My Holli (on left) and her friend Anna.

Anna's Chickens

Anna’s Chickens

Some one of the best friends I have today are because of cultured foods. I meet people who are looking to be well and who either come to one of my classes or who find me through friends, to purchase kefir grains. Dionne is one of those people, who I immediately liked and felt connected too. She is not only a wonderful friend but her little girl Anna is one of my daughter’s best friends. It so happens that Anna raises chickens and used to be allergic to eggs but now can eat them a few times a week without major problems. They feed their chickens wonderful things  and this is where I get my eggs from every week.

Christian

Christian

Dionne has a dog; Christian that got very sick two years ago in February. He had bloody explosive stools and vomiting. They took him to the vet and ran tests and couldn’t find anything. They put him on three medications, that sort of helped, but he had to have a strict diet of chicken and rice. If they deviated from it, the bloody diarrhea would return, and the vomiting. This went on for seven months, and in September, Dionne came to my class and got kefir grains and started making kefir smoothies for her family. She thought if this was so good for her family, that it might help Christian. She mixed some kefir in his food because she  had run out of medication at that time. In three days of no medication and kefir everyday, the bloody stools and stomach upset stopped.  Now Christian has a cup of kefir a day and can eat anything. He is as happy as he can be. Many times when he sees Dionne with the blender making kefir smoothies, he follows her around begging for more. She told me of this story and how awful it had been when he was sick. She could not believe that in three days after months of being sick, kefir fixed him. They call him, “the dog that kefir saved”.

I have heard of so many stories of intestinal disorders that kefir has fixed.

I had a man who came to my class’s who had been on constipation medication for many years who got off of it quickly after consuming kefir for a few weeks.

I had another mom who had an infant with terrible ulcers that nothing seemed to help, but with in a month of consuming kefir the ulcers were gone.

I had another woman who came to my class whose husband had a rare disease where everything it ate had to be pureed or he would get very sick. After a few weeks on kefir he could eat solid food again with no problem.

Never underestimate how much the colon loves the bacterias in Kefir. It is these very bacteria  that do a myriad of functions everyday.

The main functions of the colon are absorption of water and minerals, and the formation and elimination of feces.The colon contains nearly 60 varieties of microflora or bacteria to aid digestion, promote vital nutrient production, to maintain pH balance, and to prevent growth  of harmful bacteria.

These bacteria provide important functions such as the synthesis of folic acid and valuable nutrients from foods, including vitamins ‘K’ and portions of the ‘B’ complex. Bacillus coli and acidophillus comprise the majority of healthy bacteria in the colon along with many other disease producing bacteria in lesser numbers.

The process of digestion, from ingestion of food to defecation, normally takes between 12 to 24 hours assuming that the colon is fully functional and non-toxic. Irregular or infrequent bowel movements can allow toxic residues, from the by-products of undigested foods, to remain in the colon.

Me and Christian

Me and Christian

Bottom line, your body needs these good bacteria to help them do their job. Give it to your kids, your dogs and other animals in your house and watch what happens. Kefir saved me too.

 

Me and Christian. Kefir lovers forever!

 

How to Make Kefir.


 

 

 

 

 

17 Responses to The Dog That Kefir Saved

  1. Carol nolan says:

    I am now giving my 10 year old lab two full cups of milk kifer a day,he loves it and his coat is lovely,I have been given him high strength flexible joint with glucosamine and chondroitin,mms and omega 3,do you think he still needs to take this,will he get every thing from the milk kifer (thanks carol)

  2. Carol nolan says:

    How much kefir should i give my ten year old lab, and is It safe for him

  3. Taylor says:

    This story is wonderful. I hope christian and all the pets of other commenters get healthy and stay healthy. i think it’s about time people start helping their pets with natural remedies instead of hurtful medication that vets prescribe- they mean well, but mother nature knows best.
    i have 3 guinea pigs and would love to give them kefir, but they are vegeterarians.
    May all our pets live long and be well!

    • Peggy says:

      You might want to try water kefir with your guinea pigs. Do not replace their regular water with it, and use extreme moderation at first to make sure they tolerate it. Once I got my cavy on 10cc of water kefir a week, she had much more energy and the once a month “I’m not eating today” episodes stopped. I even gave her a few ccs of kefir made with coconut water when she was dehydrated and it really helped. Water kefir is made with special water kefir grains, not the kind for culturing milk.

  4. [...] Milk kefir (as opposed to water kefir) is something that I use somewhat regularly in my kitchen. I use milk kefir primarily for making homemade salad dressings, like my Better Than Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing, or for adding into smoothies for a probiotic kick. I also give it to the dogs over their food, because our pets need good bacteria in their guts too! [...]

