I have been a veterinarian for 45 years and focussed on nutrition & homeopathy for the last 30 years. At this point in my career I provide training and guidance in the promotion of optimal health and the use of homeopathy and nutrition as very excellent ways to do this. My primary activity is lecturing, writing, putting on seminars and training programs.
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Dr. Pitcairn's Blog 
Thank you Dr. Pitcairn for starting this blog. I too am appalled at the prejudice that exists against Homeopathy without any regard for true evidence that it is not effective.
Interestingly, there is a study occurring at the moment at McMaster University in Canada comparing nosodes effectiveness against those of vaccines. Dr. Mark Loeb’s hypothesis however is that nosodes do not work to provide immunity to diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, diptheria, etc. That there will be no measurable antibodies. But the way I understand nosodes to work is that there usually are no measurable antibodies, but instead they work to prevent disease at a certain point of exposure (as during an epidemic, for example), so I feel that the study is already flawed right out of the gate. Thoughts?
Nancy, not a simple question. From the homeopathic perspective, a nosode (made from the product of disease) is expected to be protective against a certain class of acute illness, not all diseases. Dr. Hahnemann tells us that there are acute diseases, like Distemper, that do not change much from year to year. It is this type of disease in which nosodes can be effective, because of the non-changeableness of the disease itself the nosode is still similar to it. There are many diseases that are frequently changing, such Parvo, Flu, etc, and nosodes usually don’t have much use with them. That is not to say that homeopathy cannot be effective in preventing them, just that when the epidemic (or case) occurs, one has to find the specific remedy that matches that current pattern. In this situation it is not a nosode but a homeopathic remedy such as made from a plant or mineral or animal product. Does this make sense?
In regard to “measurable antibodies” the nosode will not bring this about as it acts at an energetic level, not the physical level. It is also interesting in immunology that having such antibodies does not always equate with immunity. Often does, but not always as immunity is more complicated than that. Studies like this are flawed, as you say, because they are coming from a materialistic orientation which is not the perspective of homeopathy. So of course they can be incorrectly carried out — if the purpose is to show homeopathic effect.
Hello! My 10 year old miniature Doberman was just diagnosed with diabetes. I am questioning how this even happened. He has been getting into lots of different foods that he should not have. We solved that problem by confining him to the kitchen while we are out of the home. The last things he had gotten into was about 1/2 of a bag of marshmallows a few weeks ago. That’s when I noticed the excessive drinking and urinating. Then about 2 days ago I noticed he was leaking urine where he would be laying. Since the marshmallows I had been making sure he has water and taking him out to urinate as often as he needed. After I saw he was leaking I took him to the vet. He hadn’t eaten his breakfast that morning and they took blood and urine. The blood work came back saying his blood sugar was about 500 and that he was diabetic. He has to get insulin shot twice a day. Still waiting on the urinalysis results. He has been eating the same brand food all his life, Health Extension. Could this be a result of all the foods he got into be a cause? Is this something that happens with age? My other question is how do I know by his actions if his blood sugar is high or low? I am going to change his diet to what I have read in your book and also add supplements. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. He is a big part of our family and we all love him as if he were human!! My children think of him as their sibling. Please if you could tell me what we need to do to help our beloved dog, Dewey. Thank you so much!
Melisa
Melisa,
I wouldn’t think one marshmallow binge would cause any of this. I can’t say what the cause is for this, it could be more than one factor. I can say, however, that with my clients having a dog with this problem I first put them on a plant-based diet with no animal products. Feeding meat and other animal products is very toxic these days and I think causes many of the these health problems. I am not familiar with Health Extension food so I looked it up on line. Looks pretty good though they make the error of avoiding grains. I looked at just the original version and though the first ingredient was organic chicken, later ingredients were not organic. These included chicken meal, chicken fat, lamb meal, fish meal, eggs. So these are the things I would want to get out of his diet if were my patient. Check out the 4th edition of our book for specific guidance.
