju. Greenjuju.com Love Green Juju. I love their innovative mix. I love how Kelly and Billy of Green Juju really bring it. You know, they are helping pets everywhere. They use organic agriculture. They are supporting the planet by doing that and supporting our dogs cellular structures. And it doesn't get better than that. I carry a lot of Green Juju products in my store, but they are found all around the country. In the United States, I will have to ask them about. Out of the United States, I don't think so. But in the United States, they are at your local holistic dog store for sure. And if they're not, ask them to carry green juju greenjuju.com. they have just come out with a mushroom probiotic that I am excited to try. So check that out. Mushroom probiotic, fermented mushroom probiotic. How fun is that? I'm gonna get some more information on that and I will bring it to you when I kind of get it down in my head what it's all about. Gonna talk to Billy about it and. And we're going to check that out. So another thing, Sean of Earth Buddy has extended the code for you guys. Herbal Buddy 20 all capitalized. Herbal Buddy 20 for 20% off. Earth Buddy, earthbuddypet.com. check them out. Okay, so after I did my Modern Pet Handbook review the Modern Pet handbook by the BK Pets, someone asked me to review Dr. Kidd's guide to the Herbal Dog Care. And of course, I have this on my shelf. So Randy Kidd is a vet. He has been a vet and an herbalist so he is one of the few vet herbalists out there. Western herbalists, not TC aware. So this is a great little book. It is about, I would say, let's see, it's about 190 pages and I think it's an invaluable resource. Randy is, I mean he's one of those herbalists that is just like, you know, use a pinch here, use a pinch there. Let's do this. These are non toxic herbs. Let's look at it, you know, and I love his attitude. Like on page three I have a highlighted little section that says I use what I think will be best for the patient at that particular time in his, in her life cycle. I absolutely love that. And over the years I've found that more often than not the, the alternative medicines I choose do work. Quote unquote by Randy Kidd. Dr. Randy Kidd. Love that. So his first, his first chapter is the introduction to Herbalism. And he talks about responsibility to the, to health and the planet. He talks about how he got started as a practicing herbalist. He goes over how to use this book. You know, another quote, I love to keep your dog healthy. Use herbs on a daily basis if you should never need them. You'll have a much better luck getting a sick pooch to agree to herbal medicine if she has been acclimated to them over the years. What great advice, Randy. That is wonderful advice. Then we have 10 steps to holistic health care for dogs. And he goes over like this little pyramid that he's made. I love it. How to interpret the model foundation as one with nature, the base, the lower rings, human interaction, lifestyle herbs, hands on eyes on chiropractic using flower essences. Just, you know, Randy isn't a young guy and for him to write all this wonderful information in this little book is just fantabulous. And I think that everyone should have this on their bookshelf as well. Just a great book. Chapter two, using herbs for Health. He goes over some of the cautions for using herbs. He talks about nutrition. He talks about working with your vet for diagnostics and prescribing, looking outside, evaluating. Then he talks about tonics and safety. His favorite tonics. He likes echinacea and ginseng, astralagus, hawthorn. I see Melissa in here. Lemon balm, milk thistle, artichoke, dandelion, ginger, turmeric, alfalfa, yarrow. He's picked some really great plants. Love that. And you know, each herbalist will have their favorite plants, right? And then he talks about the benefits of biodirectionality and that means that a plant through its many individual components may direct its action to one part or system of the body when needed, but may have the opposite in action if that is needed elsewhere. That's from Randy in his book on page 22. I think that going over bioreactionality is great. I love that you did that, Randy. It's awesome. He talks about science versus traditional herbalism. Finding a reputable practitioner using herbs wisely. Him and I agree on double blind studies. As you know, they are not the answer in traditional herbalism. Love different opinions on that. Of course I have no problems with double blind studies and science. Just not when it comes to assessing your dog with herbs. Herbs in General Chapter four Learning about Herbs. Okay, so this is kind. This chapter is a little bit about you getting your hands dirty. Latin names. I mean I really love this book. In fact, it would be a great precursor book to mine. Chapter 5 Delivery Systems, Dosage and Potency. General Rules for administering herbs to Dogs. He's got a few things here to say. I like it. Dosage to effect. He says in light of all this, the easiest way to look at herbal dosages is to give them to effect. My basic rule is to start out slowly. Go Randy with low doses at first. Then after a month or so when the dog adjusts to her herbal intake, taper off or add on depending on the dog's reaction. Wonderful advice, Randy. Here is some more advice from him. Expect slow and easy results. Herbs often most often need to be given for at least 30 days before you'll see appreciable results. Look for mild and subtle and long lasting changes. Use the delivery system that works best and most easily for your dog. It's more important to get the herbs in the dog than to worry about proper way to dose. I love that Randy. Start out slow and then depending on your dog's reaction, again, taper off or add on. Love that Randy. Then he goes over into selecting herbs using teas. Pros and cons of bulk herbs. A basic tea. Now a basic tea is differs from practitioner to practitioner. And I love seeing people's