Does This Natural Path Really Work?
You Tell It: It Sure Does!
Have you come here wondering if this natural approach to raising animals actually works?
I know, you’ve read about people stopping vaccinations for their animals and their kids, switching to natural diets, avoiding chemicals in and on the bodies of these precious beings, but does all of this bucking the system actually pay off?
Above all, I want you to only embark on the Natural Path and stay on it by way of understanding.
You’d be underserving your animals if you just did things because someone told you to, even some authority like a holistic vet.
No, far better is to deeply understand why you’ve chosen to be a rebel, to seek out safer, non-toxic and non-damaging ways of raising those in your care.
When you own your stance on health, from that deep place of understanding, after you’ve taken the time and the effort it takes to learn the harm that comes from conventional medicine for any species, you’ll be unshakeable.
You’ll be able to stick with it amid criticism, sneering vet techs or receptionists, even the strong admonishments of Dr. WhiteCoat, who seems to know nothing of the alternate reality you’re embracing for your animal care.
To help you further on your journey, I’ve asked you, dear readers, for examples of real life changes you have seen since stepping off the conventional medical paradigm and exploring the twists and turns of the Natural Path.
It’s a lot easier to stay the course when you see and hear what others have accomplished who’ve gone before you.
To that end, stay awhile, drink deeply from the broth of others’ real world stories of hope, and take heart: you are far from alone.
A Lyme Update
Allow me to begin. You may recall Ida, the dog way up in Minnesota, whose life was being severely impaired by Lyme disease.
In the comments that followed the post, I was lambasted by a vet tech who was sure I was endangering this poor animal’s life by not following the “tried and true” antibiotics route for weeks or months.
No, I was treating Ida with only homeopathic medicines, medicines so dilute and safe that a baby could swallow a bottle full and have no ill effect.
Yet, these same medicines have cured animals with serious chronic, debilitating diseases.
Animals.
Who, like babies, know nothing of a placebo response, the proposed reason homeopathy works at all, according to its naysayers.
I recently had a conversation over email with Ida’s owner about an older dog who was having some issues, and I couldn’t wait to hear about Ida, the pup who’d gone from crushing pain in the jaws that prevented yawning, eating or even resting normally, to normal and bouncy like she should have been.
With homeopathy only.
And nourishing food, at times hand fed or syringed when she couldn’t open her mouth.
Here’s the latest:
…thank you again for helping us with Ida. We have been holding our breaths for the past few months waiting to see if her symptoms would return, and they haven’t! I think back to how worried I was during that time, and how you had just the most wonderful way of communicating and reassuring us that collectively we would get her better. I so appreciate that! – MA, Minnesota, USA
Here’s Laurie’s experience with “Lyme” and the effects of conventional treatment:
I’d always thought I was a great canine owner, doing everything my veterinarian said to do, and for when to do it. That is, until I allowed my dog to have the Lyme vaccine. The following spring, when the bloodwork for heartworm went out, they also checked for Lyme. The veterinarian’s office called, she came back positive for Lyme. I immediately inquired, how do we know the bloodwork isn’t picking up on the vaccine, versus a live infection? I was told the ELISA can differentiate. <br> <br> I had faith my veterinarian knew what he was talking about and had my dog go on an antibiotic for 30 days. It damn near killed her. Turns out, she did not have Lyme at all, it was the vaccine the ELISA did pick up on. But, she’d already had her 30 days on an antibiotic – which atrophied her exocrine gland in her pancreas. <br><br> Because of this, my dog can now no longer digest food! My dog was literally starving to death. I kept telling my veterinarian it had to be a malabsorption issue, he kept telling me “bad food in, bad food out”…when he well knew I was feeding the highest-end kibble there was. Long story short, after spending $2,000 playing his game with profoundly no improvement, I demanded he draw