Is alternative or 'new age' medicine Hokum?

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Ok, long story but I'm going to try to make it short. Basically there's this man who brings his dog to the dog park who has recently been trying to give me (unsolicited) advice about Winston's allergies. I usually try to change the subject because he's one of these new age spiritual types, the kind I used to worship back when I was younger but have since become far more skeptical of. Talk of balancing energy fields through positive vibrations and what not usually makes me uncomfortable.

 

He says he's cured allergies and 'hot spots' and other such conditions in other dogs using his quantum rejuvination techniques. He did cure his own dog's hot spot as I saw the transition. He said he cured four different cancers in himself, and that this is the same science that Lance Armstrong used to cure his cancer (I googled around for Lance A. and alternative or new age medicine and didn't find much). From what I hear from the rumour mill this guy has a background in science and medicine and is also filthy rich. He has a website that I checked out and it seems rather bizarre, but if you're curious send me a message I'll give the address to you.

 

Anyway, after asking me a few times for a hair sample from Winston so that he can analyse it using his special technology or something, I finally gave in to morbid curiosity and said ok. I figure, what do I have to lose at this point since nothing else seems to work.

 

So he called me with the results of his analysis last night, and below are the notes I took on my computer as we were talking (keeping in mind that I was writing the notes down I was distracted by a pulsating pain in my head cause by a vicious cupboard door attack) - colour comment is mine.

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Worms – get deworming powder at the pet store - this will help with itchy butt. (hhhmmmmm... Winston had a negative fecal done very recently)

Grains &  Gluten intolerance (good thing Winston is now on grain free food)

Sprain or muscle spasms (his back leg has seemed quite stiff...)

Depression, rejection and some anxiety (no kidding)

Meridian system is over inflated (WTD???)

Spinal issues-compressed nerves (not sure about this but possible)

Dermatitis from allergies (I already knew this...)

Weak thyroid – medicine creating a dependency.  inconsistently give it to him. Break the cycle by stopping, then give it to him inconsistently so his body doesn’t get dependant on it. (I have a hard time understanding how stopping his thryroid pills will help him... but it is interesting that he noted the condition and he didn't know he was already diagnosed with it)

 

Allergies:(some of these foods are in his current kibble (orijen adult) or were in his past kibble (nutro lamb and rice and I have been giving him cookies that have some the ingrediants, like wheat, in them)

 

Acute:                                  

Bakers Yeast

Vegetables - only give him steamed as it is easier on his system (no wonder he doesn't eat his broccoli)

Chicken (this is the base protein of his kibble)

Wasps and mosquitoes

Tomatoes

Wheat

Grass

Chicken

Nuts

Broccoli

rapeseed (canola oil)

lamb

 

Chronic:

Shellfish

Whey (in a lot of dog food)

Bakers yeast

Mold

Animal hair such as cats - (Oh no! Penelope!!)

MSG (who isn't allergice to MSG and why would anyone give this to their dog anyway?)

Sweet Potatoes (interesting because he rejects these)

Aduki beans (funny, I had these for dinner the other night and had never heard of them before then)

Fish – particularly trout and cod (he did not do well on six fish orijen)

Coconut

Salmon

Egg whites (he rejects boiled eggs)

Peas that are raw

 

Iodine deficiency - feed him kelp or seaweed as it will help build the thyroid. (I should look into this, if this is true it couldn't hurt right?)

For his itchy Paws, use betadine (a diluted iodine). 2 minutes per paw. Half a capful of betadine in water. Dogs sweat through paws so betadine will absorb in his system – doing this on a daily basis will help. (I asked pharmacist about this and she thought it was nuts but admitted there could be something she doesn't know about it as she's not a dog expert)

 

Rhustox. 2 or 3 pellets – don’t touch, crush with spoon. Have Winston lick them. Sugar tablet. Stops itching. (this is some sort of a homeopathic substance)

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Ok, recognizing this guy might be completely out to lunch, I'm pretty skeptical. However, I'm wondering how much harm there is in testing some of his theories out given that nothing else I've tried works, including several different types of antihistimines, including the steroids and seasonal allergies are no longer the problem now that the weather is cold. He still knaws on his paws, and his leg-pits, as well as scratches his chin obssessively (I actually found scabs from where he must have broke the skin). I would never mess with his thyroid meds but is there any harm in trying out the homeopathic stuff and trying the de-worming powder and maybe making some dietary changes and trying out some sort of beef based diet?