With best wishes,
Dr. Pitcairn
Hello, I am looking in to alternatives to heartgard. So far, I’ve found a concoction that is made up of ginger root, black walnut, wormwood, andrographis, parsley root, and oat seed. It’s in a dropper form, called ‘HW protect’ from ‘only natural pet.’ I know that in your book, you say that you are reluctant to advise people to stop the use of heartworm preventative. But I’m feeling courageous and I’m on a mission to get my dogs as healthy as possible. One has mild seizures and the other has IBD. It just seems like the right thing to do. Do you know anything about this product, or have another that you would recommend?
Thanks again,
Liz
Any info on acute lick granuloma?….REALLY NEED HELP!!! Afraid dog could loose his paw due to licking & the “raw meat” look…😢
This problem is well addressed with homeopathic treatment. Check my website, drpitcairn.com, and the “Referrals” menu to find a veterinarian in your area that is trained in homeopathy. Good luck with this, wishing you the best.
Dr. Pitcairn
Lina,
There is on one treatment for this. Best to work with a homeopathic veterinarian that can find the best remedy to administer. Check our website, drpitcairn.com, and use the menu “referrals” to find someone near you.
Good luck.
With best wishes,
Dr. Pitcairn
Lina, if I have not already applied I suggest you contact a homeopathic veterinarian that can treat this with the use of that method. There is a list of those willing to take on new clients on my website, drpitcairn.com. Check the menu item “referrals.” Good luck with this. I know a difficult one to deal with.
With best wishes,
Dr. Pitcairn
What would cause a cat to rub it’s right ear on the ground? Ears look clean….. Loved it when I rubbed his cheek below his ear. Not scratching his ears. Seems more comfortable when ear is warmed up. thank you
Cristina, obviously must be a sensation there. Could be itching or crawling feeling. I don’t know why it is happening. You could have ear examined for mites but it may not be anything detectable.
Hi dr Pitcairn
My dogs have been on vegan homemade food for 6 weeks. Everything is great. 2of my dogs have normal feces twice daily. The third dog goes another 4times a day. Should I be concerned
Thanks Dee
Dee, I don’t see that as a symptom of illness in itself. It could mean the bowels are over-active but there would need to be more determination of that to make that decision. You can check the stools and make sure no food coming through undigested. If you are uneasy with it, have your vet do an exam. Good luck.
Dear Dr. Pitcairn, I am now seeing Dr. Lisa Pesch in Rohnert Park, CA. I started using the one on one diet from your Third Edition. My 12 year old Shih Tzu was dx with MVD stage 3- 12 months ago. Per UC Davis recent visit, condition is static. 3 weeks ago I started making the one on one recipe using turkey breast or turkey thigh (fresh gound from butcher) You indicate to add more oil when using turkey or chicken. How much more oil?? Dog is hot.
By the way, her energy has doubled!
Thank you so much for your time.
Gloria Hubbell
Gloria, I am glad to hear her energy is improved. Good sign. Regarding amount of oil to add, I would start with an additional 1 tablespoon to the recipe. See how that goes. You might also look at the 4th edition of our book as we reworked many of the recipes emphasizing plant-based diets and see amazing responses in many ill dogs.
With best wishes,
Dr. Pitcairn
Dear Dr. Pitcairn,
Thank you so much for the tip on the oil for the Shih tzu. Since she has MVD, in using the one on one diet, would barley, millet or quinoa be a good rotational grain as I am currently using brown rice.
Again, thank you for your guidance.
Gloria Hubbell
Gloria, I think that would be fine. But check with Dr. Pesch as she will have a better handle on the details of the situation.
Hi again Dr. Pitcairn
Amazon just dropped off 4th edition. What recipe most resembles one on one? I know I can use more vegetables. I like to double batch and freeze. I can cut down on the turkey.
Lots of reading to do..
Thanks so much.
