I wanted to write you and tell you of an extraordinary experience that I had using homeopathy for my dog.
Last summer our seven-year-old Shepherd-mix developed a hard lump near her shoulder. It grew to the size of a large marble. We took her to our vet, who performed a needle biopsy. It came back as reactive lymph tissue – baffling because there should be no lymph tissue in that area. To be safe, he recommended surgery, since a needle biopsy can only test a fragment of the lump. The surgery would have to go deep because the lump was imbedded in her muscle.
I took a deep breath, listened to my own inner calm and immediately decided to boost her immune system using the herb astragalus and a maitake mushroom tincture. I also boosted her vitamins.
We wasted no time and took her to two natural-oriented vets. One gave us more supplements and recommended surgery. The next immediately sent us to a surgeon. The surgeon, of course, wanted to do surgery, telling us if there were any lumps in her lungs that there was no point in trying, it would be a death sentence. I sat in our car and cried.
But before we took action, I took another deep breath and again trusted my inner voice. The lump was still there. We went back to our original vet who did another needle biopsy. He sent it to a pathologist and it came back the same, except this time, interestingly, it had macrophages surrounding it – the “killer” immune system cells that go in to remove foreign substances from the body, which is exactly what astragalus is supposed to do. It was great to have scientific proof that it does have an immune bolstering effect.
Then I went to a homeopathic pharmacy. I told the pharmacist the problem and he recommended a homeopathic remedy called Silicea, 30c, which is for the lymph system. I gave her three pills, three times a day on an empty stomach and guess what? Within two weeks the lump was gone, much to the shock of the four vets that we saw. It has been months with no sign of the lump and our girl is as happy and healthy as ever. This is the third time that we have avoided surgery by listening to our inner voices and going the natural route. The other two times were for recommended knee replacement surgery on two of our other dogs. They have both completely healed. I always tell other dog owners, “Listen to your Spirit and keep on trying.”
-Janet Katz via email
From my experience, Doggie Dooleys (reviewed in the June 2000 issue of WDJ) are a great concept. What could be more convenient for disposing dog poo? No more bags, no more smell? Great! The only problem is they don’t always work. Their effectiveness is greatly influenced by the climate and soil type. When we lived in Tennessee, we had clay soil and it wouldn’t drain. In addition winters were cold enough to stop the biological processes necessary to break down the waste.
Now we live on the coast of Oregon (and I do mean on the coast, 300 yards from the beach). Our soil is very sandy, and summers and winters are mild. Now our soil is too sandy! In the summer, the pyramid-style Dooley drains too fast, so not enough water stays in to maintain the decomposition process even when I add five gallons of warm water each day. In the winter, our water table sometimes rises to the point where the water is standing in the yard for several days. Also the temperature still gets too cool in the winter and fall. So it still doesn’t work.
I have the larger model and only one dog. I also made the Dooley even deeper by adding a row of cinder blocks. Doggie Dooley suggested some “super start-up” enzymes to jump-start the process. I was adding water and enzymes each day as per their instructions. No luck. Very disappointing. Nine months after not adding any waste to the Dooley, there is still partially decomposed material in it.
While it is possible the “bucket type” (similar to the one we had in Tennessee and as opposed to the open bottom which we have now) might be more effective in our current location, I am reluctant to spend another $50 to try again.
-Patricia Riley via email
We admit that the Doggie Dooley worked so well for US, that we didn’t consider how it would work in challenging soils like hard clay or extremely sandy soil. Readers? Any other ideas for environmentally friendlier poop disposal?
Lately I’ve been wondering how I could use my talents to perhaps raise money for animal causes. I would like to find some way to reach an animal-loving audience who might be interested in purchasing artwork, knowing that most of the proceeds would go to such a cause.Where would I start?
Just Friday I dropped off two paintings to a framer and asked if he would give me a break on the frames as I am donating the pictures to our local Humane Society. He said he would. Our Humane Society has built a new facility and put a notice in their newsletter asking for art for their new walls. I’ll be bringing these pictures to them when they’re framed and asking them for any ideas as well. I got my Shepherd-mix from them last August and am eager to do more but need ideas.
-Susan Mandl Rochester, New York
Again, we put out a call to our readers: Who knows some creative ways to benefit their local shelters?
One of the greatest concerns many people have about switching their dogs to a raw diet is the fear of bacterial infection, either in themselves or their pets. News reports of people dying from E. coli and salmonella poisoning have no doubt fanned the flames of that fear. But most people who have successfully transitioned their dogs to a raw diet report no problems are delighted with their dogs’ health and appearance. The secret, advocates say, is in good food handling practices. Dog owners who neglect safe handling techniques are certainly more at risk of infection from any pathogens (a list of the usual suspects is discussed in great detail in “What Evil Lurks Within,” page 9) that happen to be present in raw meat. This is especially true of children, whose immune systems are immature and inexperienced, and people with compromised immune systems. But keeping your meat safe and your kitchen clean is not exactly rocket science, folks! Anyone can learn to do it. Keep it cool
Perhaps the most critical factor in handling raw meat is attention to refrigeration. Keeping foods refrigerated slows the growth of any organisms that happen to be present. “Huge numbers of bacteria can result from providing pathogenic bacteria ideal reproductive temperatures for only short time periods,” Dr. Dunn says. “Generally, as long as some moisture is present, and the temperature range is 50 to 90 degrees, pathogenic food-borne bacteria have a reproductive bonanza.” This means that frozen meat should always be defrosted in the refrigerator – NOT on the counter or in your sink. Defrosting at room temperature means that the outside sections of the meat are at an unsafe temperature while the inside sections are still defrosting. Read and follow the safe handling instructions on the meat’s label. Refrigerate or freeze raw food if you don’t plan to feed it immediately. Vegetable mixtures can be refrigerated for three to five days, but meat mixtures probably shouldn’t be refrigerated for more than 48 hours. “Safe length of storage time is highly variable because time, temperature, type of organism, moisture levels and numbers of organisms originally present all interact to impact the safety of each food item,” Dr. Dunn says. Larry A. Bernstein, VMD, is the owner of Natural Holistic Pet Care in North Miami Beach, Florida, and a passionate advocate of diets built on feeding raw meat. Dr. Bernstein recommends that all meats are kept frozen following purchase, and thawed on the day they are fed to the dog. Freezing is said to have a detrimental effect on the nutritional quality of meat, but the difference is not significant. And freezing is less detrimental to nutritional quality than the heat from cooking. “Feeding food fresh is great,” Dr. Bernstein says, “but if feeding it after it has been frozen allows you the flexibility to feed raw food diets more often, then the benefits far outweigh any deterioration that might happen in the freezer.” When thawing meats in the refrigerator, put them on the bottom shelf or drawer, so that any blood or juices don’t drip on any other food in the refrigerator. Many dog owners are under the impression that freezing can kill any potentially harmful organism that may be present in the meat. According to Dr. Dunn, “Freezing is not very effective in killing any pathogenic bacteria already present on the food product. Freezing will only impede any further growth of those bacteria already present. Parasites, if present, must be frozen at temperatures so low that household freezers probably will have no effect on killing any parasites such as Trichinella.” Keep it clean Safe handling practices recommended by experts include washing hands before and after touching raw meat; careful cleansing and disinfecting of dishes, utensils, cutting boards, grinders, and other equipment used in meat preparation; and proper storage of prepared food. “Almost all foods we purchase from the grocery store have bacteria present on or in them,” says T. J. Dunn Jr., DVM, director of veterinary services for PetFoodDirect.com and ThePetCenter.com. “Only specific strains of specific bacteria have the potential to cause disease and then only when their numbers develop to fairly high levels. If pathogenic bacteria are present when the consumer purchased the food and the consumer ignores safe handling procedures, those organisms may proliferate to a point where their numbers may cause disease in humans. The organisms may proliferate on utensils, containers, cutting boards, washcloths, anywhere there is organic material upon which to grow.” Thorough cleaning with hot, soapy water is the best way to prevent problems. It’s a good idea to use a disinfectant for items that are porous or difficult to clean, including cutting boards and food grinders. Dr. Bernstein recommends using a disinfectant compound or a little bleach in dishwater, or running items through a dishwasher. “And there are some new [disinfectant] wipes for the kitchen that we use to wipe down the cutting board,” he says. Be careful with knives, as well, Dr. Bernstein says. “You really need to clean them off well. You don’t want to put good knives in the dishwasher, but you want to soak them in something.” Be aware that chopped or ground meat is more likely to become contaminated than whole pieces of meat. That’s because bacteria such as E. coli generally contaminate the surfaces of a food product. Mixing, chopping and combining other ingredients can distribute the organisms throughout the food. Under certain temperature or moisture conditions, this could enhance the organism’s proliferation in the food. “I don’t recommend chopped or ground meat unless it’s done fresh – you grind it at home,” Dr. Bernstein says. “Grinding expands the surface area so there’s more room for bacteria to grow, and there’s more oxidation of the meat. When oxygen gets in contact with the meat, it causes deterioration, so the more you open up the surface area, the more you speed up the deterioration. So feed meat in chunks, little cubes, or cut it up and freeze it. And if you’re going to grind it, grind it right before you feed it.” Whose hands should stay off? If you want to be really careful, shouldn’t you wear rubber or plastic gloves when handling raw meat? Maybe, maybe not. If you have a cut or sore on your hands that’s open to infection, gloves could certainly be a good idea. Ditto for people with compromised immune systems. In general, though, healthy people don’t need to go to such extremes, Dr. Bernstein says. When raw meats are being handled and/or fed to the dog, a couple of types of people deserve special consideration: people who have any sort of immuno-suppressed condition and children (especially infants and toddlers). Since these people are at greater risk of infection with any pathogens, they must be prevented from coming into contact with the dog’s raw food and dirty dishes. This entails “following the trail” of any potentially harmful organisms far beyond casual cleaning. For instance, if you have a toddler in the house, it’s not enough to prevent her from touching the dog’s food bowl; you have to imagine that a dog who just finished eating a meal that contained raw meat might immediately drink from his water bowl, potentially transferring a certain amount of the theoretic pathogen to the water. Toddlers should be prevented from having any sort of contact with the dog’s water bowl, too. Some people feel that’s going a bit bit overboard. Nancy O. Johnson of Vancouver, British Columbia, suffers from a compromised immune system herself but says she doesn’t take any extraordinary precautions when it comes to feeding a raw diet to Harpo, her Chinese Crested. “I buy only from reputable butchers, and I wash everything with soap and water, although I use the dishwasher on occasion. Neither I nor my dogs have ever had a problem related to feeding raw meat.” But others say, “Better safe than sorry!” Among the safety precautions taken by Joanne Nash of Los Altos, California, are using separate cutting boards for the dogs’ raw food and for anything she and her