 

On the other hand, I could make the two hour drive to Montreal and fork out the $300 to get a full blood work up for allergies as my vet had suggested as an option, which would be followed by $100 shots every 10 days which have only proved successful in about a quarter to half of her clients who have done this. I am not rich so I'm not sure this is an option right now...

 

So basically, Complete and total HOKUM, or is it worth a shot? I'm leaning towards Hokum, I'd bet my doodles that Karen and F will think so, but I thought this would make for an interesting discussion...

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

I have thought of that and it could definitely be an option down the road. There is a company in my area that does personalized meal plans for dogs. I bet it is pricey though, way more expensive than the allergy treatments.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Especially since it can't include chicken. You're going to be pretty much limited to beef as the protein source. (And if anyone tells you that a dog who is allergic to cooked chicken can still eat raw chicken, you can tell them they're wrong.)  

[Cindy M, Zachary & the Frenchies]

My frenchie can't eat chicken or beef - but does well on lamb, and turkey a bit of pork and mackeral. So there are still raw alternatives for dogs with protein allergies. You just have to be dilligent about testing them one at a time.

[Rory]

I feed lamb, herring, rabbit, beef...but mostly chicken and duck. You can try any protein - I would think doing a meat/bone/organs-only mix of some novel protein source he's never had before (rabbit, maybe?) could tell you once and for all whether the allergies are food related. 

 

It isn't all that pricey as long as you shop smart - certainly not more than $100 every ten days(!!!) even if you feed only commercial. You can also find a butcher that will grind whole animals for you, organs and bones included (my poultry guy will grind anything smaller than a turkey - but it will definitely take some calling around to find a butcher who will grind bones). 

[Rhonda, Marabelle & Jeriki]

My dog is raw fed and it works out to maybe about 3 or 4 dollars a day. I only buy the raw pre made from the Pet stores as a treat. so she can have lamb and buffalo once in a while nost the time i go to my butcher and get the chicken backs the beef I also give her deer. Cabbage is really good for them yougurt apples all that stuff I even chopped up some lettuce the other day and threw that in the mix lol.

 

Rhonda and Marabelle

[F, Calla & Luca]

Shoot, I was just writing a long response and lost it. Some alternative medicine is good and worthwhile but this guy sounds like he's full of hokum. Stopping the thyroid could be dangerous. Thyroid hormone is not addictive but one does depend on it. Deworming products can have side effects  and I would not use them in a dog that does not have worms. Betadine is an antiseptic and I hope it's not absorbed, it's iodine. Homeopathy is hokum as is hair analysis. How do we know this man actually had cancer much less that he cured himself. If he has such great treatments and preventions why did he get cancer? Sorry this does all sound unbelievable and unless he can give you any scientific validity for his claims I'd ignore all this. Just tonight I went to a lecture on alternative medicine and it was fascinating. But the speaker was a well known physician, he presented many scientific studies, he said he does not believe in homeopathy although he uses herbs, nutrients and yoga as well as conventional medicine. All of the above made his presentation useful and worth considering. That's the difference between hokum and possibly helpful alternative medicine.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

"If he has such great treatments and preventions why did he get cancer."

I love this!

Another thing to consider is how did he get "filthy rich"? From ripping people off with bogus treatments, maybe? The word "filthy" may be all too appropriate.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

well, in fairness to him he got into these practices because of the cancer, he wasn't involved before then. And I believehe was also rich before than too, but it is all rumour so who knows. He didn't charge me for Winston's hair analysis, I certainly wouldn't have paid for it.

[Adina P]

F--dont lose what you write, use Lazarus!  I mentioned it in a past post in Tech Issues.  It is awesome and you can get back anything you type in a post :)

[F, Calla & Luca]

Adina, thanks. I got it after you mentioned it but what happens is I accidentally navigate away from the page to look for something and I don't know how to resurrect things. Can you resurrect things if you've gone to Google for instance and come back? If so, how do you do that?

[Adina P]

YES!  You just click in the box again, right click in the box, click on "recover text" and usually it's the top line of text that is the last thing you wrote.  It's a MIRACLE and one of my all time favorite tools ever.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

brilliant!