Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats (67 page)

Orthodox treatment centers on a number of surgical procedures that involve cutting certain muscles, repositioning the joint, removing the head of the leg bone or completely replacing the hip joint with an artificial device. But there are other avenues of greater promise.

Prevention is the best place to start. Generations of poor feeding practices have contributed greatly to the development of hip dysplasia, the effects magnifying with each generation. If possible, you should avoid selecting an affected dog in the first place (see chapter 9). Apart from that, good prevention means feeding the pregnant female or newly acquired puppy a wholesome, fresh, well-supplemented diet as outlined in this book (see chapter 5). Be sure to include plenty of bone meal. Don’t succumb to the fallacy that too much calcium in the diet causes this problem.

Another foolish idea is that hip dysplasia is caused by dogs growing too fast. Some people actually advocate restricting food or
protein to prevent the puppy from developing normally. They think that keeping it small will somehow prevent the problem. It does not.

There is, however, a good preventive: Give lots of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), particularly if either parent had the condition or the pup is of a commonly affected breed, such as a German shepherd or other large purebreds. Indeed, there is some good evidence that hip dysplasia is in part caused by chronic subclinical scurvy (a lack of adequate vitamin C). In this view, the hip forms incorrectly as a result of weak ligaments and muscles around the joints. Vitamin C is essential to these tissues.

Wendell Belfield, DVM, reported in Veterinary Medicine/Small Animal Clinician that high amounts of vitamin C provided 100 percent prevention of hip dysplasia in eight litters of German shepherd pups coming from parents that either had the condition themselves or had previously produced offspring with it. He used the following program.

• The pregnant female is given two to four grams of sodium ascorbate crystals in the daily ration (½ to 1 teaspoon of the pure powder; ascorbic acid could also be used).
  
• At birth the puppies are given 50 to 100 milligrams of vitamin C orally each day (using a liquid form).
  
• At three weeks of age, the dose is increased to 500 milligrams daily of sodium ascorbate (given in the feed) until the puppies are four months old.
  
• At four months the dose is increased to one to two grams a day and maintained there until the puppies are 18 months to two years of age.
  

V
ACCINATION

The other important factor in prevention is that of vaccination. Looseness of the hips is one of the possible outcomes of vaccination of young developing animals, so an important part of a preventive program is to minimize these effects by using the smallest number of vaccines possible (see the discussion of vaccines in this section) and using them as infrequently as you can. Many breeders very much overvaccinate puppies, a practice not necessary for or conducive to good health. If you are obtaining a puppy from a breeder, work out an arrangement with him or her beforehand to use a modified schedule such as I recommend. This is very important as the hip dysplasia problem does not appear right away, and by the time it does it is too late to take preventive measures.

If vaccination cannot be avoided in spite of your best efforts, then give one dose of the homeopathic remedy
Silicea
(silicon dioxide) 30C. It will counteract this effect of vaccines in a significant proportion of puppies. Coupled with use of vitamin C, as recommended above and started as soon as you can, it is very likely to sidestep this whole problem.

For older animals that already have the problem, feed our natural diet (see chapters 3 and 4), including ample amounts of vitamin C, 500 milligrams to two grams a day. In
arthritic cases, see if there is a suitable remedy among those described under “Arthritis.” If you have access to acupuncture or chiropractic treatment, you may find your dog will experience marked improvement. See chapter 14 for more information.

INFECTIOUS PERITONITIS

See “Feline Infectious Peritonitis.”

INJURIES

See “Handling Emergencies and Giving First Aid” (
view
).

INTERVERTEBRAL DISK DISEASE

See “Paralysis.”

JAUNDICE

Jaundice, which can be caused by many factors, creates a visible yellowing of the tissues. We usually think of it as a liver disease, but it occurs for other reasons. If there is a rapid breakdown of red blood cells (due to, for instance, blood parasites, certain chemicals or drugs, various infections, or poisonous snakebites), the liver can’t process all the released hemoglobin quickly enough. The result is a release of yellow pigment (which makes up part of hemoglobin), which backs up and stains the tissues yellow.