the blood for EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency), even though he was convinced I was wasting my money on this test. Meanwhile, until that bloodwork came back, I had him give my girl a B–12 injection and off I went to find porcine enzymes in my area till I could get canine specific ones mailed to my home, which were to aid in her ability to digest food again. I can guarantee my dog was a mere two days at most, away from perishing… so much so she couldn’t even lift her head to acknowledge me. Within 4 hours of the B–12 injection, I had half my dog already back. <br><br> That afternoon when I fixed her first meal with the digestive enzymes, was the first nutrition she was able to absorb in over two weeks! I was beyond overjoyed to know she was finally able to receive nutrients again. Thankfully, in all my research about EPI, I learned that raw meat contains its own digestive enzymes. That was all I needed to hear. From there and on, my dog has only been fed raw meat. Venison, pheasant, goose, duck, quail, chicken, turkey, sardines, pork, beef, green tripe, gullet, organ meats, goat, rabbit, sheep, bison…. Nowhere have I have ever seen a healthier dog. <br><br> My girl is now the absolute picture of health. Truly so much more healthier than prior to her EPI, all because she eats a raw meat diet, and because she will never have any allopathic medicine again. That’s right, never will she have an antibiotic, nor a vaccine, nor flea/tick meds – nothing. All of her medicine is now classical homeopathy, the likes of which Samuel Hahnemann refined. – LD, New York, USA
For more on Lyme, and the misuse of antibiotics with a mere positive test, be sure to listen to my interview with homeopathic colleague Dr. Todd Cooney.
Animals Who Missed the Memo
Some of my favorite stories are those in which a grave prognosis is given by Dr. WhiteCoat, and imminent death is foretold, only to have the animal’s owner veer off onto the Natural Path and watch the animal excel, ignorant of its death sentence.
Here are a few great ones.
Life Outside
the Bubble
“This little girl, was approximately 14–16 weeks, which I knew to be a critical point for her immune system, but was diagnosed as having an autoimmune disorder, likely not adoptable, and probably would have to be euthanized. I was asked as a last resort, to try and help her, because the rescue director knew me to have some success with floundering dogs. She was found severely lethargic, nearly unconscious, on December 9, 2014 , six weeks of intensive “conventional” veterinary treatment did not yielded much improvement. She had two serious bouts of illness, and they had put her on steroids. The vet said that she would need to live in a near “bubble like” sterile environment, and would be basically “sickly” for whatever time she spends on this earth. I received her and her records later on January 24, 2015, but I understood that the illnesses occur sometime after vaccination. Since her rescue, she had been housed at the veterinary hospital and fostered by staff of that same hospital.
They have obviously made the connection with vaccination, but blame her defective immune system, rather than the vaccines. I didn’t believe she had an autoimmune issue, but had vaccine reactions. If she was immune-compromised, I would have expected her to contract the parvovirus that she’s undoubtedly been exposed to during her stay at the veterinary hospital, but test negative for Parvo, and had blood panels done that show normal organ function.
I went in a completely different direction. No “bubbles”, took her off the meds, and put her on a real food diet of raw meat, bones, organs, select veggies (including dandelion), egg, raw goat milk, sardines, spirulina, coconut oil, turmeric, probiotics, which is the typical diet of all our dogs. The vets office didn’t seem sure of exactly what her current diet was, so we went cold turkey onto raw I did preemptively include some pumpkin, and waited until she was off the steroids completely, before beginning a detox regiment using Milk Thistle. Jackie-Kennemers-pupSix weeks later (last picture) what a beautiful dog she’s grown into. She went on raw just fine, never had a loose stool or a bad day, and is going to meet her potential adoptive parents tomorrow. I tried to get a better picture, but the kid won’t stop moving.” — JK, Oklahoma, USA
Life Without a Liver?
Here’s a patient story. Guinness missed the memo that liver atrophy should have been grim.
