sandgrubber Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 A friend of mine recently wanted to book his dog into my kennels and I had to refuse him because he doesn't believe in vaccinations. A good natured discussion of vaccinations ensued. He believes in homeopathy and claimed, among other things, that UK homeopathic practitioners had good success treating parvo and that the disease wasn't as horrible as it was made out to be. I was a bit shocked cause it ran contrary to everything else I've heard. Has anyone seen any good evidence that homeopaths have a cure for parvo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 I haven't heard anything about treating parvo homeopathically, but to hear someone say its not as bad as it's made out to be, is quite shocking! It is a truly awful disease!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 I agree. Having nursed many, many dogs through parvo when it first became prevelant in the 80's I can tell you it is an horrific, horrific disease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Parvo is a horrid disease - the poor babies suffer terribly with it and then most don't make it. We lost a wee bull terrier pup at 12 weeks because of it - to see what that little tyke suffered was so horrible. Anyone who says parvo is not as bad as it is made out to be, obviously has never seen it first hand in all its glory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Having used homeopathy for many conditions in animals I would say that it could be very helpful with treating parvo along with fluids and all the support one normally uses. After all, there are no drugs a vet can give that can improve the outcome, it all boils down to the strength of the pup's immune system (no worm burden and general good health), the intensive support given and how nasty the particular strain of parvo is. I would think that homeopathy could improve the odds a little if correctly prescribed and administered and I would think that there are some practitioners in the UK with the necessary skill to get good results, but I haven't heard of any such practitioners here in oz where homeopathy is not as widely accepted or used. Personally I think he needs to see a litter with parvo to understand how truly horrific it is - I am a firm believer in homeopathy and even use the nosodes for cat flu, but every one of my pups gets 2 C3's. No matter how much I worry about adverse effects of vaccinations I worry about parvo more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cashew Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Supportive treatment is all one can do to prevent the dog from dying. I will only start any form of alternative treatment when my dog's vital signs are stablilised. My dog went through parvo and it was the most heart-wrenching thing to watch. If he had not been rushed to the vet and received intravenous fluids, he would have left me already. During the onset of parvo, he could not keep fluids down so how else to administer any other applications. My dog was hooked onto fluids for a few days. I believe anyone who has witnessed parvo will remember it vividly...it was that scary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peibe Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 I agree with what others have said and especially morgan When I had pups fighting parvo I lost quite a few and currently have one now fighting the disease, it is horrific no words about it I did alot of reading into homeopathy and do beleive what morgan has said, added to conventional medicine it would help Tell him to come on DOL and do some reading about the heartache on here concerning parvo Some people have no idea His dog could be a carrier for all he knows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raz Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Has anyone seen any good evidence that homeopaths have a cure for parvo? Homoeopaths do not 'cure' any disease - if a homoeopath tells you they can - run a mile. If he's dealing with a homoeopath who specialises in homoeo-immunisation, he's probably quite correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jed Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 I know of a breeder who does not conventionally vaccinate her dogs and pups against parvo. They are homeopathically treated (nosodes??) and her incidence of parvo, over 20 odd years, is nil. Dogs do go out and to shows etc. I don't have the courage to try it. And I agree with Morgan - all that can be done with parvo is provide support and hope for the best, and that is best done by the vet.. If things other than conventional medicine help, I would use them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamuzz Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 Personally I think he needs to see a litter with parvo to understand how truly horrific it is - I am a firm believer in homeopathy and even use the nosodes for cat flu, but every one of my pups gets 2 C3's. No matter how much I worry about adverse effects of vaccinations I worry about parvo more. Very good thought Morgan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 A friend of mine recently wanted to book his dog into my kennels and I had to refuse him because he doesn't believe in vaccinations. A good natured discussion of vaccinations ensued. He believes in homeopathy and claimed, among other things, that UK homeopathic practitioners had good success treating parvo and that the disease wasn't as horrible as it was made out to be. I was a bit shocked cause it ran contrary to everything else I've heard. Has anyone seen any good evidence that homeopaths have a cure for parvo? No. I was at a seminar recently where the vet said she'd had dogs treated with nosodes die of parvo in her clinic. Homeopathc treatment can't prevent it and really, why would you subject your dog to the disease when you can prevent it. You did the right thing refusing your friend - I'm sure your other clients would be relieved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkySoaringMagpie Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 No matter how much I worry about adverse effects of vaccinations I worry about parvo more. I agree. I have recently been involved in managing vet treatment for two pups with parvo. Parvo is not something you f*** around with. I have a girlfriend who is a homeopath - she gave us a basic potion-kit and she doses the animals from time to time. I would no