Your veterinarian will have to distinguish between jaundice caused by such factors and the type associated with liver disease. If the liver is ailing, the stool often looks pale in color. If the jaundice is from red blood cell breakdown, however, the stool is typically very dark from extra bile flow.

The type of jaundice caused by a sudden loss of intact red blood cells also leads to a form of anemia, even if no blood was visibly lost. To help the body form new red blood cells, follow the advice under “Anemia.” Apart from dealing with any of those underlying causes of red blood cell breakdown, you can treat this type of noninflammatory jaundice simply by exposing your animal to direct sunlight (or indirect if it’s too hot) for several hours daily for a few days. Sunlight stimulates the elimination of the pigments responsible for the jaundice. In addition, it may help to use:

Homeopathic
—
Nux vomica
(poison nut) 30C: to enhance flow of liver bile and assist elimination of toxic material accumulated in the liver. Use Homeopathic Schedule 5 (
view
).

KENNEL COUGH

See “Upper Respiratory Infections.”

KIDNEY FAILURE

See also “Bladder Problems” for a discussion of kidney stones.

Deterioration of the kidneys is a common problem of old age for both dogs and cats
(more so in cats). It is the second leading cause of death in cats (after feline leukemia), not counting accidents. It starts in most cats with increased thirst and recurrent cystitis (bladder problems). After many years, usually past middle age, it becomes apparent something is wrong with the kidneys. In other words, cats that will have kidney failure will, when young, have bladder trouble first. This process is more difficult to notice in dogs. Often, these cats will be put on special diets with acid added (to prevent the cystitis symptoms), but they simply cover up what is happening while the kidneys are deteriorating “behind the scenes.” Many of the kidney failure cases that come to me are on antibiotic treatment, but since this is not a bacterial infection, they do not help and, if anything, make the cat more sick.

It is very difficult even to be aware that it is happening because of the tremendous capacity of the kidneys to compensate for loss of tissue. As long as one-third of the kidney tissue is functional, there are no obvious signs of sickness. Past this point, however, illness gradually develops. When only 15 to 20 percent of the kidney tissue is still functional, death comes.

The early signs of kidney failure typically are increased thirst, frequent urination with large quantities of pale urine, inability to hold urine all night, and occasional periods of low energy, lack of appetite, and nausea or vomiting that last for a few days at a time.

How much thirst is too much thirst? For dogs, use your common sense and notice any increases not attributable to hot weather or exercise. For cats, drinking water every day (or even less often) is suspicious, even if it’s a young cat of two or three years. Because they evolved in dry regions, healthy cats drink little or no water by nature. The only exception to this rule is if your cat is eating only dry food (which I don’t recommend). Dry food is so low in water (about 10 percent compared to 80 to 85 percent of a natural diet) that some cats are forced to drink even though it is not natural to them. If your cat is on a canned food or home-prepared diet (or you switch over to that) and is still drinking, however, you have a problem.

If you are observant, you can detect these signs of kidney failure early. That way you stand a much better chance of prolonging your animal’s life with a special diet and other natural treatments than if you wait until an emergency.

T
REATMENT

Once a kidney problem appears, the strategy is to avoid further deterioration, if possible, and to assist the function of what is left of the kidneys. We do the former with homeopathic, herbal, and nutritional treatment and the latter by reducing or eliminating the toxic load on the kidneys.

Let’s consider the question of toxicity first.

Anything in the food or in the environment that is not usable by the body must be eliminated. This includes food preservatives, coloring agents, insecticides, pollutants, and
the like. This elimination is primarily accomplished through the kidneys.

The cleansing function of the kidneys is related to that of the skin, which is another important eliminative organ. Skin irritations and eruptions often precede eventual kidney failure in old age. This process is accelerated if the skin discharge is repeatedly suppressed with corticosteroids.

