Paws to Heal

Since every consultation I undertake with new clients revolves largely around diet and nutrition I considered it was high time I posted my recommendations here.

The basis for good health is good nutrition and whilst there are exceptions, the basis of feeding cats and dogs is raw meaty bones. Despite the jargon and hype and persuasion of pet food manufacturers and those with commercial interests, common sense will prevail.

Here is the simple plan for those less interested in reading on for the philosophy.

Raw Meaty Bones
Raw meaty bones comprise 90% of the diet. This involves fresh meat on the bone with fat. Soft boned meats are recommended like turkey necks, chicken wings and necks and frames, rabbits, duck quail etc depending on availability and budget. For larger dogs we can also use lamb necks, beef brisket for large breed, lamb flaps (ribs with meat and fat), roo tails. AVOID MARROW BONES or legs of lamb, lamb shanks as these can cause tooth breakage even in large dogs. Feeding the knuckle ends of these bones is recommended but not the shafts.
In this way the balance of Ca:P is accurate with no need to measure or supplement. Puppies and older dogs can have ground up whole chicken frames raw. Puppies need extra food for growth but may not be able to chew enough for their requirements so will need bone and meat mince.
All of these foods can be frozen until required if that is necessary.

Greens
Added to this they will occasionally need some raw fresh vitamised greens or they will chew grass, which is perfectly natural and good. For those starting out on raw feeding and requiring a bit of detoxifying from old grain based regimens, the addition of chlorella is beneficial. Any greens we eat can go into a blender raw and be tipped over their meat ration. Care with brassicas and broccoli but a little is very good. Use celery, parsley, spinach,  silverbeet, beetroot and leaves,  other green edible salad leaves, carrot etc
NO ONION, some garlic is good for flea control as is mint.
This will not look pretty but a slurry like this tipped over the meaty bones a couple of times a week will boost essential nutrients. Chlorophyll is a blood glucose regulator. Amount of green slurry is variable but a couple of tablespoons a few times a week is sufficient. More is fine, as some love it. This, in some way, mimics the gut contents of the prey they eat naturally. The addition of some natural yoghurt and the occasional raw egg is also OK. Some people make up more than they need and it can be frozen in ice cube trays for convenience.

Oils
Essential fatty acids are found in animal and plant sources.
Dogs and cats will benefit from the addition of some plant oils like flax oil especially if they are prone to skin or nervous problems. Flax brings calmative properties.
Dose guide teaspoon daily for small dog and cats and tablespoon for large dogs.
I use fish oils by preference for dogs with brain and nervous system dysfunction as the DHA and vitamins E and D are good brain nutrients. Cod liver oil is very good and ethical oil production is sought.

Dogs and cats supply their own VitC but I recommend extra for those under stress or recovering from illness or injury. Calcium ascorbate is recognised as the form of choice and I use high potency supplementation as required.

Twenty or more years ago, an Australian veterinarian went out on a limb and effectively ‘crucified’ himself professionally by his outspoken persistence in promoting raw meaty bone diets for dogs. His contention was that the prevalence of dental disease and bad health in dogs stems from feeding them soft and cooked unnatural diets. He was right.  There is now a large body of people from all walks of life who believe him and understand his passion. Furthermore the ramifications of the true health picture from feeding commercially prepared foods are still unfolding.
Dental disease is the most obvious fallout of bad diet but so is kidney, liver, and heart disease, not to mention allergy, skin disease, gut problems and flatulence.
In Australia we are far more fortunate with our prepared pet foods than the USA for example. Our food regulations here prevent the use of condemned products like euthanised animals, dead pets and road kill from being rendered into pet food but there are horror stories emerging from overseas.
I have no doubt about the integrity of our pet food manufacturers, my objection is the premise that commercially prepared food constitutes best diet and is promoted by professionals and all and sundry as the recommended practice.
When we were kids, dog poo was white. This is normal when dogs are fed raw meaty bones.
So where did our senses desert us? I think that once we started embracing the ‘one stop supermarket stop’ in the mid seventies we began neglecting not only our own health but that of our furry companions. There is a whole generation of people now who believe that pet food comes in packets and cans and the more you pay the better the quality. The truth is the best quality pet foods are the cheapest off cuts at butchers.
Needless to say, there are still many controversies surrounding good diets for dogs and cats and these will continue as long as big money is at stake.
As undergraduate Veterinarians we were treated to a trip to a very large pet food manufacturers as the basis of our pet nutrition lecture series. Our textbooks on small animal nutrition were also provided by pet food manufacturers and words cannot describe how I feel about the fact that now, twenty five years later there is a Chair of Small Animal Medicine at my university funded by a large American multinational pet food company.

Dogs and cats have evolved alongside with us for thousands of years but the fact remains that they are still physiologically carnivorous. Nobody will deny that a cat fed a vegetarian diet will die. Whilst some dogs can certainly adapt to vegetarianism owing to their omnivorous capacities, the majority of them will do better with raw meaty bone diets.

All commercially prepared complete pet foods are grain based.
Grains cause increased tendency to inflammation hence the cleverly formulated potato and fish diets for skin disease. Maybe it is better to try to avoid grains in the first place. Whilst dogs grazing in the wild will scavenge anything from the forest or paddock floor including grains, faeces, grass and small prey dead or alive, the most robust and fittest will hunt and kill quarry like rabbits, birds, small rodents and eat them whole. There are very few dogs alive that I can imagine routinely bringing down an ox, so feeding beef is probably unnatural for them.
In reality we will find it difficult, if not unpleasant, to try to replicate a completely natural diet for our carnivorous pets because we have no access to supplies of fresh small rodents, many birds and other prey and we don’t want to encourage the killing of our urban wildlife. In New York City, I was very surprised that even the availability of fresh raw chicken wings for pets is virtually impossible, such is our reliance on commercially prepared foods both for ourselves and our pets.
We also need to be mindful of the hormone effects of feeding chickens and other animals grown with growth promotants. Even though this practice has largely been regulated and outlawed in Australia, there are still cases of inexplicable weight gain and mammary development in dogs fed on raw chicken. Sourcing from organic suppliers or more ethical producers will avoid this issue.

Anybody with an animal having been diagnosed with pancreatitis will know the phobia associated with fat in the diet.  I wonder how many cases of pancreatitis there were before the seventies.  Raw fat is the basis of energy production in dogs and cats.  Raw fat contained in raw meaty bones diet is an essential nutrient. Commercial foods all contain cooked fats. In fact, the unpalatable dry foods are coated with a layer of cooked fat to enhance their appeal. Raw fat is always safe to feed these animals unless they are already seriously compromised.

There will be challenges to raw food feeders over parasites. Why do we deworm animals every three months when they are fed commercial diets?
Raw foods passed for human consumption are deemed free from contamination and common sense prevails regarding worm prevention programs.
We need to be mindful of hydatid disease in Australia and monitor rabbits and offal for hydatid cysts.
After feeding raw meaty bone diets for ten years, I am content that the risk of parasite problems is no greater than with any other program. On the contrary, dogs and cats fed natural diets have stronger immunity and more robust constitutions.

It is, admittedly, a largely unnatural environment we provide for our pets these days as they have become child substitutes in some cases, knocking back puppacinos on the Saturday morning coffee rounds. Nevertheless, they are still animals and having deprived them of most of their natural loves, rolling in smelly things, hunting, roaming and mating, we owe them what we can.

Chewing is the last natural dog and cat behaviour we can ill afford to deprive them.

