Like many pet owners, you may prefer to use homeopathic solutions to your dog's health issues. Worm remedies found at pet supply stores are often harsh and chemical-based solutions to a common and easily treated ailment. These herbal remedies and preventions for dog worms are as timeless as the parasites themselves.
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The Homeopathic Cure
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Three ingredients appear on the common homeopathic cure you can buy on-line from a natural pet supplies company or from a homeopathic veterinarian. These three herbs--the hulls of a still green black walnut, the leaves and flowers of the wormwood plant and ground clove from your spice cabinet--when used together will help rid your dog of internal parasites. You can purchase a ready-made remedy such as Clarkia, available at curezone.com, or ParasiteX found at mammaearth.com. You can also concoct your own by purchasing black walnut and wormwood at natural foods stores in liquid form (around $10 for 1 fluid ounce).
Garlic or Not?
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Garlic is toted as a powerful herb for ridding one's system of worms. The form of garlic--whether powder, granule or fresh--cannot be heated as heat compromises the effectiveness of the garlic. Fresh, raw garlic is said to be the best for cleansing your body and warding off parasites. Folk remedies for people and dogs alike call for garlic. Cookbooks and recipes for dogs often include garlic as an ingredient for dog meals and treats. However, veterinarians warn that garlic, being a part of the onion family, can be toxic for dogs and even cause anemia. If you decide to use garlic to treat your dog's worms, use it with caution. A quarter clove a day is enough for a small dog, half a clove for medium-sized dogs and a whole clove (or half a teaspoon powder or granules) a day is plenty for a large dog according to preciouspets.org.
Other Remedies
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Have your dog fast for 24 hours to help rid her of worms. Do this only if she is healthy enough to fast. After a fast, feed her grated carrots, turnips or beets as the roughage will help pass the worms. Parsley water, made by boiling one bunch of fresh parsley in 1 quart of water for three minutes, is an effective de-wormer. Give 1 tablespoon for every 10 pounds of dog once or twice a day, according to Tiffani M. Beckman's article titled "Worming." She also recommends raw pumpkin seeds ground up and fed 1 teaspoon a day per large dog to fight tapeworm (only a quarter a teaspoon a day for very small dogs).
In addition to using natural methods to fight parasites, switching your dog to a natural, homemade diet will help her to be less susceptible to worms and give her better health overall. In her diet, you can include other natural parasite fighters such as fennel seed, ginger root and fresh thyme.
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