Gloria Hubbell
I haven’t done that comparison myself 🙂 Let me know if you figure it out.
Dr Pitcairn, I was hoping you could give me some insight to my current situation. My dog, Stone, is about 2 and a half years old. For the first year and a half that I had him, he ate regular kibble (I believe it was chicken and rice flavor). In December of 2018, he began to have diarrhea all the time and began to lose weight. I remember when I first got him at 8 weeks he also had diarrhea and was vomiting all the time, which his vet treated with antibiotics numerous times. I took him to the vet and they said I should try changing his diet to a different kind of meat because maybe he was allergic/becoming intolerant to what I was feeding him. They also tested for things like worms and such. I found this healthy pet food store and they suggested I give him goats milk and this herbal tincture along with a combination of turkey kibble and wet food. I tried a few different kinds of meats for him and still he had constant diarrhea/super soft stools. One day I thought why don’t I try a vegan diet, upon research during this time I did not even know dogs could be vegan. So I tried the homemade meals from Compassion Circle(which also comes with the supplements). Still nothing changed. So with no help from the regular vet, I sought out a vet who practices a combination of Chinese and Western medicine. She ran a Dysbiosis index and found that he had almost no healthy bacteria in his gut. She also diagnosed Inflammatory Bowel Disease. So she suggested I feed him homemade meals consisting of chicken, rice, a root vegetable and greens 3 times a day. He has been eating this for about 5 months along with probiotics, multivitamins, and something to settle his tummy. He has gained back 10 lbs of the 20 lbs he lost. When he first began to get sick, he also became very aggressive. She treated him with an herb called Lyssin. His aggression is almost completely gone now (he only has slight aggression in my apartment building because he is territorial). He used to growl at every person and dog that even looked our way. So while I am happy that he is feeling better and looking better, I am still curious as to why he couldn’t have gotten better on a vegan diet. His vet says he cannot digest the vegan proteins and that he needs white chicken. She also says the homemade diets by compassion circle I was making for him are not adequate because you cannot be certain of all of the nutrients being correct. I feel that it’s the same thing with her suggested diet. I would really like a second opinion on this if you have the time!
I am very sorry to hear of your difficulty. I cannot say for sure as to the cause but I have seen patterns like this — some chronic physical problem coupled with a change of behavior — as an effect from vaccinations. I would treat with the homeopathic remedies suitable for what we call “vaccinosis” and usually have the problem resolved which would support the idea that the vaccine was the original trigger. The remedy you have used, which did have an effect — Lyssin, is a remedy made from the Rabies disease and often needed for treating vaccinosis from the Rabies vaccine. Since it has not completely resolved there may be another remedy that still needs to be used. I suggest you work with a veterinarian trained in homeopathy and you can find a list of these on my web site on the referral listing. I wish you the best. I do think he can be made to be very healthy so don’t be discouraged.
With best wishes,
Dr. Pitcairn
I would like to not get sued by using your recipe in my cookbook
Aka i would like it if i could please use your recipe for dog food, healthy powder, beefy oats and poultry delight
It would be fine with me that you use a recipe from our book however you also need agreement from the publisher. You can contact them and ask – Harmony books, Rodale department.
With best wishes,
Dr. Pitcairn
no I’m writing a cookbook and I would really like to use some of your recipes in it but i need permission because I want to get it published. I’m in a high school culinary class and with this distance learning thing I am writing a recipe book and think it’d be nice to include those recipes. If i give you credit and mention your book in the cookbook i was hoping you’d let me put your recipes in the cookbook
Hello! I have been cooking for my dogs (and doggie friends) for over six years now after seeing one of my dogs lose energy and gain weight. Since then I’ve been extremely passionate about canine health. I’ve met a few vegan dogs and their owners have raved about it. I’ve struggled over the years in trying to use my own judgment versus animal experts who have historically all promoted high (raw) meat diets. After reading your fourth edition, I was spilling over backward to see you change your stance. I have a pet health website I recently started and would love to do a brief interview for my website. I’m also in the LA area if that’s helpful.
