What Is Homeopathy?
Homeopathy may seem like a mysterious form of medicine, but it's actually a very effective healing process. Practitioners and owners say that homeopathic remedies have helped their dogs heal from injuries, diseases, and stressful situations.
This treatment is effective and soothes separation and travel anxiety as well as fear of thunderstorms and loud noises. Trips to the veterinarian's office and the grooming salon are less intimidating with homeopathic remedies, especially when they are paired with behavioral conditioning. Homeopathy can also be used to treat:
Allergies
Chronic diseases and illness
Inflammation
Poisoning
Respiratory and urinary tract infections
Skin problems
Origin
The word homeopathy comes from the Greek root homeo, which means similar, and pathos, which means suffering or disease. Referred to as the law of similars or “like cures like,” homeopathy certainly sounds vague at best and downright confusing at worst. Basically, homeopathy means that the very substance that produces signs of illness in a healthy dog can be used in small amounts to cure a sick dog. A trained homeopathic veterinarian matches the symptoms of the dog to the remedy.
Homeopathic remedies are diluted in stages to produce different strengths of the substance. Different strengths produce specific benefits without being toxic. They isolate any energy blockages that cause the illness and restore the balance. This relieves the symptoms and cures the problem.
Before prescribing any remedies, homeopathic practitioners evaluate the dog's total condition by looking at his emotional and physical state. When they choose a treatment, it is specific to each dog's needs. Owners who utilize this unique natural therapy see amazing results in their dogs.
History of Homeopathy
In Germany during the late 1700s, available medical treatments were harsh — purging, bloodletting, and blistering. Looking for a less threatening way to practice medicine, Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843), a physician, chemist, and linguist, experimented with cinchona bark, which was used to cure malaria. Hahnemann was healthy, yet when he administered some of this to himself he developed symptoms of malaria.
Homeopathy was extremely popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with about 14,000 homeopathic practitioners and twenty-two homeopathic schools in the United States. But the trend was short-lived. The rise of modern traditional medicine, including antiseptic techniques, antibiotics, and anesthesia, attracted physicians' interest and the use of homeopathic practices declined.
This proved that a substance could cause the same symptoms it could also relieve — like cures like. Known to cause vomiting in a healthy person, it actually treats vomiting when taken in tiny homeopathic doses.
In other words, like cures like means that symptoms are the body's attempt to heal itself. For example, you develop a fever as an immune response to an infection, and coughing helps you avoid mucus buildup and congestion.
Current Homeopathy
Today homeopathy is making a comeback, and many European veterinarians have active homeopathic practices. Founded in 1982, the British Association of Homeopathic Veterinary Surgeons (BAHVS) supports veterinary homeopathy.
In the United States, Richard Pitcairn DVM, PhD, is responsible for advancing homeopathy. He leads training programs for veterinarians interested in learning more about this modality, and he is one of the founders of the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy (AVH), a nonprofit professional organization.
What are the benefits of homeopathy?
Perfectly safe for dogs of all ages, homeopathic remedies have no side effects, are nonaddictive, and are relatively inexpensive. Available without a prescription, they are effective in treating both serious conditions and common first aid situations.
As a result, more American veterinarians are incorporating homeopathic techniques into their practices and there are more than 100 veterinarians in the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy. Pitcairn's book Natural Health for Dogs and Cats is considered the bible of holistic medicine.
Basic Principles
There are many reasons to consider using homeopathy, including the following:
Your dog's symptoms will be carefully observed before any treatment is given.
Every treatment is individualized.
Homeopathy is noninvasive and promotes your dog's capacity for self-healing.
There are no side effects.
When successful treatment is completed, symptoms do not return.
The primary principle of homeopathy is that an animating force exists within all living things — the divine spark or breath that is the difference between life and death.
The sustaining energy called the vital force maintains harmony and equilibrium in people and in animals. When this is fully functioning, the body is nourished and healthy. If it is off kilter, the homeopathic practitioner seeks to restore it.
In homeopathy, less is definitely more. Homeopathy asserts that the more diluted a remedy, the more powerful it is. Regardless of how many times a substance is diluted, it's still effective. Some remedies are so highly diluted that very little of the original substance is left.
When making a plant remedy, the best specimens of the species should be accurately identified and used. This ensures consistency. Plants should come from their natural environment, free from pesticides or artificial fertilizers. They should be harvested in the spring or summer when the part of the plant that is going to be used is at its peak.
Homeopathy treats the whole patient rather than the disease. Before the practitioner treats a patient, she evaluates all aspects of the patient's condition. This encompasses everything — the type and amount of food and exercise the dog gets, his sleep patterns, and what's happening in his environment. The reason for this screening is that two dogs with the same disease may be treated with different remedies.