husband eat. “We use antibacterial dishwashing detergent for all dishes, cutting boards and so on, with separate sponges for dogs and people. We always wash the dog bowls after a raw meat and bones meal. And I use disposable plastic gloves when I am preparing a batch of meat and vegetable mix. I’m also more conscientious about washing my hands after I’ve been mixing or feeding the raw food.” Cleaning the meat What about disinfecting the meat itself? A number of sources suggest using grapefruit seed extract (known for its disinfectant qualities) or food-grade hydrogen peroxide to kill bacteria before serving meat. It can’t hurt, but it’s not really necessary, say raw-diet advocates. “Over the years, people have advocated using grapefruit seed extract (GSE) or food grade hydrogen peroxide to sterilize or decontaminate the meat – you marinate it before you feed it,” Dr. Bernstein says. “I think you’re dealing with personal preference here. We’ve fed our dogs raw foods for years and hundreds if not thousands of patients have done it, and some use GSE or peroxide and some don’t, and across the board, I really can’t think of a problem.” Betty Lewis of Amherst, New Hampshire, occasionally sprays her counters and cutting boards with a dilution of grapefruit seed extract, but she doesn’t use the product on the meat itself. “Dr. Ian Billinghurst (a well-known proponent of raw diets for pets) feels that dogs are capable of dealing with a fair amount of bacteria that is normally present in their environment,” Lewis says. “If we sterilize their food, we do them a disservice by not fostering this natural capability. Then, if they’re exposed to a larger than normal amount of bacteria, they may not be able to overcome it.” Nash had trouble finding grapefruit seed extract or food-grade hydrogen peroxide when she first starting feeding raw food to her Cavaliers and Dalmatians. Determined to feed her dogs raw meat anyway, she experimented with another method of disinfection: Dipping raw meat in boiling water.This was so messy and time-consuming, Nash says, she gave up the practice after the first few times – and has had no problems with her dogs. Whether you detoxify meat is strictly a matter of personal preference, Dr. Bernstein says. “There’s a certain fear factor involved, so if you’re nervous, go ahead and use the grapefruit seed extract or the hydrogen peroxide. I usually recommend that with poultry anyway; for some reason I’m more cautious with poultry. If you’re really scared about feeding raw meat or if your animal is reticent to eat it, cook it a little bit. After you become a little less fearful, cook it a little less. After a while you find that it’s not worth bothering to cook it because they love it the other way, and then you’re well on your way.” Shelter from the stuff? All of these safety procedures help protect us from illness, but what about our dogs? They’re the ones eating the raw diet. What kind of protection do they need? Not as much as you might think. “I don’t have much concern about the dogs getting sick (from eating raw meat),” says Richard H. Pitcairn, DVM, Ph.D., of the Animal Natural Health Center in Eugene, Oregon and author of Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, one of the earliest books advocating a raw diet for pets. “Dogs are carnivores and they have experience for millennia eating raw animals. I haven’t seen any problem myself in my practice.” Pitcairn explains that dogs have much stronger stomach acids than people do, so they are far more capable of battling any pathogens that may be present in the meat. Their intestinal tracts are also quite a bit shorter than ours, giving bacteria less of an opportunity to take hold and flourish. “I think dogs are quite well adapted to handling meat; in the natural state dogs will eat meat that’s decayed,” Dr. Pitcairn says. “They bury it and dig it up days later, stuff that would probably kill us.” “The potential for disease is related directly to the individual idiosyncrasies of the organism, the numbers and types of organisms impacting the individual, and the individual’s physical state of health,” says Dr. Dunn. For example, he explains, a free-roaming dog that is accustomed to scavenging meals is usually more acclimated to the presence of potentially pathogenic bacteria in its digestive system than, say, an apartment-dwelling Poodle. That’s why it’s important to introduce a raw diet gradually, over a period of five to seven days. Don’t follow the example of one of Dr. Bernstein’s clients, who introduced her 18-year-old dog to a raw diet by giving him four different kinds of meat in large quantities. “The dog did get diarrhea, but that’s because the owner wasn’t being sensible or moderate,” Dr. Bernstein says. “I think that’s the only case where I’ve seen an older dog have a negative reaction, and we can understand why that happened.” Dogs that shouldn’t eat raw Can dogs with impaired immune systems eat a raw diet? Many holistic veterinarians believe that a raw diet can benefit the immune system, but they caution that such a dog should only eat a raw diet under veterinary supervision. Animals that are weak or predisposed to illness might have problems, especially if there’s an overwhelming bacteria load in the meat, Dr. Bernstein says. A veterinarian who has experience with raw feeding should help the owner supervise this dog’s diet. Dr. Bernstein finds that feeding raw foods can be very beneficial to such an animal, but stresses that in such a case, you have to be even more careful with the cuts of meat, the quality, and the freshness. Puppies, too, should be introduced gradually to a raw diet. Wait until they’re weaned, and then start mixing in small quantities of meat gradually. “Until they’re six or eight weeks old, I don’t think their guts are really competent to handle large quantities of meat, so I would be most cautious with a young animal,” Dr. Bernstein says. “After about eight weeks, it’s probably pretty safe.” Naturally, experiences vary. Australian Cattle Dog breeder Deb Casey of Dallas, Texas, starts feeding a raw diet to her puppies when they are four weeks old. “The puppies are the best I have ever raised,” she says. “They do not smell like dog food, and the poop is very small and firm.” Ruth Beetow of Springville, New York, also feeds a raw diet to her Norwich and West Highland White Terrier puppies and has never had a problem. According to Dr. Dunn, when problems arise with raw diets, it’s usually due to improper handling procedures on the part of the consumer. Good sanitation, in combination with modern processing methods and regulations, are the key to successful raw feeding.
Welcome to the premier of WDJ’s new monthly food review column! We have been reviewing dry dog foods in our February issue for three years running, and each year we’ve run into the same problem: We hear about all kinds of great new or newly reformulated foods following publication of our article.
In order to keep up with the arrival of superior new foods on the market, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at dry dog foods in every issue. We’ll repeat our selection criteria in each installment, so newcomers know why we like what we like in a dog food, and pan what we don’t. However, for our most exhaustive discussion of dry foods, please refer to the February 2000 issue.
We selected Natural Balance as a Top Dry Food in our February 2000 issue, but the food was recently reformulated and bears almost no resemblance to its former self. This incarnation is very impressive. The food now has three major protein sources – chicken (appearing first on the list of ingredients), duck (number third), and lamb meal (fourth), providing a nice complement of amino acids. The makers have also omitted corn, soy, wheat, eggs, white rice, dairy products, and sunflower oil from the food, in an effort to avoid many ingredients that allergic dogs have problems with.
Like many companies jumping on the nutraceutical bandwagon, NB has included glucosamine (beneficial for arthritic conditions) and extra vitamin C (for general immune health) in the food. However, without any information as to the amount present in the food, there is no way to say whether the inclusion is at all beneficial.
We sure wish all dog food makers would include the date of manufacture on all foods; like most companies, Natural Balance includes a “Best Used By” date, which doesn’t give you any idea of how old the food already is when you buy it. We also wish all food makers would include a figure for the kilocalories per cup of food, rather than just the suggested feeding amounts (a few commendable manufacturers include both).
Holistic veterinarians have long decried the annual vaccination schedule recommended by many conventionally trained veterinarians for all dogs. Many holistic veterinarians suspect that many of the complex ailments that plague our modern dogs – from allergies to digestive problems to aggressive behavior and so on – have their roots in immune system problems brought on by excessive and unnecessary vaccination.
However, many of us are convinced by our veterinarians that our dogs won’t be safe unless they receive these boosters every year. Fortunately, a recent study indicates that most dogs retain humoral antibody protection from past vaccinations for longer than previously thought.
The Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) will shortly be publishing the results of a research study, conducted by Lisa Twark, DVM, and W. Jean Dodds, DVM, of Hemopet and Antech Diagnostics, that examined the serum antibody titers of 1441 healthy dogs brought to veterinary clinics for routine health checkups and/or revaccination. The titer tests were conducted at a time when most dogs would typically be given annual booster vaccines.
It was the authors’ intention that those results could be used by veterinarians as a guide for advising their clients about the necessity of annual revaccination of dogs against canine parvovirus (CPV) and canine distemper virus (CDV).
A very high percentage of the dogs had adequate titers – more than 95 percent for CPV and more than 97 percent for CDV– indicating that annual vaccination for CPV and CDV is unnecessary in most cases.
The CPV vaccination history was available for 444 dogs, and the CDV vaccination history was available for 433 dogs; the interval between the dogs’ last vaccination and serum antibody measurement ranged from one month to six years, with the majority (60 percent) being between one to two years. Age, breed (purebred or mixed breed), and sex of the dogs were not significantly associated with the adequacy of serum CPV or CDV antibody titers. The authors commented that in the presence of adequate serum antibody titers, there is little reason to introduce unnecessary antigen, adjuvant, and preservative, as well as to increase the risk of adverse events and client costs associated with administering booster vaccines.
Source: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
Pet health insurance offered to employees The national unemployment rate is at an historic low, and employers are looking for creative ways they can attract and retain quality employees. While on-site child care centers or gym memberships increase some employees’ loyalty to their companies, dog owners might get more excited about a new perk being offered to some employees: pet health insurance.
Veterinary Pet Insurance Inc., of Anaheim, California, has sold individual pet policies since 1982, but group plans for employers only began to take off in 1999, according to Rebecca Lewis, VPI vice president for marketing and communications. VPI offers a typical indemnity plan, with average premiums of $200 a year and a $40 deductible.
As great as this sounds for employees who can use some help with their dogs’ medical bills, the plans are not without the usual catches. Just as with human health insurance policies, you end up paying quite a bit more if you sign up for a plan that will cover extensive care for serious or long-term medical conditions such as diabetes or cancer treatment. Nevertheless, having an employer’s help with the monthly payments is welcome relief for many dog owners.
A slightly different type of health plan is offered to employers by Pet Assure, of Dover, New Jersey. Described as an “HMO for pets,” the plan lacks a traditional deductible and co-pay structure. Instead, members – or, in this case, the members’ employers – pay a small fee, generally taken as a small monthly payroll deduction and receive a 25 percent discount at network providers. Pet Assure enrolls all pets, regardless of age, infirmity, or species.
Source: Associated Press
New law makes airlines’ animal safety records available to consumers On April 5, President Clinton signed a comprehensive aviation bill that carried a provision to require airlines to begin reporting any incidents of animals being lost, injured, or killed during transport. The Department of Transportation (DOT) will begin to tally such incident reports, and make the results available to consumers, as well as notify the United States Department of Agriculture. In addition, the DOT will begin working with air carriers to improve employee training on air transport of animals.
