# Grapefruit Seed Extract



## ioreks_mom (Oct 1, 2008)

So, I have decided to supplement the dogs with grapefruit seed extract (gse) because of the loose stools and Iorek's itching/chewing/possible yeast infection. 

I decided to buy the liquid so I could mix it with water and spray it on Iorek's skin where he is itching a lot, and also so I could mix it with shampoo to wash him with. Only problem is that the stuff is yucky! I had to taste it myself to make sure it wasn't too awful... it is! :S

The bottle says not to use full strength, to mix it with juice (for people) so I was thinking I would mix it with their fish oil but it seriously is gross and I don't think that it would go over well. 

Now my plan is to get some low sodium stock (beef just in case Iorek is allergic to chicken) and mix the gse into that to give them. What do you think of this plan? Is it a good idea? I am planning on mixing 5-10 drops into about 1/4 cup of stock for each dog per day.

Also, the gse that I have has oil of oregano in it too. This will be ok for the dogs too, right? I looked it up and it says that the oil of oregano does the same as the gse (anti fungal, anti viral, anti bacterial etc) and it says that it is safe for dogs. 

I am crossing my fingers that this will help!


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## ioreks_mom (Oct 1, 2008)

Ok, so, the stock idea is out the window. I can't get low sodium stock at the grocery store here  The lowest sodium I can get is 540 mg and that is in a vegetable stock with onions as the second ingredient so that is a no go. The rest are 800 mg and 840 mg! Blah!

Any ideas?


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## w8ing4rain (Sep 4, 2008)

Chicken stock is really easy to make yourself. Just put a chicken in a big pot, cover with water (I usually add a couple of carrots and some celery) You can add a Tablespoon of cider vinegar too ( it helps get more calcium out of the bones and into the stock) Then just simmer for a couple of hours. Strain it and skim off any fat. The easiest way to skim the fat is to place wax paper on top of the broth and refrigerate it overnight. The next morning you can just peel off the fat with the wax paper. You can save the meat for your supper.

I have put a drop or two of the GSE into Nanuq's water and she drinks it right up. She doesn't seem to even notice it. I tried it in a glass of water and it was awful. Maybe your dogs would drink it too. 

5-10 drops seems a little strong to me. You can look up dosages for pets at pureliquidgold.com 

We thought Nanuq had food allergies and yeast too. It turns out we were very wrong. It is demodex mange. Did your vet ever do a skin scraping to confirm what is going on?


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## DobManiac (Aug 12, 2007)

I wouldn't suggest adding it to the water. I'm always too worried that adding flavor to water can discourge dogs from drinking as much ad they want. Why not add a few drops to their food with water adding to that as well? It will make a natural broth using the flavor of the kibble. You could also mix with cottage cheese or yogart if they don't have an issue with dairy.


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## misty073 (Mar 31, 2009)

I have recently been adding a bit to my dogs meals (all the talk about raw ground meat has me a little concerned about bacteria LOL) they dont even notice it all. You could just try a few drops in some meat or a special treat.


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## ioreks_mom (Oct 1, 2008)

DobManiac said:


> I wouldn't suggest adding it to the water. I'm always *too worried that adding flavor to water can discourge dogs from drinking as much ad they want*. Why not add a few drops to their food with water adding to that as well? It will make a natural broth using the flavor of the kibble. You could also mix with cottage cheese or yogart if they don't have an issue with dairy.


That is part of the reason why I don't want to add it to the water. That and the fact that the dogs share the water and then I don't know how much they will be getting.

I think that I will give your suggestion a try with the water and the kibble. I can get some yogurt, that is a good idea too. The boys LOVE yogurt so I am sure that I could mix it in no problem. Thank you for the suggestion.

Iorek is super picky about eating things that made him get a bad belly. Well, when he is on antibiotics they give him a bad belly so he won't eat whatever he ate with the antibiotics, he makes the connection. So, I don't want to make him associate the bad taste of the gse to the food. Tough!


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## ioreks_mom (Oct 1, 2008)

w8ing4rain said:


> Chicken stock is really easy to make yourself. Just put a chicken in a big pot, cover with water (I usually add a couple of carrots and some celery) You can add a Tablespoon of cider vinegar too ( it helps get more calcium out of the bones and into the stock) Then just simmer for a couple of hours. Strain it and skim off any fat. The easiest way to skim the fat is to place wax paper on top of the broth and refrigerate it overnight. The next morning you can just peel off the fat with the wax paper. You can save the meat for your supper.
> 
> I have put a drop or two of the GSE into Nanuq's water and she drinks it right up. She doesn't seem to even notice it. I tried it in a glass of water and it was awful. Maybe your dogs would drink it too.
> 
> ...


I looked up the dosage and it says 1 drop/10 lbs so it would be 5 drops each. I am pretty sure that you can up the dosage for things like diarrhea. I will make sure before I give them anything.

Also, I don't want to do homemade chicken stock because I am pretty sure that Iorek has an allergy to chicken.

I will give the water and kibble idea a try and if that doesn't work I will try yogurt.

No, the vet didn't do a skin scraping. I will get that done when Iorek goes to get allergy testing done, hopefully over the Easter break. I don't think it is mange. I would assume that if it was mange there would be hair loss or scabbing or something. But, I don't know anything about mange. The vet didn't suggest mange.


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## ioreks_mom (Oct 1, 2008)

misty073 said:


> I have recently been adding a bit to my dogs meals (all the talk about raw ground meat has me a little concerned about bacteria LOL) they dont even notice it all. You could just try a few drops in some meat or a special treat.


I am nervous to give too many special treats or meat lately since they have been having issues with the loose stool. Hopefully I can get it worked out!

Brom had his stool tested by a bacteria specialist at the vet school in PEI when he was eating nothing but raw chicken and it came back good, no salmonella. Only the bug that he picked up somewhere outside! Just wanted to let you know that you probably don't have to be as scared as you are!


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