different dosage. He, he has directions for making a simple tincture. He talks about using alcohol. Him and I really agree on that one. That it is safe in small amounts, capsules and tablets. Topical herbal applications. Standardized extracts. Okay, he talks about whole plant standardized extracts, purified standardized extracts. And then he has part two of his books, Herbs for Organ Systems and special Conditions. This reminds me of a little tiny version of my book. I mean, how Cute is that I haven't paid attention to this book for a long time, and I'm glad someone wrote into the podcast. Emily. Thank you, Emily, for asking about this book. It just helps me take it off the shelf, dust it off, and. And look at it again. What a wonderful book. Don't you love that about books? I do. You know, the younger generation, I'm 52, so I can say that the younger generation is really missing out if they do not start reading books, because books are just a wonderful way to revisit things. And it's so much, for me, so much better to turn a page, grab it off the shelf, look at it, touch it, feel it, mark it up. I mark all my books up. But yeah, I love taking a book off the shelf that I haven't used in a while and rediscovering it. I just. That is one of my favorite pastimes. So chapter six is the aging body. He talks about our little geriatric dogs and talking about what herbs might be good for them. And then chapter seven is arthritis and musculoskeletal system. Love that. He talks about acupuncture and chiropractic nutrition and supplementation, and then herbal pain relief. He gives some good recommendations for herbal pain relief. He talks about patience. And as you know, I always talk about patients, patients, patients. I met Randy once, and he was absolutely fantastic and super funny and super fun to be around and very nonchalant, easygoing. Chapter eight, cancer. So he talks about understanding cancer, and then we have, let's see, different therapies for cancer. His experience of different therapies for cancer. Chapter nine is the cardiovascular system. Chapter ten is the ears. You can hear me turning these pages. He talks about the ears. I love. Chapter 10. I've got a bunch of little things tagged in. Chapter 10, he teaches you how to make melanotic mix for your dog's ears. And then goes into chapter 11, the eyes. He teaches you how to make a compress for the eyes. I Love that. Chapter 12, the Gastrointestinal System. He talks about leaky gut and allergies, excess gas, sluggish digestion. Chapter 13, the immune system. You know what it is, how it works, how to activate it, how to modulate it, keeping holistic perspective. Chapter 14, the Liver. 1 of my favorite subjects goes through different herbs for the liver. And he has a protocol for liver dysfunction. Thank you, Randy. That is wonderful. And as I peruse it right now, it looks pretty good. Chapter 15, the nervous system. One of my favorite systems in the body. Talks about how important it is. And he ends that chapter with different herbs for different dogs. Yes, love, he's pointing that out. And then chapter 16 is the reproductive system. And that is definitely something I've been working on with my knowledge in the last couple years, is learning so much more about the reproductive system and neutered dogs versus non neutered dogs. And he talks about that. And you know, like I said, Radne's been around for a very long time and the information in this book is invaluable. So I would definitely pick up a copy. You can get it on Amazon or throughout. You can get it on Barnes and Noble. You can get it. You know, you can have your local bookstore order it, which is always the best option. Chapter 18, we have the respiratory system. And chapter 19, the skin. Love that. Chapter 20, a whole chapter on the thyroid. And love you for that, Randy. Love you for that. Chapter 21, the urinary system. And then he has a nice little materia medica, or he calls it the herbal reparatory. And different things about each plant. He covers a good array of these plants. Love that. And then he has a lovely index and some different types of appendices. Herbs for specific conditions, organ system, tonic herbs, a glossary. Just a wonderful little book. 190 pages of pure beauty and joy. So I have nothing negative to say about this book. All positive. Randy Kidd, DVM, PhD and herbalist. This book was written from Story Publishing and it was written in 2000, so 24 years ago. Okay. That was like basically when I was getting my start. So I remember when I got my first copy of this book and I read it from front to back. I have forgotten all about this lovely little expression. But it, you know, obviously taught me a lot and, and reinforced a lot of what I was doing. So thank you, Randy, for that. Okay, so that is an overview and slight review of Dr. Kidd's guide to Herbal Dog care. Again, thanks to our sponsor, green juju.com green juju for making this podcast available. Thanks for listening to this episode of Dogs are Individuals.

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The content of this show is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for veterinary care. This podcast doesn't constitute a provider patient relationship. As always, talk to your doctor, veterinarian or healthcare provider first before starting anything new. And that includes herbs. I'm not a doctor and I don't treat disease or prescribe anything. I'm a traditional herbalist providing herbal support education only. Regarding any products I may suggest the statements made regarding these products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA approved research. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. All information presented here on the podcast is not meant as a substitute or alternative to information from your vet. Please consult your veterinary professional about potential interactions or other possible complications before using any product.