Over the past few years, advertising on television has brought to our attention, the benefits of buying probiotic products and the health benefits they carry. Advertising companies do seem to have got the message across rather well though, as sales of dairy based probiotics have risen considerably despite the economic situation. No doubt, it’s the health implications of consuming probiotics and bombarding our digestive systems with gut friendly bacteria which have inspired us to buy their products. This is especially relevant because our immune system functions far better when our bowels are working properly.

The link between the bacteria in our bowel and our immune system is not new; in fact we have known about it for quite a while. Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov, the Nobel Prize winner for medicine in 1908, was aware that the longevity of Bulgarian peasants was largely due to consuming fermented dairy products containing large numbers of gut friendly bacteria. However it is only recently that we have discovered exactly how the bacteria are able to influence our well being. This symbiotic relationship is complicated and in part involves crowding out unfriendly, potentially harmful bacteria as well as creating an environment which is hostile for them to survive in. Much of the research is ongoing and although related largely to people, it is a fair bet that we can extrapolate the scientific information to include both dogs and cats.

So probiotics are good for us and our pets. With recent research on the additional health benefits of adding in prebiotics (such as Chicory and Garlic) as well, it looks as if we have some useful allies in both maintaining our well being and in dealing with some of the chronic bowel conditions such as IBD, which we see in cats and dogs.

I have, for the past two weeks or so, had a student shadowing me part of the time. Not a veterinary student as you might expect, but a post-graduate student from the University of Sussex, who is planning to take up veterinary medicine as a mature student. Not having a science background means that she will need to do an access course to gain entry to vet school. The likelihood is that she will get in, not only with her pre-existing life skills gained already from time at university, but also from her experience acquired by spending as much  time as possible with vets in practice to see how a practice runs.

One of the main topics for discussion has been the difference between the conventional approach to treating illness in animals, compared with using alternative medicine. The conclusions she has drawn have been interesting. There is an obvious and clear need for both systems, but she is particularly impressed with how long term, chronic illness can be managed using complementary therapies like homeopathy and herbal medicine. She was also intrigued by the more in depth consultations which natural medicine practitioners often use to find out about their patients, specifically as individuals and in terms of their exact symptoms. The skill in looking and listening to owners and their pets is an art which I was keen point out, is not only vital in prescribing alternative medicines, but is one, which as far as practically possible,  she should introduce into conventional consultations. It is these basic skills which will enable her to become not only a capable clinician, but which will allow her to select the best treatment for her patients which, unless I am mistaken,  will now almost certainly include both homeopathic and herbal remedies.

Vets have been in the news a lot over the last week or so, with both good and bad press. The Panorama  programme on BBC 1 highlighted some poor standards in the care of the animals and the conduct of the staff within one chain of corporate veterinary practices. Personally I was sad to see the standards of this sector of the veterinary profession drop to such a low ebb. It is an area which needs addressing by the professional body which oversees vets, The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, better known as the RCVS.

In direct contrast and on a better and much happier note, the excellent work of the “Bionic Vet” Noel Fitzpatrick, has been the subject of a series of 30 minute programmes on the BBC over recent weeks. In contrast to the Panorama programme, his work is pioneering and above all, is of the highest standard. His surgery has all the latest equipment including an MRI scanner, modern digital X-ray equipment and state of the art kennelling and hydrotherapy pool. I have subsequently tended to think of my own practice as pretty well “non-bionic” as we have virtually no hi-tech equipment and rely on herbal and homeopathic remedies which have been in use for many years. Nevertheless, regardless of the type of medicine practised, I have always tried to maintain high standards of care and courtesy in much the same way as Noel.

To meet the needs of the modern pet owner we need the likes of Noel and his colleagues and indeed all the vets that specialize in different areas of veterinary medicine including those vets that use alternative or natural medicine. Sandwiched between the specialist vets, we rely on those vets in regular everyday practice to keep us supplied with cases. These are just the same practices that most pet owners rely on for quality, professional, day to day care.