Our conventional vet entered the room, ‘Near end stage liver failure. Things don’t look good. But, he is an 8–1/2 year old Great Dane and getting past his life expectancy, anyway. Plus he has other issues. We can try 3 different antibiotics, and additional meds to counteract the side effects of those, but things look grim.’ When I told our vet we were opting for homeopathy she said she knew nothing about homeopathy but warned us if he was dead in a month, we’d know it didn’t work. Guinness lived another 2 years in better health than he had been in a long while. – BU, Wisconsin, USA
Well, I am 7 years into the holistic/homeopathic, raw food approach to raising my pets and though they are due for a once over health check with my favorite and only Vet! I can honestly say that my pack are happy, healthy, and vibrant! If I can impart one important thing that I have learned from this process it is to wait & watch when an animal is hurt or seems ill. Maybe with a little help & guidance from a holistic vet and a trusty homeopathic kit!
Animals have an amazing ability to overcome illness and injury on their own if they are generally healthy and not dealing with over vaccination, pesticide applications, and inferior food. Here is an example…I have a cat that was attacked by a pack of dogs in the middle of the night, the cat disappeared, I suspected it went to hide under a neighbors house, but could not locate it. After searching for several weeks, I assumed that it was dead; however, I noticed that another of my cats was absent a lot of the time. After two months, both cats appeared on my front porch, I checked out the one that had been attacked and found scars on his his stomach, completely & beautifully healed! He did what came naturally and spent all of his energy on healing himself, apparently with the help of my other cat, but without my intervention! and no antibiotics! I don’t even know if he ate during this process.
The cat is now 13 years old and still kicking! Another example is: My dog had been bitten by, I presumed a snake, she had a very swollen, painful paw and leg, my husband wanted to rush her to the vet, but I resisted and contacted Dr. Falconer. I administered the required homeopathic remedies for dealing with snake bites and waited (this was the hard part), but the swelling went down and the wound healed nicely without the use of antibiotics or steroids and without any after effects (short or long term) for my dog!
Also, two of my dogs tested positive for heart worm at least 3 or 4 years ago now. They were treated homeopathically for a period of a year and a half. Though, i have not had them re- tested, they have never shown signs of illness. I trust that they are, if not heart worm free, at least keeping them at bay. Healthy, happy, holistically raised dogs in action! – MW, Louisiana, USA
Our cat Teddy was diagnosed 3 years ago with congestive heart failure. A couple of weeks ago we noticed his heavy breathing and rushed him to the emergency cardiology veterinarian. This time, unfortunately, they could not stabilize him and he had to go to heaven. The cardiologist was stunned that we had been able to keep him alive for three years. He said that from diagnosis to death, it is usually only a year. Teddy not only lived, he thrived. The day before he died, he was sitting in the sun by a rose bush, enjoying the day. We had three GREAT years together because of the care he had from us, and our homeopathic vet. Because of the raw natural food, love, and homeopathy there was a quality of brightness about Teddy even on his last day in the sun by the rosebush. — JM, Colorado, USA
You Should Have Died Two Years Ago!
Getting Out of Nature’s Way
Many, many examples came in of setting the appropriate stage for good health, and then allowing Mother Nature to heal.
Here’s one from a long time client in Louisiana, who I rarely need to consult with. Her animals stay well with her good rearing choices.
Dr. WhiteCoat Causes Problems. The Natural Path Fixes Them
As is common among homeopathic practitioners, we see the damage done by conventional medicine.
Often in the name of “prevention!”
So, a large part of starting a patient on the road to cure comes from undoing the harm that’s been done, usually primarily by vaccinations, poisons for fleas and heartworms, and junk food.
You may see betterment even before homeopathic prescribing begins, quite often. Texas Ray was a brilliant example I wrote about way back when.
His cure came from raw Cornish Game Hens!