According to the Air Transport Association, more than 500,000 animals are transported each year. The ATA has estimated that perhaps one percent of those animals encounter problems of some level of seriousness. Undoubtedly, that number will rise now that incident reporting is mandatory. Following publication of WDJ’s article on air transportation safety for dogs (“Leaving on a Jet Plane?” March 1999), WDJ received a number of letters from concerned airline employees who warned that flying is often dangerous for dogs.
Source: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
Adverse effects of arthritis drug spur changes in labeling, marketing Each year, the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine compiles and releases information about adverse drug experience (ADE) reports received from veterinarians and consumers. On December 1, 1999, the Center released figures for 1998, which indicated that one medication intended for use on arthritic dogs, Rimadyl (carprofen), was responsible for 39 percent of all the ADE reports made in 1998, “considerably more than that received for other drugs,” according to the CVM.
A recent “Update on rimadyl” released by the Center explained that for any one ADE report, there is no absolute certainty that the suspected drug caused the effect, and that the adverse effects seen in Rimadyl’s ADE reports were “consistent with those expected for NSAIDs (nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs)” which typically involve the gastrointestinal system, renal/urinary system, hematopietic (blood) system, neurological system, and the liver. Approximately 13 percent of the 1998 Rimadyl ADE reports involved the death of the dog.
Based on the ADE reports received since Rimadyl was marketed, a number of actions have been taken to update the safety information that veterinarians receive when they purchase the product, so they are well-prepared to discuss the risk and benefits of the drug with dog owners. At the CVM’s request, Pfizer also developed and distributed an information sheet to be given to owners at the time Rimadyl is dispensed. The CVM also insisted on “death” being added to the list of possible adverse reactions that appear on the drug label and in the advertising for the drug (a move that caused Pfizer to pull all of its television ads for the product).
Rimadyl has made a positive change in the lives of many arthritic dogs, but WDJ encourages dog owners to use medications cautiously and to try to use minimal dosages whenever possible. If you give your dog Rimadyl, you should immediately discontinue use of the drug and contact your veterinarian if your dog displays any of the following common adverse reactions:
• loss of appetite or loss of thirst
• unusual pattern of urination, blood in the urine, sweet-smelling urine, an overabundance of urine, urine accidents in the house
• staggering, stumbling, weakness or partial paralysis, full paralysis, seizures, dizziness, loss of balance
• jaundice (yellowing of the skin, mucus membranes and whites of the eyes).
Some dog flea-control products poison cats If you use “spot-on” flea-control chemicals that contain permethrin on your dog, watch out – you just might end up poisoning your cat.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has reported adverse reactions by cats to concentrated, spot-on flea and tick products that contain permethrin and are intended for dogs. The AVMA has sent a letter to the EPA asking for the requirement that such products include a warning label that alerts pet owners to the dangers of incidental but potentially fatal exposure of the product to cats.
Any cat that has close contact with dogs that have been treated with the products can develop signs of toxicosis, says the AVMA, including seizures, depression, labored breathing, or discoordination.
Your cat can be exposed to enough permethrin to become ill if he and your dog so much as sleep in the same place (and not necessarily at the same time), such as your sofa or bed.
Cats are far more sensitive to organophosphates than most other animals. There are some flea-control products labeled for use on cats that contain permethrin, but these products generally contain less than 0.1% permethrin. A typical dog’s flea-control product may contain as much as 45-60 % permethrin, so the risk of unintentional high exposure to a cat roommate is high.
It is generally accepted that the practice of human and veterinary acupuncture had their beginnings in ancient China. According to legend, veterinary acupuncture was discovered when lame horses were used for battle and became sound after being pierced by arrows at distinct points.
Regardless of the accuracy of the folklore, there is evidence that veterinarians practiced acupuncture around 2000-3000 BC. The early use of the technique on animals was probably prompted by the economic importance of horses, camels, elephants, cows, pigs, and chickens as sources of transportation and food. Now, veterinary acupuncture is used worldwide to treat all types of animals including many exotics.
Acupuncture gets its name form the Latin words acus, which means needle, and pungare which means to pierce. Most of us can conjure up images of an acupuncture session, but few understand the reasoning behind needling – perhaps because there are several schools of thought that purport to explain the effectiveness of the practice.
According to practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are channels of energy, called meridians, that run in regular patterns through the body and over its surface. The energy, called Qi or Chi, flows in these meridians just like water flows in a stream. If something blocks the flow of energy, it backs up, much as water would back up if a dam were placed across a stream. Disease results from disturbances or imbalances in the energy. Placing needles at specific points, called acupuncture points or acupoints, unblocks the obstructions in the meridians and reestablishes the free flow of energy.
The theory is that by restoring energy circulation through the meridians, acupuncture treatments allow the body’s internal organs to correct imbalances in digestion, absorption, and energy production. This is thought to encourage the body to use its own healing powers to correct imbalances and disharmony that manifest as disease or lameness. Acupuncture, therefore, is a means of balancing the energy in the body and allowing the body to heal. Because acupuncture helps maintain the body’s balance, it is also a powerful tool for preventing disease.
The Western perspective While it was clear that acupuncture has a long history of effective treatment of many injuries and diseases, scientists using traditional diagnostic tools have been unable, until recently, to explain how therapy works. In the last 25 years, however, Western scientists have made enormous strides toward understanding the curative mechanisms and the physiological basis of acupuncture.
For example, scientists have learned that the epidermis at acupuncture points is usually thinner than that of surrounding areas. Below the surface of the skin, each acupuncture point has a unique structure composed of a thin connective tissue column surrounded by thicker connective tissue. The column or acupuncture point contains a lymph vessel, arteriole, and vein that are surrounded by a network of nerve fibers.
Bruce Pomerantz, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at the University of Toronto, has done extensive research on the nerve pathways that are affected during acupuncture therapy. Dr. Pomerantz has published his research in numerous scientific articles and eight textbooks on acupuncture.
Dr. Pomerantz’s research has shown that when an acupuncture needle pierces the skin and underlying muscle, it stimulates some of the nerve fibers which carry messages to brain to release endorphins, morphine-like compounds that block pain pathways in the brain.
Endorphins are often referred to as “the feel-good” substances that are released naturally and account for feelings of euphoria such as the “runner’s high.” Only those acupoints associated with treating pain are involved with the release of endorphins.
Other acupoints provide effects such as the release of cortisol, a natural steroid. Research is ongoing to determine how stimulation of these acupoints affect the body.
Acupuncture and moxibustion Acupuncture therapy involves the insertion of very thin needles into precise anatomical locations or acupuncture points on the body to balance the body’s energy and produce a healing effect.
Acupuncture needles are solid, flexible, stainless steel needles with a smooth shaft that is rounded at the tip. At most, there may be a momentary sensation of pain as the needle is inserted. No pain should occur after the needle is in place. This is unlike hypodermic needles that are pointed and have sharp cutting edges surrounding the hollow barrel and may be painful when inserted. Both reusable needles that must be sterilized after each use and disposable needles are available. Both types are designed to stimulate the acupoints and produce a result such as the release of endorphins from the brain.
As noted above, other types of acupoints produce other types of physiological changes within the body. The goal of acupuncture therapy is to encourage the body to promote natural healing and to improve function.
Needling isn’t the only way to stimulate acupoints. As a matter of fact, the Chinese word for acupuncture is zhenjiu. It comes from zhen, which means needle, and jiu, which means moxibustion. In Chinese medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion are considered part of one therapy. Moxibustion is a method of heating or stimulating acupuncture points by burning an herb over them. Moxa, from the Japanese moe kusa or burning herb, refers to the herb mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) which is related to the chrysanthemum family. The mature leaves of the plant, which have a wooly underside, are harvested, cured by drying in the sun, and ground into a fine powder or “wool” that is shaped into cones.
Commercially available moxa sticks are 6-12 inches long and about a half-inch in diameter. The end is ignited and then blown out so that it burns much like the red tip of a cigar. This hot end is held about an inch to an inch and a half above an acupoint while being moved up and down or in a circular pattern for three to 15 minutes to stimulate the acupoint. Veterinary acupuncturists can include this technique when warranted by the animal’s condition.
Conditions commonly treated with acupuncture While acupuncture is not appropriate for all medical problems, it is used effectively to treat a number of disorders. Acupuncture is primarily used to treat functional problems such as paralysis, pain, and noninfectious inflammations including allergies. This encompasses a host of common canine complaints such as arthritis, spinal disc problems, many musculo-skeletal problems, lick granuloma, asthma, gastrointestinal problems and certain reproductive disorders.
Narda Robinson, DO, DVM, provides acupuncture therapy at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. Dr. Robinson very commonly treats dogs with arthritis and disc disease, but she finds acupuncture important during postoperative recovery of animals as it maximizes the animal’s comfort level, promotes healing, and stimulates the immune system.
Acupuncture is one of the safest animal therapies when administered by a trained veterinarian. Rarely do side effects occur. You should know, however, that some animals may be sleepy or lethargic for 24 hours following a treatment while the condition of others may seem to worsen for up to 48 hours after therapy. These symptoms are indications that physiological changes are occurring and are usually followed by a noticeable improvement in the animal’s condition. The types of changes that you might see in your pet should be explained by the veterinarian at the time of treatment.
Choosing an acupuncturist Whether your pet is the victim of an accident or develops symptoms for no apparent reason, it is essential that you see a veterinarian to have the health of the whole dog evaluated. Signs that you interpret as minor may be indicative of a more serious condition that requires professional diagnosis by a veterinarian. A thorough physical examination and competent diagnosis of your pet’s general health and specific problem are key to successful treatment and recovery.
Therefore, it is imperative that you choose a licensed veterinarian who has had formal training in the field of veterinary acupuncture, such as that offered by the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS), based in Longmont, Colorado.
Dr. Robinson believes that lay acupuncturists pose a serious threat to animal health. Lay practitioners can not provide the option of laboratory tests and certainly not a veterinary diagnosis of the animal’s condition. Cancers and other serious illnesses can be missed, allowing them to progress to untreatable states. At Colorado State University, Dr. Robinson and her colleagues often combine conventional veterinary medicine with acupuncture, herbology, and massage to affect the best course of recovery for each individual animal.
Most states consider acupuncture a surgical procedure and therefore require that a practitioner be a licensed veterinarian to perform acupuncture treatments on animals. You can check the International Veterinary Acupuncturist Directory (303-682-1167) to find acupuncture societies and qualified veterinarian acupuncture practitioners in your state.
