# Red Raspberry Leaves



## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

In response to Amanda's comment that she was feeding her dog seameal, razz, and bee pollen, I thought I'd ask a related question, but under a different thread since it did not pertain to the thread she posted it under.

I've heard both good and bad things about giving a pregnant dog red raspberry leaves, so I guess the first thing I'll do is ask how many of you use them, or have used them, and what your experiences were.


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## Justin Eimer (Oct 17, 2006)

Kristen Cabe said:


> In response to Amanda's comment that she was feeding her dog seameal, razz, and bee pollen, I thought I'd ask a related question, but under a different thread since it did not pertain to the thread she posted it under.
> 
> I've heard both good and bad things about giving a pregnant dog red raspberry leaves, so I guess the first thing I'll do is ask how many of you use them, or have used them, and what your experiences were.


Kristen~ 
I know that this is totally inappropriate, but with my work schedule, I have not been up early in the day for a while. So, I just feel like razzing people. I say you and Amanda need to just feed your dogs Lucky Charms!  You know pink hearts, blue stars, purple horseshoes, they're magically delicious!!!=P~


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## Will Kline (Jan 10, 2008)

Justin...Its pink hearts,yellow moons, orange stars, green clovers, blue diamonds and purple horseshoes!  They're always after me lucky charms!!!


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

I'm sorry. I guess I won't ask any more questions.


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## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

I used to give my girls Solid Gold's Concept-a-Bitch. Which had rasberry leaves in it among other things. They had nice healthy litters, good milk production, etc. But, once I quit giving it to them they still have nice healthy litters, good milk production, etc. So I'm not sure if it really did a thing for them or not. I do now if giving in to large a quantity, or you don't get the dog use to it slowly, it can cause premature labor, so I'd be careful with it.


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## Justin Eimer (Oct 17, 2006)

Kristen Cabe said:


> I'm sorry. I guess I won't ask any more questions.


Kristen~
Oh man, I was only kidding around... Honestly I know nothing about feeding leaves to dogs. I meant no disrespect at all. Please feel free to ask whatever you want. Someone here knows exactly what you are talking about. Just not me. I am truly sorry if you felt personally attacked. Please forgive me. ~Justin[-o<


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Just grind up the leaves, put them in a brownie mix and..........Oh wait!........nevermind.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Kristen, I have a great herbs-for-dogs book with a section on raspberry leaves during pregnancy, but I'm still looking for it.

I will find it and I will relay the info.  

NO LUCKY CHARMS! :lol:


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## Will Kline (Jan 10, 2008)

Kristin, I meant nothing by my post either. I was just correcting Justin as his description was a bit off. I have zero clue when it comes to herbal suppliments to pregnant bitches. I have only ever dealt with males myself.


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## Trish Campbell (Nov 28, 2006)

I've used the raspberry before...I can't say if it made a difference or not. I do know that when the females whelped, you could smell raspberry


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

I found the darned book! :lol:

OK, it says halfway through the pregnancy to add raspberry leaf tea to each meal. (See below.) Just as in humans, raspberry leaves tone the uterine muscles.

This is the most conservative advice, so it's the one I'm posting. (A few maintain that it should not be given in the beginning of pregnancy, so here's one that starts halfway through.)

Then you halve it after delivery and give for the first week to aid in cleaning out the uterus.

From Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog (Volhard and Brown, DVM): 2 tablespoons dried leaves in 2 cups water. Bring to boil and simmer a few minutes. Leave overnight and then strain out leaves. Refrigerate. One tablespoon of the tea per meal per 50-pound dog.

After delivery, half of that for one week.


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

The only reason I asked is because my TD said I should give it to Deja, but I've heard some horror stories (from breeders) about it causing some pretty severe problems, like the dog going into labor way too early, and/or miscarriage, for example. My TD says that it helps decrease the pain and helps the puppies pop right out, and that he's used it forever. I'm just leary, because of Deja's age and our tight time-frame for breeding her.

This is the kind of thing that has me scared, from http://www.dpca.org/BreedEd/redraspberry.htm:

"[FONT=arial,helvetica]Why would the use of red raspberry be a problem? If you look at early gestation where it is best that the uterus not contract, red raspberry can actually cause the fertilized eggs to be expelled. A moving uterus also makes a difficult target for the embryo to try to implant on, as healthy placentas must burrow into the uterine muscle to remain well attached. This is a difficult task if the uterus is contracting. If placentas do not become well attached, less blood and oxygen supply will be available to the developing fetus resulting in smaller, less vigorous pups and possibly resorbtions. Labor, the time of most stress on the placenta and puppy, can cause premature placental separation if the placenta is not well attached.[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]
[/FONT]​ [FONT=arial,helvetica]Use of red raspberry during labor can cause contractions to be to long and/or too strong. Every time the uterus contracts, the blood supply to the puppy is cut off because the blood vessels going to the puppy go through the uterine muscle. When the muscle contracts, the blood supply is cut off. If red raspberry is used there is no way to regulate the amount of chemical entering the system, and no way to prevent over-stimulating the uterus. Exceptionally strong contractions contribute to puppy compromise by decreasing oxygen to the puppy, causing premature placental separation and in some cases, uterine rupture. Additionally, the unregulated use of oxytocin, especially in high doses, has the same effect. Documented cases of premature labor have also been associated with the use of red raspberry. Fortunately, with the early detection of the contraction pattern, and the use of medications to stop the labor, these cases were able to make it to their due dates.[/FONT]"



Some sites say to use the tea, and others say not to use the tea, but give the leaves themselves. I just don't know. ​


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

I guess I'd skip it unless I could find something showing me that wild canids actually sought them out during pregnancy.

It's certainly true that a lot of herbs are as strong as manufactured medications and that using them as if they were automatically safe because they don't come in a labeled bottle isn't a good plan.

I hadn't seen that site you found, Kristen -- only positive ones (some more conservative than others, but none negative).

I'd stick with no, having seen that.... unless you have a holistic vet with herbal specialty.


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