Dog with Skin Problems – Shepherd Saved from Euthanasia

Gunther’s Owners Thought They’d Have to Put Him to Sleep.

I first became aware of Gunther in July of 2016. Gunther was an 11-year-old Shepherd/Collie dog, who’d suffered from ear infections his whole life. Between that, and starch-filled foods and all the years of medications and ‘treatments’, his immune system became very weakened. By the time his owner reached out to me, Gunther was in terrible shape. His fur had become thin, falling out in clumps, his skin was full of oozing scabs and sores from head to toe, and fire red hot. The vet believed he was suffering from ‘red mange’.

We started Gunther on the Nzymes regimen and a food change. But, as all allergy/auto-immune issues go, when doing so, it’s going to get worse before better. Everything has to work it’s way out.

By the end of September of 2016, Gunther had progressed into a very bad state. He had stopped wanting to eat, and his skin was terrible. His owners believed he was suffering greatly. They couldn’t bear to see it.

On September 25, his owner informed me that they were going to be putting Gunther to sleep. His quality of life was poor, and their love for him made this a difficult decision, but it seemed to be the best one.

When I learned of this, I did something I’ve never done before and asked Rita if I could have Gunther, and see what I could do. I didn’t have the emotional attachment as they did, and I had never dealt with a dog such issues as this on my own. I wanted the experience, and I wanted to learn. I wanted to be able to fully understand ‘what’ others go through when having dogs with such conditions. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I wanted to ‘fight’ for Gunther. Even though he was 11, he was worth fighting for.

The very next day, September 26, 2016, Gunther and his owner drove into Winnipeg, which was a 3 hour trip for them.

When I first seen, and smelt Gunther, I wondered if I’d gotten in over my head…I had NO idea of how bad it really was, and the horrible shape he was in. But, I knew I had to give him 100% and see what would happen…

I faced many challenges along the way. We had ups and downs. But, in the end…I was able to take a very sick, dying 11-year-old dog, and assist in a ‘restoration’ sufficient to send home a very happy, healthy and ALIVE 12 year old 7 months later! It sure wasn’t an easy Journey, but worth every moment of it!

Here you can see Gunther being reunited with owners on CTV NEWS, WINNIPEG.

Please see the ‘before and after’ photos, as well as the VIDEO from the TV station that covered this story. And, we now have an Interview Video discussing Gunther. Information on Gunther’s regimen is posted below.

Brenda Johnson

NOTE: Be sure to see the NEW Interview Video with NZYMES below the example pictures – where we discuss Gunther’s story and progress – from start to finish!

Below this ‘Before and After’ Combo-Photo, is found a short Slide-Show

See Gunther’s Progress with this short Slide-Show:

Products used for Gunther’s Regimen

Gunther’s Full Regimen

I began Gunther immediately on an all raw diet. Now not everyone wants to do raw, and if not; any of the Nzymes recommended kibble food list is perfect also. We want zero starches. No corn, rice; potato, wheat or tapioca.
(See recommended food list HERE)

I also want to add that I feed my dogs once a day, so everything I used, all went into the one meal.

Nzymes Granules
He was getting 2 teaspoons a day. This was a double dose. I had to start off at less than 2 at the beginning as it was too much of a detox for him and flared his skin up even worse. I slowed it down to 1 teaspoon for a couple of weeks and then was able to bump it back up to the 2 and keep it at that. I also gave him ‘rounds’ of a double-double dose. Every Wednesday and Sunday; I double-double dose all of my animals on granules. I found this was a perfect ‘fit’ to keep them in their tip-top shape.

Ox-E Drops
This, of course, was also in the water bowl (creating alkaline water) and then he was getting 10 drops of OxE into his colloidal silver, which went directly into his food.

BlackLeaf Tincture
15 drops a day. Also directly into the food. I’d like to add, with the BlackLeaf, not only is this beneficial for skin issues; but also for antiparasitic and deworming. I use the BlackLeaf on all my animals from Spring(May) to Fall(October) as a natural heartworm prevention.

Bac-Pak Plus
This was something I had to wait to start full time with Gunther until almost 2 months. Every time I started it before then, he’d flare up again really bad. So I knew it was too soon. But by 2 months, he was able to handle the 1/2 gram a day. Eventually, I had to put him up to a full gram a day, as then I wouldn’t hear his guts always churning after eating. He just needed ‘more’ to help him be able to digest everything. I understand this though, as he also had Leaky-Gut Syndrome. His body required more of the ‘resources’ due to his weakened state for so long.

Non-Nzymes Products…

Colloidal Silver
I use CS in almost 100% of my cases. The benefits of it, are through the roof. When it comes to autoimmune/allergy situations, this is a ‘got to’ have as far as I’m concerned. This together with the Nzymes granules are a DYNAMITE team. I’m currently working on completing my colloidal silver article, which will explain also how you can easily afford to use colloidal silver, by making it yourself. It is the biggest rip off in the supplement industry, and there is no need to spend that kind of money when you don’t have to.