Cost-effective treatments As you might imagine, the cost of acupuncture for an animal varies with the type of problem requiring treatment. Acupuncture for a simple problem (including a thorough initial examination) generally costs about $100, with additional visits costing anywhere from $35 to $80, depending on your location (areas with few practitioners and high demand often result in higher fees).
According to Dr. Robinson, treatment for something like severe hip arthritis might require three to four treatments. Sometimes the body becomes so entrenched in patterns that it need more time for the healing process to take place. Even though she frequently sees improvement in an animal’s condition after one treatment, she wants to see continue therapy for three to five sessions and then evaluate the progress. Then acupuncture treatments might be spaced several weeks or even months apart as a maintenance course. Dr. Robinson’s goal is to improve the animal’s quality of life and keep it comfortable while weaning the pet off of treatments.
Acupuncture is not a silver bullet that can mend all ills, but experienced veterinary acupuncturists such as Dr. Robinson say it’s common to see as many as 85 percent of their patients respond favorably. Consider this powerful and safe tool the next time you have an injured or ailing pet.
-By C. Sue Furman
Sue Furman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, CO. She is also active as a free-lance writer and teaches equine and canine massage classes.
Summer is here again, and those eagerly-awaited long, sunny days give us the perfect excuse to catch up on our reading – it’s too hot to train the dog! (Or jog, or clean house, or weed the garden, or…)
Dogs are a hot topic these days (no pun intended) and it seems that every publisher under the sun has a new dog book to promote. We are thrilled by the number of new books we can choose from to help us expand our knowledge and understanding of our canine pals. But it’s important to be selective when choosing which of the many offerings to bring home. Not all training books are created equal; some promote training methods that are ineffective or even downright cruel, especially in the hands of training novices.
Fortunately, there are a number of really outstanding training books out there as well, and we’ve highlighted the best ones below. As our regular readers know, we have a bias when it comes to training methods – we promote the use of positive methods, and condemn the use of punitive methods. So, for this review, our book selection criteria included:
• The author must advocate and give solid instruction in the use of positive training methods
• The book must offer lots of useful information on dog care and training to a wide audience
• The more photos that clearly illustrate the methods, the better
• The book must be enjoyable to read and well-written.
We hope you enjoy our selections. Pull out the lawn chair, a cookie jar for you and one for your dog, and happy reading!
Click here to view The Power of Positive Dog Training
On the next page, we introduce dog owners to the concept of pediatric spay and neuter surgery – performed when a puppy is just six to 14 weeks old. Animal protection professionals regard the procedure as the tool that may finally make a significant dent in the animal overpopulation problem, a cause we wholeheartedly support. Immediately following that article, however, is one that addresses concerns about the procedure that some holistic veterinarians have (“Can I Spay Later?”). Is it more important to take the action that will help the entire canine population, or the one that will be best for your individual dog? We try to help you find a win/win solution.
We’re also proud to bring you a comprehensive article about why – and more importantly, how – to utilize the most amazingly effective training tool to come along since the invention of the dog treat. It’s becoming more and more common to see people using head halters to control their dogs without choke or pinch collars. Unfortunately it’s also fairly common to see the halters misused, or to hear about someone whose dog objected to the halter so mightily that the owner decided the tool was without value. Pat Miller, our lead writer on training issues, shows us how to properly introduce the halters for maximum control (and peaceful, effortless walks!).
We’ve featured Case Histories of many grievously ill dogs who have recovered full health and vitality with the help of homeopathy. Freelance writer Debbie Stover, a newcomer to WDJ’s pages, presents the first part in a two-part series on this mysterious system of medicine. Accepting that the super-diluted homeopathic remedies can actually effect a canine cure may require a “leap of faith” on the part of some skeptical dog owners. All we ask is that you keep an open mind – and keep homeopathy in mind when faced with a condition your vet deems as “incurable.” We’ve had hundreds of dog owners tell us amazing stories about their beloved companion’s recoveries (and their own conversions!).
The Case History is another “raw food saves the day” story. In this case, a sickly Setter is restored to glowing health through food. When he was sick, the rescued dog could hardly bear to be touched; today he’s a therapy dog, being hugged and kissed in convalescent hospitals weekly.
Janet McClay, another writer who is new to WDJ helps us figure out how to safely shave a pound or two (or even 10-20) off our portly pooch. You probably already knew that the answer is diet and exercise . . . but what kind of diet? And how much exercise? See the article to find out.
In the February issue, we reviewed a number of products designed to make it easier to clean up after your dog on walks: poop bags, scoops, and carrying cases! We mentioned that the ability to biodegrade was important to us when choosing a poop bag – which sparked an immediate flurry of mail from readers who suggested that landfill garbage dumps are simply not the best place for dog poo, whether it’s in a biodegradable bag or not. We share our current best thinking on the weighty subject of environmentally friendly dog doo disposal.
Finally, we present the story of a reader who had a bad experience at a vet’s office: where the vet sort of manhandled her growling (but frightened and muzzled) dog. Positive trainer Pat Miller explains how the dog who is afraid of the vet’s office can be – and should be, quickly – trained to feel better about necessary visits to sometimes unpleasant places.
For decades, the standard in the veterinary profession was to spay female dogs and cats at the age of six months, and neuter males at nine months. This standard has contributed significantly to the tragedy of pet overpopulation, since most cats and many dogs have reached physiological sexual maturity by that time. Fortunately, the standard is changing.
Female dogs can come in season (and get pregnant) prior to age six months. A dog’s estrus cycle can be messy, leaving spots of blood on carpets and furniture, and a dog in heat can be a real nuisance. Every unsterilized male dog for miles around will make supercanine efforts to reach her. Packs of eager would-be lovers congregate in the street, fighting among themselves and threatening passers-by.
Having a fence adequate to keeping your female dog confined is not always sufficient to keep amorous suitors out. Determined male dogs have been known to scale tall fences in a single bound, tear boards off of fences with their bare paws, and even crash through plate glass windows to get to the objects of their desire. Even the most careful dog owner can be surprised 63 days later, when Virtuous Violet presents a litter of puppies sired by the athletic Adonis who managed to breach the back yard defenses and claim his prize while family members were all at work or at school.
Male dogs can reach sexual maturity and begin exhibiting unacceptable behaviors such as fighting and uncontrollable leg lifting well before nine months of age. Once Fido has started fighting with other male dogs you have a significant behavior problem on your hands; it can be very difficult, sometimes impossible, to convince him to stop.
Shelter statistics convincing
Twenty-five years ago, when I had just started working in the Customer Service Department at the Marin Humane Society in Novato, California, we sometimes took in as many as four to six litters of puppies on a single summer Saturday. We had nowhere near enough room for that many baby dogs – only a small percentage of them had the good fortune to eventually find homes. On the shelter forms that owners filled out when they gave up an animal was a blank for “Reason For Surrender.” All too often, the reason given was that “Violet got pregnant before we could get her spayed.”
Shelters have been working diligently for decades to solve the problem of pet overpopulation, promoting spay/neuter practices and responsible pet ownership in their communities, and requiring adopters to sign sterilization contracts as part of the adoption process (contracts that are notoriously difficult to enforce).
A 1987 survey conducted by the American Humane Association (AHA) concluded that less than 60 percent of adopted puppies and kittens were spayed or neutered after being adopted. Profoundly disturbed to realize that their own adoption programs were contributing to the overpopulation problem, many shelters redoubled their efforts to encourage compliance with their adoption contracts. A handful of shelters (including the one I worked for) succeeded in attaining compliance rates in the upper 90th percentile by committing significant staff and volunteer time and resources to pre-sterilization of dogs and cats six months and older, follow-up phone calls to adopters of puppies and kittens, citations for violations of local or state laws requiring sterilization of shelter adoptees, and “repossession” programs – the actual impoundment of animals for the purpose of spay/neuter surgery. (Most impounded animals were returned to their owners once the surgery was completed.)
Despite these aggressive programs, a 1993 survey from AHA found that many shelters still hovered in the 50-60 percent compliance range; an unacceptable failure rate of 40-50 percent, for shelters that were collectively euthanizing 10 to 12 million unwanted animals each year.
The surveys revealed, however, that a significant contributor to that high failure rate stemmed from the adoption of puppies and kittens who were too young to be sterilized prior to adoption. For a long time, however, a solution to that problem hovered on the horizon: lowering the accepted age of spay/neuter to seven to eight weeks. Drastic? Perhaps, from the conventional perspective. But the ongoing euthanasia of as many as 18 million companion animals a year called for drastic measures.
A historical perspective
Where did the tradition of six- and nine-month spay/neuters come from anyway? Not from any scientific basis, says Joan Freed, DVM, a free-lance veterinarian in the San Francisco Bay area whose specialty is prepubescent spay/neuter.
“In the 1930s and 1940s when the ages became standardized,” says Dr. Freed, “the spay ‘hook’ (a surgical tool that resembles a crochet hook and enables a veterinarian to more easily snag the elusive uterus) had not yet been invented, and it was difficult to find the uterine horn on a young kitten or puppy. After the first heat the uterus was enlarged and easier to find. Even after the spay hook was invented, tradition continued to dictate the accepted ages of six and nine months for sterilization of females and males, respectively.”
One theory was that if the animals didn’t reach sexual maturity prior to sterilization their growth would be stunted, and they could potentially suffer serious health and developmental problems (such as urinary blockages) due to the lack of hormones. This theory was never scientifically tested. In fact, studies conducted in the early 1990s proved just the opposite. Dr. Freed obtained her veterinary degree from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in 1982, and is a strong advocate of prepubescent sterilization. (Author note: I prefer the terms “pediatric,” “prepubescent” or “juvenile” spay/neuter to “early” spay/neuter, since “early” implies that we are doing it too soon. In fact, it is not “early” spay/neuter, it is “on-time” spay/neuter!) Dr. Freed has worked with animal shelters for almost a decade, beginning at Alachua County Animal Services in Gainesville, Florida in 1990. Her experiences with shelter animals headed for the euthanasia room have fueled her intensity as an advocate for juvenile spay/neuter.
“I’m so gung ho on it, it’s just obnoxious. But it’s so much easier on the animals,” she insists. “The surgery is so much easier.”
Some of the most significant research in the field of spay/neuter ages was conducted by two of her colleagues at the University of Florida, Mark Blomberg, DVM, and Kathy Salmari, DVM. Drs. Blomberg and Salmari conducted two separate studies, one with dogs, one with cats. The kittens and puppies were divided into three groups: those spayed or neutered at age seven weeks, seven months, and a control group that wasn’t sterilized. Results of the studies showed no differences in physiological or behavioral development between those animals sterilized at age seven weeks and those done at seven months. Of special significance was the finding that there was no difference in urethral pressure between any of the groups, implying that juvenile spay/neuter is not a contributing factor to urinary blockages.
