Maximize Your Dog’s Health And Spend Less – Part 3 of 3
By Dr. Christina Chambreau.
Yes, you can spend less and actually improve health. The June article set some guidelines to help you think outside the conventional “fix the symptom” box and use your common sense to be the best advocate for your dogs.
The July article covered specific ways to build health and even resolve minor problems at no cost – love a lot; observe and listen; learn energy healing; keep a journal; create a healing team.
While these may seem relatively easy, they are incredibly powerful and more practitioners are seeing almost instant benefit. Having a healing team is, of course, essential and worth the time spent now to find, interview, visit, and choose wisely.
This month you will again see that there is no one right answer and experts are not always right for your dog. You will possibly adopt a new perspective where your goal is total health rather than merely eliminating specific symptoms or specific behavior problems. Also you will learn you can feed fresh for less and save by avoiding toxins (including vaccines and pesticides), stimulate mind and body and be encouraged to learn the many ways of healing so you will not need to rush to the veterinarian as quickly. One key to being in charge of health is being able to tell if your choices are leading to cure, temporary help or suppressing the energy field (which leads to more chronic disease).
Let’s start with your perspective. For many, these wonderful articles and the many summits now available can be totally overwhelming and generate guilt. I like Brendon Goyla’s approach to training – start small. Small steps may be all that are needed. Maybe your dog is doing fine in all ways and you are worried that you should be doing more. Relax. Maybe your dog is challenged emotionally or physically and you are trying to do every different suggestion. Relax, focus on each day’s quality of life and celebrate incremental improvements.
Right now I am dog sitting a white German Shepherd for five weeks. His teeth are pearly white, he sheds a lot, he is well behaved, no anxiety, only mild nervousness with July 4 noises, obeys us new humans in his life fairly well, runs full tilt, trots like a Lipizzaner, sleeps deeply for hours without being on alert, barks some and will stop when asked. I thought he was about 3 or 4. He is 10! He is on kibble and I would guess vaccinated, etc. His family does grow a lot of their food and takes him bike riding for miles every week.
The three Guiness oldest dogs lived to 25, 29 & 30. Bobi was fed fresh food, lived in Portugal which has much lower toxins than the US. Bluey ate human food and lived in Australia. Bramble was a vegetarian and lived in the UK.
Ah, food. Think of all the debate about what people should eat, what foods harm and help us and each advocate says their way is right. That is the same with dogs and cats – lots of advocates of “my way is the only healthy way”. Again – relax as there is no one correct answer. The more variety of fresh food the better, just like for us. Make sure calcium is fed (bones, bonemeal, calcium from algae, eggshell powder) and maybe taurine (especially for cats). Big dogs? If you have a big dog, or multiple animals, creatively search for free or inexpensive protein sources – hunters, butchers of wild game, local farms (the offal), buying a whole cow/pig/sheep that you know was raised humanely, meat co-ops. Ask the dairy if they ever have too much milk to sell (maybe taste slightly off from garlic grass). Fishermen – we once got 30 bluefish the boating people did not want to eat. Barter. Help herd the cows. Several people bring home road kill deer and butcher them. In the city, get to know all the butchers and small stores that may have meat at its expiration date for less. Small dogs are easy. Just share your meals with them. You are vegetarian/vegan and do not want to touch or look at meat? Very carefully consider the possibility of that diet for your dogs and be sure to constantly evaluate health status as it is not the normal diet.
As you take the time to find your sources, remember that you will be helping the planet’s health as well as your companion’s health every time you do not buy processed pet food or even shipped raw diets. Once sources are found – feed the biggest chunks (no need to cook unless you and the animal prefer it) so not much work. Puree your vegetable leavings (seasonal hopefully) from prep, cooking water and already cooked. Again, not much work. Think food, not dog or cat food. You can use one of the “balance your pet’s diet” sites if you feel the need. For most, I feel it is not necessary.
Toxins are abundant in many parts of the world and there are multiple strategies to minimize their impact. A balanced, vital energy field allows the body to eliminate a lot of toxins, so do not panic if you have to vaccinate more than you want (only the legally required rabies in the US in my opinion), one or two times treat your house for mold or termites, realize that your daily walk has been through pesticide sprayed grass (hopefully not your yard). Healthy dogs rarely get fleas and are much less susceptible to tick borne diseases. Focus on building health and quality of life, using the early warning signs of internal imbalance and BEAM – behavior, energy, appetite and mood as your clues.
Train your dog to love having you do a complete physical exam and record the results regularly in a journal so you will have early clues of internal imbalance. You can then take steps at home to improve health overall and prevent veterinary visits.
Many wonderful summits as well as articles here at Happy Healthy Dog are now available on ways to train and play with your cats and dogs. Use the Chinese Medicine five element (Elizabeth Johnson) or the Ayurvedic dosha evaluation to individualize the physical and mental stimulation. Maybe work with an animal intuitive if you think you need more feedback than your pet is giving you.
Finally, the homeopathic method to evaluate the response to treatments or lifestyles can be very useful. You can read a lot more at my website. Palliation with drugs or holistic treatments is when the current symptoms resolve, often too fast, with no accompanying improvement in quality of life. The condition returns, or you have to keep on treating to alleviate the symptom (having to prevent itching by a limited diet, for instance). Suppression with drugs or holistic treatments stops the symptom quickly yet soon a more serious problem appears. Our desired goal is to have quality of life (BEAM, early warning signs, happiness, etc.) improve, then the body steadily resolves the symptoms. If just bit by a bee, minutes may be all that is needed. If there is pathology for years, it may take years to completely resolve.
Please have patience, and keep learning. There are also many ways to get support so you learn how much you and your animals can heal each other without needed to go to the clinic.
Dr. Christina Chambreau, 40 years as a homeopathic and holistic veterinarian. Free 15 minutes to begin your health journey for your cherished companions. Schedule a call at https://healthypetspeopleplanet.simplybook.me/v2/#book
