Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats (83 page)

SCHEDULE 4: EXTERNAL

This program calls for an herbal compress. First make a hot infusion, decoction, or tincture dilution of the herb (or herbs), as in Schedule 1. Let it cool a bit so that it’s hot, but not so hot that it will burn or cause discomfort. If you can stand it, then it’s likely your pet can also. Next, immerse a washcloth or small hand towel in the solution, wring it out, and apply it to the affected area on your pet’s body. Put a dry towel over this moist compress to keep the heat in. After five minutes, refresh the compress: dip it back in the hot solution, wring it out again, and re-apply.

If you can, treat for 15 minutes, though your pet may only allow you 5 minutes or so. You can use this compress twice a day for up to two weeks.

SCHEDULE 5: EXTERNAL

Prepare a hot compress, as in Schedule 4, but alternate it a couple of times with a cold
compress (a second cloth dipped in tap water). This method is more stimulating, encouraging a strong blood supply to the area. First use the hot herbal compress for 5 minutes, and then follow it with 2 minutes of the cold water compress. Repeat one more time, using the same sequence. The whole treatment lasts about 15 minutes. This can be performed twice daily for a period up to two weeks.

SCHEDULE 6: EXTERNAL

In this approach, you make a warm-to-hot infusion, decoction, or tincture dilution of the herb (or herbs), as in Schedule 1. When the temperature is acceptable, immerse your animal’s foot, leg, or tail (the affected part) directly into the solution. If your pet will put up with it, soak the area for at least five minutes and then towel dry. Soak twice a day, as needed, for up to two weeks.

SCHEDULE FOR HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT

General Directions:
Give the remedy by first dispensing one or two pellets into the vial cap or a clean spoon, or by crushing three of them in a small, folded paper. (Pellets come in different sizes; we are assuming the standard size, which is round pellets ⅛ inch in diameter. If the pellets are smaller, use more of them, as in the First Aid section. The idea is for our patient to taste them and swallow at least one.) Then pour them directly into your pet’s mouth or throat—do not touch them yourself (see chapter 15).

Homeopathic remedies do not work as effectively if they are added to food. Each of the schedules below indicates how long you should withhold food before and after giving the remedy.

Water is less of a problem, but it is a good practice to prevent your pet from drinking for 5 minutes before and after giving the medicine.

SCHEDULE 1: ACUTE DISEASE TREATMENT

Give one pellet or tablet every 4 hours until the symptoms are gone. Provide no food for ten minutes before and after treatment.

If your animal shows signs of improvement, you can stop using the medicine. If there is a fever, however, then continue treatment until the temperature is below 101.5°F.

If you do not see improvement within 24 hours, however, you should try one of the other suggested remedies.

SCHEDULE 2: ACUTE DISEASE TREATMENT

Give one or two pellets every 4 hours for a total of three treatments. Provide no food for ten minutes before and after treatment. No further homeopathic treatment will be needed for the next 24 hours. If your animal is not noticeably improved by then, try another remedy or go to one of the other treatment choices.

SCHEDULE 3: ACUTE DISEASE TREATMENT

In this method you give only one treatment. Provide no food for one hour before and after treatment. If there is no improvement within 24 hours, then choose another remedy to use. If a definite improvement has occurred, then no further homeopathic treatment will be needed.

SCHEDULE 4: CHRONIC DISEASE TREATMENT

In this method you give only one treatment. Give two whole pellets or three pellets crushed to a powder. Place on the tongue. Give no food for one hour before and after the treatment. Wait for a full month before any further treatment; it would be a mistake to repeat the remedy in a few days. If at the end of that month no improvement is evident, then you will need to choose a new medicine.

SCHEDULE 5: CHRONIC DISEASE TREATMENT

Here you will give just three doses, 24 hours apart, and then wait for a month. For each of the three treatments, give two whole pellets or three pellets crushed to a powder. Place on the tongue. Provide no food for 30 minutes before and after each treatment. Do not give any further treatment for a month. If you have not seen any improvement by then, choose a new treatment.

