Homeopathic Cure for Canine Epilepsy

Pets are among the most favorite subjects for any pet owner, and if your pet suffers with convulsions or epilepsy, it is a quite distressing experience. There can be increased salivation, tonic clonic spasms, involuntary howling and in few cases listless state remaining for long time, with a strange look in the eyes. Being sensitive souls, dogs can anticipate the attack much earlier and get restless. Those who have witnessed these attacks would only know how scary the situation can be.

A seizure is nothing but an uncontrollable muscle activity caused by an abnormal upswing in the nervous activities from the brain. A seizure can be an individual incidence, while epilepsy is a term to indicate the recurring pattern of getting seizures, a habitual or chronic state. Seizures themselves are never life-threatening, except if the dog hurts himself badly during the fit of convulsion, by hitting to some object. The sustained seizure activity, often called as status epilepticus, can prove fatal at times, since it hampers the brain function for the significant time.

The causes for getting seizures in dogs are numerous. The potential factors include various kinds of infections – like distemper, toxoplasmosis, cryptococcosis; hydrocephalus; various kinds of tumors or growths within or around the brain; hypoglycemia; low levels of calcium; insecticide ingestion or idiopathic, where there is no firm cause identifiable for the seizure occurrence.

As regards the management of the seizures in dogs by homeopathic treatment, one needs to take a comprehensive history and base the prescription on the available totality. The pattern can be treated with a well-selected deep acting remedy, while the acute attacks can be prevented or curbed with a acute presentation remedy, selected as per the symptomatology. Let us see some cases to explain this in detail:

Dinky, a female Labrador, used to get tonic clonic seizures especially around the new moon. The attack used to start with the lower limbs, ascending to the abdomen and followed by loss of consciousness with foaming at the mouth. Left sided predominance was noted by her owner. The frequency was almost once in 10 days. Few doses of Cuprum met 200 given on weekly basis stopped the activity within a couple of months. The treatment commenced with a dose of Tuberculinum 1M [as a miasmatic remedy].

Browney, another Labrador female, used to get seizures just with foaming at mouth and a loss of consciousness. The presentation had a slow insidious pace with most of the episodes starting towards the evening. The frequency of attacks was irregular, from an attack within a week to an attack in 4 months. The dog used to stop drinking water almost since morning, whenever she got an attack. She also showed strong fear of other dogs, especially the male ones. Pulsatilla 1M prescribed after every attack cured the dog from the epileptic ailment within a year’s time.

Advantages of homeopathy:

The biggest advantage is the curative action – and not just controlling the attacks as done by the usual anti-epileptic drugs [AEDs] prescribed by the vet. It also keeps the dog in an active state, unlike those treated with AEDs, who show a dampened activity due to the effect of the drug. Homeopathic treatment, since based on the constitutional features, also helps the dog to get relieved of the concomitant ailments or behavioural problems.

After experiencing the wonderful effects of homeopathic remedies, I would certainly recommend it in the treatment of epilepsy in dogs.

Mental wellness of your pet

Though we may not see any of our pets smoking a cigar or sitting in a pub to relieve their mental stress, they do experience mental stress just like us. It can have some serious impacts on their lives, and eventually on ours as well. Here we will discuss the things that you can do to harbor a positive emotional stimulation in your pet on a daily basis, to promote mental wellness within your pet.