I tried to make clear, in the 4th edition, why the change of emphasis. In a nutshell, meat is now highly contaminated. Meat is what was eaten in nature (well also organs, blood, bones) but we live in a different world now. The choices are feed meat pretending it is a hundred years ago or feed meat with the poisons in it.
What do you have in mind for an interview? Skype?
Absolutely! It was very clear and I share the exact same sentiment. I am happy to do an in-person or Skype interview. I know these are crazy times. Whatever you’re comfortable is great with me. Feel free to contact me at the email I’ve included with this message.
Good-evening, Dr. Pitcairn!
I am doing some research on Sepia 30c and Pyometra; I have a seven year old husky/shepard mix that is not spayed. I was wondering if sepia 30c can be preventative or help if the dog is starting to show mild symptoms? Thank you, Dr. Pitcairn!
I have used Sepia in this situation. The top two remedies I consider for this are Sepia and Pulsatilla. There could be another remedy in a case as there is quite a number in the rubric for Leucorrhea. As you know, you have to look at the whole situation, all the details. Good luck.
Thank you, Dr. Pitcairn for all the knowledge you share and pass on! In regards to Sepia and Pulsatilla, where would you recommend purchasing these remedies? Is there any specific website or vendor that sells these products?
These are commonly used remedies. Certainly, Pulsatilla would be available in Natural Food stores like Whole Foods or Natural Grocers. Not sure if Sepia would be there.
Here is a list of pharmacies that I know of. There are more.
Homeopathic Pharmacies
Boiron Bornemann, Inc.
98 C West Cochran Street,
Simi Valley, CA 93065
6 Campus Boulevard,
Building A, Newtown Square, PA 19073
(800) Blu-Tube (258-8823)
web site: boiron.com
Thompson’s Homeopathic Supplies
239 Wallace Ave,
Toronto, Ontario M6H 1V5
Canada
(416) 922-2300
http://www.thompsonshomeopathic.com
Hahnemann Laboratories, Inc.
1940 Fourth Street
San Rafael, CA 94901
(888) 427-6422
http://hahnemannlabs.com/
Homeopathy Overnight
80071 Hazelton Rd, Cottage Grove OR 97424
(800) arnica-3
(541) 942-5722
Fax: 609-646-0347
http://www.homeopathyovernight.com
Natural Health Supply
Jim Klemmer
6410 Avenida Christina
Santa Fe, NM 87507
(888) 689-1608
http://a2zhomeopathy.com
Washington Homeopathic Pharmacy
Berkeley Springs, WV
(800) 336-1695
info@homeopathyworks.com
http://www.homeopathyworks.com
Thank you once again for your feedback and knowledge!
I just placed an order for both sepia and puslatilla through boiron!
Would you recommend administering these remedies one at a time or what is the best way to give these treatments?
You never give remedies together. You use what fits the details of the case. It might not be either of these remedies. Do you know how to work a case? I assume you did but sounding like not.
You might want to attend these online meetings as an introduction to veterinary homeopathy.
Link is https://mailchi.mp/1b5b71813dda/pivh-introductory-free-webinars-come-join-in
Hi Dr. PITCAIRN,
I live in France and I’ve recently bought your book Natural Health For Dogs and Cats from Amazon, because I have a allergic and diabetic 8 years old cat. He is allergic in all kinds of animal proteins and also graines (wheat, corn,…). He can not eat Kibble neither, because of high amounts of carbohydrate that effects his diabetes problem.
Since 2 months ago, I’ve fed him with VEGECAT (Lentils & Tofu recipe : lentils, tofu, VegeYeast, olive oil, flaxseed oil, salt, Vegecat). With this recipe, his diabetes has been cured and his allergy gets better. But we’ve recently found out that he is also allergic to tofu (soja). So I removed tofu from the recipe.
