Whatever the problem, unless the condition is one that demands euthanasia because of the suffering of the animal, there is
ALWAYS a CHOICE of TREATMENT
After
trying antibiotics and the occasional prednisone, an acquaintance of mine was
referred to a skin specialist to sort out her 11-year old dog’s eczema. The specialist
said her dog’s condition was a result of her age and a compromised immune
system. It was no surprise that the prescription was three months of
antibiotics, prednisone and a special old-dog dried biscuit formula.
The owner was very uncomfortable with
this from her own experience with the same drugs and came to see me. If there
is a way of speeding up the process of ageing, antibiotics and steroids will
sure help! We changed her diet to real food, chose some immune-supportive
Ayurvedic herbs, stopped the chemical flea control and vaccinations, and now we
have a lively good-natured little Westie who no longer bites, scratches, licks
and snaps.
Let us consider a few chronic
conditions where long-term drug use or surgery is considered ‘the norm’.
ARTHRITIS – An alarming number of dogs have been
diagnosed as ‘arthritic’ only for our chiropractor to find it is essentially a
spinal problem, and the arthritic ‘changes’ are as a direct result; chiropractic
can provide positive gains in the treatment of degenerative spinal disease. Always look at body alignment if your
animal has problems with luxating patellas and cruciates. Breeders of dogs with
these problems should consider looking at the whole dog’s structure, not just
focusing on the apparent problem. A four-year old Golden Retriever was brought
in with lameness and non-weight-bearing in the left fore limb. The onset was
sudden nearly two years ago, and since then the limb had been examined and
X-rayed many times, to no avail. Our chiropractor found a pinched nerve proved
to be the problem and, with some support medication from our dispensary, the
dog was weight-bearing by the time she left the Centre an hour and half later!
GROWTHS,
BUMPS & LUMPS – A large elderly dog was treated recently for lipomas(fatty non-malignant growths). He was unusually agile for his age, but when
he was a puppy he had been run over by a truck twice with no apparent injuries!
Touching the dog was like handling a rock – he was that firm. I considered he
had spent all of these years ‘holding in’ his old injuries, and now the memory
of them was just bursting out in the form of the huge growths along his sides.
I gave him a combination of homeopathics for the memories in his tissues,
muscles, joints, ligaments and Calc carb with some tissue salts
for his nutritional requirements that had been impaired as a youngster due to
his untreated injuries. Hardly an orthodox medical rationale, but that dog’s
lipomas are fast disappearing!
I
have included the flower essences in many cases of lipomas where I
suspect a strong emotional element is involved.
Always have growths and changes in patterns of growths
checked by your vet.
I have
reservations about biopsies and needle aspirates, as this intrusion may not be
welcomed by the body; however, there are times when they are invaluable. A sad
case of a German Shepherd bitch who had a large tumour removed from her neck
four months ago and it was not sent for analysis. When more appeared on her
neck, the owner was told they were infected hair follicles. Unfortunately when
she came into the Centre for treatment, I was alarmed at the rapidity of
growths and referred on for a second veterinary opinion. The dog had to be put
to asleep because of the aggressive nature and pain of the mast-cell tumours.
Growths
are signals that the body is not in harmony, so forget the old adage ‘when in
doubt, cut it out’. Stop and look at the whole picture. If you
notice a change in personality, habits, appetite, thirst, bowel or coat, take
note and observe more closely. Unfortunately many dogs have already had
operations to remove growths, thus adding to the overall unwellness of the dog
through repeated anaesthetics.
EPILEPSY – is distressing for both owner and animal.
An owner of a little old poodle was reluctant to have her dog vaccinated now
she was 13 years, but was persuaded to go ahead. The dog started having cluster
fits (one after another) a few hours following vaccination. She was given
phenobarb and the fits stopped. A year later the owner was again persuaded to
vaccinate – this time very reluctantly. Again the poodle had cluster fits, but
this time they didn’t stop. The dog came to see us on a high dose of both
phenobarb and potassium bromide. The dog slept all of the time except for a few
minutes eating and toileting. She was given a homeopathic remedy and herb
support, and is now nearly drug-free and enjoying a few early evening walks. Note: It is not uncommon for epilepsy to
follow both vaccinations and chemical flea control.
