Saturday 10 March 2012

dogs and aloe vera

After my recent post about using aloe vera on Penny's feet, Lassiter Chase's mum posted a comment saying she was glad to read that licking off aloe vera won't hurt a dog.

I started to worry that I hadn't done enough research for my last post. I did read that aloe vera is safe, and I'm trying it on Penny's feet, but I only looked at the one site I mentioned. So I've looked around further and this is what I've found:

eHow says the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals lists it as a poison, if eaten. The article concludes that it could be used on coat and skin, but with care.

This is the ASPCA page on aloe vera.

Marvista Vet says:
ALOE VERA GEL - If possible, obtain 100% aloe vera gel from a health food store. Products "containing aloe" are much more available but are generally not as effective and not meant to be licked away by a pet. Aloe vera gel comes from the aloe vera succulent and contains enzymes which break down inflammatory proteins and enhance healing. Pure aloe vera gel is not harmful for pets who want to lick it off.
WebMD gives an overview of the aloe vera in relation to humans and points out the the middle of the leaf is a gel and that just under the skin there is latex. It continues:
But taking aloe latex by mouth is likely unsafe, especially at high doses. There is some concern that some of the chemicals found in aloe latex might cause cancer. Additionally, aloe latex is hard on the kidneys and could lead to serious kidney disease and even death.
However, the aloe vera latex that is mentioned is taken by humans as a laxative, so I presume they would be eating larger amounts than Penny would get by licking at her paw.
The article conludes with an overview of how aloe vera is thought to work.
The useful parts of aloe are the gel and latex. The gel is obtained from the cells in the center of the leaf; and the latex is obtained from the cells just beneath the leaf skin.

Aloe gel might cause changes in the skin that might help diseases like psoriasis.

Aloe seems to be able to speed wound healing by improving blood circulation through the area and preventing cell death around a wound.

It also appears that aloe gel has properties that are harmful to certain types of bacteria and fungi.

Aloe latex contains chemicals that work as a laxative.
Burke's Backyard says:
Cuts and abrasions - aloe vera is a useful, naturally occurring antiseptic derived from the succulent Aloe vera. It can be safely applied to a pet to help the healing of minor cuts or abrasions. Any thing major, particularly a burn or severe laceration, should be examined by a vet.
Dogs Life has some sensible advice:
“Allergies to natural substances are still possible, and dogs can have series reactions, especially if they are they are allergic types,” Fougère warns. “Before using a natural remedy, it’s always a good idea to do a patch test. This means applying a very small dab to a less hairy part of the body (like the groin area), then waiting 24 hours to see if there is a reaction. If there is, you’ll need to avoid that substance.”

29 comments:

proud womon said...

i'm a great believer in aloe parlance... i have known a few dogs and cats to benefit from its soothing, healing qualities... i'm sure it won't prove toxic to penny but beneficial...

parlance said...

Thanks for the reassurance, proud womon. I'd hate to cause anyone to harm their beloved animals.

Lassiter Chase and Benjamin said...

Wow you did some great followup research! Thanks for all the info!

parlance said...

Lassiter Chase and Benjamin, we're still putting aloe vera on Penny's foot and she seems to be okay, so I think I'll relax about it.

Lassiter Chase and Benjamin said...

Thats great to hear. Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

I've always understood that the natural aloe vera gel is quite safe (I guess in sensible doses!).

That's so good of you to do so much followup research!

Hsin-Yi

parlance said...

Hsin-Yi, since I'm very careful with Penny, I thought I owed it to others to try to find out as much as possible, so their dogs also would be safe. And I love research!

Anonymous said...

I buy aloe Vera leaves from fresh produce section, and use the flesh inside for the dog.

parlance said...

Anonymous, I'd love to hear more about how you have used the aloe vera, as I think it seems good but I've only tried it for skin irritations and just a little experiment for healing a deep cut in the paw pad once it was closing over and not weeping.

It's a super easy plant to grow, by the way. I bought one years ago and put it in a corner of the garden where the pot got lost under weeds, and when I weeded that area I found a giant aloe vera plant that I've since broken into pieces and it has grown roots and I've given the new plants away. (It was a drought at the time, so I guess it liked the dry conditions.)

Unknown said...

I have used fresh aloe vera to treat my cat's skin condition (unknown cause) which cleared up & the hair started growing back. Am currently treating my dog for a cancerous lymphoma which aloe vera is very good at blocking cancerous cells from growing. I can't afford vet treatments, and am leery of traditional meds for both humans & animals. I have an abundance of aloe vera that I can use fresh. Thanks for your research.

parlance said...

Libbie, thanks for this useful additional comment. I'm no expert, just a dog owner who likes researching things, so it's great to have this first-hand reaction to the use of aloe vera.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I just found out the general negative consensus on the aloe vera plant....oddly, for about a month I have been adding about one cup of Stockton One 100% fresh frozen aloe vera drink to both my beagle and golden retrievers food. In addition, I was pour it all over my golden retriever in hopes of getting rid of a terrible skin condition that came on unexpectedly and left my dog with a slight anemia. I have told two vets what I was doing and neither of them mentioned anything about it being toxic....Both my dogs are still alive and the sores and skin condition of my golden has completely disappeared....I'm just wondering if this is toxic why didn't they have a reaction?

parlance said...