I posted about the befuddlement of Dr. WhiteCoat when it comes to the number one reason animals see vets every year. Doretta saw it first hand, and fixed it with the help of her homeopathic vet in another state:
Conventional Damage Done, Now an Ambassador for Natural Health
The story of Colt (the Havanese) goes something like this…..It’s time for our annual vaccinations, we take all our fur babies every year. So everybody loads up and off we go…..but this time something strange happens. Colt starts to have itchy skin and hair loss; his ears start to “gunk up”…..must be food allergies. We get antibiotics, we use special shampoo for the skin, we change food (about 20 times). Nothing is helping!
Finally we make the decision to turn to homeopathy to treat Colt’s VACCINOSIS – “google” it and read all about it if you don’t know – we didn’t. Moral of the story – Colt is much better. He eats straight raw, takes herbs to prevent heartworms and is on several supplements for his immune system and he will never get another vaccination. – DS, Alabama, USA
Based on her learning from Colt, she’s made a firm decision: no more vaccinations! Maybe you can use her example and prevent the allergy state by stopping vaccinations.
When I suggested she share this story, Doretta responded,
I’ve told Colt’s story many times in the last year….the first person being the breeder. Now she gives everyone who purchases a puppy a pamphlet with pictures of Colt (before and after) and the story of what happened to him.
Way to go, Doretta.
Now every pup coming from this breeder gets a graphic representation of what went wrong and can start exploring a more natural path.
Are you getting the word out? We benefit many others by sharing these stories we all have. One easy way is to use the sharing buttons you see at the top and bottom of each blog post I publish.
“The Best Care I Could Afford” Causing Damage. Lessons Learned.
Duke was a black lab I had for 11 years when I first picked him up I looked at him sitting next to me as this innocent little puppy and thought to myself “I am going to give him the best care I can afford” as he grew I took great care to get him all of the preventative shots and all of the preventative monthly heart worm medications, blood test, etc. As he approach two years or so I noticed the itchy skin things well as a yeasty smell, this is where the journey began,…
The thought was allergies and the battle plan was an allergin test that resulted in topical treatments, steroid pills, shots and baths, at Dukes age of 10 desperate, I was doing some research on some natural remedies in a holistic pet store and the owner told me about cold pressed coconut oil to help the skin from within whare the healing begins and apple cider vinegar to help ease the itching it was amazing how fast it worked, …about a year later his fur completely grew back baths reduced to 1 a month with no smell to it, sadly at 11 years Duke was respectfully put to sleep do to severe stomach cancer, I am convinced the damage was done from conventional medicines and sent me on a quest to learn more about natural alternatives to better animal as well as human health, The natural path is the only way to go. Thanks Duke for opening my eyes. – MD, Illinois, USA
Homeopathy Works Wonders
Time and again, we see small to large miracles as a result of proper homeopathic treatment. Having practiced nothing but homeopathy since 1992, I tend to not have time for the skeptics and naysayers.
If they can’t account for animals getting well with homeopathy, or think it’s somehow all in the owners’ heads, well, bless their little hearts. We know otherwise.
Joints Improved and Dying Naturally
My hundred pound Airedale, Chloe, was a wonderful teacher to me and I made some compromises with her early care I would not make now. But she had a few extra vaccines, some kibble (instead of raw) for her first few years, and around age 8 became so arthritic she could not get up in the mornings and would have to drag her big body to the door where she could step down to stand up. If I tried to help her, she cried in pain.
When Dr Falconer began working with her, she improved so dramatically you would never know this dog had a moment of arthritic pain ever! If I called her, she would jump up and run to me. She died peacefully in her sleep at age 10. Her counterpart, Lionheart, is a few years younger and I was older and wiser! Lionheart, at 110 lbs, has had ONE vaccine in his entire life (rabies), has been on raw food his entire life, and has had some arthritic changes that Dr F had been able to address successfully. He is almost 11 and still going strong guarding my farm. – Dr. MaryTraverse, Oatmeal, Texas, USA
Hospice and Easy Death with Homeopathy
As a result of reading your article on natural death several months ago, I discussed my aged collie Glas with my homoeopathic vet here in the UK and we made a plan, well ahead of it being needed, for “home hospice” care. I was lucky enough that she failed slowly over several months and then speeded up over her final two weeks with great dignity. She died after walking out to the garden to toilet and laid herself down, we carried her back to her own bed and she died peacefully minutes later with her three house mates around her.
