DOGS PROVE WHEATGRASS WORKS

Commentary by Sproutman
There are many stories of people who have extended their lives with cancer and other diseases or
turned their health around with the help of wheatgrass therapy. (If you are unfamiliar with
wheatgrass therapy, read: Grass - The Medicine beneath our Feet.

In my book Wheatgrass Nature’s Finest Medicine, I share with you many of those stories. They
are told in the first person by the patients themselves. Among those stories are some about sick
dogs. If you’ve read my book, you know that I believe wheatgrass is one of the most potent
natural medicines in the herbal pharmacopeia. But while others extol the virtues of wheatgrass, I
have always eschewed the hyperbole associated with it as a panacea. But when it comes to dogs,
there can be no hyperbole. Dogs don’t exaggerate. They don’t subscribe to faith healing, and they
don’t respond to the placebo effect.

What follows is an extract from Wheatgrass Nature’s Finest Medicine in which a longtime
breeder tells his story about sick dogs and his use of wheatgrass. This is not just about one dog,
but about dozens of sick dogs over many years. Not only did the grass change the lives of the
dogs, but the breeder and his family were so impressed, they started growing wheatgrass on a
larger scale to provide it to their human friends. (You can order their wheatgrass.)

A BREEDER’S STORY: SICK DOGS AND WHEATGRASS

I am a longtime breeder of Shetland sheep dogs and Irish Wolfhounds. Since the 1969, I have
kept 20-25 adult dogs in my kennel. In case you don’t know it, cancer is the major cause of death
for the Irish Wolfhound. But for both these breeds, when they get sick, it is either cancer or liver
problems, or problems with the kidneys, skin, or bones. All their illnesses fall under these
categories. And in a kennel, you must be especially vigilant because diseases can spread quickly.

Breast Cancer
We got started feeding the dogs wheatgrass because of my wife. Janice was diagnosed with breast
cancer in 1972. In fact, the doctor booked her for surgery within a week of the office visit. She
had a grayish appearance and a deep seated level of fatigue. We accepted the accuracy of the
diagnosis, but we immediately started looking at alternative therapies. We got the book “How I
Conquered Cancer Naturally” by Edie Mae Hunsberger and were inspired by the Ann Wigmore
program. We decided to cancel the surgery and try wheatgrass juice therapy. We grew the
wheatgrass ourselves and Janice drank about six ounces per day, every day. After about nine
months of continuous wheatgrass juice, the lumps in the breast disappeared. The oncologist gave
her a clean bill of health. He didn’t ask any questions and he even forgot that she had cancelled
the surgery!

But there’s more to the story. We had lots of leftover pulp from the juice we were using for
Janice. So I started putting some of it in the feed bowls for the dogs. It still had a little juice in it. I
mixed it in with meat, vegetables, and a little water. Later,after I started growing the grass
outdoors (and freezing the juice to preserve it), I would just add a few cubes to the bowl and they
would chew on it like candy.
Fertility
Neither of these breeds can mother puppies after 6-7 years of age. That is just a limitation of their
natural fertility. But my dogs have had litters as old as 10 years. And the size of the litter for the
Shelties (sheep dogs) is generally 2-4 puppies. But my Shetlands have litters of 5-7 puppies! Even
if I was not a believer, as a business man, I would include wheatgrass in the diet because it makes
money. Each puppy sells for $600-700, and I get two more puppies per litter than the average
breeder!

Longevity
Typically a Sheltie that is fed purely commercial food, lives only 7 or 8 years. If their diet is a
mix of commercial food and owners throwaway food from the table, they can live for 10-11. Our
Shelties generally live from 14-17 years. In the case of the Irish wolfhound, they only last 4-5
years when fed a commercial dog food diet. When they are fed a mix of commercial food and
scraps from the owners table, they live 6-7 years. Most of ours make it to 9 years old.

No one will face the brutality of this truth. It is highly controversial because few will
acknowledge the role of diet in aging and health. They just consider it a genetic weakness. But
I’ve seen what quality nutrition will do and I know what commercial dog food will do. I’ve seen
puppies who need to be put down because they never developed strong enough bones in their
legs. The back legs grow crooked. Their skeletons are weak from malnutrition. It’s akin to rickets
in humans.

Skin Problems
So people started to bring me their sick dogs. I find that skin problems respond very quickly to
wheatgrass juice. I can even tell you one case where the skin was actually weeping it was so
irritated. The doctors put her on steroids to try to control it. At first they worked, then they had to
increase the dosage to get an effect, and then they just didn’t work anymore. They were going to
put the dog down when they brought her to me. At that point, I decided to try one ounce of
wheatgrass juice per 20 lbs. of body weight per day. Well, in seven days, you could see
improvement in the open sores. After two weeks, there was a little fuzz of hair starting to grow
back over the bald spots. After three weeks, the hair was starting to cover the old sores. Her
disposition was normal and she was looking healthy. When the owner came back, she got such a
joyous reception she said “my dog is acting like a puppy again!”

Veterinarian
What does the vet have to say? Throughout this entire time, we have used the same veterinarian.
Dr. Diane Clark of Sharon Veterinarian Clinic. It was Dr. Clark who actually triggered our focus
on all this by asking me “why don't I ever see one of your dogs with cancer?” Do you see much
cancer, I asked? “Oh, I see it every week, but never from you!” So I started to think, what is it? Is
it that we use large outdoor runs? I don’t think so. And the only thing was the wheatgrass juice. In
the time since I started adding the wheatgrass, we have never had a dog with cancer, never had
any liver troubles, nor kidney, skin, or skeletal problems. I am absolutely convinced it is the
wheatgrass.

Confirmation
This was in the early days of using the wheatgrass juice and I still wanted confirmation. So I
asked Dr. Clark to send me a dog with cancer. It happened that someone had brought her a very
old Irish Wolfhound that was going to be put down. She was in considerable pain. She had a
tumor on her front leg and couldn’t use it at all. She couldn’t even touch the floor with it. The
owner gave me the dog to try to do what I could. So I made her a comfortable bed and fed her 4-5
ounces of wheatgrass per day. I really didn't know what I was doing then. Today I would feed 8-
10 (ounces). I really wanted to make sure she got it so I fed her through a syringe down her
throat. In a matter of a few days, the dog was obviously more comfortable. After a week she was
tentatively reaching out with that foot. After two weeks, she was lightly touching the floor with it.
After a month, she was walking. She never did run again. The tumor was still there, and it was
large and hard as a rock. But she got full mobility and use of that joint. She was able to trot and
was clearly enjoying life, socializing with the other dogs.

About four months later, when Dr. Clark was here for other work, she saw the dog. And I can tell
you her reaction was one of absolute astonishment. Total disbelief that the dog was still alive. The
dog went on to live for 9 months, which is a long time for an elderly Irish Wolfhound with
terminal cancer. I would have given her more juice had I known what I know now. But still I was
completely able to return the dog to normal activity. I want you know, I am not embellishing this
story or anything else I’ve been telling you. This is absolutely what I happened and what I
observed.
—Tom Stem, Dog Breeder. Shetland Sheep Dog and Irish Wolfhound. Stouffville, Ontario,
Canada

For the full story read: Wheatgrass Nature’s Finest Medicine, by Steve Meyerowitz
Click here to order wheatgrass products by Mr. Stem. To explore other interesting wheatgrass
products, click here.

Copyright ©2008 by

Steve Meyerowitz

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