#1 FEED THE BEST DIET (December newsletter)

#2 VACCINATE THE LEAST (January Newsletter)

#3  EVALUATE CURRENT HEALTH STATUS

Homeopathy taught me more about how we get ill and how we heal than veterinary college did.  The homeopathic principles apply for any modality you use, even drugs. The most important step for health is to know very accurately the current state of health. Many people rely solely on their veterinarian for this information, and then go to the clinic only when their animals are clearly ill. Knowing the current status will help you decide which treatment may be needed at this time and will definitely help you know in the future which treatments have helped the most.

1. Early Warning Signs of Energy Imbalance  are minor issues that most people think are normal. Over time, homeopathic veterinarians have discovered that healthy animals (naturally healthy or ones we have cured of illnesses) do not have doggy odor, vomit hairballs, eat indigestibles and many more.  When these are present, you need to change something (diet, supplements, exercise, attention, water, etc.) or begin with treatments (Reiki, Flower Essences, HTA, TTouch, or work with a professional).
2. Have records of any veterinary visits - record what they show you when you ask, "What do you mean by gingivitis?" or "Could you let me listen to the heart murmur?" Request copies of any lab work done. Having detailed information from each veterinary visit in a folder will help if you have to visit a different veterinarian in an emergency, on a trip, starting a holistic modality or just ready to change to a more accepting veterinarian.
3. Record each of these symptoms in a master symptom list (the Healthy Animal Journal makes it easy). Make sure to quantify them - size of lump or bald spot; frequency and duration of itching; amount of water or food or urine; miles walked; time spent playing; number of times meeting you at the door; etc.

Then try different treatments, foods, environments, play dates, therapies, etc. Record the changes in every symptom you are monitoring to see if you are curing, palliating or suppressing (this will be covered in a later newsletter).

If your companion has merely some of the early warning signs and no serious ailments, you can begin with Reiki and a few of the following general health boosters.

        Their supplements are all made from whole foods (whole plants, animal tissue extracts and concentrates, and botanicals), which contain essential vitamins, phytonutrients, and minerals.  These must be purchased from a health practitioner, so email me at HealthyAnimals@aol.com to order. 

Flower Essences

     There are many different brands of flower essences.  I will mention just 1 in this update, but they all have essences to give great general emotional and physical support.Spirit Essences:  Safe Space, Chakra Balancer, Healthy Helper, Noni Essence.

      Because of our very warm season, we may be seeing mosquitoes sooner this year. I am frequently asked about the need for heartworm prevention. 

Remember, one of my main goals is to have each of us ask more questions of our health care providers. Do not give anything until you understand the rationale for it. Heartworm "Prevention" is really a "morning after pill".  It prevents adults, but does not prevent the infective larvae from coming into your dog.

Basics -

1. Mosquito bites infected dog and sucks blood with heartworm babies.
2. Larvae go through several stages to get from the mosquito gut to the salivary glands.
3. Mosquito bites your dog, and the larvae fall out onto the skin.
4. Larvae have to find the hole made by the mosquito (skin is impervious) to crawl in.
5. Larvae go through several stages while migrating to the heart, then make adults that can (do not always) hurt the heart and make babies in the bloodstream.

Interesting facts:

1. The "Preventatives" kill 2 stages of the migrating larvae after they have managed to get into the dog and not be killed by the natural immune cell attackers. So it is a "morning after" pill. Question to ponder - knowing this, when would you start giving the pills?
2. Development of infectious larvae in mosquitoes is temperature dependent. In the northern two-thirds of the country, heartworm transmission only lasts for 3-5 months, per Dr. David Knight, prior Chief of Cardiology at U of PA. It takes much more than a late winter or early spring thaw to initiate transmission. Some report a need for 65 degree F for 2 weeks steady, others say you need 4 weeks of over 65 degrees for larval development.  Knowing this, what would be your clue to start the preventative?
3. One holistic veterinarian said that Interceptor does not have the longer window like Ivermectin, so have to do monthly. Another followed with a quote from the package insert saying the "single dose retroactive efficacy of all these macrocyclic lactones is assured for one month, and remains high for at least an additional month."
4. In 2005, at the Advanced Homeopathic Seminar, most of the 15 veterinarians had seen reactions for a few days after the preventative is given (not necessarily a bad thing as the body is removing the toxic effects) and a fair amount of chronic disease. They are not using any preventatives and blood testing every 6 to 12 months.
5. I have seen a few dogs who were negatively affected by heartworm prevention, though I see much more damage from vaccinations. One was a Boston Terrier who dug up all the rocks in the garden 'til we stopped the preventative.

