Dogs pick up more toxins than we do
Well, you would never guess from the weather today, but it's spring here in New Zealand, and if you've read my article from yesterday you'll know that we've already been exposed to toxic chemicals from neighbors spraying. I was really concerned about our animals, especially our dogs, after reading that in studies looking into how toxins affect pets it was found in general our companion animals had about twice the level of toxins in their bodies that we do. It makes sense when you think about it, our pets are closer to the ground and a lot of toxins come off carpets (including fire retardants) if they spend time inside. Or outside everything that comes in as an airborne toxins will eventually settle on the ground. Since they are living, breathing, lying on and often eating and drinking off the ground – or close to it, it makes sense that they would be exposed to a much higher level of these toxins. So what can you do about it?
I was fortunate enough to find Dr Karen Becker, holistic wellness veterinarian who publishes so much great information about taking care of our pets in a natural, healthy way. I found her on Facebook and asked her what I could do to help my dogs avoid or neutralize these chemicals. She came back very quickly with an answer:
…if you haven't watched my “how to avoid summer chemicals” video (or a title similar to that 🙂 I'd recommend it. In a nutshell: rinse your dogs off ALOT, give milk thistle daily and also consider chlorella, if you think your water also affected. This is what I do for my pets. I live “green,” but I am surrounded by farms that spray and it all ends up in my pond…the lowest point in the community.
Here's the video for everyone who's interested. She makes the really good point that your animals can still be exposed to toxic chemicals even if you don't use them. This is exactly what's happened in our case, and it's so important for animal guardians to realize because of course, these chemicals not visible and it's not always obvious where they have been used.
If you have pets, and want to keep them healthy too I'd recommend connecting to Dr Karen Becker on Facebook, searching for her on the Mercola YouTube channel or following her on the Healthy Pets area of the Dr Mercola website.