Yes, Tinctures are Safe For Dogs. Let's Talk. | 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.

Welcome back to another short episode of the podcast. I am Rita Hogan, your host, and we are talking today about alcohol. It has been a thorn in my side subject of misinformation and I want to set the record straight. But before we do, I want to thank our new sponsor, green juju.com green juju. Kelly and Billy over at Green Juju are just so wonderful in all of their innovation and trying to help pets and also help, you know, the animals that we raise for meat also make sure that they're having a good life too, and as best as they can. And I think that's really admirable because that's exactly what we need. We need to have respect on all levels and make sure that we understand that, you know, our dogs are raised with the lives of other animals. And as heartbreaking as that is, we, we need to have, we just need to have reverence and, and kindness and make sure that animals are being treated correctly. And they're doing that over at Green Ju. And I'm super excited about that. I love, you know, ethical companies and I'm proud to have them as a sponsor of my podcast. And just remember, podcasts wouldn't be here without good sponsors. So show them some love. I carry some Green Juju products in my store, the non freezer variety. And you can also get them at holistic dog stores across the country. And through the grapevine, I have heard that they are opening a e commerce store soon. So grainjuju.com okay, let's get into it. A lot of people ask me, you know, can you use tinctures with dogs? And the answer is yes, you can. Yes, you can. And I will tell you when you can't, but yes, you can. Now, for those of you that don't know me very well, I'm what you would call a drop dosing herbalist. I don't use a lot of drops of tincture for most things unless they're acute or we have a serious problem, you know, like cancer. And I still wouldn't use that much, but I think we should talk about it. So, yes. Is alcohol poisonous to dogs? Yes, it is in large amounts. And the research that has been done for the lethal dose of alcohol, which is really sad because again, some dog gave their life up for this, the lethal dose of alcohol for dogs is between 5.5 and 7 grams of 100% ethanol, which is 200 proof. Okay, 200 proof. That is very. That's pure ethanol. Ethyl alcohol. It is pure.

Okay.

So if you're having a glass of brandy or some vodka, you're dealing with probably about an 80 proof alcohol, and that's 40%. Okay, 200 proof is 100% alcohol. 100%.

Okay.

So keep that in mind. So we're gonna do a little math here on the pod. One milliliter, which is approximately 30 drops of a normal tincture. Like cleavers, chickweed, red root. God, there's so many. But Oregon grape, you know, things like that, about 30 drops per 1 milliliter. But 1 milliliter equals 1 gram of 200 proof alcohol. Now, the average tincture for a dog and a person is usually made with 80 proof vodka or brandy. If you're doing it at home, I make low alcohol tinctures. I use 80 proof brandy for dogs. For most everything Calendula needs a little bit higher, but not much, maybe about 20 to 30%. So it's probably like a 120 proof. But at 80 proof, this would make a gram equal to 2.5 milliliters. Now, we had 1 milliliter of ethanol is 1 gram. So we would times it by 2.5 for each gram of alcohol. So stay with me here. So if we take the low end, 5.5 to 7 grams is the lethal dose. So let's just go with five grams. The less than the lethal dose. Okay, five. Five grams.

Okay.

So five grams is. We would have to take that and we would have to times that.

Okay.

And so we would take five times 2.5. Right. Five times 2.5 is 12. Okay, so instead of 5 milliliters, we have 12.5 milliliters. And that's 12 and a half droppers full of liquid.

Okay.

And if we take that and we time 12.5 times 30 drops, that's 375 drops.

Okay.

@ one time, that's a lot of alcohol.

Okay.

Now this is just assuming that your dog is drinking straight brandy or vodka.

Okay.

