DOGS NATURALLY

Volume 3 • Issue 6 • November/December 2012
DOGS NATURALLY
for dogs without boundaries
is your dog a
Drama Queen?
Separation
ANXIETY
FOOD
Non-core
therapy
Vaccines
Holiday Gift Guide
Dilated
Cardiomyopathy
editor’s message
I’ve hopefully lost my final dog for 2012. Libby, Selamat’s Sierra CDX passed
peacefully at the age of 15. She enjoyed her favorite meal, pizza, before crossing over to her next adventure.
Unlike my tragic loss of Simon and Aaron earlier this year, Libby’s passing was
expected and natural. Like Simon and Aaron however, Libby came to me to
teach me a lesson. Libby’s lesson was that dogs deserve to be treated with
kindness and respect.
Libby was an obedience prospect for me and she was a decent working dog.
I wanted to be competitive with her and I took her to the best trainers for
private lessons. By and large, the most common piece of advice I got from all
of these trainers was that Libby was a Labrador so I should be able to “hit her
over the head with a two by four” and she would forgive me for it. I listened
and I leash popped and I ear pinched - until one day, Libby told me she was
having none of this. She would hide under a chair whenever the dumbell came
out, she would slam on the brakes when I asked her to heel and it dawned on
me that this wasn’t fun for either of us. I decided that there had to be a better
way.
I began attending seminars with the top clicker trainers and I realized that these people, greats such as the late Patty Ruzzo, not only had great
performing dogs but they had noticeably better relationships with them. When it’s all said and done, a ribbon is only worth a couple of bucks.
This dog slept on my bed and went to work with me every day. She was my family and I was ashamed that I had treated her that way.
I don’t know if those dog trainers were right. Libby never forgave nor never forgot the leash pops and ear pinches; she was never a reliable
working dog and tended to shut down in the ring. I retired Libby and trained all of my subsequent dogs without a leash and collar and as equal
partners. And my scores were never better.
Many of us get dogs for the wrong reasons. For some, they are a status symbol, a pedigreed dog to show off to the neighbors. For others, they
are cute little puppies that soon grow into unruly and unwanted adolescents. For most of us, dogs are virtually family and we open our homes
to them and love them with all our hearts. The reality is however, most dog trainers have good intentions but bad information and we are unwittingly harming our dogs psychologically with our attempts to train them.
One of the reasons I love dogs so much is that they are incredibly gentle and peaceful animals. As I grew to learn more about canine communication, I learned that most of their language is intended to avoid conflict. How confusing and stressful must it then be for them when their human
family constantly threatens them? Every time we glare at a dog, raise our voice, tower over them or take them by the scruff of the neck, we are
unknowingly confronting and challenging them when we can get the same results with subtle and respectful communication. It amazes me how
well dogs are able to read us but how completely inept we are at returning the favor. It’s a testament to dogs that more people aren’t bitten.
Libby’s life is to be celebrated and I want to make her message heard. Dogs deserve better. They deserve our respect and they deserve for us to
take the time to understand that we can be creating chronic unhelathy stress in our canine family by not understanding how they communicate
and how they learn.
This issue is dedicated to dog behavior. I ask you to consider the articles and advice in our pages and take a hard look at the relationship you share
with your dog. The shift away from drill sargent to respectful partner comes by listening to your dog and truly understanding how complex and
gentle these animals are. The bond we share can go so much deeper than just dog and master.
Dana
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November/December 2012 | Dogs Naturally Magazine
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I have been treating our animals (and us) holistically for over 25 yrs.
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been so helpful and each issue is packed with pertinent information. I love everything about it. As an aside, we started using the K9
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and facebook page, I’d like to see less disparaging of vets.
I’d like to see an article on fatty tumors in older dogs and how to
get rid of them.
Thank you - Sharleen Berloffa
Editor’s Note - Sharlene, Dr Stephen Blake has agreed to write an
article on lipomas and cysts in the January 2013 issue.
Dan Gorman Just got my first magazine Issue 5 - OMG, this the
best, thank you
Vicky Haines I have been getting DNM since the very start, even
before the printed magazine was available and really enjoy every
issue. However the Sept issue has been by far my favorite!! I truly
enjoyed the heart felt article written by Maria Ringo “Sitting at the
feet of a Master”. She talks about the mother of Natural Rearing
Juliette de Bairacli Levy, the mother to us all :)) and The Rabies Miasm article is terrific, will be sharing with many others. Fast food
fallacies is another article that is very well written and full of great
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for getting this info out there.
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DogTown Daycare Your wonderful story about aaron just made
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feels so empty without him. i pray for his return to me as his same
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Dogs Naturally Magazine | November/December 2012
5
I
n this article I will discuss acute homeopathic prescribing for
animals. The emphasis will be on the importance of the characteristic
symptoms of the remedy fitting the case in order to have a curative
reaction. The cases I’m sharing represent “acute flare ups of latent
chronic disease.”
Watching an animal have a swift, gentle restoration of health after
prescribing a well chosen remedy is certainly one of the great gifts of
homeopathy. And it is with acute prescribing that this can be most dramatic.
A classic example of an acute flare up is the dog who has been outside
playing and comes in with his face swollen beyond recognition. If his
face is warm to the touch, itchy and is somewhat relieved by cold compresses, one dose of Apis will usually bring the swelling down more
quickly than any steroid or antihistamine and without any of the side
effects.
What is meant by the term “acute” in homeopathy? It refers to any
condition, such as an illness or injury that comes on somewhat suddenly, is usually brief in duration and is self limiting. That is, it either
runs its course, or the animal dies.
This is opposed to “chronic” disease, which has a slower, more insidious onset but is much more deeply ingrained and persists throughout
the life of the animal.
Examples of acute conditions include physical or emotional injuries,
acute infectious disease, toxin exposure and acute flare ups of chronic
disease.
An acute flare up of chronic disease refers to the expression of fairly
intense symptoms in a chronically ill animal in which the disease is
latent, but some factor, such as emotional or physical stress, injury,
vaccination, etc., triggers an outburst of symptoms. Examples might in-
acute
Homeopathic
prescribing
the importance of characteristic symptoms
By Ronna Kabler DVM
48
November/December 2012 | Dogs Naturally Magazine
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