There were some measurable physiological differences. The control group (intact) animals tended to weigh less than their sterilized counterparts, confirming conventional wisdom’s insistence that sterilized animals tend to “get fat.” (You can control this effect with relative ease by providing your sterilized dog with more exercise and/or fewer calories.) The growth plates in the legs of the sterilized animals closed later than those of the intact animals due to the absence of sex hormones that, among other things, promote growth plate closure. This means that the sterilized animals actually grow taller than their intact compadres, by an almost imperceptible few millimeters – the exact opposite result of the “stunted growth” fears.
Behavioral differences between neutered and unneutered male dogs are well known. Intact males are far more likely to roam, fight, (and risk injury and exposure to diseases such as parvovirus and distemper, not to mention impoundment by animal control), lift their legs obsessively, and bite than are their neutered brothers. Neutering earlier, rather than later, is likely to forestall unacceptable behaviors that can be extremely difficult to resolve once they are established.
Anecdotal evidence
The concept of prepubescent spay/neuter first came to the attention of much of the animal protection world when Leo L. Lieberman, DVM, published an article promoting the practice in the September, 1987 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Associationm (JAVMA). According to the article, several shelters had been performing juvenile spay/neuter for quite some time.
The SPCA in Medford, Oregon, reportedly sterilized 8,000 puppies and kittens at 6 to 12 weeks of age from 1974 through 1980, without any adverse effects reported by their owners. During this period the shelter documented a 68 percent decrease in euthanasia, from 14,332 animals in 1973, to 9,750 in 1979. The Vancouver, BC SPCA began doing juvenile spay/neuter as early as 1976, and the municipal animal shelter in Memphis, Tennessee, began a similar program in 1987 following the publication of Lieberman’s article.
In February of 1988, Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine Animal Health Newsletter supported Lieberman’s position. Citing the static figures of animal euthanasia in animal shelters, the newsletter’s cover story stated ” . . . it might be well for animal lovers to get behind the trend toward early neutering.” The ball was rolling. Pediatric spay/neuter became a hot topic at national animal protection conferences, and more and more shelters began lowering the age at which they sterilized their adoption animals.
The bandwagon rolls forward
A 1992 study conducted by the Massachusetts SPCA found that while 73 percent and 87 percent, respectively, of all dogs and cats in homes had been neutered, 20 percent of all neutered animals had been allowed to reproduce prior to neutering – a practice that definitely contributes to the overpopulation problem.
In 1992, AHA issued a policy statement in strong support of prepubescent spay/neuter, reassuring shelters that were fence-sitting on the issue. The number of shelters performing sterilization of young kittens and puppies began to steadily increase. That same year, the July-August issue of Pet Veterinarian published the results of a non-scientific survey they had conducted, indicating that 65 percent of their veterinarian readers believed that pediatric neutering was a good idea for animal shelters, and that 40 percent of veterinary readers had themselves performed sterilization surgery on animals 6 to 12 weeks of age. Even private veterinarians were climbing on the pediatric spay/neuter bandwagon.
The January 1993 issue of California Veterinarian focused on “early” spay/neuter, with articles that overwhelmingly supported the practice – including one from the prestigious UC Davis Department of Veterinary Surgery proposing a prepubertal spay/neuter program at the Davis Veterinary School. In 1999, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA ) finally caught the pediatric spay/neuter train, and passed a resolution and issued a public position statement supporting prepubertal spay/neuter.
Best for your dog?
It’s all well and good to agree that pediatric spay/neuter is an important part of the solution to the pet overpopulation problem. It’s something else entirely to look at the bright ball of fur pushing her Buster Cube around your living room, and imagine her sliced open on the surgery table. Isn’t surgery incredibly stressful on such tiny babies?
“There are some concerns that are easily addressed with changes in protocols,” says Dr. Freed. “In general, however, prepubertal surgery is much easier on the animals. They heal much more quickly because they are in a rapid stage of growth. When we neuter a male puppy we can’t even see the incision eight hours later. Kittens and puppies wake up after surgery, bouncing, eating and playing with an abundance of energy, as if nothing even happened. Older animals are still groggy hours after the babies are fully recovered.” (Note: Dogs who are spayed at age six months or later generally have visible or palpable spay scars for the remainder of their lives, so a vet can usually tell if a dog has already been spayed. Many veterinarians now tattoo a tiny dot or letter “S” on a female puppy’s abdomen during surgery since the spay scar will not be visible when she grows up.)
“There are three things to be aware of,” Dr. Freed continues. “Babies can’t regulate their body temperature well, until around the age of four months. Prior to that we must help them maintain their body temperatures or they can become hypothermic. We need to surgically prep and moisten the smallest area possible, and during recovery use a warm water blanket or Thermal BarrierTM heating pad type product designed for animal surgeries.”
The second medical consideration, says Freed, has to do with the overnight fast that veterinarians typically require before surgery. “Kittens and puppies are also at risk for hypoglycemia, so we don’t fast them overnight like we do with adults. They can eat up to an hour before surgery, and again as soon as they are fully awake.”
The third concern is for a young animal’s less-developed immune system being challenged by the stress of surgery. For shelter animals, this is in addition to the considerable stress created by the shelter environment itself.
“I am aware that some other shelter vets have reported problems with disease following surgeries,” says Dr. Freed, “but this has not been my experience. Naturally, we must adhere to common sense sterile surgical procedures. When I neuter two puppies from a litter of five and the neutered puppies break with kennel cough, invariably so do the three puppies who did not undergo surgery. The sterilized puppies seem to have no more difficulty recovering from the URI than do their unsterilized littermates.” Bottom line? “I have spayed and neutered some 7,000 puppies,” Dr. Freed continues, “and not had one serious post-surgical problem. Not one.”
Breeders should neuter early
Pediatric spay/neuter is not just for shelter puppies. It is also the perfect solution for dog breeders, who have previously had no real control over whether their “pet quality” pups were actually sterilized. A responsible breeder requires spaying and neutering in the sales contract when selling a pet puppy, but, like shelter adoption contracts, these are extremely difficult to enforce. By having puppies spayed and neutered before selling them, a breeder can know for certain that none of her dogs’ offspring will contribute to the pet overpopulation tragedy.
There is no question that responsible dog owners will spay and neuter their pets. The only question is “When?”
When arguing for pediatric spay/neuter, Dr. Freed answers that question with a question of her own: “Of course you are going to sterilize – the sooner the better. Why make it any more difficult on your dog?”
-By Pat Miller
Author Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, is WDJ’s Training Editor. She and her husband Paul live in Fairplay, Maryland, site of her Peaceable Paws training center, where Pat offers dog-training classes and courses for trainers.
Whole Dog Journal unabashedly supports the positive efforts of animal protection workers around the country to reduce the euthanasia of unwanted animal companions, including the proactive approach of shelters to spay and neuter dogs at a relatively early age, before they have had a chance to make more puppies.
However, many holistic veterinary practitioners regard prepubescent spay/neuter surgery as potentially harmful to young pups. We’ll describe their concerns — but we’ll also offer some holistic remedies that can counter the potentially deleterious effects of surgery. It is our opinion that a committed, responsible owner who takes scrupulous care of his or her dog can take either path – to seek out early sterilization or to wait a few months before altering the dog – without adding to the dog’s health problems or the world’s dog problem.
Opposed to early surgery
Sandra Priest, DVM, owner of Four Winds Holistic Animal Services in Knoxville, Tennessee, has had a holistic small animal practice for eight years. And she has serious concerns about surgical sterilization for young puppies. She advises her clients to spay and neuter their dogs between the ages of six to 12 months.
“I’m not arguing that animal overpopulation is not a real problem,” says Dr. Priest, “but I have concerns about early spay/neuter on several levels. First, I worry about exposing a puppy’s extremely immature system to anesthesia protocols and pre-anesthetic medications. As they age, the immune system becomes more competent and mature, more able to withstand the rigors of surgery. Second, I believe that the loss of the trophic (beneficial, nourishing) effects of the sex hormones on maturation and development has a significant impact. There are complex feedback loops in the endocrine system that involve the sex hormones. Not only do I believe that the cosmetic effect – the loss of masculine and feminine appearance – is regrettable, I am convinced that there are important benefits in allowing an animal’s systems – the urinary tract for example – to have some maturity before spaying and neutering. Finally, we don’t know the long term effects of early sterilization on a dog’s health and longevity, and we won’t know that for at least 10 or 15 more years.”
True to her holistic philosophies, Dr. Priest refuses to categorically rule out the possibility that a patient might someday be appropriate for early surgery.
“Holistic medicine emphasizes individual treatment plans,” she reminds us. “People who seek holistic care are, for the most part, those who have gone the extra mile and are very responsible. I can’t think of a situation where I would recommend early spay/neuter, but I try not to get locked in to a position – it limits my ability to be flexible. In my practice I have no reason to recommend early spay/neuter, so I don’t.”
And what about animal shelters, who may deal with a clientele somewhat less responsible than hers? After thoughtful consideration, Dr. Priest holds steadfast to her personal and professional ethics.
“As a veterinarian, I took an oath to improve animals’ health,” she replies. “For me to do something I believe to be deleterious to an animal’s health would be ethically incorrect.”
Important hormones Dr. Ihor Basko, of All Creatures Great and Small Veterinary Services in Kapaa, Hawaii, shares Dr. Priest’s concerns about the effects of prepubescent sterilization for puppies. “For my clients, I do not believe in this procedure at an early age,” he says. “I love my clients’ animals like my own, and I would never recommend this for their cat or dog, or even a bunny. The animals are still growing, and their hormones have not yet developed because their sexual organs start to develop at a later age.”
Biochemically speaking, Dr. Basko tells us, “hormones work together in the body. Not just in the sexual organs, but also in the brain, adrenal glands and fat cells. Hormones help the body grow and develop, metabolize food, especially fat and protein, stimulate bone growth, support hair and skin integrity, affect body shape and size, behavior, and a lot more.”
He disputes those who quote research that indicates nothing bad happens to animals sterilized at an early age. “I am not the only veterinarian who thinks this way. Most, if not all veterinarians who have been in practice over 20 years, will agree from experience – in the patients we have seen – that dogs spayed early were more prone to obesity, hypothyroidism, incontinence, skin and behavioral problems. Males castrated early were more prone to obesity, hypothyroidism, perianal hernias, early back pain, knee injuries and skin problems. Not only is this detrimental to the animal’s health, but it is also costly to the owner who must pay to treat these ailments.”