• When you bring a puppy home in his first few days on earth, do make sure that you desensitize him properly, to encourage social awareness in him. Most of the emotional traumas originate from the fear and anxiety experienced by the puppy in these tender days, due to unsocial treatments received.
• Just as exercise is must for us, it is for our pets as well. But don’t just restrict yourself with taking your dog for a morning walks; make some interesting changes in it – change the road, do jogging, play fetch-a-ball, at times make him run behind your pace-changing car… your dog should look ahead for what’s stored for him today. It will make you both happy by losing the monotony out of the daily walks.
• Your pet needs room to roam freely. A most of the times tied dog will always find it boring to spend his life within a tied-space.
• Though variety adds spice, the dogs love habits and pattern. Thus sticking to some pattern or routine will always keep their stress level to minimum. The exercise or the eating menu might change every day, but the timing should not.
• Maintain the instincts of your pet alive by designing some games like ‘hide and seek’.
• Let your pet know that you are the boss. Not maintaining the dominance hierarchy will only make the things worse.
• Have your pet neutered, since this will keep them less aggressive and frustrated, if not allowed to satisfy their sexual urges.
• If you are throwing a party at home, where you expect a lot of people visiting, keep your dog away from the crowd to avoid the stress of getting exposed to a lot many strangers at once.
• If you are planning to get a new pet, do take care of the stress-levels of the adult. A suitable Bach flower remedy combination [consisting of chicory, holly or vine] can help your pet to take the situation in much positive way.
• Give them fresh food and water.
• Last but not the least, spend enough time with them. Observe their skin, their legs for injury. Make a good touch with them, this will improve the bond between you and your pet, which will improve their health to a great level.

In spite of all this, if you find your pet having any emotional disturbance, take help of suitable Bach flower remedies.

Bach Flower Remedies For Fearful Dogs

Fear is one of the basic emotions that every living organism experiences and our beloved pets are not an exception to it. Though dogs are known for their courageous attitude, some dogs do face situations where they exhibit signs of fright, requiring a professional handling.

Unlike human beings, who are able to express their emotions in a refined manner, dogs can't communicate their feelings in an explicit way, but a close observation of their behavior can lead us to significant information about their mental state. A dog may display his fear in varied ways: he may try to escape from the room, or may stay motionless, or can become intensely restless, or can soil the room by submissive urination, or might just bark / growl at the fear-object. In extreme cases he can even become destructive.

Bach Flower Remedies:

Bach Flower Remedies are a collection of 38 plant and flower-based remedies discovered in the 1930s by Dr Edward Bach, a Harley Street physician. Each Bach remedy deals with a specific negative emotion, so we can select and take one or more remedies to match the exact emotion or reactive pattern. These remedies can help our animals get over their own emotional difficulties. They are completely natural and harmless. Flower remedies help to restore the peace and harmony among the negative behavior of our pets.

The Treatment:

Though indicated as the behavioral patterns of the fear, as a part of treatment, it is extremely essential to get the dog examined by a veterinarian, to rule out any signs of organic disease, which might manifest in the similar manner. Once it's confirmed to be only a fear, it's worth giving a well-suited Bach Flower Remedies.

The selection of the remedy (-ies) is very simple and is based on the reaction pattern of the dog. Here are the most commonly used remedies for the fear seen in dogs:

Mimulus: Mimulus deals with fear of known causes. If you can identify the fear-object of your dog, he may need Mimulus to get over it. The commonly seen fear of loud noises or crackers in dogs can be relieved with Mimulus. Few dogs are afraid of water being poured on them, which calls for Mimulus.

Rock Rose: Rock rose will also show fear but in an extreme manner - in a state of Panic. Thus an intense fear of known or unknown reason, but manifested in a state of panic calls for Rock Rose. The state where the dog takes the whole house on toes with his frightful behavior, can be easily relieved with Rock Rose. The key is the intensity of the fear reaction.

Star of Bethlehem: This remedy relieves the state of sudden shock or trauma. A puppy, who has seen an accident and gets into attacks of fright, or a dog who was mishandled by his previous owner, or the one who has escaped a situation of great danger needs this remedy to get over the state of shock or emotional trauma.

Walnut: Walnut is the remedy for adaptation. If a puppy brought from a breeder or your friend's house, shows signs of fear in the process of getting used to the new environment, he needs Walnut to aid in the adaptation. A dog separated from his mother and exhibiting fear will get relieved with Walnut.