With my lovely vet’s support (I don’t know that I would have been brave enough by myself) she was eased along with bone broth to maintain her when she was reluctant to eat her normal raw diet, Rescue Remedy to ease any moments of distress (for me, too!) and homoeopathic remedies as required. So much more fitting an end for her than a trip to the practice, even ’though she enjoyed coming to work with me and has been involved in the training of vet nurses throughout her 17 years. Hopefully, she can continue to help others through sharing this. And thank you for sharing your experience and allowing Glas such a dignified passing. – MM, UK vet nurse
Spinal Disease on the Way to Cure
Since I was skeptical, I wanted to be sure to write up my testimonial. Boo Radley, my now 6-year old Great Dane, began exhibiting symptoms of Wobbler’s last October or so. Our conventional vet put him on max levels of Deramaxx, Adequin and Tramadol. They seemed to provide some pain relief for the first month but then he seemed to get worse. He could barely get out of bed in the morning, had severe knuckling after walking for 5–10 minutes, and just generally seemed “down”. I decided to contact Dr. Falconer, whose blog I’d been following for some time. In addition to supplements and a remedy, he referred me to Dr. Mary for Network Analysis work.
Within a couple of weeks of both therapies, Boo Radley’s visible improvement began. His spirits were better, his coat was shinier, and best of all he was moving again. Now, not only does he get out of bed easily in the morning, but he can walk several miles without pain or knuckling. I’m not being dramatic when I say that I feel like Dr. Falconer and Dr. Traverse saved Boo Radley’s life. I thought I was going to have to put him to sleep to end his pain and now he runs around like a puppy again. – KW, Austin USA
Natural Path to the Rescue
While a natural, species appropriate diet may not cure every chronic condition in every animal, it sure brings a significant betterment to most. I couldn’t have seen the great successes I have over the years without nourishing the animal properly along with prescribing homeopathic medicines.
How many do I never see because their caring owners have just applied this common sense and never need homeopathy?
Probably a boat load.
Gaining Weight, Losing ADD
We adopted a 7 year old GSD in August 2014. She was so thin that her backbone and ribs were visible and had no muscle tone, she was hyperactive and had trouble concentrating, wouldn’t eat the kibble she’d been on in the foster home, had coarse greasy fur and ‘dog breath’. She burped after eating and her bowel function was erratic with a couple of accidents in the house. We changed her to a ‘natural’ diet and she was suddenly ravenous: porridge, meat, bones, veg, eggs, fish (we’re lucky to have a free range/organic butcher close by).
She developed an all over itchy rash. We tried one dose of steroids which did not help. We next went to the herbal vet, within a week or so the itchy rash was gone. She is on her second course of herbs and her digestive system is also settling down. Now our dog has put on weight and muscle, has silky soft fur and smells lovely; she is getting calmer and so easier to train. She tends to trip over her paws sometimes so we are considering a trip to a chiropractor. — Carly, California, USA
Prevention That Actually Works
A common theme I point out repeatedly is one of conventional medical “prevention” causing damage.
We see it repeatedly, especially in those vaccinated animals who are getting the repeated shots over their life span. When you step out of that dying paradigm, you get prevention that not only works, but actually enhances life, rather than risking it.
Heartworm drugs are one of the riskiest classes, with deaths still being reported, especially in association with Trifexis.
Many of you have rejected those toxic pesticides and pursued my Drug Free Heartworm Prevention protocol instead. Is it working for you?
Sure appears to be, and doing more than just preventing the parasite, which was my intention from the beginning.