Dr. Basko’s observations are shared by other holistic practitioners, however, these negative effects have not been observed in scientific studies. Several studies have failed to find any significant differences in animals sterilized at an early age (such as seven weeks) and animals that were sterilized later (at seven months, for instance). Critics of the pediatric procedure argue that it’s possible that not enough long-term studies have been conducted to prove there are no long-term effects of early surgery.
Herbal help If and when a practitioner feels that a lack of hormones has caused a health problem in a dog, there are a number of herbal remedies that can help. According to CJ Puotinen, author of The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care (Keats, 1998), in healthy spayed animals, the adrenal glands and the liver take over the ovaries’ biological function by producing small amounts of estrogen. Puotinen says that a natural diet and the use of herbs and supplements that support the adrenal gland, the liver, and overall hormone balance can be used instead of artificial hormone replacement therapy, with better effects. Tinctures made from fresh hops, for instance, can be used for female hormone regulation. Chasteberry or vitex (Vitex agnus castus) stimulates the pituitary gland, which helps (among other functions) regulates and normalizes hormone production in the female. Powdered dong quai (Angelica sinensis), fed in capsules, also can help regulate hormone production through its action on the liver and endocrine system.
A well-balanced, natural raw diet, says Puotinen, will prevent common problems in your sterilized pet. She suggests feeding a good multiple vitamin and comprehensive mineral and trace element supplement, in addition to a glandular/organ supplement, to provide the building blocks of natural hormones that the dog needs.
Traditional Chinese angle Dr. Basko also explains how, from the standpoint of traditional Chinese medicine, early spay/neuter causes a disturbance in the chi (also spelled qi), the essential life energy that flows through the body.
“The ‘essence’ – mine, yours, our pets’ – is stored in the Kidney Meridian and connecting meridians, including those that govern the sex organs. The essence is your ‘fire’ for life, and it’s the energy that nourishes the body. This energy is classified as yang, and the yang energy comes from the cosmos, the planets, the stars and the sun. Kidney yang is the energy that is created by the development of the kidneys, the sexual organs and the adrenal glands. This is the driving force that regulates growth, replication, passion or emotion.” Dr. Basko feels that performing surgery and removing parts of the dog’s reproductive system at an early age alters and reduces the normal Kidney yang radically.
Cheryl Schwartz, another veterinarian with years of study and practice of Traditional Chinese medicine on animals, is also strongly opposed to the practice of pediatric sterilization surgery. Dr. Schwartz feels that routine spaying and neutering dogs is a necessity for population control, as well as a procedure that improves the lives of the individuals by reducing aggression between males, and preventing the heavy toll that pregnancy takes on a female. However, she feels that the pediatric surgery is harmful.
“I’m seeing problems with adult dogs in my practice that were sterilized as very young puppies – especially dogs that lack control over their urination and dogs with chronic upper respiratory infections. I’m afraid we might get the population under control, but be left with a population of chronically ill animals.”
Even surgery performed on older animals can take a toll, says Schwartz. In her book Four Paws, Five Directions: A Guide to Chinese Medicine for Dogs and Cats (1996, Celestial Arts), Dr. Schwartz describes home care that can help counter these effects, typically what she would term “stagnation of the circulation” or a disruption in the liver blood stores.
After spay or neuter surgery, she says, if a dog acts fatigued or lethargic after surgery (and a veterinary examination rules out any obvious cause), or becomes disobedient and willful in the weeks after surgery, Dr. Schwartz would suspect that the animal’s liver and his or her “liver qi” is stagnated from the surgery. She suggests that such a dog is treated with a lot of exercise to smooth out the qi flow.
In addition, Dr. Schwartz recommends nourishing the blood and the qi with tonifying and blood-building foods. Proteins such as small amounts of beef, lamb, or chicken liver may be helpful, as well as lean muscle meat from beef, rabbit, or the white meat of chicken. Digestive enzymes can be used to help the liver digest fats. And grains such as wheat, millet, and brown rice, and vegetables such as carrots, celery, broccoli, spinach, and chard can be added to the diet to help build the blood. Finally, Dr. Schwartz says, dry foods should be minimized until the condition improves, since the condition is already what she terms a “dry” condition.
Sometimes necessary Given the dark picture that Dr. Basko paints of prepubescent sterilization, it’s surprising to find that there are, in fact, times when he would recommend it. Those times coincide with a lot of the circumstances that shelter workers encounter on a daily basis.
“Without any reservations, I would always recommend this early sterilization to any animal owner who is a ‘jerk’ – the ones who keep letting their animals have litter after litter, then drown the puppies in the lake. Or they let their puppies run around in the street, dump them at Safeway – you get the picture. These people are the primary culprits in the overpopulation of cats and dogs.
“The benefits of early spay/neuter are that the ‘unconscious’ or lazy or non-caring animal owners will not have the opportunity to ‘forget’ to spay or neuter, and this will prevent the births of a lot more animals that would be subject to abuse, malnutrition, neglect, pain and torture,” says Basko. “Spaying and neutering animals young is the politically and environmentally correct way to go – there is no doubt about it. Later, when more and more people become more responsible pet owners, then maybe things can change.”
This said, Dr. Basko adds that this rarely comes up among his own clientele. “In general, the people who come to seek my advice and pay for it – the people who are interested in holistic medicine and take care of their pets – are capable of keeping their animals from reproducing” until their animals are old enough to be sterilized. “Most of my clients are well above average in terms of animal care.”
These motivated, educated people are also the sort who might provide the best home for a sterilized young animal from a shelter.
Ten years ago, a new dog training tool hit the market. Known generically as the head halter (or head collar), it is a device similar to the halter commonly used on horses. It provides a greatly increased degree of control over the dog who is dedicated to pulling on the collar and leash, without the punishment or pain factors associated with choke chains and prong collars.
The head halter has a strap that goes around the dog’s nose, and another that clasps around his neck, just behind the ears. The leash attaches to a ring below the dog’s chin. Just like with halters on horses, bulls and other large animals, it works on the principle that where the nose goes, the body must follow. Rather than pulling against the dog’s whole weight on a collar that rests just above his powerful shoulders, we simply put gentle pressure on the halter to turn the dog’s head toward us. Almost like magic, the rest of the dog follows. It seemed like the answer to our leash-walking prayers.
The new tool was welcomed with open arms by many trainers. Indeed, some trainers started issuing halters to every canine student, and the first-night-of-class ritual was amended to include head collar fitting, just as many compulsion-based classes begin with choke chain or prong collar fitting.
Even from the beginning, however, some professionals were more cautious in their embrace of the new invention. The halter had a place in the positive trainer’s toolbox, they conceded, but with a relatively limited application. Predictably, now that positive trainers have had a decade to gain practical experience with the collar, it is becoming clear that the more conservative trainers were right. The head halter is the perfect tool for the right applications, but it is not the easy answer to every dog’s leash-walking needs. In fact for some dogs, rather than being a positive experience, wearing the head collar can be downright aversive. Here’s a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of head halters.
The good
All of the positive things we initially loved about head halters are still true, to a degree. Because it doesn’t take great strength to use them, they can facilitate the control of a large or unmanageable dog, especially by children, seniors, and people with physical disabilities. When used properly, the head collar does not depend on the infliction of pain to bring the dog under control. And for some dogs, the head halter has a wonderfully calming effect within moments of being placed on the dog’s head. In the right circumstances, the collar can be a lifesaver. Dogs who might otherwise end up at animal shelters can be walked and enjoyed by their previously frustrated owners.
The halter is particularly appropriate for restraining and retraining dogs with aggression problems, especially dogs who lunge at people or other dogs. The halter provides the positive, non-punitive control that is vital for modifying aggressive behavior – when we want to change the dog’s perception of a stimulus from negative to positive.
With a dog-aggressive dog, for example, if you jerk on a choke chain when your dog barks or growls at another dog, you inadvertently inflict pain, increase his stress, and reinforce his belief that having other dogs around is a bad thing. A head halter can gently restrain or turn him away from the negative stimulus (the other dog) so he can be rewarded for good behavior (turning away). If we can make good things happen in the presence of other dogs, we can eventually convince him that having other dogs around is a good thing too. The head halter is exceedingly effective at this.
When used properly, to elicit non-pulling behavior so that loose-leash walking behavior can be rewarded, the head collar can be an effective tool for teaching a determined puller not to pull on the leash. “Properly” means that the dog is frequently rewarded with tasty treats and other positive reinforcement (toys, petting and praise, for dogs that enjoy this) whenever the leash is loose, until he realizes that it is more rewarding to walk near his handler without pulling than it is to constantly strain at the end of the leash. Simply relying on the head collar to control the dog, without rewarding the dog for loose-leash walking, is not proper use of the collar.
The bad
Trainers on the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) e-mail list recently compared notes about head halter experiences. While most of the trainers used them on occasion and felt there were appropriate applications for head halters, they also agreed that the tool could be misused. Here are some of their concerns:
• Some dogs hate them. Trainers who are familiar with behavior science understand that anything the dog doesn’t like is an aversive. Just because we like the halter (or petting, or praise, or treats) doesn’t mean the dog does. If a dog reacts violently to the halter, it may mean that you didn’t take the time to properly acclimate him to it. If you start over and work with him more slowly you may succeed in getting him to accept it.
However, while most dogs can eventually be conditioned to accept the halter, it may take more time and energy than it is worth, and some never do accept it. If the dog continues to fight, or acts very bothered or depressed when the halter is on, then it is very much an aversive for him, and not a positive training tool at all. Put it away and find a different positive tool for that dog.
• Head halters can come off. Some brands are more prone to this than others (see sidebar, below). This is disconcerting enough when you are using the halter for a simple pulling problem, but it is a disaster if you’re dealing with aggression. Imagine having your collar pop off your dog as he lunges for a child walking by.
Many trainers now recommend using two leashes (or a “European” leash, with snaps on both ends); one attached to the halter and one to the regular collar, to guard against this. For some owners who already have difficulty handling one leash, this may be too much of a challenge.
• The halter can be difficult to put on. Especially with a very active dog (the kind who is most likely to need a halter), it can sometimes take two people – one to lure the nose into the loop with a treat, the other to snap or buckle the collar behind the dog’s ears. Many seniors, children and others who could otherwise benefit from the collar’s good points are physically unable to manage the complexity of the process. It helps to properly condition the dog to the haltering procedure, but sometimes it doesn’t help enough.
• The halter looks like a muzzle. As the general public has more exposure to head halters this misconception is diminishing, but it is still a negative for many dog owners that their canine pal is perceived as wearing a muzzle.
• Halter straps can rub. If the halter is not fitted well or the dog has sensitive skin, nylon straps can rub the skin raw. This can often be mitigated by gluing moleskin on the insides of the straps.
