Seasonal Concerns
Sneezing and itching dogs, worldwide, have endorsed this message.
Dogs’ Allergy Symptoms: Long Believed to be Masquerades for Disharmony
Your dog’s skin is itching. There’s sneezing, watering eyes, and a runny nose. Of course, you want to help your beloved pet by relieving his or her seasonal allergy symptoms. But what’s the best plan of action?
Because most pet owners are largely familiar with Western medicine’s treatment philosophies, the first thing you might consider is an antihistamine, or a steroid, or some other remedy to relieve your dog’s allergy symptoms. But before you load him or her up with pet medication(s), read on.
Antihistamines can be effective in the relief of your dog’s allergy symptoms, but can also result in side effects such as drowsiness, fatigue, restlessness, nervous behavior, light-headedness, insomnia, or over-drying of the mucous membranes.
Steroids, like prednisone, are usually effective at first, but can lead to incontinence, and may damage the liver.
Additionally, allergy symptoms that are treated with antihistamines or steroids can compound in frequency and severity over time.
Holistic Allergy Remedies Treat your Whole Dog
Allergic reactions are products of a weakened, deficient, or ineffective immune system. Chinese wisdom says that if the immune system is harmonized…strengthened…then a dog’s reactions to allergens will be softened or eliminated. It is also believed, and testified to, that when the Defensive-Qi of the kidneys, lungs, and liver is bolstered, the frequency and severity of a dog’s allergy symptoms are greatly reduced.
As your dog’s immune system reacts to allergens (mold, pollen, mites, dust, dander, or fleas, to name a few), his or her body will heat up. This heat causes phlegm to accumulate. It’s also responsible for a complication that ancient Chinese medicine refers to as “wind”. A wind condition is considered to be present when the heat generated from an allergic reaction counters the cooler temperature of the dog’s body. The result is a Yin/Yang imbalance, manifesting as bothersome skin itching, which can cause your dog to scratch so severely that open sores, or “hot spots”, and even resulting infection, can occur.
Holistic Chinese medicine (including herbal treatment, acupuncture, and moxibustion), maintains (and has for 3000 years) that symptoms are only that – symptoms. That every dog’s health problem has two parts – the root of the problem and the manifestation of that problem. Ancient holistic veterinary medicine focuses on settling disharmony, and eliminating (or at least subduing) the root of the allergy problem.
Acupuncture “Pinpoints” the Root of Allergy Problems
Acupuncture theory operates on the belief that symptoms (in this case, allergy symptoms) are simply products of a body’s imbalance or disharmony. Therefore, acupuncture does not treat allergy symptoms, but rather affects your dog’s body’s neurotransmitters, neurohormones, blood flow, and immune system vitality. It essentially realigns the body’s responses to stimuli.
Moxibustion Burns up Your Dog’s Allergy Symptoms
Moxibustion is a component of acupuncture. It employs a burning stick or cone of mugwort, a root used as part of Chinese holistic medicine. The mugwort is burned, delivering heat along specific meridians to stimulate the body’s Qi. The procedure is very safe, when administered by a certified professional. The fire is extinguished before the skin is burned, and before any discomfort is felt by the patient.
Chinese Herbs for Dogs Curb Allergy Symptoms / Serve up Natural Healing
Herbs with cooling properties are used to quell the effect that allergens have on your dog’s immune system. When administered by a certified holistic vet, they hold the potential to not only reduce the inflammation and wind within a reacting dog’s body, but serve to re-establish harmony within your dog’s system and rid the body of toxins. All without adverse effects to your dog’s liver.
Bio-Spectrum Frequency Offers a Broad Spectrum of Biological Effects
Bio-Spectrum Frequency treatment has been shown in clinical tests to greatly bolster the effectiveness of the immune system. And, as you now know, your dog’s allergy symptoms are manifestations of his or her immune system’s incapability of dealing with allergens.
BSF therapy is a holistic technology that emits vibrations of varying frequencies and bio-spectrums, mimicking those produced by a healthy immune system.
Bioresonance Resonates as an Allergy Symptom Eliminator
Holistic veterinary medicine recognizes that all living beings, including dogs, are made up of energy – that bodily functions and organs ARE energy. With that in mind, Bioresonance therapy uses electrical currents to restore a dog’s positive energy flow.
When allergens, heat, phlegm, wind, and inflammation are present in a dog’s body, they create pathological energy rhythms. Bioresonance boosts a dog’s immune system response and curtails the effects of negative energy. It accomplishes this by imitating the positive oscillating energy of a harmonious system, restoring the immune system’s ability to battle allergens.
Homeopathic Dog Medicine Cures by Mirroring Allergy Symptoms
A homeopathic veterinarian, like Dr. Omaboe, uses the principles outlined by homeopathic principles to treat allergy symptoms. Much like the standards employed by a vaccination (but in much smaller doses), the allergic dog is administered minuscule amounts of the allergen that causes his or her allergy symptoms. This transforms the dog’s immune system response, clinically proving that the body will heal itself. Like its other holistic animal care counterparts, homeopathic medicine is drug-free, with no side effects.
Our Own Holistic Veterinarian
Dr. Omaboe, trained in all of the aforementioned methods, can only prescribe appropriate treatment after he thoroughly examines your allergic dog.
In some cases, a strictly holistic approach may be in order to relieve your dog’s allergy symptoms. In other cases, a combination of conventional and holistic veterinary medicine may be in order.
No matter the recommended treatment for your dog’s seasonal allergy symptoms, Dr. Omaboe will clearly describe all applicable treatments, making it as simple as possible for you to make informed decisions regarding your dog’s health care.
Spring Brings with it Unwelcome Visitors
Flowers and trees aren’t the only things bursting to life in the springtime. Heartworm (in non-Swiss native dogs), ticks, and fleas all hold potential to devastate your dog’s health. Preventatives for these villains should be used year-round. If you have discontinued use of parasite-preventative pet medication, Dr. Omaboe advises that you resume use as soon as possible. Ticks, fleas, and intestinal worms can be transmitted to humans, along with the bacteria that they carry.
Care for your “Whole” Dog…Spay and Neuter
Spaying and neutering of dogs not only prevents the birth of unwanted puppies, but decreases occurrences of dog illnesses, including cancer. In general, spayed and neutered dogs are healthier and more content.
Dogs as young as 6 months should be spayed or neutered. When shelters aren’t inundated with unwanted puppies, and our houses are homes to manageable numbers of dogs, we can focus on our best friends, caring for each one…well.