Real Animals, Deep Prevention
I have regularly used heart worm meds in the past, as well as followed the typical vaccine schedule before knowing about that. I lost 2 Golden retrievers because of those toxins. Today I have 4 dogs in my care and this year will be the 3rd year of no heart worm meds. They have all tested negative. Last year I started the nosodes from you and will continue them this year as well. We are all raw fed and though they had their “puppy shots” /vaccines before coming to me they will receive no more vaccines (each of my dogs have some issues from vaccines). For the most part though they are shiny, happy and healthy. I make rare trips to the veterinary office other than wellness exams. Any issues that do emerge are treated Homoeopathically or otherwise naturally. – DM, Winnipeg, Canada
While I have fed a raw diet to my dogs since they were puppies, the real catalyst that became the defining moment for me was starting Dr. Falconer’s drug free heartworm protocol, 5 years ago, we remain negative in our annual blood work. We are now working to undue the vaccine damage from puppy shots with homeopathy. Kodi is showing some significant changes resting through the night, his saliva is a lot less foamy on walks. We are a work in progress, but feel I confident in the strides we are making. – Joyce Salazar, Dallas, USA
Two Different Packs, Raised Completely Differently
My husband and I have raised dogs both conventionally and naturally. The difference has been astounding. Our first pack of 5 small dogs were raised the conventional medicine way. All were vaccinated and re-vaccinated every 3 years, fed “the best” kibble and pet food that Dr. Whitecoat recommended, were given the endorsed “safe” topical flea “preventatives”, drugs and all the rest of the poisonous protocol that conventional veterinary medicine espouses. Every dog had poor health, numerous diseases and a short life of only 12-13 years. Only 1 died on their own (heart failure); the rest had to be euthanized. They all suffered and so did we. It’s heart-breaking to see the animals you love go through all that pain and misery…and then to learn you helped do it to them. Our dogs had kidney failure, liver failure, congestive heart failure, severe allergies, seizures, repeat ear and eye infections, impacted anal glands, separation anxiety, excessive whining and barking, cancer, canine dementia, and they were difficult to train. Their veterinary expenses were about $30,000. They saw regular vets and specialists. None of them ever told us the dogs shouldn’t be re-vaccinated because of their health problems, or that there were other options. Our next pack has been raised naturally.
They were all vaccinated before coming to us. Our oldest male was given the usual puppy shots by his breeder, but not a rabies vaccine. We mistakenly gave him a 1/3 dose of the rabies vaccine when he was 14 months old, and also mistakenly neutered him at age 13 months. About 6 weeks after that vaccine, he was a different dog. Gone was the happy, confident, amazing dog everyone was so impressed with. He was nervous, tense, suspicious, afraid of EVERYTHING, sad looking, had chronic conjunctivitis, coughed after every drink, and was uncomfortable in his own skin. We’re happy to report that after 2 homeopathic remedies from Dr. Falconer, there’s a big improvement in every area. We’ve got more to do, but the difference is incredible. We’re on the way to getting our awesome little guy back! This pack has been raised on raw, pasture-raised, organic meat, bones, eggs, vegetables; raw goat milk keifer and some healthy oil.
No more vaccines; no drugs, chemicals, topicals; and no more vaccines. They have some vaccine damage; they were vaccinated and came from generations of vaccinated dogs who were also kibble fed. But, these dogs are super healthy, vital animals….no odor, no eye goop, no anal glad problems, no health issues or disease; they have sweet breath and clean, white teeth, sparkling hair and eyes, beautiful skin and nails, loads of energy, great temperaments and behavior…and all that healthy, natural rearing brings. They’re also very happy….so are we. They’re a joy to be around and to live with. They’ve never been ill or diagnosed with any disease. Their vet expense is about $1,200 a year for the entire group (yearly wellness exam and blood work). Natural rearing is the only way we’ll ever raise our dogs. — DW, California, USA
Feel the Love? You Are Not Alone!
Real folks, real animal stories, real results from following the Natural Path.