• It’s an extra piece of equipment. One of the beautiful things about positive reinforcement training is that the dog wears his regular “clothes” during training. It doesn’t require any special equipment. When we add a special collar, we run the risk of teaching the dog that he must behave when the halter is on, but not when it is off. Compulsion trainers frequently encounter this phenomenon with the choke chain; the dog is great when the chain is on, but does whatever he wants when it is removed.
• Some dogs are hard to fit. Although some of head halter companies produce their halters in a variety of size and shapes, some dogs, especially those with flat faces like Boxers and Boston Terriers, can be very difficult to fit properly. The nose strap tends to rest against the eyes, which most dogs understandably find very irritating.
The ugly
By far the most valid concern, and the one that is hardest to resolve, is that the halter, if misused, may cause damage to the spine. One of the complaints about choke chains is their very real potential for causing serious damage to a dog’s trachea, even when it is used properly. If the head halter is used properly the chance of injury is so low as to be nonexistent, but if an owner jerks on the head halter or allows the dog to hit the end of the leash at full charge, the halter can snap the dog’s head sideways, risking damage to the spine.
While we could find no documentation of any such injuries, the rumors exist, and we can certainly see the potential. This was one of the reasons that the Gentle Leader was originally distributed only through trainers and veterinarians, not pet stores. However, Premier Pet Products, the distributor of the Gentle Leader, recently announced their decision to offer the product through pet stores as well, and the Halti has always been sold through regular commercial pet retail outlets.
Ultimately, any training tool can be misused. We still applaud the head halter as a positive training tool, as do most of the APDT trainers who participated in the on-line head halter discussion. We also suggest that trainers and owners familiarize themselves with all of the possible negatives that accompany the halter, and make careful, educated decisions about its use.
In the late 1700s, a German physician named Samuel Hahnemann discovered that China, a precursor for the quinine that was being used to treat malaria, actually caused symptoms of malaria when administered to a healthy person. Hahnemann made this discovery while translating a medical text on various drugs. He suspected that the source of China’s curative power had been misunderstood and he decided to give himself small doses of the substance to test his theory.
Hahnemann discovered that small doses of China produced in his healthy body malaria-like symptoms that abated after two or three hours. In thus observing that a drug will cause in a healthy person the same symptoms it cures in a sick one, Hahnemann gained the key insight that drugs cure diseases to which they bear marked similarities. Hahnemann called this new principle Similia similibus curentur – “Let likes be cured with likes,” or, more simply, “Like cures like.” Homeopathic physicians refer to this as the Law of Similars.
Hahnemann eventually tested this principle with about 100 different substances. The tests, called provings, consistently bore out the truth of his theory. Today there are 1,350 recognized homeopathic medicines or remedies, as they are commonly called.
How it works
The term homeopathy, which means “similar suffering,” points to the key difference between this system of healing and allopathy (“opposite suffering”) – what we think of as conventional Western medicine. Allopathy seeks to eliminate health problems by overpowering and negating them. Thus, infections are treated with antibiotics, allergies with antihistamines, and so forth.
But instead of trying to thwart the expression of disease the body is experiencing, homeopathy seeks to assist the body in working out the illness. “Homeopathy’s beauty,” writes Dr. Richard Pitcairn, one of the earliest proponents of veterinary homeopathy in this country, “is that the treatment provided goes with rather than against the body’s own efforts to regain health.”
And while Western medicine treats each symptom separately, homeopathy looks at the whole picture – at the individual as a whole being. “Do not say that the patient is sick because he has a white swelling,” wrote James Tyler Kent, one of the giants of homeopathy, “but that the white swelling is there because the patient is sick.”
A Western veterinarian, faced with a dog with three separate symptoms, will typically prescribe two or three drugs. A homeopath will say, “This dog has one illness being manifested in these three ways; now let us find the one homeopathic remedy that will help the dog make himself well.”
Symptoms are not the disease
If Western medicine succeeds in eliminating the symptoms, the patient is said to be cured. Homeopathy, by contrast, says that symptoms simply represent the disease, or, more precisely, the body’s effort to rid itself of the disease. Eliminating the symptoms alone will not eliminate the disease.
Since homeopathy views each individual as unique, a veterinary homeopath will look for what sets your dog apart from others with similar symptoms. The physician will then know how to treat your dog, not just to alleviate his symptoms, but to restore the health of the whole animal.
Homeopathy draws a clear distinction between acute and chronic disease. Acute disease, says veterinary homeopath and educator Christina Chambreau, DVM, is disease “that ends in either death or recovery.” Acute diseases can range from an upset stomach caused by a raid on the garbage to parvovirus. Chronic disease, Chambreau says, is “any disease that the vital force is not able to eliminate by itself.” Skin problems are classic cases of chronic disease. Minor acute illnesses can often be treated at home. Chronic problems always require the assistance of a trained homeopath.
Another central tenet of homeopathy is that disease moves, from less vital to more vital organs. Untreated or suppressed skin problems, for instance, can reliably be expected to migrate inward, to the liver, for example, or the kidneys, or eventually the brain. Homeopaths believe conventional veterinary medicine actually endangers the health of our animals through its many treatments that suppress signs of illness; the classic example is the administration of immuno-suppressive corticosteroids that make an itchy, allergic dog stop scratching himself. The corticosteroids don’t actually get rid of the allergy, just the dog’s response.
What does all this mean for you and your dog? First, that for non-life-threatening, acute illnesses – bumps and bruises and the like – homeopathy offers a safe, effective means of treatment at home. Second, for chronic illnesses, homeopathy can often cure the problem and will not drive it into the body. Third, according to homeopaths, chronic, nagging problems like skin disorders may well be suggestive of deep-seated illness that needs to be addressed.
Homeopathy and “vital force”
Sounds great so far, right? But here’s where we start to lose people. Because unlike conventional drugs, homeopathic remedies work at the level of energy, not matter. Hahnemann discovered that substances given in unaltered form were often too harsh, so he experimented with diluting and agitating them. He found that the more the substances were diluted and agitated, the more powerful they became.
This apparent paradox goes to the heart of homeopathy. Homeopaths believe each individual has an enlivening, animating force, called the vital force. Illnesses signify a disruption – a “dis-ease” – in this vital force. The theory goes that homeopathy helps the vital force reestablish itself. “It works in the same direction as the vital force and not against it,” writes human homeopath George Vithoulkas.
“The goal of homeopathic treatment is to touch disease at its deepest level, that of the vital force, thereby [causing] change in the fundamental health of the sick individual,” explains homeopathic veterinarian Don Hamilton in his recent book, Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs: Small Doses for Small Animals. Homeopathic remedies are produced by a method of dilution and succussion called potentization. The process begins by taking one part of the material substance – which can be anything from tree barks to snake venoms, metals; practically anything on earth – and diluting it in alcohol.
Not a “dose-response” relationship
There are two types of potencies, or strengths: decimal potencies, in which the initial solution consists of one part substance to nine parts alcohol (“1X”), and centesimal potencies, which have one part substance to 99 parts alcohol (“1C”). The beginning solution is shaken vigorously (succussed). One part of the resulting dilution can be diluted and succussed again; the result this time is 2X or 2C. The process can be repeated any number of times.
This is where credulity is often strained among those new to homeopathy, as it certainly is among conventional medical practitioners. How can there be any healing matter left in something that’s been diluted so many times? First, homeopaths would explain that though none of the original substance is present in the remedy, what remains is the energy from the original substance, an energy that’s been enhanced rather than diminished by the process of potentization. The practical demonstration of this truth lies in the fact that high-potency remedies are available only by prescription.
The fact that no material part of the original substance remains violates one of the most widely known principles of modern pharmacology, the “dose-response relationship,” which predicts that the larger the dose, the more pronounced the response to it will be. But, according to Dr. Pitcairn, “The dose-response relationship doesn’t explain all drug interactions. There are substances that have very different and sometimes opposite effects when given to patients in various dosages; when you understand that, homeopathy becomes easier to understand.”
Pitcairn explains a lesser-known principle, something called “Arndtz Law,” which describes a phenomenon whereby weak stimuli excites a strong physiological response and very strong stimuli arrests it. “In homeopathy, this principle has far more importance than it would in conventional pharmacology, where they look for what they call ‘the therapeutic dose,’ the largest (beneficial) dose the body can tolerate.”
Taking the gentle way
“The highest ideal of cure,” Hahnemann said, “is the rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of health, or removal and annihilation of the disease in its whole extent, in the shortest, most reliable, and most harmless way . . .” In fact, gentleness is a central aspect of homeopathy. Homeopathic remedies can even be given to very weak or young animals.
“The goal of treatment,” explains homeopathic veterinarian Christine Crosley, “is to increase the overall well-being of the animal.” Sometimes a single remedy, administered once, will effect a cure. Partial cures – where a remedy improves some but not all of the symptoms – can also occur. A second remedy can then be chosen to continue the cure.
Suppressions, by contrast, are dangerous, since they knock out the apparent symptoms but drive the disease into more vital areas of the body. Strong (not homeopathic) drugs and surgery are the most common causes of suppression, Hamilton says.
Today’s homeopathic veterinarians say, generally, that any type of disease can be cured with homeopathy, so long as it’s possible to assess the patient’s condition correctly and determine the proper remedy. It’s very difficult, though, to achieve cure once critical pathological damage to organs has taken place. It can also be difficult and time-consuming to cure conditions that have been complicated by years of intensive conventional treatment.
Your dog’s first visit
A homeopathic veterinarian will ask unusual questions, and lots of them. Remember, he or she is looking for what makes your dog’s condition unique. The more information you can provide, the better.
What is your dog’s personality? Is he sensitive to noises or changes in the weather? Are his symptoms different at different times of the day or year? Is one side of his body worse than the other? With his physical complaints, what makes them better or worse? Does he seek heat or cold to relieve his pain? Does he feel better when still or when moving around? Does he prefer to be comforted or to be left alone? All of these signs will be taken into account by the practitioner when choosing a remedy.
If your dog has a stomach complaint, you’ll need to describe it in detail. Not just that he has diarrhea, but what is the color and consistency? Is it accompanied with gas? If he’s been vomiting, when? What does it look like? How much does he drink – a little or a lot? If he gets cut (for instance, when you clip his nails), is there much bleeding? You’ll need to describe any skin problems he’s had, including tumors, warts, odors, even dandruff. Your veterinarian will also want to know, if your dog has been treated conventionally for this problem, what his symptoms were like before that treatment began.