Just straight brandy or vodka. 12.5 droppers or 300 and approximately 375 drops. So tinctures don't just contain pure alcohol. Sometimes they're made with glycerin. Sometimes they're made with water and alcohol. And even if they are just made with alcohol. So I made a like. Let's just say I made A folk tincture of. Let's do chickweed. I made a folk tincture of chickweed. And I filled up my glass jar halfway full or three quarters of the way full, and then I filled it up with brandy. The alcohol that goes in the tinctures isn't the alcohol percentage that comes out after the maceration time. And that is where you are letting it sit for four to six weeks and shaking it and kissing it and telling how it, how beautiful it is, right? And then you're going to decant it, which is taking the liquid out of the solid and putting it in bottles, right? Everything breaks down and plants are over 80% water on average. So therefore, the high water percentage in the plant dilutes the alcohol substantially. And so, for example, in most cases. Here we go. Six drops of tincture equals one drop of alcohol. One drop. And remember, the not even toxic dose of 375 drops of a medium dog, we got a long ways to go. So six drops of tincture equal one drop of alcohol, okay? Now if that tincture is made with glycerin, alcohol and water, like some of my favorite extracts, which are called phytoembryonics, the ratio is even higher. It's like 10 drops of tincture equal one drop of alcohol. And for phytoembryonics, I hardly ever recommend 10 drops, and we're still only dealing with one drop of alcohol. Now, the taste of alcohol is strong, so you're gonna taste the alcohol, but it's not pure alcohol. And that's what people need to understand. The research for alcohol is toxic to dogs is again, based on 200 proof ethanol. Now, you don't need to worry about drop dosing. You don't even need to worry about material dosage if you are giving it properly or if you're giving it acutely. Because still a material dosage for a dog, as far as I'm concerned, for a extra small dog, like a chiweenie or something, or a Chihuahua or a Yorkie is going to be, I would say six to seven drops, three times a day. That's the maximum dose that I would give a dog that size. And then like a regular dog, like a pug, maximum dose that I would ever give is 15 drops three times a day. That's two. You know, if I was doing a phytoembryonic, that's two and a half drops of alcohol. And then for a medium dog, the most I would give is 15 to 20 large dog, 15 to 25 depending, and extra large dog 20 to 30 drops. And again, still four drops of dog pure alcohol. So we are way off from the toxicity mark.

Okay?

Way off. And it's definitely. I just wanna clear the air because a lot of people don't understand. You read on the Internet. Oh, God. Don't give your dog any alcohol. Yeah. Don't give your dog beer. Don't give your dog wine. Don't give your dog a glass of hard alcohol. Yeah, absolutely. Don't do that. But tincture dosages, even at 30 drops three times a day, are safe for pregnant women.

Okay.

So I think that we need to take a step back and breathe. I've been using alcohol tinctures in dogs and cats for, I can't count the years now. Cats. My maximum dosage for a cat is three drops. Three drops.

Okay.

That would be like, I don't know, a quarter drop of alcohol or a half a drop of alcohol. And if you are worried about alcohol, if you just can't get past it, you can give milk thistle seed with the alcohol and it will help protect the liver. A lot of my protocols include milk thistle for one reason or another. And if someone is worried about alcohol, I do include milk thistle. And then you can evaporate the alcohol. You can evaporate the alcohol. So you can put your tincture dose in a shot glass and put it in a cup of hot boiling water.

Okay.

And let it sit there for 15 minutes. It will evaporate a lot of the alcohol off. Or you can mix hot water with your tincture and then just let it cool. It's basically for every drop of tincture, add five drops of hot water.

Okay.

And if you're still worried about the alcohol in tinctures, then just don't use them. It's pretty simple. But as far as I'm concerned, you don't have a lot to worry about, especially if you use small dosages. Now, if someone is recommending 40 to 50 drops three times a day for a small dog or even a medium or large dog, not an acute dose, a chronic dose, don't do that. You know, I've seen that once or twice over in my lifetime and. Or my career. And yeah, don't do that. That's not good advice. And dogs that don't do well with alcohol are dogs that are, like, in kidney failure or liver failure. Dogs that with diabetes. Don't give a dog with diabetes any alcohol.

Okay.

Make sure that you're working with your holistic vet. I can't give advice on diabetes. I'm just an Herbalist. I don't treat disease, so. But I wanted to clear this up.

Okay.

And for those dogs that have histamine intolerance, they can be sensitive to histamines in the alcohol initially. It can make them itch. If this is a problem and you have to use an alcoholic tincture, which you most likely do not. But if you do. What I do is I like when I'm giving a phytoembryonic which has a little bit of alcohol in it, I give homeopathic histaminium 30C before giving the tincture and sometimes about 30 minutes afterwards.

Okay.

So I hope that clears that up. Ladies and gentlemen and doggies and kitties. Mostly doggies, of course. So I wanted to just set the record straight, help inform you and give you knowledge about using alcohol with your dogs. Dosage is always the. The kind of harbinger of toxicity.

Okay.

Keep your doses low and do the math.

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Listening to this episode of Dogs Are Individuals podcast and I'm going to talk to you in our next episode.

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, dec 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.