Veterinary Homeopathy

Ask the Holistic Vet – December 2020

veterinary support assistant
Written by Deva Khalsa

This month, Homeopathic Veterinarian Dr. Deva Khalsa answers questions about probiotics, a lonely cat, a poodle with a congenital liver problem, a male Labrador with weak hind quarters, and more. Send your questions to [email protected] by the 7th of the month, to have them answered in that month’s issue of Homeopathy 4 Everyone.

Hi Dr Deva,

I live in Bali Indonesia. I am a Homeopath. I have an 18-week old Tiny toy poodle named Rufus. Some weeks ago, I noticed he wasn’t growing, and then about 6 weeks ago one evening he had some strange walking as if drunk and his legs gave way momentarily.  The next day I contacted a Vet online who suggested he may have a congenital liver shunt (we can’t diagnose properly here as no CT scanner), or HE /MVD.

I immediately changed his diet to no animal protein, home cooked with hepatic kibble. He’s had no strange moments since the diet change.  We went to our local vet and did LFT and bile acid test. His bile acid was slightly high after second test (35) his ALT was around 600. So the vet started him on Lactulose, Urdafalk, and zentonil adv. It’s been a month and we will recheck his bloods next week.

Before he looked like he had ascites but he doesn’t now, but he does yell in pain occasionally out of the blue. He has not gained more than 100 GM in many weeks. He’s happy and playful.

He also has homeopathic Chelidonium. I am thinking to give him Lycopodium.  Anything you can advise for Rufus? Other nutrients or?  I appreciate any advice or suggestions you can give. No one here knows much about this.

Here are his (ufus ) Pathology tests.  We go back next week to recheck after a month of hepatic diet and the meds.

Thank you
Annamaree Downing

Dr. Deva Khalsa:

Yes, it sounds like a congenital liver problem. It could be a shunt and it could be Hepatic Microvascular Dysplasia, where the vessels in the liver are too small and underdeveloped. Regardless, diet changes – as you have already initiated – usually work very well and many of these dogs live a long, normal and happy life.  I would choose Lycopodium 6c giving it twice a day for 2 months to start.


Hi Dr. Khalsa,

My black male Lab is 11 years old. He has very weak hind quarters. Has a hard time getting from a lying down position.  If you scratch his back by tail his hips sort of drop like his legs are giving out. Possible neurological issue as the vet took his back paw and tucked it under so knuckles were against the ground and my dog left it there, didn’t immediately fix his paw so pads were against the ground.  Hip displasia. Have given him Rhus tox, Causticum. Doesn’t want to really take walks any more.  When it’s feeding time, he will still hop around lifting front legs off the ground many times in excitement. On natural glucosamine supplements, but no pain medication. Also lots of lumps and bumps (fatty tumors) on body. Any advice for remedy’s would be great.

Thanks,
Liz Rose

Dr. Deva Khalsa:

The first thing I would do is test his thyroid with a T4 and Free T4. This breed is prone to hypothyroidism and one of the symptoms of hypothyroidism is neurological weakness in the hind legs.  If this is the case, it would be great as all you have to do is give him L thyroxine, according to weight, twice a day and in a few weeks, he will be much stronger and his movement will become almost normal.

This is a very basic problem as the thyroid is the master gland. Homeopathic remedies and holistic treatments often do not work nearly as well with a dog who is hypothyroid.


Dear Dr. Deva:

I have a white Easter Egger rooster, 3 years old, who looks as if he’s auditioning for a revival of the Third Reich.  He’s been stepping high for a few months, and it’s getting worse.  The motion is very exaggerated and jerky, which makes me suspect something neurological is going on.  Others have reported similar conditions with their hens and roosters, but there’s zero information on this.

The remedy his behavior calls to mind is Agaricus, and I have experimented with a few doses of 30c in the flock’s drinking water.  So far, no evidence of any change.  Netting him and trying to administer anything orally would be daunting — he’s a dominant rooster.

I’m worried that this might be something infectious, in which case he should be isolated from his flock.  Have you any ideas what it might be?

Thank you,
Dale    [email protected]

I don’t know anything about infections in chickens and this symptom, even with the very little I know, is unusual.  I have looked up a few remedies and I really do not know the best answer to this. Maybe just try Hypericum for a few weeks.


Dear Dr. Khalsa,

The last 7 years I had two cats who loved to be together.  One died a couple months ago. I play with the other cat as much as I can, and she sleeps with me at night.  However, she spends many hours sitting in a room alone.  I’m in my mid-seventies and on fixed income, and it would be difficult to manage another cat. However, does this situation demand that I adopt a playmate for her. Is it cruel to have a cat without a companion?

Thank you
Winston

Dr. Deva Khalsa:

She is likely fine with living with you at home. You can give her two remedies. At first, give her Ignatia 1m three times in one day. If you cannot get that high potency use Ignatia 30 three times a day for 2 weeks. When you finish this give her Nat mur 30x once a day for two weeks. You should see her coming out and sitting alone less at the end of the dosing with Natrum muriaticum.


Hi Dr. Khalsa,

The more I read about probiotics for cats, the more confused I am.  There are so many varieties and opinions. Since I trust your opinion, what are the best ones on the market?

Thank you
Rachel Rubin

Dr. Deva Khalsa:

Just about none are good.  Most are sitting dead in the jar or the bottle on the shelf of the store when you buy them.  If they have food and are live, they died and if they are in a dried powder, they are dead.  But… even if they are not dead the hydrochloric acid in the stomach would have killed them on their way to the gut.  To add insult to injury, there are about 800 different bacteria in the gut and many of them die after one course of antibiotics and never come back.  The probiotics you buy only have a few strains. Probonix has acid washed bacteria and these make it to the gut but there are only a few strains in this product. I prefer, at this time, prebiotics as they encourage the good bugs to grow.  Here is my article that explains this in detail.

http://www.doctordeva.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Gut-Garden.pdf

Visit Dr. Khalsa at her website for information and consults:

http://www.doctordeva.com/

Editor’s note: Dr. Khalsa’s new book was just released:

The Allergic Pet –Holistic Solutions to End the Allergy Epidemic in Our Dogs and Cats

Dr. Khalsa shows how to strengthen the immune systems of dogs and cats without invasive techniques or pharmaceutical drugs.

Available from: 

https://www.amazon.com/Allergic-Pet-Holistic-Solutions-Epidemic/dp/1621871827

also….

The second edition of Dr. Khalsa’s Natural Dog is now available. It’s an exceptional book with information not offered in any similar work. I recommend it highly!

Nutrients for Cats and Dogs

Using her 30 years’ experience treating animals holistically, Dr. Khalsa designed nutrients just for dogs and cats. VITAL VITIES contain specially selected vitamins, minerals and super-food granules in a delicious base.   Learn more about nutrition for your pet:

https://hpathy.com/veterinary-homeopathy/deserving-pets-gives-scoop-supplements/

About the author

Deva Khalsa

Dr. Deva Khalsa V.M.D. is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, a Fellow and Professor of the British Institute of Homeopathy and has lectured both nationally and internationally. She is the co-author of ‘Healing Your Horse: Alternative Therapies’ and Dr. Khalsa’s Natural Dog‘. Her practice includes homeopathy acupuncture, Chinese Herbs, nutrition, N.A.E.T, J.M.T. and other modalities. Her philosophy is to use whatever it takes to restore health. Dr. Khalsa’s practice is in New Zealand but she consults by internet and phone with pet owners from the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Europe and the UK. http://www.doctordeva.com

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