If you enjoyed reading this, see chewing things over and the paper on Evolutionary Nutrition for the Dog by Sarah Godfrey and don’t forget to get Dr Clare Middle’s excellent book

“There is no illness on earth for which God has not provided a remedy through nature” Paracelcus(1493-1541)

In our quest for answers over the last five hundred years since this prophetic utterance, there have been many forks in the road of knowledge. Some have chosen one direction and others another. Consequently we now have a diverse set of opinions and understandings resulting from different approaches to the learning that is Universal. Integrated Medicine is an exciting discipline that recognises these divergences and seeks to embrace the best of all modalities.
The truth is always found at the points of intersection.

Sri Chinmoy says

“First be absolutely sure
That you know the truth
Before you talk to others
About the truth.”

Excerpt from Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, Part 64 by Sri Chinmoy

I do not profess to know the truth but I am a truth seeker. I enjoy finding points of intersection. In keeping with the tenor of my other posts on this site I am hoping there is some useful information to be found here on cancer in domestic animals.

10 common signs of neoplasia (cancer) in small animals

1. Abnormal swellings that persist or continue to grow
2. Sores that do not heal
3. Weight loss
4. Loss of appetite
5. Bleeding or discharge from any body opening
6. Offensive odor
7. Difficulty eating or swallowing
8. Hesitation to exercise or loss of stamina
9. Persistent lameness or stiffness
10. Difficulty breathing, urinating, or defecating

There have been major advances in our understanding and treatment of cancer over the years but the incidence is not diminishing. Moreover it is increasing in domestic animals. Despite increased understanding we still don’t appreciate that cancer is a disease of individuals; individuals who develop disease under certain circumstances when others don’t.

What are the factors and interventions that are not acting in their best interests?

Cancer is caused by confusion at a cellular level, by overgrowth of damaged cells and failure of the body’s natural defence and removal systems.
In other words, it is an overload and a meltdown.
Individuals with weakened immunity or under constant stress may be at risk.
This is the premise underpinning nutritional medicine approach to cancer management and treatments endorsed by many Integrated Veterinary practitioners including high doses of Vitamin C.

Factors that cause confusion at a cellular level can be implicated in the genesis of cancer and injury to cells. Contributing factors such as toxins from cigarettes, chemicals and other well recognised carcinogens can promote cancer growth in susceptible individuals.

Who is susceptible?  That is the million dollar question in all health circles for any disease. Why do some animals get sick or develop cancer and others don’t’?
Breed predisposition,  environment, diet and interventions can all be implicated.

It is often observed that animals develop the same cancers as the people with whom they live. This may be an environmental consideration or looking more deeply, an act of service to their beloved family. In cases I have been involved with, the owners whose animals develop the same cancer, recover or are recovering when their animals are diagnosed.

When I was in Vet school we had a lecture that I will always remember, on cancer. It demonstrated through experiment how cancer is formed. Basically cancer is caused by a failure of communication.

This is as simple as it is complex.

When the cells of the body lose contact with each other and the invisible messages that pass between them are interrupted they become confused and function inappropriately. For example, there are chemicals in cellular structures identified as chalones that ordinarily prevent overproduction of cells. When the flow of chalones is interrupted cells can become cancerous as mitosis (cell division) becomes uninhibited. In one particularly memorable example, a five cent coin was implanted under the skin of a test subject and the interruption this caused to the flow of chalones produced a neoplastic tumour.
From this experiment it was jokingly suggested that money causes cancer. I prefer to see that lack of communication causes cancer. Either way, a failure to connect and work together for the common good is where cancer begins. It is the ultimate rebellion and the last effort to get the message across.

We will all have our own opinions about a subject like this because we all know someone who has died with cancer. I wonder how long ago it was when not many people knew anyone or any animal who had died of cancer and when that trend reversed.

When faced with a diagnosis of cancer in animals the disease is often already well advanced as they are very good at masking early signs and the symptoms are often attributed to other causes. I have been thinking about how I would manage cancer nowadays with all the advances in veterinary oncology. I would certainly advise that anybody faced with decisions be as informed as possible regarding the options available to them. There are veterinary oncologists available for consultation in most states.
It is a little disappointing however that whilst excellent information can be sourced these days, that very little reference is made to the holistic or homeopathic approach.
Cancer management is difficult regardless of the modality chosen.

I have started believing more that a primary tumour should be the focus of attention.  A cancer, depending on type, will usually produce chemicals to reduce the liklihood of others developing.  Cancer is selfish and the primary tumour will want to dominate and prevent others from arising. Once this is removed it is a ‘free for all’ for metastases. There are some very aggressive cancers that metastasise early and in the presence of a primary so it is important to know the enemy. Regardless of type, any cancer arising in an individual is an indication of cancer susceptibility in that individual.
If there is a cancer present, firstly the individual has indicated its tendency to exhibit disease at the cancer level and secondly, until this condition is treated, there will exist a testing period when the body will wait to see what is done about this symptom.  If the cancer is located in a region that can be accessed for measuring and monitoring it can be used as an indicator for treatment. Most conventional responses are full surgical removal. Whilst this approach has its merits and we all want to ‘get rid’ of cancer, there are some definite disadvantages to this reflex.

Firstly, the barometer is removed and secondly the rules then change.
As an illustration, consider a tumour on the skin like a mast cell tumour.
It is visible, measurable and whilst we consider it to be a threat and want to get rid of it, will cutting it out be the end of the problem?
Most may say yes but others will say how can we then know it will not recur elsewhere, perhaps where we can’t see it. From an homeopathic perspective surgery is not always the best choice of management.
Consider that the tumour could be cured rather than removed by force. This enables the disease to be completely accepted, managed and cured by the same force that created it and expressed it, namely the vital force.  There can be a degree of confidence in allowing the body to deal with the problem on its own terms. This is why an homeopathic constitutional remedy can be an invaluable aid to health as it can boost the strength of the vital force.

Some cancers can be extremely aggressive and destructive and will not permit much time before overwhelming the host. It is often important, therefore, to know the enemy so that appropriate steps can be taken. Cancer is a sharp adversary whichever way we choose and the term ‘fighting cancer’ is apt.

There are many authorities who dismiss the views of Integrated and Holistic Veterinary Practitioners.  There are, however, more people seeking our opinions on these matters and I have debated for some time the extent to which I am prepared to voice my opinion.

I crossed the line when I started doing my own research on this topic. Whilst I believe that lots of relevant data has been collected, it may not have been collated and is not readily accessible.
Instead, like all filtered information, we have the standard acceptable official versions of truths and the opinions of those who believe these are incomplete.

I discovered the following information from various sources

From Companionaid.wordpress.com April 2010
“People come to me for advice, I’m not a vet but being a researchaholic makes me an open target.  When something comes up I don’t fully understand I obsessively Google the hell out of it.  So when I got asked about Cartrophen Vet, I went hunting for everything positive and negative about the product.  First I should make it known that I don’t believe medication for animals or people is ever a good idea.  It’s like lying to your body that you’re well when in fact your body never got the chance to heal.

Cartrophen Vet is prescribed for patients with osteoarthritis and other joint problems.  What alarmed me the most about this medication is that it causes unspecific tissue growth.  What that means to a dog or cat with an undiagnosed mass is, if it’s malignant it accelerates the cancer.  So I asked myself, did I want this person whose dog is a rottweiler,  a breed commonly diagnosed with cancer, and also considering she is older, around 6, take this risk.  To me, medication like Cartophen is like playing Russian Roulette.

So what I sent back to the person was, if she was my dog, Cartrophen would not be the answer.  It may take the pain away but it’s no more than a band-aid, which if left on too long leaves an awful mess behind. (By the way, this dog responded very well to a grain free diet and the arthritis abated considerably without cartrophen)

I was inspired to leave a reply, below.

