Homeopathy for Canine “Tuning"

By Beth Murray, CCH, RSHom (NA)
Published in BayWoof, Dec-Jan ’08 Issue

Dear Dr. Dog:
What is the difference between homeopathy for animals and traditional Western veterinary care?

I often get telephone calls asking “Can homeopathy cure rheumatoid arthritis” or “Can homeopathy cure cancer?” My answer is that homeopathy does not cure conditions; it stimulates the body’s vital force to heal itself.

In homeopathy, we believe that every being possesses a “vital force” that governs and tunes his or her mind, body, and spirit. This is the main difference between homeopathy and Western medicine: in Western medicine, a drug acts chemically on a symptom or set of symptoms; in homeopathy, a remedy stimulates the body’s innate healing power, which then eliminates symptoms of illness. While the end result of homeopathy may be chemical changes in the body, just as with western medicine, they are always initiated by movement toward health and balance this is triggered and supported by the right remedy.

There are two basic modalities in homeopathy: acute and constitutional care. Acute care, which is the easier form to learn and practice, addresses brief, self-limiting conditions such as wounds and colds. Constitutional care is the process of selecting a “constitutional” remedy, the one remedy out of approximately three thousand known homeopathic remedies that precisely matches an individual’s physical and mental symptoms. That’s right – one remedy for every major physical and mental symptom an animal may have! 

The efficacy of homeopathy depends entirely on whether the right remedy is used. It can be very difficult to select the remedy that matches all the mental and physical symptoms of animals, especially since they can’t talk and tell us how they are feeling! Often, I ask the dog’s “people” to be patient as we try different remedies before finding the right one. Potentially, homeopathy can address almost any symptom, but true success depends on finding that perfect match between an individual animal and an individual remedy.

What are these remedies made of, and how do they differ from Western drugs? Homeopathic remedies are generally made from animals, plants, or minerals. What makes them different from Western drugs is that the remedies are highly diluted; the potencies that most homeopaths use contain less than a molecule of the original substance. Through a process of dilution and succussion (shaking the remedy in a water solution), the energetic properties of the original substance are transferred to the water. Thus, homeopathy is able to make use of the healing properties of substances which in material doses would be toxic.

When “suppressive” drugs, which treat the symptoms and not the cause of illness, are used in Western medicine, the symptoms may disappear, but the cause of the disease – which homeopaths see as a mistunement of the vital force – can move deeper within the body, sometimes appearing months to years later as more serious disease, generally in more vital organs. Constitutional care can address the root of the disease and prevent it from worsening.

Because Western, or allopathic, medicine tends to treat each symptom an animal has over its lifetime as an individual event, no attention is paid to the long-term effects of suppressive treatment. That said, homeopathy is not meant to replace veterinary care. I am not a veterinarian and so do not have a vet’s diagnostic skills or deep knowledge of drugs. I rely on the veterinarians I practice with for this expertise.
Occasionally, “miracles” do happen with homeopathy – an animal may feel much better overnight or show progress with an issue that western medicine hasn’t been able to help. Far more often, though, progress is slow and steady. Generally, the stronger an animal’s vital force, the more quickly change occurs. Therefore, healthy puppies and kittens can make incredibly speedy recoveries with homeopathic treatment, while older animals tend to heal more gradually.

I love homeopathy because the right remedy always works by tuning an animal’s vital force, and from there proceeds to strengthen the animal to heal him/herself. I love homeopathy because it is easy on the planet – one ounce of any substance is all a pharmacy needs to supply all of its clients with that remedy. I love homeopathy because it demands that I use all of my intuition and all of my intellect to see what is unique about every animal I see. I love homeopathy because I get to witness the incredibly deep bonds between people and their animals.

Beth Murray, CCH, RSHom (NA) is a Certified Classical Homeopath (not a veterinarian).  She consults for animals at Creature Comfort Holistic Veterinary Center in Oakland and at the Oakland Zoo. She has a practice for people at Back to Life Wellness Center in Alameda.