My Recommendations:

1. If you are very afraid of your dog getting heartworms, give the preventative. Observing your dog will give you clues that your dog is bothered by it, and you need to try one of the other preventatives or use none at all. This is another example of the need to keep a Health Journal.
2. The fewer drugs the better, so use ones just for heartworms, not other worms.
3. Learn how to ask yes/no questions of the universe with dowsing, pendulum, intuition, applied kinesiology (www.perelandra-ltd.com talks of checking with nature for all your decisions in life and teaches a yes/no finger method). Or go to a person who can do these and each year test to see what is needed by this dog. Keep your observations in a journal to evaluate any reactions.
4. When giving the preventative, daily or monthly, give it less frequently than recommended.  The monthly can be given every 6-8 weeks.
5. Wait to begin until you have seen mosquitoes for at least a month, then give until most mosquitoes are gone.  In the Maryland area, I would blood test in May or June and stop by October.
6. As dogs age, it is time to consider stopping the preventative since the risk of getting heartworms is less (less active, less outside) with the possible liver toxicity or increased sensitivity to drugs of any kind.
7.  I do not recommend giving Nux Vomica routinely after the preventative (no homeopathic remedies should be given routinely). You can certainly do energy healing after giving a preventative, such as Reiki or Healing Touch, which you can learn to do yourself or go to a practitioner. Reiki the pill itself, then offer to the dog until not wanted.
8. Do not give to cats without consulting with a holistic veterinarian or two. 
9. If you choose to not give any preventative, what do you need to know?  Your dog could become infected, have a few adult worms in the heart and baby heartworms in the bloodstream, yet not be ill from the infection at all.  A healthy body should tolerate a low level of parasites. Therefore, many clients choose to use no preventative, and I support them in that choice and recommend blood tests twice a year. They are also treating their dogs holistically in other ways and being careful in high mosquito hours to stay in or use repellent. There are no herbal preventatives that I would feel are safe to give on a long term basis or that have proven to prevent heartworms. There is a heartworm nosode, but we do not have sufficient information to tell if it is really protective.  Some people feel safe using Para-L from Good Herbs, or diatomaceous earth (garden grade, not pool filter kind), Para-Outta-Site from Spirit Essences, or others. I do not think any of these are proven effective.
10. As always, the best solution is to make your dog as healthy as possible by vaccinating the least, feeding the best diet (probably a raw meat or freshly cooked meat diet with low carbs) for that individual dog, treat symptoms as clues to an underlying problem and treat the energy problem, not merely stop the expression of the imbalance (the symptoms). A healthy dog will be very unlikely to be ill from heartworms.
11. If your dog tests positive for heartworms, is it horrible?  No. A healthy dog will have no heart problems and the worms will die in a year or so. There are alternative treatments (herbs and homeopathy) for adult heartworms that are 75% effective. You must have the heart checked by a veterinarian for problems and keep close watch on energy level, coughing, panting and exercise intolerance. If your dog begins to show any of these symptoms, begin holistic treatment.

Wonderful speakers, vendors and participants make this conference a joy to attend.  More info click here. Please also "like" them on their facebook page.

Homeopathy - Short, Long, East Coast, West Coast.

MAY 6 - OREGON

Dr.Moore and I will be teaching animal homeopathy inPortland,Oregon, on May 6th, following the Academy ofVeterinary Homeopathy Annual Conference. The morning will be an intro for people who know little to nothing about homeopathy, and the afternoon will be a continuation and for people trained in homeopathy who wish to apply it to animals. Email me at HealthyAnimals@aol.com for more information.

JUNE 2 & 3 - MAINE

A wonderful couple took my 2-day homeopathy class in Vermont and got such benefit that they are hosting me in Maine.  Steve does equine dentistry and Stacey Scotia uses many holistic methods to help horses and riders be their best. This 2-day introduction to homeopathy will be at Healing Spirit Farm in Buckfield, ME 04220 Info and to register

Homeopathy, Reiki, Chinese Medicine, Nutrition, Neonatal Kitten Care. JUNE - MARYLAND

Finally, Tim and Linda Saffell and the wonderful folks at PG Ferals are bringing back the outstanding Holistic Animal Health summer school the last two weeks in June.  We have had veterinarians and lay folks come from Isreal, Hong Kong and more to take these great classes, so plan on joining us. I will teach June 16-June 21.
June 16 - Holistic Pet Care; June 17 - Introduction to Homeopathy; June 18-21 - Intermediate Homeopathy. Other classes - Neonatal Kitten Care, Nutrition, Reiki Level I and II, Chinese Medicine - Introduction and Intermediate.  For more information and to register, click here. Please spread the word about this great series of classes to make it worth while for PGFF to spend the time and money to sponsor these classes.

Pet CPR/first aid, Animal communication, Reiki, Essential Oils

7 KEYS TO GREAT HEALTH - #4 - Understand how animals respond to any treatment - cure, palliation, suppression.
And more Products for Health, Basic Health Care Reminders and Class Listings.