I am a Vet and I am impressed with your common sense advice regarding Cartrophen Vet (pentosan polysulphate). I would like to cite your article in my own blog post with your permission (granted) as I am compiling my own data and information on this subject. You are nine months ahead of me as I have debated whether I should voice my observations.
I have long regarded cartrophen (also known as synovan), to be dangerous, especially in older animals  which is when it is mostly prescribed. As an Holistic Veterinarian taking referrals of cancer, I am alarmed at the numbers presenting with cancer after having cartrophen injections……….As referral vets we often see an over representation of disease and it can be difficult to accurately determine aetiology.

In my previous small animal clinic I began to suspect this link when some of my own cartrophen patients developed cancers. Since having stopped using the preparation myself I now see other’s patients presenting with the same. It is possible that some of the lameness cases presenting for cartrophen injections have deeper disease developing.
The most common is osteosarcoma and liver cancer.
When I used to use it in the nineties, it clearly stated on the label of contraindications that Cartrophen Vet should be used with care in cases of undiagnosed cancer. Although this is a clearly ridiculous comment, it must prompt us to look more closely at the presenting signs of prospective cartrophen candidates. I am not surprised that this label warning has been removed but the basis for it was the capacity to increase blood flow to areas of disease and the warning for potentiating cancer should be upheld. This is still what it does whether the label states as much or not. There are label warnings about using it in cases of existing organ disease.

Sadly, in my experience there are very few, if any, cases of (cartrophen associated) osteosarcoma being fully cured. I am awaiting the outcome of a recent case of very early amputation to compare that to cases of less early and no amputation. So far, in prior cases it has made no difference and survival times are short for this disease regardless of choice of management. Cancer of this kind has its own agenda and life often delivers cruel lessons.

A few more ponderables, no less pleasant.

Histiocytic sarcoma was apparently not reported prior to 1970’s. What else happened then?
We started yearly vaccinations after the big Parvo epidemic of that decade.
Histiocytic sarcoma (along with its benign brother, histiocytoma that we began seeing commonly in dogs under two years post vaccination), are skin tumours associated with immune derangements.  Many other common cancers like lymphosarcoma also arise from immune interference and involve the same cells as those responsible for mounting immune responses.

Recently a very dear boxer dog died at the age of seven years with an intractable condition known as mycosis fungoides, which despite its misleading name is actually a cutaneous lymphosarcoma. His early life was plagued by skin disease and allergy until this was diagnosed at which time he succumbed quite rapidly.
These mysterious and rare diseases are horrendous in their expression and another form of immune derangement.

The immune system has always impressed and intrigued me. I hold it in the highest esteem for its persistence and service. It is extremely clever and adaptable but is also becoming worn down by the barrage of assaults it is forced to endure in the name of science.

The basis of good integrated practice is the nurturing and strengthening of the immune system through diet and minimal intervention.

I would hazard a guess that by far the most common presenting disease in small animal practice in Australia is skin disease. The skin is the principal organ of detoxification and both the first and the last outlet for disease and healing.  It is working overtime under duress with little support and recognition in most modern animal management practices. The skin is not getting the nutrition it needs to do it’s job properly, nor the understanding of the nature of its role in health and disease. As the skin is the sentinel for disease, so too is the gut the seat of disease. How much more then, can the importance of good nutrition be stressed.

I would also suggest that an increasing number of diagnoses in small animal practice include the words, immune mediated or idiopathic. It is time we started looking very closely at the iatrogenic.

As a lecturer in my student days used to say, ‘If you don’t look, you won’t see’.

Immune mediated diseases, Skin disease and atopy, Interdigital dermatitis, Allergies, Otitis externa, Anal gland disease, Cancer, Mast Cell tumour, Osteosarcoma, Adenocarcinoma, Haemangiosarcoma, Mammary cancer, Squamous cell carcinoma, Corneal ulceration, Glaucoma, Progressive retinal atrophy, Cataracts, Diabetes, Arthritis, Cushings disease, Addisons disease, Hyperthyroidism, Hypothyroidism, Pyometra, Vaginitis, Prostate and testicular disease, White Shaker syndrome, Epilepsy, Granulomatous meningoencephalitis, Encephalitis, Meningitis, Neuropathy, Heart/Cardiac disease, Kidney/Renal failure, Liver/Hepatic disease  etc, etc………….. This page could be filled with such an endless list of medical conditions that it would read like spam.

I am often asked why I don’t put up postings about the pathogenesis of disease and the types of diseases that can be managed homeopathically.

The reason for this is two-fold.
There are already many excellent sites where one can obtain good information about the type of disease their pet is experiencing and more importantly, I, and veterinary homeopaths like me, treat individuals with disease and not diseases by themselves. This means that almost every case will receive a different remedy even though they may have the same disease. It is, therefore, impossible to describe treatments for diseases as it is not advisable to use standardised treatments that will not be suited to each individual case. Also, even though many animals with the same disease will have the same signs, there are distinctive individual symptoms that are used to select homeopathic remedies.

In short, ALL of the above conditions can be managed homeopathically, often to the point of cure in cases that are ideally suited.

I feel obliged, at this point, to warn against purchasing remedies through the internet that are marketed for specific diseases. These are very often dangerous ‘cocktails’ of multiple remedies that, separately, have been useful in managing the disease in some animals.

Please be aware that this is NOT good homeopathic practice and goes directly against the teachings of classical homeopathy as taught by Samuel Hahnemann and all who follow his teachings.

Examples of this type of ‘cocktail’ product will have labels such as canine Cushings disease formula or diabetes support, kidney disease mix and the like.
Most people who use these products are unaware of the potential risks and believe that natural remedies cannot be harmful. That is a false premise.

There are no diseases that cannot be treated homeopathically but no disease will be properly managed by these types of mixtures in the long term and I have spent many long hours assisting these animals to recover from this form of overmedication.  These quick fixes will always attract testimonials and some happy customers, which I will not deny, and the reason for this is that the power of homeopathy is, indeed, very real. Within those mixtures of remedies is usually the one ingredient that the individual needs to effect a change, however, all the other components of the mixture can cause problems with confusing the healing and blocking further progression to a full cure. It is also quite common, in these cases,  that many different mixtures are used concurrently.

Following good homeopathic prescribing principles would result in one remedy being administered that would cover ALL symptoms of illness in the patient, negating the need for multiple medicines.
It is completely understandable that when we have a diagnosis, especially one that engenders fear and worry, we search for more information and we seek a cure to disease. Homeopathic practice seeks to identify the causative factors in each individual case and so the treatment will differ in each case.

The most important factors in disease management can, however, be universal. Supportive measures such as optimum nutrition and organ support are the same in all cases. Every disease and every individual requires the best possible nutrition and environment in which to heal.

So regardless of whether your pet has heart, liver, kidney, pancreas, intestinal, skin, or endocrine disease, there is a homeopathic program that can be designed to support them to cure if cure is possible and there is a wealth of good information available on almost any aspect of these conditions. The difficulty is that we don’t always know where to start or what to believe.

By far the most important thing for you to do, as an owner, is to feed your animals appropriately so that healing can be augmented through optimal nutrition.

The best information can be found by searching for raw food diets, evolutionary feeding programs and various other postings on this site and the links attached.

Holistic Veterinarians like Drs  Chris Day , Clare Middle and Richard Pitcairn amongst others will often post articles pertaining to specific disease management and optimal nutrition.

I hope this helps.

