Sound Sleep, Held in the Arms of Age Old Truth

 

How’s Your Sleep?

Do you lie down at night and lay your burden down? Or are you constantly checking out the window with a flash light, rechecking the locks on your doors, and listening to the police scanner?

Do you have the peace that comes from knowing you’re caring for your animals in a way that’s in line with Nature’s laws? Do you rest with the understanding that a long evolutionary history has your back?

Or are you running scared, from one trend to the next, seeking the latest, greatest way to fight this germ, protect your animal from that deadly parasite, or nourish your loved ones with this absolutely necessary nutrient (that somehow you never heard of until today)?

Trying to Sleep in a Noisy World

Amid all the flux in the world, we need to find what’s true and lasting. That’s often quiet and patient, and goes unadvertised.

The internet is full of noise, less full of truth. Anyone can write anything they like and put it out for all to read. Is there any truth to it? Good question. Will beer prevent heartworms? I don't know.

Marketers are famous for selling the “next big thing.” Often, that is a drug with a well crafted name, promising a solution to a problem you never knew you had.

Modern medicine, aka Big Pharma, has a wonderful model of creating disease (and then selling you the cure):

They lower the range of test values considered normal.

A diagnosis of diabetes used to be made when the fasting blood glucose values were higher than 140. The American Diabetes Association decided in 1997 that 126 should be the new 140. Instantly, 50% more people had “diabetes.” Great move for business, if you profit from pharmaceuticals.

The American Heart Association did a similar trick with cholesterol in 2004, and instantly, millions of people “needed” statin drugs. (And if you buy the idea that cholesterol causes heart attacks, I’ve got some lovely sink hole acreage in Florida I can sell you. Cheap. But first, pass the butter, would you?)

In a similar vein, vets 40 years ago vaccinated an animal once and considered their work done. Until vaccine manufacturers, likely to the delight of vets looking to make a buck, spuriously labeled vaccines for annual use. The science behind those new labels? Nada, zilch, zip.

Is Science Robbing Your Repose?

The usual post-WWII thought, still prevalent today, is that “science knows best.” Anything can be achieved, conquered, found, or cured if we throw enough money and science at it.

Science brought us processed pet food in a bag, and marketers told us it was the best. And that led us to believe we couldn’t possibly make homemade food that would nourish our pets on our own. “Look how many ingredients are in that kibble! How could I ever know enough to do what Hill’s Prescription Diet does?”

Antibiotics came out of this same era, as did chemotherapy, pesticides, herbicides (now in everyone’s fat, including every newborn on the planet) and the latest and most insidious to date, GMOs.

The same thought pattern brought us the Green Revolution of the 60’s and 70’s, which ruined our once life sustaining wheat.

Now, it’s technology that dominates “health” care. CAT scans, MRIs, injected radioactive dyes that light up radiographs of your insides. It’d be extremely rare to get a simple diagnosis without a battery of diagnostic tests.

Are we more at peace and sleeping better because of all this science? I doubt it.

Solid Ground: Rest in Nature’s Arms

There are many things about Nature that have withstood the shifting sands of time. Examples include:

  • Bare spots on the Earth will eventually be filled in with plants. Another way to say it, “Nature abhors a vacuum.” That’s the seemingly impossible weed pushing up through asphalt, stretching out its green solar collectors to make a go of it.
  • Mammals will suckle their young. Whether that’s in vogue or not for women is another story entirely.
  • Entropy is a force of Nature, and left alone, things tend to get messy. See the floor under my bed as an example.
  • Water, soft as it is, wears away harder stone.
  • Volcanoes create new land where none existed before. I lived for several years on an example called Maui.
  • Animals (us included) breath in necessary oxygen, and give off a waste product called carbon dioxide. Plants thrive on that waste product and give us back life sustaining oxygen.
  • Everything that is born will one day die.

These are things you can count on. They’ll be here long after our present bodies have returned to soil.

And there are similar principles in health you can take to the bank. Things that let you rest easy, knowing your animals are taken care of.

Ways to Sleep More Soundly

It’s often said, “Knowledge is power.” It follows that knowledge, true knowledge, is the best sleeping pill on the planet.