I would like to know what ingredient can I substitute for tofu and in wich amount?
I’ve also found an alternative meal in your book which is “Cat Day Chicken and Pumpkin”. This one is the only meal in your book that is mentioned as Allergic, Diabetic and Vegan food. But unfortunately I can not find the recipe in my edition of your book (4th Edition, Format Kindle).
– Could you please give me the details of “Cat Day Chicken and Pumpkin” recipe (vegan version) ?
– and/or let me know what can I substitute for tofu (and in wich amount) in “VEGECAT lentils tofu” recipe ?
Thank you very much in advance.
Best regards
I am glad to hear your cat has improved.
The first thought I had was to ask how it was determined that he is allergic to tofu? If there were symptoms that could support the conclusion but if it was based on some other method, like blood test, muscle testing, etc. I have found those to not be accurate. It is unusual for there to be an allergy to tofu which is why I mention it. I should also add of course the tofu has to be organic.
If you are convinced a change is needed, just increase the amount of lentils to compensate. That should be sufficient as lentils are 28% protein which is entirely adequate.
Good luck.
With best wishes,
Dr. Pitcairn
First of all, thank you so much Dr. Pitcairn for your response and I wish you a happy and healthy new year.
The tofu that I use is organic. The conclusion that he could be allergic to tofu was not based on blood test. But considering that his symptoms (itchy skin, vomiting) have returned since a few weeks, I thought that the cause could be the tofu (as it’s made from soy).
Now, considering what you said, I’ll wait for the symptoms to go away and add the tofu again later, to see if the symptoms will return or not.
I just have an other question :
I would like to make sure if I replace tofu with lentil, deficiencies like iron or calcium deficiency will not occur?
and if so, what can I add to his meal?
Thank you so much again.
I very much doubt it is the soy, but can’t be certain. My experience is that this itchy problem often an effect of prior vaccines. Regarding altering the recipe I don’t know the answer about the calcium and iron. No experience with that. I think you would just have to monitor best you can.
My dog has been diagnosed with kidney disease and also had a low hemoglobin. I’ve tried feeding her the recipes, but she is only interested in dry food. Can you recommend a good dry food for kidney disease?
Possibly V-Dog. There are also a number of recipes in the last edition, edition 4, of our book for dealing with this issue.
Wish you the best.
So sad the Fourth Edition no longer has a healthy Powder recipe and instead directs us to buy an outside commercial product-no knowledge of what’s in it. I will continue to make “Healthy Powder” and give it to my Pet Care clients, made with clean bone meal tested for heavy metals and/or vegan alternative with seaweed calcium and recommend it’s addition to any and all diets for dogs. I hope that it doesn’t hurt dogs eating 90% organic humane sourced meat raw diets, vegan diets to those that feed just kibble. I felt /feel Healthy Powder with the a few other additives helped ANY diet, and had no down side if made with good sources.
Not one person feeding 100% vegan has a high performing agility dog, or a dog able to hike 20 miles plus a day. I live in a area with several vegan dogs and they do not seem to have the same levels of stamina at high performance tasks than do dogs fed raw fresh food. I am a vegan, yet am concerned with those expecting a purely vegan fed dog to perform at top levels with that diet.
I think you might wish to advise some humane raised meat in high performance animals.
Of course this does not apply to the average family dog.
My question is, what canine nutritionist okays this? Who do you consult with and use as the expert? Veterinary College provides very little training in nutrition. Thank you for your time and attention.
Sky, we changed our recommendation about using bone meal because of the increasing contamination of animal products. Did you read about this in the book? If not, worth doing as it explains the situation. Nice that they test the bone meal for heavy metals but what about the dozens of other chemicals? Do they look at those? Do you really feel comfortable putting that into your dog daily?
Same situation with seaweed which is now radioactive. Did you see the recent news that Japan is now beginning to release millions of tons of radioactive waste into the ocean? They can’t store it any longer, so why not just dump it into the ocean? Has been reported that there is now radiation in sea life.
