Your pets immune system health.

Animal nutrition is as important as the nutritional needs of a human child or adult and may not always be achieved with commercial pet food products. To give your pet's immune system a boost use Healthy Pet daily and help your animal's natural body defenses be in top form to fight off illness and disease.

Healthy Pet has been specifically formulated with the needs of your animal's immune defense network in mind. Although different species, their nutritional needs for immune support are relatively the same. Suitable for both cats and dogs, Healthy Pet contains the herbs Echinacea angustifolia, Ashwagandha, Reishi Mushroom,(Cranoderma lucidum), Siberian Ginseng , Cats Claw bark, and Astragalus, in an easy-to-use, and better absorbed liquid formulation, with natural chicken flavour.

Natural Health Supplements for your Pet

Health food stores everywhere are enjoying brisk traffic as Canadians continue to discover the wide array of natural health supplements and practices to ensure their families' health, and often as safer alternatives to more invasive procedures or pharmaceutical products that may have toxic side effects. Nutraceuticals (a more appropriate catchall term for the many varied products containing vitamins, herbs, minerals and other natural substances) have proven to be a market winner as consumer demand and satisfaction with these products continue to rise. But just try and find nutraceuticals for your fur-bearing family members!

Because of a lack of availability of nutraceuticals for pets, many health food consumers experiment on their cats, dogs, birds and other pets with human health products, but often without consulting a licensed animal health specialist such as a veterinarian. Is it safe to administer human health supplements to pets? What about proper dosage? For example, chromium for most adult humans is safe at no more than 500 mg. per day. What about giving chromium to a cat? At what dosage might a natural health ingredient be toxic to your beloved pet? These are questions that must be asked as many foods or substances humans can take safely may have adverse effects on pets. Chocolate and ASA (acetylsalicylic acid) are just two common items that can be toxic to dogs and cats, for example.

Fortunately, research into natural health products for our animal companions is ongoing and shows that many nutritional and herbal products helpful to humans are also good for "Fluffy" or "Bandit". Many animals suffer the same illnesses or effects of aging as do their human companions, and their bodies are comprised of similar organic and molecular structure to human beings. Certainly the time has come for consumers to be able to buy natural health products specifically for the good health of their pets.

Omega Alpha has identified six common areas of health problems faced by cats and dogs (and at some cost to their human companions) that can often be resolved with less expensive and less invasive natural health supplements.

Dealing With Pet Stress and Anxiety

Just as humans suffer from increased stress in the 21st century, pets also may become anxious due to a variety of stressors such as moving to a new home, the introduction or loss of an animal or human companion in their "territory", illness or surgery, change of family routine, or in reaction to being confined. Cats and dogs especially tend to love their routines and can become very emotionally upset when Little Susie or Tommy goes away for summer camp for 3 weeks. Reactions to this kind of anxiety can vary but include behaviours such as refusal to eat, urinating on and destruction of furniture, excessive barking and yowling, and worse!

Some herbs used for centuries in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) to calm anxiety and lessen bouts of insomnia such as Biota orientalis, and Zizyphus jujube may also be used for your pets. Additionally, these herbs contain the anti-oxidants quercitin and rutin which will help quench free

radicals and add to your pet's overall health. Omega Alpha's new E-Z Rest contains these herbs and more, and may help your pet rest more easily during a separation from his companion(s) or to calm anxiety due to travel or other causes.

Arthritis and Hip Dysplasia Problems

As a pet ages, she may suffer the same complications of repetitive strain on the joints and tendons as humans do, and can lose some of the lubricating fluid between the joints and vertebrae. Many dogs and cats also suffer from hip dysplasia, which is the result of abnormal development of the hip joint in the young animal. One or both hips may be involved and occurs when the combination of weak or poorly developed muscles, connective tissues, and ligaments that should support and maintain joint health is deficient. The term dysplasia refers to the bones surrounding the joint not being held in place properly allowing them to actually move apart causing instability in the joint and the resultant pain, limping and restricted movement suffered by the animal. It is important to know that hip dysplasia may begin in animals as young as five months old and will only worsen steadily without intervention or treatment. More commonly, hip dysplasia is seen in middle-aged to older animals and is often accompanied by osteoarthritis.

Fortunately, natural minerals and herbs such as D-Glucosamine sulphate, Chondroitin sulphate, Methyl sulfonyl methane (MSM), Devil's Claw, and Boswellia serrata all commonly taken for illnesses of the joints, tendons and ligaments will also work well with your dog or cat. Although many pet owners believe symptoms such as limping, poor gait, decreased physical activity and more are merely the result of aging, they may be surprised to learn that daily supplementation with these commonly recommended natural health products can return many animals to more normal and pain-free activities enjoyed previously, just like humans! Omega Alpha's GlucosaPet has been formulated to help relieve your pet of pain and inflammation of the joints. Natural health products such as this may not cure hip dysplasia but they can certainly have the animal achieve better movement and less pain, adding to their quality of life.