When visiting Italy it is an advantage to have a rudimentary grasp of the Italian language.
Similarly when dealing with health professionals it is helpful to understand their language.
Almost without exception, the currency of conventional professional medicine is ‘The Diagnosis’. It constitutes the summation of the clinical findings deemed relevant in a patient, is a label of conclusion and a template for treatment.
Knowledge of this can therefore enhance communication between health professionals themselves and those others who understand this language.

The diagnosis in itself is actually a very small part of the total health and disease picture despite the importance placed upon it by most.

This misunderstanding is one of the impediments we face as homeopathic practitioners when challenged by conventional therapists to explain our art. It also comprises the inspiration behind this post as we strive to remain respectful of those who approach disease management from a different perspective. It should not matter which road we take if we have the same goal in sight.

In homepathic practice the diagnosis is nothing more than just another symptom, albeit an important one, a collection of physical findings, but for the vast majority of conventional practitioners it has become the Holy Grail, the ultimate achievement. For conventional medical practice all else follows the diagnosis whereas for integrated practitioners the diagnosis forms part of the total picture but does not, by itself,  determine the course of management.

Conventional diagnoses often disregard the totality of symptoms which will include much more about the patients state of being, their behaviour, thoughts, feelings, responses and actions. In effect, the diagnosis and treatment ensuing from it alone is usually only aimed at a part of the patient. It is not uncommon therefore that other parts may become affected and new symptoms will arise until a cascade of ill health ensues throughout the whole patient. Many patients will discover then that they develop many diseases and collect a list of diagnoses.

All conventional practitioners and many others rely very heavily on the diagnosis.  Arguably, it should not be given any more importance in the disease picture than any other symptom. At best it assists many people to better understand the nature of their disease and at worst it is confusing or becomes an obsession on part of the patient and a point of competition and argument amongst those who disagree. This is the practice that leaves many people in the system feeling like a number instead of a person. In some respects I can see how this can be an advantage for the practitioner who has to cope with dealing with so much human grief. It can buffer reality and give an intellectual focal point and even a justification for actions. Sadly, the pursuit of the diagnosis has become a safety net against malpractice in a world that is becoming increasingly litigious.

Some conventional health professionals secretly or, worse still, openly cherish the practice of criticising others diagnoses in much the same way that a native speaker will dismiss the attempt of a foreigners attempt at speaking their language. Others will not even talk to those who seem to not speak the language well or at all. An accurate diagnosis has become a benchmark upon which a conventional practitioners entire reputation can be based.  As homeopaths we will encounter these difficulties in understanding more often in dealings with our conventionally minded colleagues unless we make continued efforts to remain familiar with the terminology that has become less important in our own healing methods. It may be frustrating at times but I have decided it is primarily up to us to set an example because we generally have the advantage of knowledge of both systems.

If there is no harmony there can be no healing. If there is no healing there can be no cure. Hahnemann in his Organon of the Medical Art describes cure as …’the rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of health; that is, the lifting and annihilation of the disease in its entire extent….’

Homeopathy and other integrated systems of medicine will look at the totality of symptoms and the diagnosis is just one of many parts. It is not the final or only determinant for therapeutic approach to management and as such, it is less likely to be abused, confused or over rated. It is also not necessary with these modalities to have the diagnosis prior to commencement of corrective therapy as the remedies can be well selected on other patient parameters.

Apart from acute contagious or infectious diseases, the only definitive ‘diagnosis’ for want of a better term in integrated medicine is that the patient is not travelling well. In fact, there will be a list of symptoms including many ‘diagnoses’ in each case of chronic disease. An homeopathic approach may take each one beginning with the most recent and work backwards to a state of health or balance if there is no single remedy to correlate with the whole picture. In this modern world it is increasingly difficult to find perfect symptom pictures that have not been altered by conventional therapies but the beauty of homeopathy is that it can usually transcend even these barriers.

Sometimes we don’t have to speak the language perfectly to get the real message across, we just need to listen, albeit quite intently, respectfully and patiently at times. The goal is universal and there are many roads to Rome.

This rubric in my homeopathic repertory has always intrigued me. My tutors would interpret this in animal circles as desires to be massaged or patted, but that could be almost any dog or cat, although some don’t like to be patted. Cats generally hate massage and ironically in Kents repertory under Mind, touch aversion to, we find lachesis (along with sil and calc) which are also  ‘desires to be magnetised’ remedies. Repertories are by no means perfect and are open to interpretation, more so when translating into animal medicine. It pays, therefore, to be inquisitive and probing in selection of meanings as most of these provings were conducted in Germany and Europe in days of old when even the English language itself was largely unrecognisable.
It also beggars the question of suitability of the rubric at all in animal clinical cases although I can’t help but be drawn to it.
Recently in my studies I have encountered Dhawales input whereby his interpretation involves a desire to be mesmerised or entranced by someone or thing which aptly fits my own feeling of the concept. I was observing a German Shorthaired Pointer in the park today standing transfixed awaiting command and immediately thought of the trance like state of being mesmerised.

Mesmer is attributed to having introduced  the concept of ‘animal magnetism’ two hundred years ago from which hypnotherapy sprang in the mid 1800’s. Magnetic therapy dropped out of mainstream medicine relatively quickly but not before giving rise to chiropractic that has prevailed along with hypnotherapy to modern times.

Personally I am inclined to the belief that the snake remedies are highly likely to belong to this state of other worldliness or entrancement as borne out by Kents inclusion of Lachesis and Phos (a component of venom) in the rubric.  There is a lot of ‘animal magnetism’ in the snake remedies.

Phos also has the ability to return consciousness post anaesthetic or  from‘other worldly’ states. It is also interesting to note that the thunderstorm remedies feature predominantly lach, phos, sil  and nat-c as well, suggestive of electrical influences in these remedies.
The relationship of remedies has been extensively studied and identified but it always gives me satisfaction to discover more connections and possibilities.

My study of magnetic theory has led me to understand that the earth is producing its own magnetic field and has been doing so for over 3 billion years. This field is generated largely by the randomised spins of ions at extremely high temperature in the liquid iron core of the earth rotating against the orbital rotation of the earth.  This generates a field of between 0.3-0.6 Gauss by a dynamo effect, similar to the good old bike light dynamos we used in the 70’s to light our way home. This earth generated field, though seemingly weak, extends for tens of thousands of kilometers into the atmosphere forming the magnetosphere and protecting the earth from bombardment of particles from space or solar wind.  I have long wondered about the North and South poles,on which stories we are raised, with no real appreciation for their basis or purpose.
The Earths magnetic field is a protective field without which all life on Earth could cease.

We, ourselves, as living organisms generate our own electromagnetic fields that can be measured.  As it is an endogenous magnetic phenomenon and the source of ‘animal magnetism’ it is most likely to also be a dynamo effect generated by circulating blood and body movements, which is why it is often strongest in the evenings. Circadian rhythm identifies and maps our biological processes over the course of 24 hours and these healthy processes influence our energy output at many levels. This energy has been identified by various names throughout the ages and cultures as prana, qi or chi, orgone and aura amongst others and the identification of this field has largely formed the basis for the majority of energy healing practices conducted in modern times. Extrapolating on the protective influence of the Earths field we can surmise that our own individual magnetic field has similar properties.

This accounts, in part, for my reluctance up to now to embrace magnetic experiments in consideration for the interference they may cause to our own energy fields. I have since become more comfortable with external devices after observing them and their effects more closely on people and animals alike but I still believe that it is not fully understood nor sufficiently studied. It is very interesting however to note that the greatest and most powerful medical diagnostic imaging device, to date, is an MRI or Magnetic Resonance Imager and perhaps it will be educational to observe the side effects of this technology. It, unlike most other magnets, is extremely powerful. (15,000-30,000 Gauss) Most of the magnets we use in therapeutic devices are between 300-700 or up to 2000 Gauss. The strength of the magnetic field determines its depth of penetration into tissues.