Early symptoms of kidney disease progress into uremia (blood poisoning) characterized by low energy, frequent vomiting, dehydration, complete loss of appetite, foul breath, and, perhaps, an inflammation of the mouth or presence of mouth ulcers. At this point the animal needs an emergency intravenous infusion of large quantities of fluids to save its life. Afterwards, things return to normal, but it’s a fragile normality, for in many cases 60 to 70 percent of the kidney tissue has been destroyed and cannot be regained. The kidneys can cope with this for a while by moving everything along faster. The fluids are pushed through much more rapidly (up to 20 times faster), resulting in a loss of essential salts, water, and other nutrients. Think of it like this: If a major freeway were blocked and everyone had to drive on surface streets to get around it, one way to keep traffic moving would be for the police to stand at intersections waving everyone on at higher than normal speeds. Imagine them yelling “Let’s go! Move it along. We’ve got to get the job done!” This is what the kidneys do to compensate. Here’s what we can do to help.

Nutrition: Our main dietary goal is to reduce the load of metabolic wastes on the kidneys; this waste results primarily from digestion of protein (producing urea) and the buildup of phosphorus and sodium. You can reduce the amount of this by using less protein, basically feeding a minimal level of protein of maximally usable quality. We do not want to feed too little protein, as this is harmful. Rather we give enough good quality protein to suffice and not a lot of extra. Also, it is vital to replace water-soluble vitamins that get flushed out of the body easily, especially vitamins B and C, and to supply plenty of vitamin A, which is good for the kidneys.

The following recipes meet these needs. They provide high quality protein and other supplements that are more likely to be lost from the body. We use enriched white rice because it is better digested than brown rice and also contains higher levels of iron and major B vitamins, which are hard to supply in a low-meat diet.

We will use calcium supplements that do not contain much phosphorus to avoid high blood levels (the kidneys have trouble regulating minerals when they get weak). The vitamins ensure adequate amounts of essential nutrients, which could become low in this diet.
Note:
It is important to avoid feeding special acid-forming diets to cats with kidney disease. These are the commercial foods formulated to prevent cystitis and are advertised as such. Chemicals have been added to these diets to force the urine to be acid; one side effect is that the body becomes too acid, and kidney function is reduced.

CANINE DIET FOR KIDNEY PROBLEMS

• ¼ pound (½ cup) regular-fat hamburger
  
• 2¾ cups cooked white rice, enriched
  
• 2 eggs (large, whole, raw)
  
• ¼ cup cooked carrots
  
• 2 tablespoons cold-pressed safflower, soy, or corn oil
  
• 2 teaspoons Animal Essentials Calcium (or a slightly rounded teaspoon of eggshell powder)*
  
• ⅛ teaspoon iodized salt
  
• 2 tablespoons parsley (a natural diuretic, optional)
  
• ½–1 clove garlic, minced (for flavor, if appreciated—optional)
  
• 20 milligram-level of a complete B complex
  
• 1,000 milligrams vitamin C (¼ teaspoon sodium ascorbate)
  

* These supplements are from Group III calcium supplements. See chapter 4 for more information.

Mix all ingredients together and serve raw if the dog will accept it. Otherwise, mix all but the vitamins together, bake about 20 minutes in a moderate oven and then wait until it cools to mix in the vitamins. Occasionally, substitute 1 to 3 teaspoons of liver for part of the meat. Be sure to provide plenty of fresh, pure water (filtered or bottled) at all times.

The recipe provides 17 percent good quality protein, 25 percent fat, and 55 percent carbohydrates. Overall, it is lower than the usual recipes in phosphorus (which tends to build up in this condition), but the calcium provided is adequate (a total of 2,400 mg).

Yield:
Generally, feed as much as your dog will eat; as a guideline, this recipe should feed a 10pound toy dog for three days or a 40-pound dog for a day. By tripling it you can feed a 60-pound dog for two days. Multiply the recipe as needed for convenience
.