I'm on the hunt for even more help as the last advice about sorting my dogs health out naturally was of great help.  Rather than going to the vets again as this is another reocurring condition where the vet could only treat the symptoms with antibiotics I am looking for more natural ways to help her.
My dog went for her booster on Friday and since then has been quite phlegmy and doing a weird snorting thing which went away over the winter.  Unfortunately this also tied in with me using an aerosol paint spray in the house which may have irritated her lungs and the rain up here has finally stopped so there is probably a lot of pollen in the air.
So, what I'm looking for is a sort of anti-mucus cure if such a thing exists as I cannot pinpoint the exact cuase of it.  As before she is not distressed by it but when it gets worse her throat sounds rattly like an old man with bronchitis.  any comments or advice gratefully received.  I'm not planning to take her to the vet unless it gets really bad as they just suppress it with anti-biotics and when it gets uncontrollable she gets sent up to the Royal Dick in Edinburgh where they do all sorts of nasty things to her and still don't come up with any answers.  I have a hunch it may be hayfever but vet said last year this was very unlikely.  Thanks in advance.

Search t'internet for 'Tincture of Black-Leaf'

The rain's still here in Stirling Cheekychow :P I've given up looking out the window now, I just go out equiped with raincoat and brolly! And thats for the 2 Hounds :P

Have a look At Dorwest Herbs, they do lots of things that may help. Garlic and fenuegreek (sp?) is one that comes to mind.

I have bought several products from them over the years for my bunch and they were all succesful.

HTH :)

hiya
Are you sure it isan't a more underlying thing thats causing it? we had a min poodle with what we thought was bronchitis we had got her on a weeks cause of panacure for heart worm i think its heart, and she was alot better after that it could be a type of allergy, remember vets dont like being told!!

what does your dog actually do when this happens??

fiona

she was treated for heartworm by spcialists in Edinburgh and was also given a large 6 week (I think) dose of steroids which really knocked her for six.  the steroids left her in a worse state than she started in and I'm not keen to go down that route again.  the symptoms she shows when shes snorting is a sort of rumble in the chest/throat and then she stands still and you see her ribcage puffing out and she does a deep snort that sounds a bit like a cough but through the nose.  sorry its such a crap description but its definitely not a cough but its not a sneeze either.  She also sneezes quite a lot when she has the symptoms and licks her nose like she has a snottery nose but at the moment there is no discharge although last year it varied in texture and colour depending on how sick she was.  the snort thing pretty much disappeared over the winter and other staffy owners (blondiflops I think) also had experience of a snorty behaviour.  I'm stumped but don't have much faith in the vets - local or national.  if it continues I might self-medicate with piriton for a few days which would indicate whether it is a hayfever type allergy.
thanks to everyone who has contributed a suggestion so far.

Hi Cheekychow, would you say that your pooch has a cold /sinus problems? or perhaps bronchitis. I have had a quick look through my homeopathic books and can't find hayfever in dogs. Are you sure its not pleurisy.This is when the membrane protecting the lungs and the lining to the rib cage becomes inflamed during  infections illnesses and colds or following over exertion. It can either be the dry type or the watery typr. The dog has a rasping sound that can be heard, he may also have watery nose, eyes etc. Lboured shallow breathing and breaths taken will be short. If this like your dog email me and I'll look for a remedy
Cheers
Ellie

hi ellie229,
the weird thing about it is that it isn't worse after exertion.  It is like the snot gathers overnight and every morning she has to clear it with a big snort.  Apart from that there doesn't seem to be any pattern to it and she is still as active as ever.

this is sounding like a thing that a standard poodles had that we trimmed and i cant peeing remmeber what it is i will find out and tell you a.s.a.p

fiona

thanks Fiona, I'd appreciate it if you could let me know as I have no idea but she doesn't seem to be too distressed by it, its more of an inconvenience as she has to stop what she is doing to have a snort.  thanks for everyones input so far and hairypooch its been blazing sunshine in Dundee for the last few days which unfortunately means loads of flabby, burning men with their tops off flashing their trackies to the max (yuck!)

Hi,

Dogs can have allergies just like humans and hayfever is just another allergy.  One of my old dogs had this all his life and he would actually have sneezing fits in fields of grass!!

For the snots I gave him Garlic which helped more than the steriods which the vet was happy to pump into him :rolleyes: I also gave him piriton when things got really bad as he used to get terribly itchy and scratch non stop
If he was alive today I'd try him with Lanes Cold and Catarrh tablets - echinacea to boost the immune system, elderflower to help move the mucus and marshmallow root to soothe the mucous membranes.

Hayfever is by far one of the most common ones that for some reason it dismissed a lot at this time of the year. I think we do this topic ever summer on champs ;-).  Just as the hayfever figures increase in humans it does in animals also. 15% of humans now suffer from perennial allergies.  ( not seem figures from animals but the amount of people that say their dogs start the sneezing etc at this time of the year is incredible). It is so common now you can buy the antihistamines and Beconese sprays etc at the garage :-)

I have hayfever quite badly and I come from a family that don't suffer from hayfever or allergies in general.  My docs first thought it was asthma ..   till I took piriton one day and it knocked it on the head. I then had to work out what Antihistamine was the right one for me by trial and error really.

I now use Beconase nasel spray twice a day and start it about 2 weeks before my usual symptoms kick in. By August I have to move on to a  Loratadine based product which has hundreds of brand names.

  I have an inhaler if I desperately need it but never have to use it now if I take the anithistamines. I seem to suffer from 2 types one at the beginning of the season which gives itchy noses, eyes etc then later in the season I get wheezy.

I am NOT telling anyone to ever give any drug without asking doc or vet but it is worth trying if it works you know what the problem it.  Antihistamine as a rule do not mask illnesses by using them they only stop the body producing histamine. Infact recent studies are show that other drugs are being used to treat allergies when simple allergy treatment was all that was needed.  You cannot just create a cure from allergies. Using other drugs to treat allergies  ( which is techincally not an illness)such as antibotics instead of basic allergy relieve drugs actually causes more harm by damaging the already stressed/over worked immune system.

Not the best article but it does touch on allergies in the opening section.

http://www.caninecaregroup.net/dholistichealth.htm

Boy do I wish I could learn to post smaller posts ;-)

Dill I should try some of these myself :-)

Blue I use them myself - they really clear the sinuses and catarrh etc. :D

Hi
sorry none of us can remmeber il will have a look on the webby for you, what does his nose look like and the area around his nose and the gunk?

fiona