Magnetic field generators have been installed in all manned spaceships after finding that bone marrow and cell production decline sharply and eventually cease, and the immune system is quickly and severely depressed without the normal magnetic field.  Extrapolating from this, if the Earths field continues to decline as it has been shown to be doing, albeit extremely slowly, coupled with the barrage of excess harmful radiation we continuously expose ourselves to in this modern world, it may be worth considering magnetic field supplementation.

Further to this and coincidentally I have been experimenting with the Nikken system of magnetic health products. These include magnetic mats and handheld magnets purported to induce healing. I have tried them on family and friends and some patients, in keeping with the example set by all good provers, and found some interesting results thus far, albeit from a very small sample size.
I am testing my theory that the ‘desires to be magnetised’ rubric arose from exactly that- magnetism and the effect it had on those of that remedy, namely the calc, phos, sil and lach (nat-c to  a lesser extent).
So far, the very best results have been with phos constitutions except for one phos dog that didn’t want to sit on the mat. I am still experimenting and it is much too early to make assessments. It is by no means an unbiased trial because now I am actively trying to identify the constitution prior to trialling the magnets for a host of disorders other than rheumatism and arthritis. Cancer features a bit in lachesis and I have some more trials to conduct before making any further postulations.
There is also an incurable case of skin disease, albeit with unidentified constitution, that I hope to test on the magnetic mat.

When all is said and done, it comes down once again to our never ending search for the truth and a better way to do things.

Sri Chinmoy says of Truth and seeking truth….

A perfect Truth-seeker and God-lover

Is not Heaven-born.

He is earth-born

From earth’s sleepless and breathless

Tears and cries.

And……..

If you are a genuine truth-seeker

And God-lover,

Then you can never belittle

Other truth-seekers

And God-lovers.

It is our combined and integrated efforts as humanity that will lead the way forward.

Pain relief has become a hot issue in the Veterinary profession in recent times. The practice of avoidance of pain in our society borders on obsessive and suppression of pain is a multi-million dollar industry.  Yet, pain itself, is a natural protective mechanism that needs to be heeded.  How can we do justice to all of these facts?

The issue of pain management in Veterinary procedures arises purely because we usually cause the pain, not deliberately but as a result of surgical interventions in most cases.  Animals presenting with severe pain from trauma and accident are, of course, separate cases and those with chronic pain from longstanding chronic diseases, yet another.

Just over a decade ago it became routine for us to administer pain relief for any surgical procedure conducted on an animal.  First it was offered to owners as an elective ‘add-on’ to the procedure and then it was adopted universally as routine. The practice of administering pain relief following surgery has now developed into a policy and is considered ‘good veterinary practice’. Few would argue with this.

This blog posting is less intended to debate whether or not or how pain should be alleviated, but more to contemplate how obsessive we risk becoming by the mere mention of the term ‘pain’.  It has become as big a seller as ‘sex’. It is also possibly the largest source of revenue for the pharmaceutical industries that invest much in suggesting we use medicines to avoid confronting anything challenging.

Why, apart from that would we be so focussed on it?
Perhaps pain is also one of our biggest buttons?
We are all scared of pain.

Pain engenders fear and our natural response is avoidance, validated in large by those who prey on and profit from our fear. Life can be difficult and who can blame anyone for opting out occasionally? The problem occurs when opting out becomes habitual and acceptable even to the point of not realising that there are other options. This is how pain management has evolved this past few decades so that we now have a whole generation for whom ‘headache’ means ‘panadol’.
Remember, however, that there are countless chronic pain sufferers in the world who are daily challenged to find new ways to relieve their pain because nothing that these companies can offer is effective. I pay tribute to these brave souls and reflect on how this situation could have come about.

Understandably, no one wants animals to be in pain either.

Often the animals themselves are less in pain than they are frightened and sedation would be more appropriate. Most of the heavy duty restricted pain medications co-incidentally have quite a sedative effect built in as opiate derivatives. Nonetheless, the actions surrounding perceived suffering require a balanced approach. It is not good to suppress all pain all the time because it is a natural protective mechanism that reminds us what we really need to do. What ever happened to the ‘good lie down’ with the good old ‘Bex’?
These days its just Bex and more Bex. *

*Bex pills and powders are an Australian cultural icon immortalized in the title of
a 1960s Philip Street Theatre review, itself borrowed from the vernacular: ‘A cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down’. And while everyone knew that the analgesic properties of the aspirin, phenacetin and caffeine in Bex and Vincent’s Powders were used by Australian housewives to help them get through the day, it took a doctor newly arrived from South Africa in the 1960s, Priscilla Kincaid-Smith, to recognise that these substances were addictive and that the massive doses of phenacetin taken by habitual users were causing widespread kidney disease. Eventually, in response to political activism, government controls were put on analgesic products in the 1970s.

‘If pain persists consult your doctor’. Perhaps one of the reasons that pain persists is because it needs to be heeded rather than suppressed. This sounds simplistic but in many cases it is simple.
An injured animal will have a drink of water and take the time to rest and stay off the injury. This simple act gives the animal time to deal with its ailment and is absolutely necessary for proper healing. Contrast this with the current practice in the human world of taking a panadol or nurofen and continuing the activity that precipitated the pain.  Pain can be incapacitating for good reason.

Blocking pain does not make the cause of pain go away.

Interestingly, pain is quite often alleviated by adequate hydration and rest.  Very few of us drink enough good water. Good water is fresh, alkaline and mineralised. Not many take the time to rest when necessary.
There is a fantastic body of research demonstrating the marked effectiveness of drinking water as a cure for even the most severe pain.

Water is a time honoured life giving and healing force of nature that has been largely underappreciated and outrageously overwhelmed by commercialised beverages.

There are many who may enter the discussion at this point and express an opinion on the over commercialisation of pain control and the influence this has on our reluctance to ‘bite the bullet’ and manage our pain or that of our dear ones naturally, through drinking water and resting.

I would agree with them.  We have been coerced into taking the easy ‘payment required ‘option without realising it has ramifications. We have outsourced everything from birth to death and this even includes paying to attempt to avoid the lessons of life and suffering that occur in between.

My field of experience is in the animal world and whilst this is influenced less by direct advertising, the mind set of the owners is largely determined by the human world coupled with a somewhat over developed sense of responsibility towards the animals.  This is partly why so many thousands of animals are euthanized annually. The act of euthanasia can provide an opportunity for the avoidance of suffering and ironically becomes an easily purchased way out of the burden of responsibility that we were previously so eager to assume.
Euthanasia deprives them of a natural death and death is as natural and necessary an experience as life itself.

Animals know how to cope given the right environment. It is we who need to rediscover or redefine our own coping mechanisms; take back control from the brainwashing of advertising and fear based hype surrounding health issues such as pain management and feel more confident that animals can cope with life and its lessons. They can actually teach us much if we give them the opportunity.

It is alright for us and animals to experience discomfort or pain occasionally.

Pain is a natural warning to slow down, sit back and reassess. It is an important learning experience. Animals usually know what to do about that. It is very often our own irrational fear of pain and the ready availability of ‘quick fixes’ that drives us to take further and often unnecessary measures.

Sadly, out of an understandable concern for our pets’ welfare we kill or seriously maim many cats and dogs by giving them human pain medications like panadol. Most human preparations are directly toxic for animals and often indirectly toxic for us.

