Dear Clare,
I have recently bought a puppy whose owner I have been conversing with over the duration of the pregnancy and whelping, and I get her delivered in a week and a half. She has just been "traditionally" vaccinated at 6 weeks of age and I am wondering how to go about rebuilding her system with nosodes and the homeopathic plan from here on?
My old doggie is over 12 years old and is a Heeler Staffy cross who has never been vaccinated traditionally, but has had the homeopathy nosode courses when required. His immunity is steel strong. What should I do for him regarding disease and vaccination now? I'm sure he has a slightly arthritic shoulder for which I been giving him MSM powder, or would the whole Sasha's Blend be a better option? He has a great diet of mostly raw food.
My first aid kit for them is homeo and naturopathic in origin. What is the safest and best treatment for variants of pain in a dog? Thank you so much for your time and website information.
Kindly,
Belinda Allan (email address supplied)
Dear Belinda,
Congratulations on your new family member.
It's best ideally to vaccinate pups once only at about 10 weeks of age, i.e. about 10 to 14 days after weaning at about 8 weeks. This is because antibodies from both the mother's milk, and/or the 6 week vaccine will have worn off by then. This means they are then capable of fully taking on a vaccination which could last them many years, or even a lifetime, especially if you use the "10 week finish" vaccines now on the market.
The disadvantage of waiting longer than 10 weeks is that the pup could catch parvo or distemper. The most common age for pups to get parvo is in that 10 to 12 week age range, which is another reason I like the 10 week vaccine. Then, a week after the vaccine, you can confidently take them out to be socialised, which is so important for preventing behaviour problems in a dog, as 8 to 16 weeks is a crucial socialisation time for pups. Taking the 11 week or older pup to puppy kindy or the dog beach is so much better than waiting until a week after a 12 week, or even a 16 week, vaccine.
So, yes, given that your pup has had a 6 week vaccine, I would be starting those homeopathic nosodes as soon as you can, to clear unwanted immune suppressing effects of a vaccination at such a young age. I would use homeopathic Parvo, Distemper, Hepatitis and Kennel Cough 200C (combined in one remedy), daily for 2 days, then once in a week, then once in a month. Ideally, I would then get the same combination in a 1M potence and repeat that same course in the higher potency, about a month later. It would be good to also give two doses a month apart of Thuja 200C, which can also help to clear vaccinosis (a disease caused by vaccination) in a slightly different way.
Using homeopathic nosodes has two purposes, firstly to clear the weakening effects of vaccination, as we discussed above and, secondly, to prevent disease. In other words, it's a sort of homeopathic immunisation, although homeopathics work differently to the standard needle vaccinations. The homeopathics do not produce a measurable antibody level which can be measured by a blood test (as the normal needle vaccine does). Instead, they work on the cell mediated immune part of the immune system, so you do not know for sure if the dog is immune, and therefore does, or does not, need further vaccination. This doesn't matter for non-serious diseases such as kennel cough, particularly as homeopathic kennel cough nosode does give good protection against kennel cough, often better than the conventional needle vaccines. But it doesn't work so well for protecting against parvo and distemper, and I have known pups protected only by homeopathics to still get these diseases. They don't get them as badly and are more likely to recover, but some people would prefer the best cover possible. That is why I prefer to do the 10 week needle vaccine, but with full homeopathic nosode use begun as soon before the needle as you can, as discussed above.
Then, any time from 3 weeks after the vaccine, you can blood test to check proof of immunity, but most owners are happy to wait until 6 months. At that age, blood can be taken from the pup while under anaesthetic being sterilised, or at the standard 15 month check. I have blood tested many dogs at 15 months and most have an excellent immunity from the one 10 week vaccine.
Regarding the older dog, it is very likely he is fully immune to parvo and distemper at his age. You could verify this with a blood test, but if I were you I would be spending the money on herbs to help his arthritis!
Yes, a glucosamine supplement like Sasha's Blend is highly recommended. It does not contain MSM so give this too, or find a brand that contains glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM. Also feed plenty of soft/digestable raw bone daily, eg raw chicken wings, lamb necks etc. The pentosan sulphate needles that vets give are often beneficial and are unlikely to cause side effects.
The best herbs for arthritis are turmeric, boswellia, cordyceps, white willow bark and also ginger if the dog does not feel the heat too badly in summer. Give doses proportional to body weight of the prescribed human dose for that product, or give a quarter to a full teaspoon daily of combined powder for a toy to a large breed dog. Bowen, Chiropractic, Acupuncture and Chinese herbs can also be very beneficial.