If you’ve had hesitations about fully embracing this way of raising the animals in your care, it’s time to lay them down and go forth to create your own animal ambassadors for natural health.
If you’d like to bring in the miracles of homeopathic medicine to assist you, see my Resources page for the AVH list there. I’ve added a video there to show you how to find a qualified homeopathic vet.
I’m sure many more of you have your own stories that didn’t make the deadline for this article. Tell us in the comments all the good you’ve accomplished with a natural approach.
We are in this together. Carry on.
I have a 5 year old pom newly diagnosed through a regular vet (x ray & gut instinct) with congestive heart failure. He said she was in the early stages of it. He put her on diuretic and Enalapril for her heart. I originally cooked her meals, but about 2 months ago switched to raw. I give a probiotic. Should I be adding L-carintine and taurine to her raw? I’m trying to find a homeopath, but live in a small town which looks like its going to be a 2hour drive. I want to act fast so she can live out her years happy and healthy as possible. Any advice would be greatly,greatly appreciated.
Hello Dr. Falconer. Thanks to finding your website I have had my 3 Aussies on a raw diet, they have only had the core vaccinations and won’t have anymore, and I use only natural flea and tick repellent. My pack is healthier then ever. I do have one question concerning lymes disease. If a strong immune system can take care of heartworms, does that also apply to the lymes bacteria? Is a vital dog able to fight this off if they should get it and is there a warning sign that they are not? Thank you so much for all your help!
Hi Jan,
Good for you! You’re doing great work with your Aussies, and yes, that’s been my experience. If one contracts it in spite of all your efforts, you’d know most likely by sore joints, often more than one (polyarthritis). That’s the time to get a homeopath on board, and get to work curing the whole dog, expecting fully that the Lyme organism will be dealt with.
That’s what happened with the pup I wrote about. In general, anyone fighting any kind of disease, shows it by making symptoms. We watch for those to know when a challenge has arisen. There’s a good list of the more chronic, subtle symptoms on this page.
Thanks for the question, and carry on with raising your Natural Path Ambassadors!
As a dog owner the abnormal CBC would concern me and I would want to get an accurate diagnosis asap. If it was my dog I would ask your vet if he thinks a referral to a specialist would help? Or consider making an appointment with a homeopathic vet in your area, I think the dog should be physically examined by a veterinarian before changing or adding to the current treatment regimen. Did the vet say the dog was anemic? He may recommend more testing to get to the bottom of this.
Just my 2 cents.
You might pick Dr. Falconer’s brain over at Dogs Naturally. I got some Digestive Enzymes, essential minerals and Arabinogalactin to add to my cat’s raw diet, the vomiting and weight loss stopped, gums pinked back up, labs improved. Antibiotics, steroids and vaccines do screw up an animal’s gut; where I went wrong, myself. Takes little time to straighten them back out on the natural path, tho. Older pets don’t seem to produce digestive enzymes sufficiently for good digestion, but I negatively affected them further with antibiotics! I know those weekly blood draws, etc. drain your wallet, but that’s not why I abandoned Dr. Whitecoat. I just don’t believe in that model anymore, because it isn’t designed to cure, it’s about profit.
My 9 yo English springer was on a raw diet for 2 years until recently he wouldn’t eat it, noticed his gums were pale. My vet did blood work, showed no Lyme or heartworm. He has low platelet count and losing red blood cells and one low kidney value, vet put him on antibiotics for a week. Now he’s on prednisone and carafate 2 times a day. He now will eat canned merrick. He had a abdominal ultrasound which was negative. His last vaccine was last year, he gets no more shots. He could not digest kibble, he would vomit 6 hrs later. Blood tests weekly,expensive. Any help would be appreciated .
Hi Peggy,
Some good ideas here, but this is the main point: you’ve got chronic disease at work in your Springer. Anyone losing red blood cells has a serious problem. Conventional medicine doesn’t cure chronic disease. It makes symptoms go into hiding for a time, usually as long as the drugs are given. And it creates a host of side effects.