It is an unfortunate situation for us that we have contaminated our earth so badly. No easy solution.
As for your question about nutrition experts, most will ignore this issue entirely, not even mention it. I have seen one or two express some concern but, for some reason, we seem to be culturally unwilling to face it.
Hi Dr. Pitcairn, I thank you for all the knowledge you have given us all, and the tremendous help. We are currently using one of your recommended holistic vets, however, we have been using her since January and have yet to see any huge dramatic changes, how long does this process take, as we cant see that our dog’s life is actually getting better, as she is just constantly itching and seeming to want to rip her skin off. We have seen some changes, and we are well aware that all the years of vaccines and immunosuppressants don’t help but I would have thought we would have seen the itching get a bit better. We are thinking that maybe the best option for her now is to put her down. In severe cases, how long did it take for the dog to heal?
As you anticipate, improvement should be showing by now. The challenge of doing homeopathy with such a problem is finding the best remedy for the dog. It often takes some time, testing various ones until it is figured out. It may be that the vet you are working with feels stuck with it. Worth asking as might be consulting with another one is a good idea.
I wish you luck with it.
Thank you for your reply, as this vet was a recommended on your website, we will try another recommended on your site. We wish you were still accepting clients ! I am sure so many people would still love to have you as their vet. Thank you .
Curious in your thoughts of neutering of dogs. Is it necessary if you are a responsible pet owner that is not going to allow breeding and your dog is not left to roam at large. I am talking about a 2 year old, 75lb dog and have read that there are other health concerns that can be caused by neutering, even though we are told there are benefits.
Deborah, good question but I don’t feel I have a definitive answer.
The male perspective:
I know if I were the dog I would want to retain my organs, but do dogs care? One advantage of doing it is they might be less frustrated at feeling the sexual urge when females in heat but not having the ability to respond to that. I also hear they will be less likely to get into fights. I have not seen any negative health effects that I could recognize.
The female perspective:
Similar to male one, might be frustrating to be in heat and not be able to act on it.
I don’t know if it changes their behavior much.
I have heard, taught, that it has health benefits, less likely to pyo and cancer, etc., but I have not been convinced of that in my practice.
You have any thoughts about it?
Hello, Dr. Picern.
I’m your fan who lives with a 5-year-old Jindo dog in South Korea.
In Korea, there is no homeopathic veterinarian like you, so I left this question here.
I have a question about preventing heartworms.
I try to prevent heartworms with eucalyptus oil. (As it says in your book )
But, there are so many mosquitoes in summer in Korea, so I don’t think it will be easy to prevent it completely with eucalyptus oil alone.
So, I looked up some papers.
We found that black walnuts and wormwood extracts help prevent heartworms.
But another paper says that continuing to provide black walnut extract harms dogs because of toxicity.
So before I give it to my dog, I want to know the exact information about the black walnut and wormwood extracts and the exact dosage and method.
Thank you.
Hello, Dr. Pitcairn
I’m your fan who lives with a 5-year-old Jindo dog in South Korea.
In Korea, there is no homeopathic veterinarian like you, so I left this question here.
I have a question about preventing heartworms.
I try to prevent heartworms with eucalyptus oil. (As it says in your book )
But, there are so many mosquitoes in summer in Korea, so I don’t think it will be easy to prevent it completely with eucalyptus oil alone.
So, I looked up some papers.
We found that black walnuts and wormwood extracts help prevent heartworms.
But another paper says that continuing to provide black walnut extract harms dogs because of toxicity.
So before I give it to my dog, I want to know the exact information about the black walnut and wormwood extracts and the exact dosage and method.
Thank you.
Good question but I do not, personally, have any experience using those. I have heard of black walnut being useful in this way, and don’t remember any reports of it being toxic, but of course, would depend on how much was being given.
I enjoyed readingg your post
Thank you, glad it was interesting.