Hi, Anonymous
I didn't really think the consensus was negative. It seemed to me to be fairly positive, with the proviso that we take care when using it. If you were using an aloe vera drink, that would be quite different from raw aloe vera, I guess.

Anonymous said...

My dog injured his paw pads and I am going to use fresh aloe gel. Did you also wrap the injured area on your dog or no? My dog won't allow wrapping unless I use the medical collar also.

parlance said...

Hi, anonymous
Its a while ago now that we had that problem, but if I remember correctly, we did not wrap the paw. Penny usually gets wrappings off within five minutes!

Good luck with you treatment. I'd love it if you get a chance to come back and tell me in a week how you went with the aloe vera treatment.

Anonymous said...

My baby got her flea bath tonight but afterwards her skin was still so red and itchy she couldn't stop scratching I finally found aloe vera but I only had it with lidocaine .8 so I found that at that strength it's ok topically. I put a small amt on her red bumps it stopped her itching in 5 mins and 3 hours later no more irritation and redness is gone. She is finally relief.

parlance said...

Hi, Anonymous
thanks for adding to the information here about aloe vera.
parlance

Anonymous said...

both of my boston terriers have skin problems ( bad rashes) tired of going to vets nothing worked had aloe plants in my garden decided to try it on my babies within two weeks rash was almost completely gone I love aloe vera

parlance said...

Anonymous, thanks for this comment! As I'm going to post in the next couple of minutes, we've been worried sick about a lump in Penny's neck, but alongside that was an issue that she is licking herself all the time on her rear end. So I'm going out into the garden right now to get some aloe vera. I had forgotten how good it is.

Gwill said...

I use Aloe products on all of my animals I have had results in skin allergies and healing of cuts etc and even helped to cure an absus after consulting with the vet. I believe you have to me a bit careful just using the plant itself . My own buisness is based around aloe products good for animals and humans alike.

parlance said...

Thanks for the cautionary note, Gwill. I'll be careful not to use it neat in future.

Caro said...

I feed both my dogs a tablespoon of Aloe Vera gel drink everyday. This is just pure gel from inside the leaf nothing else, no latex, or outer part of the plant. I have found it makes their coats shiny and softer. Also I believe it helps them recover quicker from tummy upsets. I also drink the gel drink everyday and have found its had a great impact on how I feel. I love it so much that I too have set up my own business selling aloe vera products suitable for people and animals.

parlance said...

Hi, Caro
I think I'll look into aloe products for myself, after reading all this positive information. I'll browse the shelves of the local health food store.

Charliedownunder said...

Crikey ..... we've got an aloe vera plant at our house. Mum uses the gel for everything, especially burns. An aloe Vera farmer in Bundaberg gave her a plant many years ago when she was living right on the beach at Bargara. He said anyone living that close to the beach needed it. Reckon'd if you got sunburnt it would take the sting out immediately and you'd be right by morning. It worked. It's great for any sort of burn. Takes the sting out straight away. Good for skin rashes too. Mum used it on her wire haired foxie who had terrible allergies. It was the only thing that helped her.

parlance said...

Hi, Charlie, nice to hear from you! I've just heard another thing, too, that aloe vera can be used to make age spots (on humans) fade. Interesting if you're old, like I am.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the research. My baby Titus continuously licks and bites at his paws...he is white and his poor paws are "pink"������. I've tried tea tree oil with peroxide, mousse I got from the vet ofc, Iodine mixed w/ warm water with no results. I've been rubbing aloe gel on his paws for the past few days and it seems like he is getting relief....ALSO he doesn't run when he sees me with the leaf in my hand like he does when he sees me coming at him with the spray bottle. I think it soothes his paws!!

parlance said...

Hi, Titus' Human. Yes, I know what you mean about the pink paws. Penny often has pink paws. if I remember correctly, the vet told me that's the result of the saliva interacting with her fur. It bothers me to see it, but after twelve years we've learned we just have to live with it for part of the year. She doesn't seem distressed, but she sure does lick too much.

Lisa Thiedeman said...

Hi Parlance,
Thank you for all this info and others comments on what’s worked and not. Just so that I’m clear on the consensus, the aloe gel from a fresh leaf is fine to use for paw skin issues? Or does this need to be diluted? And if so what quantities?
Apreciate any guidance you can provide! Thanks Lisa

parlance said...

Hi, Lisa, I'm sorry I didn't reply before this. To be honest, I don't think there's a consensus on whether neat aloe vera leaf could be applied for paw issues. I've done it and didn't see that it did Penny any harm, but neither was I convinced it did much good. Sorry to be so equivocal about it.
We've just had a bout of tremendous licking over the last couple of months and in desperation abandoned our non-medication programme, and washed her feet every day for a week with what I consider a potentially bad product - Malaseb shampoo. We were careful to wash it off thoroughly after ten minutes and kept our eye on her for the entire time to make sure she didn't lick while it was on her skin. We only washed the two infected feet. It did work. But I'm sure the whole thing will start up again at some stage, and we'll try to use the natural products first.