One example, oft forgotten, is that we have an immune system resident in us and our animals that’s been tempered by the ages to be inherently intelligent and protective. It’s constantly on the lookout for foreigners that could harm us:

  • Bacteria
  • Viruses
  • Fungi
  • Parasites
  • Cancer cells, those mutations that run amok, dividing like crazy.

That immune system is anything but the new kid on the block. It’s got thousands of years of experiencing and responding to threats behind it, and it’s carried the information gained from our ancestors and those of our animals forward to the present day.

The understanding of how the immune system functions is still in its infancy. What we know is quite fascinating, but what we don’t yet know is likely to be even more so.

What I’ve seen over the years is this: the immune system, if allowed to fully function, is amazingly good at keeping you and your animals disease free. Vaccines are the main cause of immune dysfunction. Antibiotics come in second, but that’s a fairly distant second in my experience.

Allow me to make some sound sleep prescriptions.

Sound Sleep Rx #1:

There are two important things to help your animal’s immune system be strong:

  1. Stop vaccinating her, especially if she’s already been vaccinated. Why? No efficacy, unsafe.
  2. Stimulate her immune system on a regular basis.

Stopping the first is not always easy, but it’s well worth your valiant efforts. That one step alone is central to raising a vital, disease resistant animal. You remember Tigger? This handsome young cat almost died, twice, from “just a rabies vaccine.”

The immune booster I take myself and give my patients regularly is Transfer Factor. You can read more about that here on the Immune Path.

Sound Sleep Rx #2:

Follow the Wild Model

Our domestic animals haven’t dropped from the sky, been brought by a stork, or “invented” by any breeder. They all have wild ancestors and relatives, and they all carry 99% of the genes of those wild ones.

Mimicking how the wild cousins live is wisdom in action.

From wolf came dog. From wild desert cat came domestic cat. From wild horse came Quarter Horse, Belgian, Lipizzaner, and miniature pony.

How those ancestors and wild cousins eat, how many drugs and vaccines they get (yep: 0), and how they use their bodies sets a great example for you to raise the healthiest, most Vital Animal you can.

Sound Sleep Rx #3:

Hang With Those Who Have Gone Before You

New to all this? Sounds great, but how to put it into action? Feeling a bit overwhelmed?

The cure: Get with others who’ve taken this understanding and applied it to their own animal raising. Find your pack that thinks like you, who can help you further your Vital Animal goals.

Ready to leave the “But, everybody does it” mindset? Ready to be the pioneer your animals depend on? You don’t have to struggle alone. Join others who are walking the talk, feeding species appropriate diets, radically avoiding vaccines, preventing parasites with natural means instead of pesticides, and sleeping well through the night, knowing they’ve got Nature working for them.

The comments after the articles on this site are rich with people sharing what’s worked, to help you get your charges to Vital Animal status faster. There’s a thriving, sharing community over at Dogs Naturally Magazine as well.

Sweet Dreams

Sleep well in the knowledge that there are natural forces waiting to help keep your animals well. They are eons old, and ready to work for you just as soon as you stop interfering with them.

Know that time is on your side. You can rest easier in increments: a healthier diet, a skipped vaccine this year, a skipped month or two of heartworm pesticides, a non-toxic DIY flea control approach. Your learning will come as fast as you allow time and energy for it. And your animals will get more vital the more you apply your new understanding.

To the extent that you trust this deeper, older knowledge, you lay your worry burden down. You sleep like the blissfully innocent baby sleeps, confident that her protecting parents are near and have her back.

How’s your sleep these days? Are you more confident and less afraid of health concerns since walking the Natural Path? Found your healthy pack and shucked some old friends who no longer speak your language? Let us know in the comments.

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9 Comments

  1. wendy Olivieri on January 10, 2018 at 1:24 pm

    the cat above… what type is it. I have a Orange tabby Siamese, I think? I am not allergic to him but other cats I am so my family wants to figure out what he is. We think he is a Siamese breed but an orange tabby. He looks exactly like the one sleeping in the pic above. Thanks

  2. Diane Langston on February 22, 2017 at 9:47 am

    Absolutely phenomenal article!… I loved that you connected it to human health as well, especially your references to the changing cholesterol and diabetic numbers. If I had the money, I would take out a full page ad in every major newspaper around the country and publish this article. That’s how important this is. Keep doing what you’re doing!

