Ten Things I WILL Tell You

by Christie Keith

“Don’t put your dogma before your dog” is Christie Keith’s guiding philosophy. She provides a thoughtful and balanced look at conventional and holistic health practices, so you can make informed choices.

I wrote an extremely cranky article called “Ten Things I Won’t Tell You,” and it will appear in a future issue of FETCH. But given the golden beams of sunshine flooding my consciousness today after the Democrats took the House AND the Senate AND Rumsfeld resigned, I’ve decided to overlook the re-election of the Governator and the nasty, petty, mean-spirited anti-gay constitutional amendments passed in 7 states, and instead I present you with this list of “Ten Things I WILL Tell You.”

The cranky version of this article grew out of my frustration at the questions I’m frequently asked via email, from people seeking various magical pills and holistic “shortcuts” for the care of their dogs and cats. Me and magic, not so much.

But over the 20+ years I’ve been holistical (of course that’s not a word), I’ve actually discovered a number of things that work quite well for various canine and feline problems. I thought you’d like to know what they are.

1. Saw palmetto

Does your dog have an enlarged prostate? Let’s first assume you have had him to the vet and ruled out an infection or other problem requiring expert medical intervention, and discovered that he has the condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia. I have found that the herb saw palmetto has an immediate and dramatic effect on any and all symptoms, even including bleeding, associated with this condition.

Neutering your dog is probably your best bet to fully control it, but if that’s not an option (for instance, if your dog is old or unwell), this is well worth investigating.

2. Homeopathic Arnica

Yeah, I know. Homeopathy is bullshit. Whatever. I’ve taken homeopathic arnica myself, and I suppose that for me, it’s the placebo effect, because remember, when making the circular argument, you have to have your denial system firmly in place: Since homeopathy doesn’t work, if you think it works, it’s the placebo effect, and the fact that it’s the placebo effect is proven by the fact that homeopathy doesn’t work.

So, let’s say you were to try it. Let’s say you saw dramatic, repeatable, objective improvement in, for instance, how easily your dog gets up, or how long she’ll go for walks, or her willingness to jump on the bed or use the stairs.

It’s the placebo effect, working on your brain. Your brain is so powerful it can ALTER REALITY and make your dog DO THINGS.

That’s scientific.

Fortunately, even if I’m delusional, homeopathic arnica is cheap and safe.

3. Glucosamine supplements

Now and then I’ve seen a dog or cat who had some digestive problems when on glucosamine supplements, but usually this is a remarkably well tolerated product. I use and recommend Cosequin. It has independent testing to back it up, it contains what they say it contains, and while it’s expensive, I like to reward companies for good business practices, so I don’t really mind. Do the full loading dose and then give the full maintenance dose. It matters.

4. Acupuncture

Somewhat less of an affront to skeptics than homeopathy, at least if you avoid its conceptual underpinnings. I’ll never forget my first experience taking my dog, Colleen, to a veterinary acupuncturist around 19 years ago. She walked into Cheryl Schwartz’s office on three legs. She walked out on four.

I think it was the placebo effect, though.

5. Diet

While I believe that most of the benefits of a fresh foods diet are available whether that diet is cooked or raw, contains raw bone or doesn’t, and contains grains or doesn’t, I’ll also go on record as saying that feeding a raw diet based on a prey model, of grass-fed ungulates with a minimum of poultry, containing organs, bone, and muscle meat, with a few judicious supplements, really does make for healthier, better conditioned animals. I won’t say it prevents all problems, because it doesn’t, but it prevents many, treats many others, and probably comes closest to being magical of anything I can think of.

And yet it’s usually the one thing people don’t want to be bothered with because it’s too hard.

6. Peppermint

Peppermint is one of the best remedies on the planet for nausea. It regulates peristalsis and thus can help with irritable bowel syndrome, and even with the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease. It provides immediate symptomatic relief for a number of canine digestive upsets, and I wouldn’t be without it for anything. I use Herbs for Kids “Minty Ginger,” which also contains ginger, which is great for car sickness.

Contraindicated for dogs with reflux, as it relaxes the esophageal sphincter.

7. Exercise

Fresh air, sunshine, and exercise will improve your dog’s mood and your dog’s health. It’s good for you, too. This is the other thing people don’t like to do, and hence we have an epidemic of fat dogs and cats.

8. Eliminating grains

Particularly for cats, even if you’re not ready to take my advice about a prey-model diet, please listen to me when I tell you that dogs and cats were not designed to eat grains, and they will be healthier if you remove them from their diet.

Did I possibly mention that with cats this is even more pronounced? Cats are nature’s strictest carnivores. Grain-based diets cause severe health problems in cats, including feline diabetes. Break the cereal habit.

9. Control pain

Pain does not just hurt, it harms. Don’t let your fear of modern drugs compromise your dog’s or cat’s quality of life by letting their pain go uncontrolled. Educate yourself and if necessary, your vet, about safer pain control options, including those in alternative medicine such as herbs, acupuncture, and chiropractic. Learn about safer conventional drugs such as Tramadol and Adequan that can be used instead of riskier NSAIDs such as Rimadyl, as a first line treatment for pain.

If you do need to use NSAIDs, learn about drugs and supplements that you can use to make NSAIDs safer for your dog.

10. Slippery Elm

Basically, a wonder-substance for diarrhea, loose stool, nausea, and other digestive upsets. No contraindications as there can be for mint and ginger. Slightly sweet so dogs don’t mind it. Cats hate it, so less useful for them.