Rescue Remedy: This is not a different remedy but a mixture of five remedies that are used in the state of emergency. This can be used if you can not decide which remedy to be selected or if the state of your dog is of an intense one, like the one of emergency. The unique formula contains Star of Bethlehem for shock, Rock Rose for terror and panic, Cherry Plum for lack of self-control, Impatiens for agitation, and Clematis to counteract faintness and bemusement.

The Dosage:

Two drops of the selected remedy (-ies) can be added to the watering bowls or food, that the dog will drink regularly. Otherwise, two drops (each) of the remedies can be added to a 30 ml bottle containing water and four-six drops from this treatment-bottle can be administered to the dog on regular basis (at least four times a day).

It can also be put directly in the mouth of your dog, if he allows. One can also drip few drops on the nose of the dog so that he can lick it off. In case of emergency, where it is not possible to make the dog drink the medicine, few drops can be applied onto the back of the ears (being a sensitive skin area) which can get absorbed through the skin.

The remedy combination should be repeated until required. There would be no harm if you select an incorrect remedy or continue to administer the remedies even after their need is over. If any other pet drinks water from the same bowl, it should be fine, since the remedies do not modify healthy emotions.

Bach Flower Remedies For Recovering From Pet Loss

Losing a pet is not only the loss of a dear friend, but also often the loss of a major source of unconditional love and affection. We get so attached to our pets that when they are no longer with us, the impact of their love and friendship still remain in our hearts. When we are unable to let go of the intense emotions around the loss of our pets and get stuck in thoughts of the past, unable to accept the present, then it is a good time for us to try flower remedies.

Bach Flower Remedies are 38 plant and flower based remedies developed by British physician Dr. Edward Bach in the 1930s that can help you to manage the emotional demands of life. Losing a loved one often begins a prolonged state of grief and despondency. There are specific Bach Flower remedies that can help with the emotions associated with grief and loss. Each remedy represents a particular emotional archetype, like fear, sadness, guilt, despondency, etc.

Recognizing exactly how you feel is the key to choosing the most appropriate Bach Flower Remedy. Sometimes this can be tricky, as our mental and emotional states can be a mixture of many emotions which might require a combination of corresponding flower remedies. The emotional states described below are ones common in pet owners after the loss of pet.

There are some remedies that are also safe to give to any co-pets, since they too are probably experiencing grief - Rescue Remedy, which is a blend of essences and Walnut. If you're having a hard time pinpointing which of your emotions should be addressed first, ask a friend to help you sort through them.

Here are few commonly prescribed remedies for healing and loss, and their key-indicators:

STAR OF BETHLEHEM: For recovering from SHOCK, if the loss was sudden and unexpected. Also helps animals who have suffered traumas or abuse.

WALNUT: If you're having a hard time ADAPTING to the loss, walnut works as a "LINK-BREAKER" to help you to let go and release your pet. Walnut is also safe for your other pets who may be grieving.

PINE: For getting over the 'GUILTY FEELING', if you are struggling with euthanasia, or having had to make a very difficult decision to let your pet go.

GORSE: For the feeling of HOPELESSNESS especially when you feel discouragement, darkness and resignation. Gorse brings deep and abiding faith and hope; equanimity and light-filled optimism.

SWEET CHESTNUT: In extreme cases of LOSS OF HOPE where nothing rejuvenates the mind and darkness overshadows ones life. Brings deep courage and faith in life.

HONEY SUCKLE: When our mind escapes the present, CLINGS TO THE PAST, and longs for what was. Helps one to learn from the past while releasing it.

WHITE CHESTNUT: If particular THOUGHTS / DREAMS of your lost pet repeat frequently, almost making you feel imprisoned. This will bring inner calm and a quiet, clear mind.

ASPEN: For any unexpected surges of ANXIETY that you may be feeling about the health of your other pets, in spite of their good health. Brings trust and confidence to deal with unknowns.

How to take them:

You can add 3-4 drops of the corresponding remedy to a glass of water. Sip frequently until the emotional state resolves to a more manageable intensity. In the case of a combination of dominant emotions, add 2 drops of each applicable essence.