Whilst the fear of pain is often more prolonged than the pain itself, some animals have a higher pain threshold than others.
The sensitivity of the emotional body and the reactivity of the animal at this level may render them more prone to pain reactions.  Fear will be misdiagnosed as pain. A small highly strung little dog will yelp and scream often at the slightest provocation or smallest injury owing to their hypersensitivity. This is still a real experience for the little animal but perhaps needs to be treated by rescue remedy or something other than pain relief. In fact, pain relief will often not even be effective unless it has some sedatory or calming effect.

The brain registers and records the nerve stimulus that is pain. Pain will be felt in limbs that have been amputated because the brain has a blueprint of the whole body and a record of events having occurred previously.  There is no current pain stimulus but the brain registers pain nonetheless.
This raises the very real possibility that the perception of pain in some cases is just that, a perception.

No amount of pain relief medication is going to cure this pain because there are no real nerve impulses to block.

I believe that a lot of chronic pain is also this phenomenon regardless of the presence or absence of the body parts.  No real or immediate pain stimulus but definite pain perception from previous episodes. Fortunately I don’t think that this situation occurs often in animals but perhaps it has yet to be identified.  It is largely a mind or memory driven phenomenon and requires mind control or memory alteration, both cellular and neural, to manage it effectively. This is why meditation or hypnosis and other energy based techniques can work so well. Animals are generally spared these experiences.

I am reminded of a case recently of a woman who suffered from chronic lower back pain for many years with no long term relief from medication or conventional management methods. After visiting a spiritual healer, see video here, one who sees beyond the physical, she was cured permanently in a few minutes.
This stretches imagination unless you are the one experiencing it for yourself but I fully believe that this happened as a result of curing the unseen effect upon this woman’s body; in this case, the result of a serious trauma in a previous incarnation and stored in her cellular memory.
Trying to suppress this pain with pain control medications achieves nothing and prevents the individual from dealing with the underlying cause regardless of whether or not the medicine relieves the pain.
I only mention this to highlight how little we really understand sometimes in cases that we deem incurable and to allow trust and faith in both our own ability as practitioners and the capacity of our patients to determine more our course of action.

I truly believe that animals are largely spared most of the types of pain that we as humans suffer and that our limited understanding often prevents us from giving them the opportunity to manage their own condition in the best possible way.

Finally, with regards to pain, let’s take it perhaps as just another symptom in the big picture of disease and try to keep it in perspective. It is a symptom that needs to be always heeded, always respected and not always suppressed. The culture of ‘avoidance’ surely cannot possibly teach us anything ultimately worthwhile as it is a self perpetuating cycle. The acceptance of pain, however and the ability to manage it through an integrated approach can bring satisfaction, strength and more permanent relief at all levels.

This acceptance can then also enable the experience to become another opportunity to learn yet a little more about the miracle of life.

One of the difficulties I often face when bringing a patient along a path of natural healing is the re-education of healing forces within the animal.
The other difficulty is in accurately assessing response to treatment and preparing owners for apparent setbacks resulting from a change of medical management.

If a conventional approach to disease management is strongly entrenched with years of antibiotic or pharmaceutical interventions, the healing system has learnt to operate this way; to be dependent. This is not necessarily a bad thing in cases of acute or contagious illness where the animal is overwhelmed. A short course of appropriate allopathic medicines will generally bring about a speedy cure. The real difficulties lie in systems that have learnt to depend upon drugs over longer periods of time and for disorders that are not acute attacks but rather deep long standing predispositions to disease. Conditions like epilepsy, recurrent skin disease, organ diseases, heart, liver, kidney, often arrive rattling with tablets.

In these cases, a number of factors need to be considered before an alternative treatment plan can be devised.

The age of the animal can influence healing capacity as is generally accepted. A young animal will usually have greater regenerative capacity than an elderly one.

If the animal’s vital force has depended upon conventional drugs for a long time then it has learnt to function in a particular fashion which may or may not be able to be altered.

The use of cortisone is a well-known and classic example of this phenomenon. Most of us realize that cortisone does not cure disease. It is, however, very good at reducing symptoms in many cases and bringing about relief. It can be a life saving drug. The concept of delayed healing brought about by its use, is however, even recognized in the strictest of conventional practices who acknowledge that it will delay healing of wounds, reduce effectiveness of vaccines and prevent other medicines and approaches from becoming an option. This is also well recognized in the field of chemotherapy, cancer management, for example, as cortisone usage can exclude other treatment options. With long-term usage it also predisposes to Cushing’s disease, diabetes and weakness of the immune system, muscles, ligaments and skin.
From an homeopathic perspective, it is also more difficult to re-educate the vital force once it has learnt to rely upon or respond to these allopathic medicines. It can also be difficult to rehabilitate a physical system weakened by cortisone.

Cortisone is an anti-inflammatory.

All ‘anti’s’ will have the same influence on the vital force’s capacity to learn how to cure. Antibiotics, Anti inflammatories, Anti depressants, Anti psychotics, Anti histamines, are all alike in their suppressive capacities. It follows that they are likely to suppress the vital force more than support it and in this way the education of the vital force begins and, in many cases, continues for a very long time. Occasional short courses of cortisone and any of the anti’s can afford the system a well earned rest but continued usage will only confuse and weaken the immune system.

Once homeopathic management is implemented it is important to prepare for an adjustment. For this reason and as a result of re educating long standing disease patterns it can seem that the disease becomes worse before becoming better.
The old pattern will cease and a new one will begin but in the meantime, symptoms may re-emerge so that they may be dealt with in a different way.
New symptoms may also emerge as an indicator to the homeopath for remedy selection. Symptoms in homeopathic practice are nothing more than clues for assisting the vital force to adjust to derangements and it is very important that they be expressed so that appropriate remedies can be selected. Continued suppression or avoidance of symptom expression can drive disease deeper in its attempt to express itself.

It is often best, therefore, to keep patients with long standing diseases such as heart disease, liver disease or long standing skin disease on their regular allopathic medicines concurrently until some further improvement in organ function is evident. Once the organs are better nourished and nurtured they may be able to learn to respond to natural remedies and drop their dependence on drugs. Often elderly animals will still require regular medications as their capacity to adapt can be hindered by age and habit.

Many patients will seem to get worse before they get better as a result of the switch in management.  Discharges can become worse, itching can increase and other signs can emerge. Initially this apparent worsening of the condition can often be a discouraging sign for many animal owners and can be discouraging enough for the practitioner at times unless kept in perspective.

This can be a test of faith for all.

The homeopath and the animal’s vital force itself will not permit the true health picture to decline. At all times, the animal’s demeanour and strength must be maintained and this is the true indicator of healing. Healing occurs from within to without. I am particularly reminded of a patient with severe skin disease who, in my mind, was clearly responding to homeopathy but in the owners mind was not.  I was looking at the animal’s enjoyment of life and attitude having risen from a depressed state to one of more calm and happy involvement in the household but because the hair had not grown back fully, sadly the owners could not see the positive change in their dog and abandoned treatment.

In some cases the animal is not responding to, or rejecting, the conventional medicines before a natural approach is sought.  It is a relief from an homeopathic perspective when the animal’s vital force has already rejected the allopathic medications in this way. Whilst it can seem very disappointing that there has been minimal response to the drugs prescribed by regular practitioners it can also be an opening for natural therapies. It may indicate that the animal’s vital force is ready to respond to homeopathy without so much of the fallout described above.

The vital force will always do everything in its power to do the best thing for the animal. The course of natural healing is a difficult and challenging path but one that we can choose with confidence to assist the vital force, the guardian of life, to maintain health.