Garlic, not only good for keeping vampires away, it also works quite well for fleas

A huge part of the caseload for most vets comprises skin problems and although we deal with alternative medicine, it’s no different for our practice. A small percentage of these cases will be hormonal based, non-itchy conditions with hair loss, more correctly termed alopecia. Most will, however, be dogs and cats that itch, scratch and bite incessantly. Irritating not only for you, but also for your pet.

The causes? Well some of these will be allergies, either to food ingredients or to environmental allergens such as house dust mites, pollens or grasses. The majority will, common things being most common, fleas. This is especially so at this time of year when it’s really hot and when it’s vitally important to think about how to tackle the impending flea population explosion.

So, one of the questions I am asked frequently is simply, is there a natural way of dealing with fleas? This question always reminds me of a lady I know with 15 cats. She uses no conventional flea treatments at all to keep the fleas at bay. Her secret is to give each cat garlic everyday with a pinch of brewers yeast, both mixed in with their food. She hoovers regularly to pick up any flea eggs and larvae and puts dried lavender in their beds. For her and many, many other pet owners this approach works really well. Although it does not actually kill the fleas, it does make the animals unpleasant to live on, so hopefully the fleas will go somewhere else to live. My advice then is simple: if you want to avoid using chemicals, try this first. If it does not work, then you can always look at the various conventional approaches. The best person to ask for advice, as always, is your vet.

Monica, posing as usual!

Anyone that has had a look at my page will have seen the picture of Monica, our long-haired miniature Dachshund. She is a sweet little rescue dog which we have had for about 5 years. More or less we ended up owning her by accident.Monica used to belong to one of my clients and as so often happens with these long backed breeds, she suffered from a prolapsed intervertebral disc in her back. This is where one of the padded, shock-absorbing cushioned discs between the bones which make up her spine burst and then caused localised pressure on the nerves in her spinal canal. The result was complete paralysis of her rear end. Not only was she not able to move her back legs (which she would drag behind her), but she was doubly incontinent as well. Obviously a bit of a problem!

Initially Monica’s owner gave her to the practice to look after and subsequently told me that I could keep her. The good news is that she recovered pretty well completely, although it took around about 4 months. All she has now is the occasional weakness (she’s a bit wobbly) in her back legs.

Often a surgical approach is used to deal with these problems, however in Monica’s case, the problem was dealt with using homeopathy, acupuncture and physiotherapy. The first homeopathic remedy we used was Arnica 30c and this was followed with Hypericum 30c over the following weeks and finally the remedy Causticum 30c as her recovery was nearing completion. I am not at all sure what the recovery rate is for this condition in terms of surgery v conservative treatment, but for Monica the complementary medicine approach worked very well. Acupuncture has a pretty good reputation in helping with spinal problems and is certainly an approach to be considered where surgery is not an option for whatever reason.

It’s just over 30 years since I qualified as a vet, so it’s not surprising that I have seen quite a few changes, not only within the profession itself, but also in the diagnosis and treatment of illness. What’s even more interesting is the “emergence of new conditions” and the way in which others have seemingly diminished.

However, I do suspect that some of the conditions that we commonly diagnose today have existed for some time; it’s only our ability to recognise them as definite clinical conditions that’s changed. Hyperthyroidism in cats is a typical example, not really recognised clinically until the early 1980’s although as a student I am fairly certain it was around during my training. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in both cats and dogs is another. This is a chronic condition involving frequent bouts of diarrhoea with blood and mucus which, in a lot of cases, requires long term medication and treatment to keep the condition under control. I am sure that I saw cases in my early years in practice in London, but did not know about the immunological basis of this condition until fairly recently, when investigations have provided an insight into this worrying problem.

It is with chronic conditions like IBD, that I feel that complementary medicine has a lot to offer, either by helping to reduce the dose of conventional treatment or by providing a complete alternative approach. If you are new to alternative medicine, then Denes is a particularly good starting point where you will find considerable information and support.