SCHEDULE 6: CHRONIC DISEASE TREATMENT

Here you will repeat doses over a longer period. Depending on the recommended option, you will give it (a) once every day (b) twice a day—approximately every 12 hours, (c) three times a day—morning, mid-day, and evening before bed. Provide no food for five minutes before and after giving the medicine.

The treatment period is usually a week or 10 days. If it has helped some but not enough, this can be an indication that either a better medicine should be used or there is something else slowing down the recovery. It is best to get advice from a holistic veterinarian at this point.

E
VALUATING

Response to medication:
Deciding whether a given treatment has helped so far is an important part of your overall success with homeopathic medicines. It determines your next move: whether to continue, stop, or try another treatment.

The first and best sign that a treatment is helping is that your animal appears to feel better overall, with improved energy, spirits, activity level, and moods. Secondarily, you will see specific improvements in its physical condition, though these will occur more slowly.

Another good sign, one that you could easily misinterpret, is that the body may produce a temporary discharge as part of the healing process. Depending on the illness, this may take the form of brief diarrhea (one day), vomiting (once), or eruption and discharge from the skin. Or in the case of a virus infection, for instance, the body may produce a fever for a few days as it mobilizes its defenses. None of these reactions, however, should be severe or long-lasting. And, again, if the program is working, your animal will be feeling better in an overall sense.

Many health problems are complex and difficult to treat, and you will greatly benefit if you can work with a skilled veterinary homeopathic practitioner. If you are in doubt or your animal is getting worse, it is best to consult such a veterinarian. You can find a list of veterinarians trained by Dr. Pitcairn in the use of homeopathy on his Web site, www.drpitcairn.com.

ADDITIONAL RECIPES—SNACKS AND TREATS

WHEAT OR RYE CRISPS FOR DOGS

Here’s one of Joan Harper’s (
The Healthy Cat and Dog Cookbook
) simplest recipes for dog biscuits. (Commercial products often include meat meal, with all its disadvantages.) They’re good for occasional treats or rewards and to exercise teeth and gums, but too low in protein and other nutrients for regular chow. This recipe contains 15 percent protein, 28 percent fat, and 56 percent carbohydrates.

• 1 cup whole-wheat or rye flour
  
• ¼ cup soy flour
  
• 3 tablespoons lard, bacon, fat, or oil
  
• 1 teaspoon Group I bone meal (double this if using Group II, or about 1,400 mg of calcium from another source)*
  
• 1 clove garlic, grated, or ¼ teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
  
• ⅓ cup water or broth
  
• 1 to 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast (optional)
  

*See information on calcium supplements in the
Table of Calcium Supplementation Products
.

Combine the dry ingredients. Add the water or broth and mix well. Roll out on a cookie sheet and bake at 350°F until golden brown. Break into bite-size chunks. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast if your dog is fond of it.

KITTY OR DOGGIE CRUNCHIES

This recipe, an adaptation of a tried-and-true kibble created by Joan Harper, is nice for an occasional treat or to help a confirmed kibble-eater make the transition to home cooking. It is nutritionally complete for both cats and dogs, with 36 percent protein, about 17 percent fat, and a calcium/phosphorus ratio of 1.3 to 1.

• 1 pound chicken necks and gizzards or other poultry, ground
  
• 1 (16-ounce) can of mackerel, chopped
  
• 2 cups full-fat soy flour
  
• 1 cup wheat germ
  
• 1 cup powdered skim milk
  
• 1 cup cornmeal (dry)
  
• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
  
• 1 cup rye flour (or another cup of wheat flour)
  
• 2 tablespoons Animal Essentials calcium (or the equivalent of 6,000 mg of calcium from a Group III source)*
  
• ½ teaspoon iodized salt or 3 tablespoons kelp
  
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil (half can be meat drippings, or butter)
  
• ½ tablespoon (1½ tsp) cod-liver oil (or up to 20,000 IU vitamin A)
  
• ¼ cup alfalfa powder or trace mineral powder
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 400 IU vitamin E
  
• 1 quart water
  
• ½ cup brewer’s yeast
  

*See information on calcium supplements in the
Table of Calcium Supplementation Products
.

