Doorva grass on your lawn could be your pet's miracle cure

Introduction Grass heals! Animals have always known this truth about grasses. Have you noticed that when dogs and cats feel a little unwell, they chew grass? Those long stalks running close to the earth and tenaciously spreading so fast can be a very effective remedy for many an ailment.

Therefore, when you have to design your lawn, make sure that you have a corner patch specially reserved for some medicinal grass. One such medicinal species of grass is doorva or dub grass. In India, the species of grass called doorva is considered sacred, and is often given as a humble offering to Lord Ganesha, the elephant headed god who is called Vignahartha - the remover of all obstacles, Dukhharta - the remover of sorrow and Sukhkarta - the giver of happiness and peace.

Doorva grows wild all over the Indian countryside. It is a hardy plant and can grow in a diverse range of climatic conditions spreading from the coastal regions up to an altitude of 2600 metres. However, what can deter the growth of this plant are the extremes of cold, spells of harsh dry weather and heavy rainfall that can cause water logging which can greatly affect its growth.

How to use Doorva grass for your pet
Wounds
Your pet has just got involved in a bad fight with the cats in the neighbourhood. He or she returns home with a black eye and cat bite wounds on the paws and back. What do you do? It's an emergency! And you need to give some first aid quickly. You can walk in to the garden and pluck some doorva leaves. Wash them well and make a fine paste of doorva and garlic in a ratio of 4:1. Apply the paste everyday twice a day till you see complete healing. It works wonderfully!

Crusts and Scales
Your pet is itchy, flaky and scaly. You have tried out all the medications that your vet has asked you to follow. Tonics, vitamins, oils, baths, soaks...you have done them all. Now, you are at your wit's end!

Just walk in to your garden. Take a few minutes to ponder about your pet and his or her skin condition. Take some blades of doorva grass. Wash them well. Make a fine paste and apply it on your pet's skin. Do this everyday and observe the difference.

If your pet has hot spots or pockets of skin which looks very infected, you could also add some garlic juice or freshly ground turmeric to the paste of doorva grass. That would really take care of the bacteria. Try it out! It can be very useful for fungal infections like ringworm too!

Conjunctivitis
Your pet's waking up everyday with crusts at the corner of each eye which you have to keep wiping away. Time for you to wipe your pet's eyes with some home made eye drops. Take some doorva grass. Wash the blades of grass well in water. You must take great care to make sure that there are no particles of soil or sand sticking to the grass fibers. Now, grind the grass finely. Extract a teaspoon of juice from the grass paste. Add the doorva grass juice to a cup of water. Stir well. Now, gently sponge your pet's eyes with this water. Do this twice or thrice a day. You will see the difference in a few days.

Bleeding from the nose
How do you handle this? Well, you can try this home made preparation after you have got immediate first aid from your vet. This herbal preparation will take a little bit of time to act. Therefore, you need to wait and watch it's gentle, healing action take place. Wash and clean quarter to half cup of doorva grass well in running water. Add an equal proportion of tender pomegranate leaves. Boil well in 1 - 2 cups of water till the volume gets reduced by half. Strain the mixture. Give your pet ½ cup of this preparation immediately and another ½ cup two hours later. Watch the problem take care of itself.

Conclusion
The doorva plant, a member of the grass family is a very sacred plant for Indians and is often used to heal many common ailments. Try some of these simple herbal remedies to heal your pet.