Dogs Trust > Information > Poppy's Opinions > Homeopathy >
Hello everyone!
This time, we’re going to be discussing complementary therapies and homeopathy in particular and whether they actually work.
Now before I even begin, our Veterinary Director wants me to make the following clear:
• First of all I’m using the term ‘complementary’ rather than ‘alternative’ because these therapies should usually only be used alongside conventional medicine - not instead of.
• They should also only be used following diagnosis of a problem by a veterinary surgeon.
• And thirdly, Dogs Trust is not against the use of complementary therapy but it must only be carried out by or under the direction of a suitably trained and qualified vet.
So, what is homeopathy? How does it work? Does anyone really know?
Homeopathy is based on the principle of ‘like cures like’, and it is thought that it may work in a similar way as vaccinations in that a tiny amount of a substance that can cause symptoms of an illness can be used to treat that illness by triggering the body to respond by developing its own antibodies and immunity. Homoeopathy doesn’t treat the disease or produce antibodies, it helps encourage the body and the immune system to fight the disease and essentially cure itself.
Homeopathic remedies are made from plant, mineral and animal sources – some of which are extremely poisonous until made into the remedies, by diluting many times in a solution of alcohol and water. Homeopathic remedies are safe in that you cannot overdose in same way as some normal medicine and giving the wrong remedy won’t cause any harm other than perhaps resulting in the correct remedy taking longer to work. This means that it is safe for a dog owner to give their dogs these remedies at home – after a correct diagnosis and following a treatment plan given by their homeopathic vet of course!
Because the remedies work on the whole of the animal, it is thought that literally any problem can be helped or cured with homeopathy, although some conditions are more easily helped than others. These include vomiting, allergies, constipation, bee stings, skin problems, arthritis, diabetes, epilepsy and emotional disorders. Some dogs seem to respond better than others too.
Some people are sceptical about the success rates of homeopathic treatments - one problem is that the remedies themselves are diluted over and over again until none of the original substance is detectable. All that is left is a ‘memory’ or ‘imprint’ of the substance. So, if there is essentially nothing in it, how can this really work?
Also, all conventional drugs have to prove that they are effective before they can be sold. With conventional medicine, the proof has to come from a process called a clinical trial which involves giving the drug and a dummy version (called a placebo) to someone, without the person doing the trial knowing which is which. The trial then looks to see if the drug works better than the dummy. Because of the way homeopathic medicines are made it is impossible to undertake such trials and so there can be no scientific proof that they work.
Some people think that homoeopathy works on some humans because of what is called the ‘placebo effect’. This means that it has some effect because the person believes it is going to work. Of course dogs don’t have any expectations of homoeopathy (or any other kind of treatment) and so if homeopathic remedies do work (as they certainly appear to in some cases), could this mean that it really is effective?
So here is my question:
Have you used homeopathic treatments on your dog and if so, did they work? If you’ve never used them, why not and do you think they could work, or is it all a load of old dogwash?
Until next time, when I'll be barking on about another hot hound topic,
Best woofishes,
Poppy
Office Dog
Poppy says,
Just for info...
If you want to find out more, here are details of vets that are qualified in complementary therapies. Try the following website www.natural-animal-health.co.uk or alternatively you can contact the British Association of Homoeopathic Veterinary Surgeons for more information on 01367 718115 or visit www.bahvs.com
Hi poppy
In the days when I used to vaccinate my dogs, three months on from the booster jab, Lucky was beginning to lose his fur. First noticed it on his leg, and was spreading to his body. I had no intentions of taking him back to my vet and decided to ask to be referred to a homeopathic vet, which he agreed. The consultation was something I'd never experienced before. Spent approximately half an hour answering all kinds of questions about Lucky himself: had he been through any upheavals; what was he fed on; what made his leg worse, what made it better; his likes/dislikes, and so on. This, I later learned, is what's known as repertorising the symptoms, making a note of the main remedies that run through all of them and then reading them in a materia medica to pick the one most similar to the complaint - thus treating the total animal, rather than just a symptom. He gave me three tablets and showed me how to give it to him and I then had to give the other one the night after and the following one the night after that and then wait two weeks. If the fur didn't start growing back by the end of the two weeks then I would have to take him back for him to re-take the case. Luckily the fur started to grow back and he's been fine ever since.
Pippin. We took her on her favourite riverside walk but the weather had been really hot for a couple of days running, and the river was stagnant with a lot of debris and flies. Due to the river being the way it was we decided to keep Pippin well away from it. We let her off her lead but, silly us should have known better, she made a bee-line for the river, jumping in and drinking from it! By the time we got her home an hour later she was in a very bad state: she was ok while lying still but the moment she moved she acted lke she was gasping for breath and also coughing. On repertorising the case I found that Bryonia fitted the symptoms really well - especially 'worse from movement'. Gave her treatment. By the morning she was perfectly well, back to her normal self.
On my website I have some wonderful cases of dogs being cured by a homeopathic vet using homeopathy only. It wasn't used in a complementary sense but was the ONLY form of treatment because the conventional vet wanted the dog put to sleep. The conventional vet said there was no hope. Please see http://www.homoeopathyclassical.com
Christine