A good client of mine, feeling lucky to have had such an experience recently wrote; “Luck is when life leads you on a journey that takes you to a place that scares you and the you find the courage and special people who turn the whole experience into an incredible journey.”

Good luck in finding your own best way forward on your own healing journey.

………………………………………We all have much to learn.

I am becoming increasingly aware that my role of natural animal therapist is largely to put the animals back in charge of their own healing.
Pondering this today, I am reminded of who is really in charge.
With a deep personal conviction that the Universe and the Creator loves us all more than we can possibly imagine and more even than we love each other, it follows that He is also going to be far more caring of His Creation than we can ever hope to be.

As guardians of the life force within us, we do our best to maintain health and to make progress. The vital force that we, as homeopaths, work with inside animals is also one of these trusted guardians.  It is necessary to be able to recognise this force and to ascertain its capacity to some extent in order to assist it homeopathically.  As a colleague keeps reminding me, this force is always going to try to do the best thing for the individual. Whilst it is a disturbance to the vital force that causes disease, the animal will then manifest symptoms so that a remedy can be matched to the level and type of disturbance. This is the essence of our art as homeopaths and the basis on which a cure can occur.

I have been observing the work of an animal communicator recently, which has also brought this issue more to the fore.  Over time and like many in my profession, I have run the full gamut of scepticism and acceptance of this skill. As I strive to ‘get a handle’ on my understanding of this technique, I realise that the animals themselves are as unaware of their higher selves as are many of us.
The vital force is not the highest self but it is largely an unconscious aspect of our being nonetheless. I observe that animal communicators can listen to the animals’ conscious selves in ways that they are able to silently articulate their thoughts and feelings to some extent. Animals have varying levels of intelligence and every living thing has it to some degree. Only the communicator themselves can adequately describe their art and I do not profess to function at this level in order to be qualified to elaborate further upon it. Suffice to say that, as a thinker, I have been challenged recently to identify these phenomena as I ponder my own work.
I observe that a communicator can assist in the following ways.  They can get the animals perspective which can assist to create an opportunity to make a shift in thinking and energy in a situation. They can validate or refute the effectiveness of a management practice that has been employed and may be causing problems for the animal. They can help owners to understand their animals better.

They can provide information that can be challenging to the owner but may help them to grow in their relationships.  Some people would not want to know what their animals are thinking or feeling for fear of the requirements to make changes. Others are very grateful for the insights into situations that help them to solve problems with behaviour especially.

From a therapeutic viewpoint however, I believe and observe that most animals are no more capable of healing themselves when these blocks occur than are we ourselves.  Disease occurs at the level of the vital force, which is a subconscious or unconscious level. Information gleaned from the outer layers including the mind and emotion can be useful in formulating rubrics (homeopathic symptom lists). Many eminent homeopaths highlight the importance of ‘mentals’ or symptoms of the mind. A communicator can assist in identifying these just as a physician can identify the physical symptoms. The information they can provide can therefore be as useful as the ‘mentals’ that are so much more easily obtained in people.
There are also a lot of people who think it is fun to have this type of communication with their animals just for the joy factor.

I suppose the bottom line in therapy is not so much what you know but how you can put it to good use.

It is comforting to know that there are many levels of help available.

A question that many people ask me is “when do I get my pet desexed * and do I have to?”

This is something that has been debated for as long as I can recall and until recently and despite being in Veterinary practice for over two decades, I had little understanding myself of the reasons behind this decision.
As with everything, it is better to make informed choices but information on this subject has been slow to appear. It will always be the prerogative of pet owners to make their own decisions but a balance of arguments need to be considered.
Being one myself to always challenge convention I am a little nonplussed by my acceptance of the current practice of prepubertal desexing. **

Ideally it may seem nice to keep animals intact but if they are not being used for intentional breeding then very many of them will engage in unintentional breeding. This potentially compounds the dire animal welfare situation that still exists with thousands of unwanted animals being destroyed annually.  The majority of pet owners therefore, will elect to desex their pets for this and a variety of other reasons.

This posting is designed to provide considerations to assist in making this decision. It also poses it’s own questions to ponder.

From an homeopathic perspective, prepubertal desexing may remove the ‘system’ from the animals radar or vital vigilance. Theoretically then, the body does not know it has, or had, a reproductive capacity. This perhaps removes any physical ‘issues’ surrounding reproductive activity or the lack thereof.
As one homeopathic colleague suggests “they don’t miss what they never had”.
A counterpoint to this idea is that the brain is the largest sex organ and with or without hormones it will create certain behavioural patterns albeit fewer than it would in the presence of sex hormones.

Desexed cats will still respond to increasing/decreasing daylight stimuli to the pineal gland that governs mating behaviour.  The highest incidence of cystitis (urinary bladder inflammation) and fighting in desexed cats occurs at solstice times (Winter especially) as a result of this phenomenon. When the reproductive system is removed the body finds outlet for disease through other organs like the urinary system. This is easily overlooked and misdiagnosed as a result.

In Vet school in Australia we always thought the Poms (Vets in England), were a bit behind in generally recommending that bitches have a season (oestrus cycle) before speying. We were taught here the classic ‘oestrogen priming theory’, whereby a system once primed with oestrogen can still go on to produce mammary cancer even if ovariectomised. I imagine there must have been cases of such for this to have been expounded to vet students.
I discovered more recently, however, the merits in allowing the animals to ‘come into their own’ or be hormonally primed prior to desexing. I had success with treating an animal (speyed) that I believed was exhibiting resentment (behavioural abberation) for not being able to have pups as a result of having been desexed. I think/owner thinks she was desexed prepubertally but maybe if she had a silent heat she may have been primed, so I am not certain that this behaviour arose spontaneously without hormonal priming. It’s also only one case and only my interpretation but it perhaps challenges the emotional, behavioural and personality development aspects of a pet and the effects that desexing may have at this level.

Giving animals an opportunity to grow and mature under the influence of sex hormones may cause a greater ‘jolt’ when this is removed.  I have seen dogs become depressed when castrated as adults and not as juveniles.

Homeopathically speaking we want to allow expression without suppression  which is very difficult to achieve in animals that have no control over their sex instinct. Undesexed animals, a natural state, can be challenging to manage well and medical intervention leads to it’s own set of problems and cannot be recommended.  Pyometritis (uterine infections) and cycle aberrations are common in animals who have had their reproductive cycles altered medicinally and this can hardly be called natural practice. And so the debate continues in this cycle of pro and con

The cases of juvenile vulval incontinence and male urolith obstruction were common problems long before prepubertal desexing became the norm so regardless of age at desexing these juvenile physical characteristics can seemingly arise. Maybe a fully mature animal has fewer problems here.
Not being in general practice now for over five years I don’t know what is happening with the current early desexing outcomes in this regard nor the incidence of cancers of the reproductive system which even then seemed hugely overrepresented in entire animals for obvious reasons.  I find myself wondering now however whether the increased incidence of cancer in animals in general is any worse than having a reproductive outlet for this disease.  It is perhaps easier to remove a dogs ovaries than her urinary bladder once cancer becomes established in cancer prone animals. Or is being entire really an invitation for reproductive cancer in its own right?

It would also be almost impossible to detect specific cases of delayed intelligence in desexed animals but family farming sources repeatedly believed their working dogs (female especially) worked better when entire. This may be as much related to increased energy as presumed intellect.

What about the suggestion of less than optimal growth in prepubertal desexed animals?