When your veterinarian has finished asking questions, she’ll synthesize the information and look in a large set of books (or, possibly, a computer program) called a homeopathic repertory to see which of the hundreds of remedies best fits your dog. The repertory, which is simply an exhaustive listing of symptoms (“rubrics”) by category, will name many remedies that may fit the general picture of your dog’s illness.
Each of the remedies has its own description. These are found in the homeopathic Materia Medica (Latin for “materials of medicine”). This multi-volume work is a listing of all the homeopathic remedies and detailed descriptions of the symptoms they have induced in provings on healthy individuals. This tells the homeopath what symptoms they will cure in a sick one.
Search for the simillimum
All of your dog’s symptoms don’t have to fit the remedy that’s chosen, but most of them should. This is where the veterinary homeopath will attempt to match your dog’s symptoms and condition (the “symptom picture”) to those of a particular remedy (the “remedy picture”). The remedy that perfectly matches your dog’s symptoms is called the simillimum.
A couple of things will help narrow down the search. First, some symptoms have characteristics, or keynotes, that point directly to a specific remedy or group of remedies. Second, your veterinarian will look for characteristic symptoms – symptoms that set your dog apart from others with the same complaint. “Strange, rare, and peculiar symptoms” are even more telling; these are symptoms that are peculiar in the situation – for example, a dog with a chill who throws off a blanket, or a feverish dog who lies in the sun and refuses to drink.
Clearly, then, your role as guardian is tremendously important in securing proper homeopathic treatment for your dog. The dogs that are the best candidates for cures, says Crosley, are those who are cared for by people who are very observant, can be specific about their dog’s behavior and patient with the healing process, and will provide good supportive care.
“They need to be involved, they need to see details, they need to be able to talk about how the animal is different sick versus well,” Crosley says. “I can’t ask the animal, because the animal can’t tell me.”
Watching your dog heal
Just as disease proceeds along certain paths, so does cure. It has long been observed that homeopathic cures proceed in several predictable ways: first, from the inside out (internal problems heal before external ones do); second, from top to bottom, with the head healing first; and third, from most important to least important organs. Finally, symptoms tend to be cured in the reverse order from which they appeared (newer symptoms go away before older ones do). A corollary is that symptoms that have been suppressed in the past will often reappear during the process of cure.
Why is this principle of cure important? First, it gives you an easy way to track your dog’s recovery. Second, without this understanding it’s easy to misinterpret your dog’s symptoms as a negative response to homeopathic treatment. If he’s being treated for an internal ailment and suddenly develops a rash, you need to understand this as a positive development. If instead you apply a salve to make the rash go away, homeopaths believe, you will simply drive the disease back into his body.
Once your veterinarian has decided which remedy to prescribe, the second part begins. Again, much will seem unfamiliar. In classical homeopathy, only one remedy is administered at a time. Your dog may receive one dose of this remedy or several, but generally, the number of doses is far fewer than those what you would expect with a conventional drug. Be sure to follow your vet’s administration instructions exactly.
You will then be called upon to observe your dog – again, not just in general terms (“Is he getting better?”), but specifically and in detail. If he was fearful before, is he less so now? Is he eating more or less? Has the discharge from his ear changed? and so forth. It will help the doctor if you keep notes, including dates and times, when you make specific observations. Above all, don’t administer any medicines or undertake any other treatment – even other holistic treatments like herbs or acupuncture – without first consulting your homeopathic veterinarian. Since homeopathy works by nudging the vital force in the right direction and then seeing how it responds, it is crucial not to introduce anything that would interfere with the picture.
Most homeopathic veterinarians have worked with clients who didn’t understand how crucial this is. “People are not used to working with a health care provider who’s interactive,” says Karen Komisar, DVM, president of the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy. “Your homeopathic physician wants to be kept abreast of everything that’s going on with your dog.”
By noting the changes the initial remedy brings about, your vet will decide what to do next. The first remedy may spark changes that will call for a second to be administered after a time. But homeopathic healing is deep healing and does not happen overnight. One key guideline is that the timeframe for onset of the disease is usually mirrored in the timeframe for recovery.
The healing crisis
Two things may happen during treatment that could throw you off guard. The first is a healing crisis or aggravation – a temporary worsening of symptoms. Healing crises often take place during treatment of chronic conditions, but paradoxically, the animal may actually appear to feel better generally even though his symptoms seem worse. If your dog gets worse during the course of treatment, call your veterinarian.
Another possibility is the appearance or reappearance of outer illnesses such as skin problems. A dog with kidney or liver disease may have an outbreak of skin rash as the internal disease heals – especially if the internal disease was created by conventional treatment of a skin problem that pushed the illness inside. This means that Hering’s Law of Cure is in motion, and is a very good sign, though it may not seem like it at the time!
With skin problems especially, great patience is required to achieve a cure. As Hamilton explains carefully in his book, the skin represents a fairly safe way for the body to express illness. It’s a large organ, so there’s lots to work with, and it’s also fairly non-critical compared to the liver, kidneys, heart, and brain. As a result, lots of disease shows up in the skin. But if the disease is suppressed there, it will inevitably make its way elsewhere and attack a more vital region of the body.
That’s why it’s crucial to wait it out, to give homeopathy a chance to work.
Next month: Finding a qualified homeopathic practitioner (we suggest only veterinarians trained as homeopaths), and what you can and can’t treat safely at home.
-By Debbie Stover
Debbie Stover is a freelance writer from St. Loius, Missouri. This is her first contribution to WDJ.
When Deanna Cuchiaro of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, set out to adopt an Irish Setter, she had no idea the rescue would change her entire perspective on animal health care.
Cuchiaro already had one Irish Setter, Brandy, who had recently turned 10, and she wanted to get another so that Brandy could help pass his positive influence around the house to the newcomer. She considered getting a puppy, but decided to adopt a rescue dog from the Irish Setter Club of Central Connecticut rescue program. She met representatives of the rescue group at a local Irish Setter show who told her there was a large two-year-old male Setter available for adoption.
“I said, ‘Fine, we’ll take him’,” says Cuchiaro. That was February 1998.
Like many rescue dogs, this big-boned Setter was anything but a picture of health. He was infested with whipworms, his ears were infected, his anal glands bothered him, he had diarrhea and he threw up every time he ate. He licked and chewed himself nonstop, especially his paws, which were sore and raw from all the irritation.
His poor health was actually the reason he was available for adoption – again. He was previously adopted by a family who kept him for six months, but returned him to the shelter. The Irish Setter Club rescue program acquired the dog from the shelter.
“When we got him, he was 72 pounds,” says Cuchiaro, which is underweight for his frame – 29 inches at the shoulder.
Trying the traditional route
Cuchiaro didn’t blink an eye at the dog’s ill health; she simply took him to her regular allopathic veterinarian for treatment, with full faith that modern medicine would fix the dog up in a jiffy. She also renamed the dog “Rocky” after the top-winning dog at the prestigious Westminster dog show in New York. “I figured my dog is just as good as that Rocky,” says Cuchiaro. The veterinarian determined Rocky was allergic “to just about everything.” Cuchiaro didn’t have allergy tests performed, but over time, by food elimination, she figured out that the dog was allergic to corn, wheat, soy and beef. The vet prescribed prednisone, antibiotics and recommended a diet change.
For the next few months following Rock’s adoption, Cuchiaro worked at getting the big dog well. The veterinarian tried a variety of medications, and Cuchiaro tried several dog foods, including Iams, Eukanuba, Nutro’s Lamb and Rice, Innova, and Solid Gold. She also switched vets. “For six months, I remember him throwing up and having diarrhea,” says Cuchiaro. “I’d switch foods and wouldn’t see a change. It just wasn’t working.”
By October of that year, Cuchiaro was frustrated. Rocky was still throwing up, but “he was gaining weight, so we knew there was some hope,” she says.
A new avenue
At this point, Cuchiaro began looking on the Internet for information, and learned about feeding raw diets. She also learned about holistic oriented veterinarians. That’s when she made an appointment with Charles T. Schenck, DVM, a holistic practitioner with the Edgebrook Animal Hospital in East Brunswick, New Jersey.
The first visit was fateful. Dr. Schenck confirmed Rock’s allergy diagnosis. And, says Cuchiaro, “He told me not to give my dog dog food ever again.”
Cuchiaro took the leap of faith. She went home, collected all the dog food she had, and donated it to her local animal shelter.
She learned from Dr. Schenck that treating allergies usually begins with a diet trial – preferably featuring foods that the dog hasn’t eaten before – and keeping a food diary, recording every ingredient in the dog’s food as well as every single sign of good or poor health he displays. Changing from one pet food to another won’t generally work because many foods contain similar ingredients, and it’s hard to know exactly what’s in commercially prepared diets. Dietary restriction is the only way to truly determine what food(s) the dog is allergic to. Theoretically, once the offending agent is pinpointed, you can avoid feeding it to the dog.
Cuchiaro began feeding both of her Irish Setters, young Rocky and senior citizen Brandy, a diet of juiced raw vegetables and raw chicken. She followed the plan outlined in the book, Give Your Dog A Bone by Ian Billinghurst, B.V.Sc. “When that book arrived, I read it from cover to cover, I didn’t put it down and I don’t think I ever looked back,” says Cuchiaro.
Diet does it
Within a few months, Cuchiaro says she noticed that Rocky wasn’t having any more trouble with his anal glands. And Brandy, who was a senior dog, seemed more alert. In six months, Rock’s persistent ear problems were gone, with no treatment other than a raw diet and regular ear cleaning. Additionally, the dogs’ coats changed from a cottony, orange-red, to red, long and silky. “People who saw us couldn’t believe that amount of hair these dog’s had grown, and they act like puppies again,” says Cuchiaro.
With Rocky feeling and looking so well, Cuchiaro enrolled him in obedience classes. He graduated in August 1999 and went on to pass the American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen test and pass the therapy dog test for the New Jersey Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs.
Rocky is now a sought-after therapy dog, and he and Cuchiaro regularly visit nursing homes and hospitals. “So, Rocky, who was once in a shelter, is now able to give his all and volunteer his time for others that are in need,” says Cuchiaro.
“There is no way that Rocky could have ever achieved these goals without this type of diet,” Cuchiaro asserts firmly. “It is a miracle. Before, you could never touch Rocky’s ears without a cry, or his feet without a growl, let alone allow an elderly person run into him with their walker. Now he plays like a puppy and jumps so high that the people in the nursing home call him ‘the kangaroo’.”
-By Virginia Parker Guidry
Virginia Parker Guidry is a freelance writer from San Diego, CA.
I took my two dogs—Woody, age 9, and Boone, age 3—to see their vet a week ago. I wasn’t looking forward to being chided for allowing him—nay, facilitating him—to gain a few extra pounds this winter. But I wasn’t at all expecting the health problems that my vet found.