I started Gunther off with 1 ounce a day. Also directly into his food. I kept him like that for about 3 months, and then I bumped him up to 2 ounces a day. I found then, that he began to readily improve, and then hit the ‘wall’ again and we came to a bit of a standstill. So; I put him up to 3 ounces a day, and then he began to really flourish! That was the perfect amount he needed to stabilize his immune system and allow him to continue to improve.

Colostrum (Available at any local Health Food Store) Helps boost the immune system.
Gunther got 1000 mg’s a day. (For a smaller dog you would only need 500 mg a day) This comes in a powdered capsule, which I would just open up and mix into his food.
When Gunther reached 7 months along, just before he went home, I stopped the colostrum. He didn’t need it after that.

CoEnzymeQ10
I used this mostly because of his age of being 11. Q10 drastically increases the blood flow, and I wanted that for him to be able to get the new healthy blood flowing faster throughout his body. The benefits of Q10 are quite profound.
Gunther got 200 mg’s of Q10 daily, and then also doubled dose of it to 400 mg’s on Wednesday’s and Sunday’s. (See Why I use CoQ10)

Excel Oil-Camelina oil.
This is used for the Omegas and the Vitamin E. Omegas are helpful for the skin and coat, and the Vitamin E is great for pain/discomfort. Gunther received 15 mils a day, in his food.(See Why I use Excel Oil)

Melatonin
This was something I did not know about when I had Gunther but learned from Shelby. I wish I had known about it for him.
Melatonin has a number of benefits. Not only does it allow the animal to have a more ‘relaxed’ state of mind, but it actually promotes hair growth!!! Melatonin helps with creating a ‘happy brain’, and this I have found very helpful with dogs dealing with PTSD, or mental trauma from abusive situations they’ve endured. The ones who scratch and itch incessantly, it helps them to be calmer, not ‘at themselves’ all the time. It also doesn’t make them dopey or groggy, they sleep good but wake up right away if needed.

http://www.healthyskin4dogs.com/blog/2016/1/1/10-quick-facts-about-melatonin-will-it-grow-hair

Bathing/Shampoo

For shampoo, the best one I found when I had Gunther was by a company called Reliq. They have a Rosemary scent version, which is the best for dogs with bad chronic skin issues. The next one, for dogs who don’t have such bad issues, would be the Green Tea.

What I liked the most about these shampoos is it is just a shampoo. No need for conditioner. I was spending over an hour bathing him when trying other shampoo and conditioner products, each of which had to always remain on the skin for a period of time. With Reliq; it’s one step. Their skin and coats are soft; and for smelly dogs like Gunther? It combated that the best. Link to Reliq

(Nzymes customers ordering RELIQ may use the code ‘NZYMES’ at checkout to receive 15% off their first two orders)

(I no longer am using the Reliq, as Nzymes came out with their own shampoo in early 2019 which is hands down, even better. It is 100% all natural, and helps these pups significantly after just one use. I have even used it topically on terrible hot spots, and it doesn’t make them all greasy looking. I have even found mixing one ounce of the shampoo, into 8 ounces of colloidal silver, along with a teaspoon of OxE drops, creates an amazing topical spray!)

I would also often just use colloidal silver to soak him down before putting on the shampoo. Then I’d let it sit on his skin and work it in for a while. I’d also rinse with colloidal silver. I found this to give him the best comfort from his sores and scabs. Much more than bathing with only water. I did this a lot during the first few months when his skin was so terribly red and inflamed and open sores.

I would also spray him from head to tail with colloidal silver as this was a great relief for him, and I would also spray his bed. That way, when he’d lay down on it, he’d be getting the benefits of it on the bottom of his belly also, which was hard to spray.

We’d use T-shirts on him just to protect himself from scratching through his skin so bad. Socks also; even they didn’t stay on when he walked, but at least while he was laying down his toes were covered, blocking his nails. It seems to almost also give them a ‘mental block’ of wanting to scratch because they know ‘something’ is on their feet. Laying towels or blankets over the legs and feet can also be of help.

Gunther Update- June 23, 2018-Crossing Over to The Rainbow Bridge

After having lived his life to the fullest for the past year and a half, on June 23, Gunther could do no more. His family made the decision to let him cross over and be Free. His body just couldn’t do it no more, and his back end just couldn’t support him and he was unable to get up. His eyes pleaded with his owners to let him go, his ‘words’ were loud and clear. As sad that this day was, we all knew, that Gunther had the best time of his life during this time, showing us to never give up, and the final ‘gift’ to provide to Gunther, was to not have him suffer. A few months earlier, a stray cat had befriended Gunther, and Chester was welcomed into the family. Now? Chester has almost resumed Gunther’s role, goes for walks with Rita and even plays with Gunther’s favorite Penguin toy. He has even taken the role of growling at guests when they arrive!! Somehow, Chester was meant to be in the family, bringing comfort as Gunther’s ‘pet’.