It’s been a busy week. Not only have we seen more animals in the practice in East Hoathly, but my Brighton surgery was also fully booked. Outside work, I have been working as assistant stage manager in a village production of Red Hot and Cole, a musical about the life of Cole Porter. It’s taken up several evenings with preparation and with the show in full swing we are hoping for good audience numbers.

It was a short while ago that one of the dancers asked me about her knee problem. With cartilage damage and a painful joint, she was concerned about being able to perform in the forthcoming show. What could I recommend? Based on my experience with animals, I suggested using Glucosamine, Chondroitin or Green Lipped Mussel, either singly or in combination. These supplements support the health of joint cartilage, making it more resilient to damage, allowing repair of damage tissue and can increase the amount of joint fluid as well, providing for better lubrication. Added to this I suggested she buy homeopathic Symphytum and Ruta grav to help relieve some of the stiffness and swelling.

I am pleased to say there has already been some improvement so that her intended appearance on the stage has not been thwarted. This mirrors the sort of response that I see in my animal patents’ with similar joint problems, where I find that arthritis and stiff  and painful joints often respond well to a combination of homeopathy and supplements.

You can find out more about Glucosamine and Green Lipped Mussel by following the link.

When I started my complementary medicine practice some 20 years ago, homeopathy was the main therapy I used to treat my patients. Despite adding other therapies over the years such as acupuncture and herbal medicine, homeopathy has remained the number one treatment. So I was somewhat surprised, to learn recently, that the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has now decided that homeopathy is nothing more than a placebo. So for the last twenty years, all the animals that I have treated (and that’s about 20,000 by my reckoning) all know about medicines, and they all know that they are going to get better. That’s really clever!

I don’t think so somehow. It’s because animals respond so well to homeopathic medicines and because I’ve seen so many amazing responses to treatment, there is no doubt in my mind that homeopathy works. This is real life, real facts with real animals and not a scientific trial. Animals simply don’t lie and don’t know anything about placebos.

It’s encouraging to see homeopathic medicines grow in popularity and even better to see a steady stream of testimonials arrive on my desk telling me how well their animals have responded to the remedies. Owners independently telling us that homeopathy works, what more proof do you need? Or perhaps it’s all just the placebo effect….?

For more information about homeopathy for cats and dogs take a look at our fact sheet.

Anybody that lives near the countryside will appreciate what a nuisance nettles can be! Not only is their sting uncomfortable and just so itchy, but they are also really hard to get rid of when they appear in the garden; the roots just seem to go on forever-that’s what seems to happen in my garden anyway. There is however a more practical use to this itchy, irritating herb. It has been used by medicinal herbalists for many years to treat a whole range of health problems. It is one of the herbs that I use most often in my surgery as it is just so versatile.

One of its main applications is in helping with arthritis as it is a natural anti-inflammatory. It is also a blood cleanser, leaching out toxins (so it can help with kidney and bladder problems) as well as helping with itchy, allergic based eczema and dermatitis; in fact it seems to help a bit with just about any long-term skin condition.

Buster Lloyd Jones, the founder of Denes, was one of the very first people to recognise how beneficial this plant could be in helping his animal patients. He introduced nettles into his range of herbal remedies (he called his product Greenleaf) well over 50 years ago. Today Greenleaf remains one of the most popular Denes products and is still used to help with stiff arthritic joints, itchy skin and kidney problems. So as Spring arrives and the nettles start to grow again, why not consider putting a bit of a “spring” back into your pets life with Greenleaf Tablets.

If you have any experiences of how Greenleaf or stinging nettles have helped solve a problem, I’d love to hear your comments. You can also read or download our fact sheet on some of the most commonly used medicinal herbs and essential oils or we have one just on nettles.

It’s with great pleasure that we welcome you to our brand new blog!

In addition to our Advice section and fact sheets, we have decided to start this blog in response to the many queries we receive from pet owners. We hope very much that this will be shaped by our readers – all you pet owners out there – and invite you to share your thoughts and questions about anything you read here. We look forward to you hearing from you all.

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Once again, welcome to our blog and we hope you (and your pet!) find it helpful and entertaining.