  3. Kathryn Palmer on January 12, 2015 at 4:47 pm

    Love this article. I too am sleeping better knowing that I am striving to make my dogs as vital as possible. Raw fed, homeopathics, bach flowers, Reiki. Before, when my dogs might have needed a benadryl now it might be Apis or if it was Imodium it might now be Arsenicum Album. My two boys also get into once in awhile and I am still experimenting with the Bach flowers. The thing that still makes me sooooo anxious is the mandatory Rabies vaccine. Just haven’t figured a way around this and unfortunately my boys have had to many but maybe doing everything else will help them fight the effects of one to many Rabies vaccines. Here’s to a strong Vital Force. Katie
    a

    • Maxine on January 12, 2015 at 6:56 pm

      Great post. What can we do if we really do not want to vaccinate for Rabies, yet the township requires for a dog license. The dog is not ill, and as far as I know that’s the only reason for an exemption from the dreaded Rabies shot.

    • Will Falconer, DVM on January 12, 2015 at 7:09 pm

      Good for you, Katie, and I feel your pain about the rabies rules that aren’t based on good science. I hope you can find a way around them. That rabies immunity is likely to remain for life, say the veterinary immunologists. You’ve done your part to fulfill the intent of those rabies rules.
      All the best, and thanks for stopping by.

  4. Kathi Richards on December 24, 2014 at 9:42 pm

    I do sleep better knowing that my dogs are thriving with their home prepared meal, homeopathic remedies, essential oils and flower essences (last three as needed). Recent example was this past week when my two large females decided it was time to fight. I was not home and my husband is not sure what triggered it but we think it had to do with the anxiousness surrounding dinner time. By the time he got them apart the akita mix was a mess and the pit mix was only a little better. I was home the next day and decided that the vet was not needed at that time. I got out my homeopathic remedies arnica, anconite, and ledum. Essential oils for healing wounds and hearts. Flower Essences for the emotional upheaval in the Akita mix. And a continuous flow of Reiki. Then we watched and waited. Separation was fine for a few days but these girls needed to get back to “normal” (still not sure what that is around here). I read about using muzzles and decided to give it a go. After a couple of days of the muzzles being on while they were together, and off while they were separated, we finally prepared them, and us, for the removal of the muzzles. Not happy yet but life is much better and we are all sleeping better too. Thank you for your articles and advice. The Vital Force is strong here.
    Blessings, kathi

    • Will Falconer, DVM on December 25, 2014 at 6:05 am

      Thanks for that story, Kathi. You sound like you did quite well with home care of what would normally be a screaming ER journey. Bravo.
      And I agree: it sounds as though there’s some disturbance in the pack that needs to be sorted out to prevent future fireworks.
      I wish you all clarity in sorting that out and having a peaceful pack.

  5. lizzy Meyer on December 23, 2014 at 10:16 am

    Great article, Dr. Falconer!
    I do sleep easier when I know the truth about things. Truth comes from learning what works in real-life and from our past experience. Truth is that solid feeling in our guts that says YES, and there’s not another option. Nothing feels better.
    Nature is so full of examples of what you are writing about and I am glad you bring that up. Nature is our reference point and our navigation back to truth. It’s something that we can always count on, our animals certainly do.
    What you wrote about here could fall under your Manifesto.
    You have a great sense for the BIG PICTURE and that’s quite evident here. Great writing.
    From your biggest fan,
    Lizzy

    • Will Falconer, DVM on December 25, 2014 at 6:11 am

      Thanks, Lizzy.
      Yes, this is fundamental, cornerstone stuff. It’s built upon trusting our guts and seeing repeatedly just how much Nature can be called upon and the amazing work she can do.
      For those of you with horses, Lizzy’s name up there (Lizzy Meyer says:) is also link to her site. Click it and see what she’s been up to at Whole Horse Consulting. This young lady is going places, and I know many animals and their people will benefit from her work.

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