more rely on that for parvo immunity than fly to the moon - and she would agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 No. I was at a seminar recently where the vet said she'd had dogs treated with nosodes die of parvo in her clinic. Homeopathc treatment can't prevent it and really, why would you subject your dog to the disease when you can prevent it. Puppies can still die from parvo with ordinary vaccines, as can adults. I have lost vaccinated puppies to parvo as have other people I know. I think it is more a case of whether or not the vaccine or nosode is specific for the particular strain of parvo. I was told by my vet that the strain that killed my pups was probably 2c and the vaccine was for 2a and 2b. Years ago I had a vaccinated litter that became very ill - the vet thought it was either parvo or coronavirus, and I had 6 pups on drips at home, with twice daily trips to the vet for checkups, drugs etc. The vet thought that I would lose the lot, so I had a homeopath make up a nosode from body fluids from the pups - managed to save 3 out of 6 pups and 2 of these went on to become Royal challenge winners. I don't think I would have saved any without using both forms of medicine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 Morgan: Puppies can still die from parvo with ordinary vaccines, as can adults. Same as human vaccs I suppose - they aren't 100% effective on us either. I still rate them as a better bet than homeopathics though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sivvy Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 I know a few ppl using this on their dogs. They swear by it. I did it with one of my toy poodles about 8 yrs ago and he was fine. I couldnt say really if I felt it was safe or not, but I dont think vaccines are safe neither. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raz Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 I have a girlfriend who is a homeopath - she gave us a basic potion-kit and she doses the animals from time to time. I would no more rely on that for parvo immunity than fly to the moon - and she would agree. And I agree with her. Very sensible homoeopath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted September 15, 2008 Author Share Posted September 15, 2008 Has anyone seen any good evidence that homeopaths have a cure for parvo? Homoeopaths do not 'cure' any disease - if a homoeopath tells you they can - run a mile. If he's dealing with a homoeopath who specialises in homoeo-immunisation, he's probably quite correct. I don't understand. Let's say dog is suffering from parvo and a remedy is given; the dog recovers due to the remedy. Isn't that 'curing' the parvo? Don't homeopaths give remedies that treat, and hopefully cure, the sufferer from the disease? btw, I'm not sure my friend used the word cure. He did imply that puppies who had come down with parvo were treated homeopathically and got better, apparently without IV support. This didn't jive with everything I've heard about parvo, and if it were true, I'd think there'd be a rush to adopt the homeopathic treatment, or at least people talking about alternate treatments in this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcq Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 I think regardless of whether or not homeopathy can or can not be used to treat Parvo, one thing that sprang to my mind is that boarding kennel licenses require that animals be vaccinated before entering your facility. I'm not sure what your laws are like in WA but my license states that I must keep records details of vaccination of all boarders for a period 7 years. I am a big believer in natural therapies and love using such treatments on my animals but I will still vaccinate until it is recognised that the homeopathic/natural medicine is an acceptable alternative. I think homeopathic treatment won't be so much a treatment as an immune system support. My opinion of natural therapies is that they are treatments that help the body heal itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Has anyone seen any good evidence that homeopaths have a cure for parvo? Homoeopaths do not 'cure' any disease - if a homoeopath tells you they can - run a mile. If he's dealing with a homoeopath who specialises in homoeo-immunisation, he's probably quite correct. I don't understand. Let's say dog is suffering from parvo and a remedy is given; the dog recovers due to the remedy. Isn't that 'curing' the parvo? Don't homeopaths give remedies that treat, and hopefully cure, the sufferer from the disease? btw, I'm not sure my friend used the word cure. He did imply that puppies who had come down with parvo were treated homeopathically and got better, apparently without IV support. This didn't jive with everything I've heard about parvo, and if it were true, I'd think there'd be a rush to adopt the homeopathic treatment, or at least people talking about alternate treatments in this forum. If a dog had parvo and was on fluids, it may recover whether or not it was given a homeopathic remedy. I could put a dog on fluids in hospital with parvo and shower it with rose petals. If it recovers, does that mean the rose petals fixed it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaC Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 (edited) I don't understand. Let's say dog is suffering from parvo and a remedy is given; the dog recovers due to the remedy. Isn't that 'curing' the parvo? Don't homeopaths give remedies that treat, and hopefully cure, the sufferer from the disease? Maybe I can help, I'm a Herbalist and as part of studying for our qualifications (its a 3-4yr full time process) we did some subjects on Homeopathy (personally I wasn't much of a fan but many in my class at the time were and continue to be) .... I don't practice it myself (my preferred method of treatment is with herbal tinctures rather than homeopathic preparations - thus the reason I studies herbalism ) but I would suggest that Homeopaths are like Herbalists - we cannot state that we "cure" anything - the word "cure" is carefully guarded by the mainstream Medical community, we can "treat" "support" and "work" with clients but we can not state that we can "cure" something .... semantics really but the word "cure" is like "diagnose" are are technically off limits to us... Edited September 15, 2008 by FionaC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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