Mix all the ingredients except the yeast and knead into a firm dough. Roll it out on a cookie sheet about ½ to ¼ inch thick. (Use a pastry scraper to divide it into strips.) Bake at 350°F for 30 to 45 minutes. Cool and break into bite-size chunks. Sprinkle with the yeast and store in airtight containers. Refrigerate whatever amount will not be consumed in 3 days.

Note:
I could not find exact nutritional information for chicken necks, so the recipe is calculated assuming half chicken gizzards and half chicken (roaster) meat. If some chicken neck or backs or wings—inexpensive sources—are used, then additional calcium will come from the included bones. You might reduce the calcium supplement part of the recipe by 1 teaspoon in that instance. If you use boneless chicken, the recipe will contain less calcium. The nutritional profile for alfalfa powder (a wonderful source of trace minerals) was not available to me, so is not included in the calculation. I do not expect this to alter the values significantly.

DOG BISCUITS DELUXE

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
  
• ½ cup soy flour
  
• ¼ cup cornmeal
  
• 1 teaspoon Group I bone meal (or double that for Group II)*
  
• 1 tablespoon Animal Essentials calcium (or 3,000 mg calcium from a Group III source)*
  
• ½ cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
  
• 1–2 cloves garlic, minced, or ½ teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
  
• 1 tablespoon brewer’s yeast (optional)
  
• 2 tablespoons butter (melted), fat, or oil
  
• ¼ cup unsulfured molasses
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 2 eggs mixed with ¼ cup milk
  

*See information on calcium supplements in the
Table of Calcium Supplementation Products
.

Mix the flours, cornmeal, bone meal, and seeds together. Add the garlic and yeast, if desired. Combine the butter, fat, or oil, molasses, salt, and egg mixture; set aside 1 tablespoon of this liquid mixture and combine the rest with the dry ingredients. Add more milk, if necessary, to make a firm dough. Knead together for a few minutes and let the dough rest ½ hour or more. Roll out to ½ inch thick. Cut into crescents, rounds, or sticks and brush with the remainder of the egg mixture. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until lightly toasted. To make harder biscuits, leave them in the oven with the heat turned off for an hour or more. Biscuits keep longer if you use oil instead of butter. These treats provide 20 percent protein, 18 percent fat, and 57 percent carbohydrates.

KITTY CATNIP COOKIES

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
  
• 2 tablespoons wheat germ
  
• ¼ cup soy flour
  
• ⅓ cup powdered milk
  
• 1 tablespoon kelp
  
• ½ teaspoon Group I bone meal (or double this for Group II or add about 700 mg from Group III sources)*
  
• 1 teaspoon crushed dried catnip leaves
  
• 1 tablespoon unsulfured molasses
  
• 1 egg
  
• 2 tablespoons oil, butter, or fat
  
• ⅓ cup milk or water
  

*See information on calcium supplements in the
Table of Calcium Supplementation Products
.

Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the oil, butter, or fat, molasses, egg, and milk or water. Knead together until it forms a dough. Roll out flat on an oiled cookie sheet and cut into narrow strips or ribbons. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until lightly toasted. Break into pea-size pieces, suitable for cats. Good for treats, exercising gums, and cleaning teeth.

LIVER BROWNIES (DOGS OR CATS)

This wonderful recipe was developed by Kathy Gibson-Anklam of Rockwood Hospital for Pets in Merrill, Wisconsin. The brownies have been extremely popular with their clients, and all the pets love them. The recipe provides 30 percent protein, 21 percent fat, and 45 percent carbohydrates.

• 6 large eggs
  
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  
• 800 IU Vitamin E
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped garlic
  
• 2 pounds raw liver (beef or chicken)
  
• 3 cups whole-wheat flour
  
• 1 cup corn meal
  
• 1 cup rolled oats
  
• ½ cup lecithin granules
  
• ¼ cup kelp powder
  
• 8 teaspoons Animal Essentials calcium (or 8,000 mg calcium from another Group III source)*
  
• 1 tablespoon brewer’s yeast
  
• ½ cups water (enough to make a batter)