Balto´s Natural Way Story

Balto joined our pack as a six year old experienced sled dog and racing veteran, retired from another kennel´s team. Since then, he ran and pulled many miles in our teams, in training and also on races, teaching the younger dogs a lot of skills, as he was an excellent lead dog with a fabulous work ethic.

While Balto was at the bloom of his sled dog athlete career and full of energy, he was not, however, at full health. He´s been suffering from eczema on his paws, mostly between his toes, whenever the weather changed, when exposed to too much water or mud and during damp conditions. His previous owners spent a lot of time searching for the right type of food for him, and as it is in the typical allopathic medicine scenarios – Balto was way too often on antibiotics, eventually developing resistance. The vets believed he needed to be on hypoallergenic and grain free commercial dog food, and so did we at the beginning.

But because feeding him the “special” food did not make any difference, I have soon realized the problem has to be approached holistically.

Today, at 14 years, Balto is the "head" canine senior citizen 

here at Kipp d´Amundsen Kennels. Here he is pictured on

a regular outing with our other beloved C.S.C.s 

few weeks ago. Balto is the white dog on the far left.

I must admit that we went through many trials and errors with our efforts to nurse Balto back to health. His immune system was not strong and using different kinds of natural remedies always brought only a temporary relief of his symptoms.

As time went by, I was more and more convinced we are dealing with yeast infection, among other problems, and when I stopped feeding Balto with the same soup the rest of the pack was getting, supplemented with brewers dried yeast, he improved dramatically.

I was focusing on building up his immune system and detoxifying him and for a while, things were under control. 

But as Balto aged, more itching and scratching occurred, together with yeasty smell of coat, inability to shed, more itchy spots on other parts of his body, not just feet, itchy and inflamed ears, and even weight loss and lack of energy. 

Balto looked suddenly very old. At this time, he was on raw meat, herbs and other natural supplements, fed twice a day, but he was not improving.

Luckily, I have just been going through my pet nutrition studies and started working with food energetics. Balto became one of my first “clients”, put on a feeding program based on food energetics. And we received a surprising result! While I dared and put steamed oats into Balto´s food, going against the no grain philosophy, guess what happened? Balto reacted fantastically. A bit more of tweaking later, I had an optimal tailored feeding program for my boy, and in return, he gained weight and energy, the eczema on his feet healed, the itching went to minimum and he shed for the first time in couple of years and grew a nice, fluffy, non-smelly coat.

Some of the key ingredients in Balto´s program, besides neutral and anti-inflammatory meat sources, and oats in the wet, colder months, that we give him daily, are turmeric, coconut oil, ginger, true cinnamon, milk thistle, dandelions and kelp.

Although Balto´s health and quality of life toward his senior age have improved dramatically, his immune system is never going to be as strong as it should be, and from time to time, we have to deal with itchy ears or occasional scratching during the more damp months.

The heavy use of antibiotics and steroids, and not effectively addressed diet for extended period of time have taken its toll on Balto´s organism.

Knowing how to deal with yeast infections, understanding the true meaning of a holistic approach and having great experience with herbs, I started working on an effective, yet gentle ear remedy for Balto. 

I kept improving and tweaking it, and it was a learning process to find out what combination of herbs and other ingredients is optimal, what is the most effective way to apply it, how often and how much of the treatment, etc. 

I am really happy to say I found the right way, the right herbal combination, ratios, and all that goes into making an effective and safe remedy and we are using this formula for treating all kinds of ear problems, if they occur, in our kennel.

Today, at 14 years, Balto is the “head” canine senior citizen here at Kipp d´Amundsen Kennels, and it is so good to see him without suffering from excessive itching. The only regret I have is that I did not have the knowledge I have today, when he was eight years younger. 

But at the same time, I am happy that now I know how to help dogs with similar story like Balto´s.

And because there are so many dogs out there, suffering from yeast infections, allergies, eczema, inflamed ears, etc., whose symptoms are more than similar to Balto´s, I have decided to make his remedy available for others to try as well.

You can find Balto´s Herbal Ear Wash in my online shop.

I will gladly provide any advice and share my experience with you, just drop me an email at consulting@katerinasnaturalway.com

I produce all my herbal preparations in small batches to ensure the best possible quality. I also use mostly wildcrafted or home grown herbs that I forage or grow myself, with my family and kennel staff, in the clean nature of Northern Sweden. Some of the herbs are grown by my mom, the gardener and plant “guru” extraordinaire.