Dog Flu

A new dog disease was reported in Florida (2004), a type of dog flu that is affecting several dogs in a serious way. Since flu (more accurately "influenza") is caused by a virus there are no drugs that will protect against it or be able to destroy the virus. Though some dogs have died, the usual effect is for the dog to be quite ill for some time requiring considerable care and expense not to speak of the suffering of the poor animals.

According to reports from Emilio DeBess, DVM, MPH. State Public Health Veterinarian of Oregon: "Dogs become ill 2 to 5 days after being exposed and may be ill for weeks. Generally, dogs are only contagious for the first 7 to 10 days of illness. Researchers have found that up to 20% of infected dogs do not show any symptoms, but may be spreading the disease. These silent spreaders can make containment of this infection difficult.

Researchers found to their surprise that the virus had crossed over from horses to dogs, striking greyhounds at racetracks in 11 states. Now it has been found in pets, with cases documented in California, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon and Washington state."

What Can Homeopathy Offer?

Homeopathy has the advantage that remedies can be used to strengthen the body and its immune system so that the disease will either not occur or be very mild without serious after effects. Another way to put this is that we do not attack the virus, rather we make the dog so strong the virus has little chance of succeeding.

Homeopathic medicines can be used both preventively and for treatment. Of course it is better to prevent the disease when possible. The same remedy is used in either case and this preventive treatment is recommended (if your dog not otherwise under homeopathic treatment) whenever it is learned that the disease has entered your locale.

As we gain experience with the disease, as an epidemic, we can become more accurate in our understanding as to what are the most accurate medicines to use. At this point we will use what information has been gained to date.

Major symptoms reported so far include:

• Extreme lethargy.
• Difficulty breathing; rapid, shallow breathing.
• Coughing, a moist, productive (bringing up fluid) cough that ends in a gagging response (gagging, choking, like going to vomit).
• Thick, yellow discharge from the nose.
• A high fever, between 105 to 107 F. (40.6 to 41.7 Celsius).
• Pneumonia.

Not all of these symptoms will necessarily be present in all sick dogs. Most common are coughing, fever and feeling weak. The disease most closely mimics "Kennel Cough" which also causes a cough followed by gagging.

Working Out A Homeopathic Treatment

So what we do is take these symptoms and find the homeopathic medicine that most closely matches these symptoms in its application. This can be done without complex analysis but I prefer to use a computer program made for this purpose which takes out the tedium of writing down the material on paper. The program does not make any decisions as to what to use, just organizes the material in a nice graph form with indications for what remedies to consider. So that is what I have done here.

This first graph is using all the symptoms listed here and consulting the Boger/Boenninghausen repertory:

The symptoms are listed vertically on the left, the remedies suggested on the top, and the one on the left (Sulphur) the most similar remedy of those that have come up. The colored boxes indicate the remedy has that symptom (ignore for now the different colors—has to do with grading and not important to our discussion). The white boxes are "empty" meaning that remedy does not have the symptom for that row.

However this first graph may be a little misleading because we have included all the symptoms and many cases will not be this developed (that is, there are different stages to illness and we should consider the "start" of the sickness as well).

Here is a second analysis, using the Jahr repertory using the most likely and early symptoms:

Notice we have basically the same remedies (though fewer) than in the graph above. However, the order has changed—thus different indications as to what to consider for this early stage of sickness.

Summary

Confused yet? Well, here is how it all settles out. It is very likely that most cases of developed serious illness will need either Sulphur or Arsenicum album (the two top remedies in the first graph). We will be more certain of this once we (homeopathic veterinarians) see some of these cases ourselves and gain experience with them.

How about the early cases? The disease just started, fever and cough and just not feeling well? Here we look at the second graph. The remedies very likely to be needed are the first three—Nux vomica, Mercurius, and Aconitum. Here is how they can be recognized.

• Nux vomica dog will be grouchy, not want to be touched, be chilly (seek warmth, curl up to stay warm) and go off by himself.
• Mercurius dog will be uncomfortable with either cold or heat, preferring a neutral temperature. The breath will smell very bad, and there will be excess saliva production. Sometimes the tongue is swollen and the gums unusually red.
• Aconitum dog will be very anxious, nervous—jumpy, perhaps hiding. In addition, there will be fever as an early sign yet few other symptoms (no discharge or other symptoms early on).

Suggested Treatment Program

Based on what we know so far, here is how I would proceed.

Early, First Stage Of Illness

• If your dog becomes ill showing primarily fever, nervousness and just not feeling well, give Acontium 30c, every 4 hours for 3 treatments.
• If Aconitum does really help, makes an obvious difference, yet she is not completely recovered the next day, give one dose of Sulphur 200c and nothing more after that.
• If, instead, the first signs are irritability and withdrawal, then give Nux vomica 30c, same schedule as given above for Aconitum.
• If the first signs are bad breath and salivation, give Mercurius (or Mercurius vivus or Mercurius solubilis 30c — all same remedy) on same schedule.

Later Stage Of Illness

• If your dog has already become quite ill (past the early stage) then give either Sulphur 200c or Arsenicum album 200c, one dose only.
• Arsenicum dogs will be chilly, extremely weak (may be unable to rise), and thirsty for small amounts of water taken frequently (every few minutes sometimes).
• Sulphur dogs will be stronger physically than Arsenicum and have more quantity of discharge from the eyes and nose. The appetite may be lost but with increased thirst for larger quantities of water—not taken so often as Arsenicum. If diarrhea, the anus will be red (irritated) along with redness of the lips and eyelids.

Disclaimer

The treatments suggested here are based on our experience with homeopathy and given as a general treatment program. The proper use of homeopathy is to individualize the treatment, e.g., make a specific prescription for that individual animal. Therefore, whenever possible, you should have guidance from a veterinarian experienced with homeopathy especially in the severe cases. The advice here is given for the person already knowledgeable in homeopathy or for the situation where consultation with a veterinarian is not possible. Considering the type of illness it is (viral) and the lack of effective drugs against it, using homeopathy may save an animal that otherwise would suffer needlessly or die prematurely. It is in this spirit that advice is given.

You can consult the list of veterinarians that have trained with us to find someone to work with. Also consult Dr. Pitcairn's book, Natural Health For Dogs And Cats, third Edition, page 407 for additional suggestions for care in this kind of illness.

Note: Please if you find errors on this site.