You need to get with a veterinary homeopath, whether or not you get a firm diagnosis. There should be plenty to work with coming from how this guy shows his illness. That should get a professional to a remedy to start the ball rolling, but it’ll take more than one remedy, carefully dosed, to get him back to well. See my Resources page to find AVH listed homeopathic vets and ask some hard question when you interview: 1. how much of your practice is homeopathy? 2. How long practicing it? 3. Would you recommend my dog be vaccinated at some point? Etc.
Chronic disease is never DIY. Get some help ASAP.
My dog eventually died. I had two vets working with me. One was holistic vet the other traditional . The holistic vet did nothing more than a traditional vet did. After all the research I did on the Internet about the herb treatments etc. I suggested to him he did nothing so I kept up with my reg vet. I did probiotics , iron supplements etc, but when he wouldn’t open his mouth to give it to him, my vet said it was PFK or hemolytic anemia. If you can tell me was holistic treatment there are for these diseases. I had a cocker spaniel in the past with the same thing. I have a english springer now, I hope won’t ever get it.
@Peggy, I just wanted to say, I am sorry for your loss. I lost a dog to hemangiosarcoma a couple of years ago. The whole thing went down in a month, I tried to get her help, but…
Bittersweet that i didn’t know everything I know now when my mom died of cancer at only 62. The cut/poison /burn doctrine killed her, surely.
The natural path saved me, and now it’s keeping my animals from the same sort of torture. We’ve decided to move where there’s proper care from a homeopath, because there aren’t any here.
I’ve switched most of the cats to raw homade, and they are thriving! The more I read about enzyme function and nutritional support, the more sense it makes to give them undamaged proteins. At 13, Hampster is a giant kitten, romping and sparring with Blackie, who is half his age. Pookie, my little cancer patient is doing amazingly well despite a heart murmur, vaccine damage, a cavity and an abdominal tumor. Raw food and herbal support alone have gone a great ways, along with some floral essences from Green Hope Farm. She has such a strong life force, I believe she will get well with the right practitioner. We’re headin’ North!
The cats that own me are very grateful for the knowledge you share, Dr. Falconer, and I love the pictures from the natural path, because they remind me of my childhood on a farm in the Midwest where I roamed areas like that every day. I may not have to milk the cows anymore, but I’m still kinda a farm kid. I need to invent a pitchfork that works on litter.
Great idea, Nora! Teeny tiny tines, I can see it now.
You’ve done great work, it sounds like, and your cats will tell a great story to anyone who meets them. Teenaged cats who think they are kittens: the new norm I’d like to see take over the globe.
It all starts with a few. And then, the ideas spread like airborne flower seeds, and who knows how far they’ll go?
Thanks so much for sharing all these naturally successful true stories. It helps us all to keep on track naturally. We try to make small changes to remove toxins in our pets lives and replace with natural solutions. To replace dr whitecoat with real healthy solutions for our pets. I love the success stories of what others have tried with their pets on the natural path that worked. It gives us all hope that there are naturally safer solutions that work better then dr whitecoat can ever prescribe. We do read the nasty comments at this site of those who are so closed minded that they cannot see the sunlight thru the trees. Its almost funny as they are so angry that so many of us are open minded and willing to find the most successful natural path. Some of the nasty trolls are paid by veterinary pharma to try and discourage open minded informed individuals by getting paid to write nasty comments to try and prevent us from getting real natural solutions that work. Just recently reading how a dog was given a death sentence because he had cancer and dr whitecoat prescribing chemo. Fortunately they said no to chemo and they were open minded and fed freshly crushed raw apricot seeds that contain Vitamin B17 and Laetrile and the dog’s cancers shrunk and the dog survived and thrived. Please trolls get off this site and go back to where you came from. This site if for those that know the natural path works. Thanks again for helping us all stay on the natural path.
My pleasure. I’m glad you’re here.