Importance of a Healthy Immune System

A healthy functioning immune system is important for your pet's overall general health and in particular her demeanor, skin and coat, digestion, etc. can all benefit from maintaining immunity to disease and illness. Fortunately, many herbs helpful in boosting your own immune defenses, such as, Echinacea angustifolia, Ashwagandha, and Reishi mushroom are equally helpful to your cat or dog. Many commercial pet foods may not actually provide good nutrition, necessary to help the immune system fight off common illnesses. Many pet owners choose to not vaccinate or immunize their cat or dog, so especially in these cases, herbal remedies that improve the immune system would be very helpful to maintain your pet's quality of life. Omega Alpha's HealthyPet is intended to help boost the immune system of your cat or dog, giving him a better chance to ward off disease. Remember! Preventing illness is a lot less costly in the long run than treating the symptoms of illness.

Parasitic Infestations Can Be Eradicated Naturally

Arguably the most common affliction of cats or dogs is parasites. Whether it is intestinal worms or infestations of microbes or both, parasites can be a serious concern for you and your pet. They should be a concern for you as these parasites can easily be passed along to the pet owner even if you do not allow your animal to lick your mouth.

Bacteria, fungus, viruses and the eggs of intestinal worms may be passed from pet to human as easily as a cold/flu virus can pass between coworkers or family members. Parasite eggs and bacteria may be contained in a pet's saliva keep in mind how cats and dogs wash their body parts and most people enjoy petting their fur family with bare hands, giving no mind to touching their own eyes, nose and mouth before washing their hands. Most veterinarians will agree that one in six pets likely have parasitic worms while his human companion is completely unaware of this as many animals are asymptomatic, or their condition goes unnoticed. Medicinal herbs such as Areca catechu, Curcubia moschata, and Allium sativum (Garlic) are just as effective in killing or dislodging intestinal worms as pharmaceutical drugs so these herbs may be a good choice for those who are open to alternative treatments. Omega Alpha's Para-Free contains these powerful herbs and more and is a wonderful broad-range anti-parasitic supplement.

Detoxification of Major Organs

The kidneys and liver of dogs and cats appear to be particularly vulnerable to disease. Perhaps because of modern breeding methods, or the prevalence of environmental toxins, chemicals, drugs, and so on, feline and canine organ toxicity is fairly common as these organs are primarily responsible for filtering and cleansing toxins, herbs, and drugs from the body. Over time, or as in the case of the recent tragedy of contaminated pet foods, the kidneys and liver can become severely damaged leading to serious illness or even death. In the same way that most humans will benefit from organ detoxification at least twice per year, your cat or dog may benefit from detoxifying the kidneys and liver too.

Herbs such as Uva ursi, Corn silk, and Horsetail are effective at improving kidney tone, while herbs commonly used by people for thousands of years to detoxify and tone the liver, such as Milk Thistle, Burdock and Dandelion can also be safely ingested by your pet. Omega Alpha has recently produced Kidney Tone for kidney detoxification and Liver Tone for liver detoxification, both intended to gently stimulate these organs to speed up the metabolism and release of harmful toxins.

How Do I Get My Cat or Dog to Take Herbs?

Administering herbal products to your cat or dog may at first seem daunting yet after the first few dosages the animal will likely adjust, and perhaps even welcome the supplement as a special treat.

Dogs tend to not be a problem as they will often eat anything, especially when easily disguised in their food. Most cats and some finicky dogs are clever at avoiding eating pills or tablets. Liquid preparations are the easiest to administer and here's how:

1.Add the remedy in just a small enough portion of your pet's wet food or most desired treat to hide the taste. I could usually get my cat to take any medicine by adding it to the juice of canned tuna, her favourite treat. A strong tasting/smelling treat like fish often hides the aroma of the medicinal, and most cats will eagerly chow down on sardines. Small servings of soft cheese, cooked animal fats and peanut butter are other foods much preferred by cats and dogs and easily mixed with a liquid formulation. Most pets have at least one food item it will find irresistible so experimentation may be required. Consider keeping food and water bowls out of reach for a few hours before dosing so she will more readily eat or drink the dose when administered. (Remember to always avoid contact between the product container and the pet's mouth or food/drink bowl to circumvent microbial contamination.)

2.Liquid preparations can easily be smeared onto the pet which encourages it to then wash itself by licking the area clean. Around the mouth, on the tops of the paws, on top of the nose or ears seem to encourage immediate washing, but make sure they can reach the area and do not apply the remedy too near the eyes or inside the ears and nose which may be irritating.

3.Use an oral dosing syringe, available very inexpensively in pet supply stores. It is the most accurate method of dosing but requires inserting directly into the mouth and should be cleaned between doses.

4.However you choose to administer remedies to your pet, in all cases closely watch the animal after to ensure they consume the required dose without regurgitation.

The natural health approach to pet care is the same as human health care. Prevent illness and disease before they occur and don't just treat the symptoms of illness; get to the source of what may be making your pet ill. Maintenance of good health and prevention of disease will ensure that you and your beloved animal companion will enjoy a higher quality of life together and perhaps for a much longer period of time.