  5. Annette says:

    I wanted to thank all of you for putting your stories/info out here. I have a little girl dog, Melody, who has had stomach/digestive issues all her life. We have ups and downs, but currently she is not eating and had a urinary tract infection (as near as the vet could tell – she has bloody urinations). She was on the 1st round of antibiotics, but had a high white blood cell count, so it was decided she isn’t over her UTI – now she’s on another antibiotic (Vet said “taking a different route with a totally diff antibiotic”). She was picky somewhat about eating but now doesn’t eat hardly at all.

    I have been making kefir for about 3-4months now thanks to a dear friend introducing me. I haven’t really noticed what all it does for me – I just love the flavor/taste of both the liquid kefir and the kefir cheese I make from it. Since some of you have given it to your dogs for their health, can someone tell me what I do? Does it need to be the 24hr Kefir or can it be the kefir cheese (usually 48-72hrs), or either? Do I just give 1Tbl each meal (she gets fed 2x per day though we’re lucky if she eats enough bites to make 1x/day)? Give her more? Does she have to be off the antibiotics for the kefir to do it’s job (given antibiotics kill both good and bad flora)?

    I do apologize for all the questions. I will appreciate any information someone has the time for. Oh, she is 10yrs old and part cocker part shih tzu. I’ve had her and her brother since they were 6wks old. They have been with me through losing my late husband (at age 42) to colon cancer (yes, wish I’d known about Kefir back then 2006)… They mean the world to me.

    Thank you so much, in advance.

    p.s. any suggestions on what to do with the Whey that is left over after the cheese gets made? I hate the idea of throwing it out, but don’t know if I can cook with it or just should drink it (kinda cloudy clear liquid)? :)

    • You can give her as much as you would like. Just start out no more than 1/4 of a cup and then you can give her whatever she would like after a few days of this. Give it to her as far away from the time she takes the antibiotic. You can use kefir whey to make culture vegetables or make kefir sodas. Always nice to have extra around for this. You can give her cheese or just straight kefir that has been cultured 24 hours. That would be best or second fermented kefir is even better.

  6. Sarahsuemagoo says:

    I think i might try giving my cat some water kefir grains. she has had stomach issues for the past five years and after 1.5 years of accidents and unhappy kitty we finally found an expensive rx food from the vet that keeps her mostly ok. but for the past 3 or so years she is still not 100%. So I’m going to mix some grains with wet food and see if she will eat them…..

  7. Kurt says:

    both of my dogs are generally healthy, but I still think this is good advice. I should start giving them some Kefir and see how they do with it. I already know that one of them loves yogurt. I make my own yogurt, and after making a batch, I keep it refrigerated in quart-sized recycled plastic yogurt containers. Lately, I’ve noticed that if I leave a recently-emptied container out By the sink to be washed, as soon as I leave the room, one of them will knock the container over and try to lick it clean.

  8. Amy says:

    I have 1 child who will drink my ‘root beer’ kefir and 2 who will drink my apple juice kefir. The 3rd child (who is the one who needs it the most) won’t touch it. My husband drinks it, sometimes 2 quarts a day. It seems to help his stomache, but hasn’t ‘cured’ it. He has GERD very badly. I have given my dog some whey, and he likes that a lot. Is kefir (WKG) okay for cats? They drink out of the same water dish.

    • Donna Schwenk says:

      Yes, kefir is great for cats.

    • Stephen says:

      My wife had gurd for years and it didn’t go away unil she cut out all the grains… she’s a nurse and had tried everything medical, it wasn’t unitl the demise of the grains until she finally found peace. Love Kefir! have today started giveing it to our dogs! Thanks for all the valuable insight throughout this page!

  9. That’s really cool. I’m going to bookmark this link for my aunt. Our dog is old, but still fairly healthy. Howevr, information is always good…and I love kefir!!! I drank it all the time as a kid, and stopped for some reason. I think kefir is coming up soon on the GAPS intro diet. I’m still on STage 4. I’m glad your dog is doing well :) :) :) :) Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)

  10. Judy Urso says:

    3 days ago I started giving my great dane kefir. She has become allergic to her food and breaks out in bloody spots all over her body. The Dr. doesn’t know why this is happening but I feel like it is something internal in her gut. He gave her antibiotics but I don’t see them helping her. No one in my family will jump on the kefir train yet so I have enough to give to my dog. She loves it and if I put just a tablespoon of beef broth in in she will drink it right up. It remains to be seen what it will do for her but I am hopeful.

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