It is widely accepted, for example, that geldings do not attain the muscle development and bulk of stallions and a possibility that mares (entire female horses) generally perform better in races.
I remember an endocrinologist challenging me about why desexed animals don’t become osteoporotic like men who lose their testicles to cancer and I had no answers. There is a definite link between calcium deposition and bone growth and sex hormones. It doesn’t appear to be of major importance in the health maintenance of animals but you have to wonder if stallions would have as many bone fractures or chips as geldings and whether the incidence of bone injuries is lower in mares.
There are sound management reasons for gelding (desexing) stallions.

Other factors to consider when contemplating desexing your pet include;
-anaesthesia risks, minimized by modern good practice and practitioner experience
-surgical risk minimized by practitioner experience and practice standard
-leg cocking and territory marking in males can continue after desexing
-aggression and fighting can continue after desexing
-overpopulation of unwanted animals is a serious issue and ‘accidents’ happen even in well managed animals
-a bitch in season effectively needs isolation for 3 weeks to minimise pregnancy risk
-animals not being used for breeding may develop other problematic outlets of behaviour when normal sexual outlets are denied.
-Instinctive behaviour is already being repressed in domestic pets at many levels
-whilst testicular and ovarian cancer does not occur if desexed, the tendency to cancer in the prone animal is not reduced and therefore can occur elsewhere
-the truth lies at the intersection of all available theories if you can find these points

Since posting this blog five years ago, new information is being made available that reaffirms my tendency towards delaying desexing for as long as possible, where possible. Those of us with a choice can make informed decisions based on emerging evidence such as that being made available by holistic vets in the USA for example.

It is always helpful to seek the professional opinions of those you trust. Veterinarians, amongst others, have both the experience and knowledge to provide advice in these matters.
Good luck in finding the help you need to decide for yourselves when or whether to desex your pets.

* desex: surgical removal of ovaries and uterus or spey in females and surgical removal of testicles, castration or neuter in males

**  prepubertal desexing occurs before sexual maturity and hormonal priming.

As more people are seeking reliable information on alternative health options for both themselves and their pets, it is becoming increasingly necessary to have access to accurate and easily understood sources.
On this  information highway, there also needs to be somewhere to stop and take time to reflect upon the ideas that appeal to us. I tell my clients that this involves listening to their own gut feelings about what seems right for them.
I am prompted to post this today in response to this need and in the hope that some of you will take inspiration and encouragement to look a little deeper into alternative health options.

Much of the philosophy on disease and natural healing presented here will be inspired by homeopathic teachings of luminaries such as George Vithoulkas and Constantine Hering amongst others. Although the principles outlined here are applicable to all species, I will be speaking mainly about domestic animal health.

Disease is a disturbance to the vital (life) force. This same force then causes symptoms to appear that mirror this level of disturbance. These symptoms represent the disease and what is to be cured. Recognising these symptoms leads us to identify a remedy as in the true homeopathic sense, ‘like cures like’.

The tenets of natural health practice are, in essence, very simple. There is, however, an abundance of conventional practices that we have acquired over many years that we need to feel confident to abandon in our search for better health.

Some of these trusted processes include yearly vaccinations, commercial pet foods, over medication of long standing disease and the definition of cure.

These will be addressed simply and separately in the following paragraphs.

Vaccinations
Vaccinations are not required to be given every year to protect against disease.
In fact, for dogs, a single vaccination at maturity after five months of age is sufficient to confer lifelong protection from distemper and hepatitis and many years protection from parvovirus and rabies. The overuse of vaccines creates numerous health problems. See vaccination alternatives. Similarly cats do not require repeated vaccination to protect them from disease. Feline leukaemia vaccinations have been directly implicated in causing cancer at the injection site in many cats.
One of the founding principles of natural health practice is to reduce the incidence of repeated vaccinations.

Commercial pet foods
Tinned and dry foods are not the best diets to feed your animals unless nothing else is available.
They should be termed convenience foods and, to be fair, we all need to use these sometimes. I suggest feeding them as little as possible.
The tinned and dry food diets are ‘dead food’. Apart from the high grain contents that they all contain, any meat products in them are so old and overcooked and of such poor quality, that it is a miracle that many animals survive as well as they appear to do on them.
By far the best food for all species is fresh food. Raw meaty bones for all carnivorous species is not only more appropriate, but essential for optimal ongoing good health in these animals.
Despite extensive efforts by pet food companies to convince us of the benefits of their foods, a diet of raw fresh meaty bones constitutes the basis for a fully balanced diet for cats and dogs. With the addition of a little raw fat or oil and raw vegetable slurry, it is far superior to a ‘scientifically balanced diet’ in a packet.
Australian veterinarians, Drs Clare Middle and Ian Billinghurst are well known for their contributions in this area and fresh food forms the basis of all good natural health practice.
See also chewing things over.

Medicating long standing disease
This practice can actually drive disease to an even deeper level in the body as a result of being denied a normal expression or outlet.

The following information will challenge many conventoinal concepts of disease and cure but this is what is required for alternative practice to be effective.
For example, it is quite common for minor external ailments like skin rashes to be treated with cortisone or antibiotic at the first appearance and sometimes for extended periods.

Often these rashes are merely an indication that the body needs to eliminate something.(something more than bacteria which are usually normal and harmless bystanders)

It is a common misconception then that these drugs cure disease. They will often cause symptoms to disappear but this is not a true cure of disease. The underlying cause has not been addressed, in this example, the need to eliminate something other than secondary infection which may or may not exist. The skin is a major route of detoxification and preventing this will cause problems.

With extended use of pharmaceutical preparation, the body is forced to find new outlets for disease.  In this way, disease can effectively be driven into deeper layers of the being until major organ disease or cancer eventually becomes life threatening. As the skin and the nervous systems are connected both developmentally and homeopathically it is quite common for nervous symptoms to arise following such an incomplete cure.

There is also no coincidence that allergy prone animals with skin disease generally have a lot of nervous anxiety.

Before undertaking any form of treatment it is advisable to find out how it is intended to work and what the possible ramifications are likely to be for future health.

Conventional medicines or ‘allopathics’ are designed to work against the symptoms and hence against the vital (life) force that is expressing these symptoms.
Homeopathy will work with the vital force and assist it to overcome the disease.

Once homeopathic treatment is undertaken it is also important to remember that the cure will often follow the reverse order of disease. A recurrence of previous ailments in lesser severity is therefore quite common as cure progresses. This is the body’s way of eliminating disease by throwing it to the outside and to lesser important organs or areas like the skin.
The vital (life) force that is responsible both for disease symptoms and cure is going to focus on the most important and deepest disease. An animal showing signs of liver cancer may therefore seem to have been cured of his inflammatory bowel disease when in fact it has just been over ridden by a more challenging disease process on which the vital force is now focussing and expressing itself .
Successful treatment in this case may then see a recurrence of bowel symptoms of lesser severity as healing of the liver progresses.
The skin is generally the last organ of cure and if an animal has had a life threatening condition and ends up with only a skin rash, then this is often cause for celebration.
Sometimes treating this skin rash is ill advised as it may be a necessary last remaining and ongoing outlet for disease in an animal with truly ‘incurable’ disease. It can live with skin disease!

Summary Statements

There is no need to repeatedly vaccinate animals
The best diets are raw and fresh foods. (freezing is OK)
Avoid the over use of pharmaceuticals like cortisone, antibiotics and other ‘allopathics’.
Recognise that symptoms are an attempt to throw off disease and are not the disease itself.
Forcefully eliminating symptoms is not treating or curing disease.
Cure occurs only by nurturing the vital force and restoring strength.
Remember that cure usually occurs in the reverse order to the appearance of disease.
Cure moves from inside to outside with skin symptoms being the last to remain.

and finally,
Trust the process you choose.