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13 year old lab mix care

ElenaS

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Hello Dr Jeff! I have been checking out this forum for a couple of weeks and picked up some tips.

I have a 13 year old intact black lab mix. I got him from a shelter when he was 6 weeks old.

He has been raw fed all of his life. He has never been vaccinated (besides whatever the vaccines the shelter gave him before I got him).

He has been exceptionally healthy all of his life. Just past few months, he has been exhibiting some health concerning issues that I was hoping to get your input on.

He has issues with his back legs. When he lays down, he groans. Much slower when he is getting up.

He has a cough. He starts coughing, gets up and the last bit of cough is almost like he is trying to throw up but nothing comes out.

His eyes have discharge.


What I have done so far:

I have given him Drosera for cough. I just do not know the right dosage.

I bought Hawaiian Pharm Immunity Support drops and also joint support drops.

I bought Respiratory Tonic from The Pet Health and Nutrition Center (we are half way through the bottle and I do not see the improvement yet).

For pain in his legs, I give him Arnica 30C. I am not sure I am doing the right dosage. I am giving him 2-3 pellets, 2 times a day. When he spits them out, I dissolve them in water. Again, not sure if I am doing it right by dissolving them in water.




I would like to avoid seeing a regular vet if possible. I had some terrible terrible experiences with other dog I had when some very harsh medication was prescribed. But if you recommend we go see one, we will go.


So, the cough and the leg pain are the biggest issues. I would like to know if there is a long term holistic medicine that can be given to him that will not hurt him for his legs and also what to do about the cough.

When we are outside, he is very energetic and likes to smell everything and pee on everything. In the house, he is mellower but likes when he is played with in regular intervals.




Thank you so much,

Elena

IMG-2218.jpg
 

Dr. Jeff

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Hi Elena-

Thanks for making your first post! Welcome to HA!

Your pup is one lucky (and handsome) guy. What's his name?

He looks pretty darn happy to be with you in the car.

Is he usually a happy fella?

What does he love to do (or eat) more than anything else?

I ask because all of his health challenges are related to just one thing that can be modified by happpiness (and the sniffing).

And even more than a remedy, it would be great to improve it as best you can.

That one thing is raising the energy that his cells need to work at their best.

You're already doing this by feeding raw food, and avoiding drugs, toxins/vaccines.

Doing things he loves like eating, sniffing and interacting with y'all raises energy (vitality or Chi/Prana) and should improve his quality of life.

Here's a bit more about helping him heal with super happiness ("BEAMing"):happy dog.png


Regarding the acute remedies (Drosera, Arnica, etc.) you probably won't do much more than temporarily palliate with them. The reason being that they only partially match his inner balance.

Consider instead starting deeper "constitutional" homeopathy with him under the guidance of a vet homeopath like @dr_ judy herman or Dr. Adriana:


 

ElenaS

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Dr. Jeff,

Thank you so much for your response!

His name is Hugger! :)


He is indeed a very happy pup! For 13, he acts like a puppy.



He is usually a pretty happy guy, especially when he gets attention. When I am working and take a break away from the computer to play with him, midway through us playing, he stops and goes to eat. I guess in that moment, his happiness level went up and so did the appetite.



To your question: "What does he love to do (or eat) more than anything else?":


  • to eat (goes mad for bacon but I rarely give it to him because of nitrates. Also, non-dairy ice cream). I buy treats for him such as dehydrated chicken or something grain free.

  • to do: walks , car rides, tennis ball games. These days, with his legs being weaker, we do not chase the tennis ball as much as we used, but instead throw it to him when he is laying down or hide it under the blanket and he tries to dig it up or make up some other tennis ball game.



Also, another thing I did not mention is that his hearing is gone for the most part. He does not respond when he is called. He hears only very loud noses such as fireworks (which terrify him) or when I make a high pitched sound when I play with him.



Am I understanding you correctly that by increasing his happiness level :) , even his cough can get resolved and pain with the legs can go down?



I just read the article you posted about the happiness. I will read it a couple more times to grasp it better.



I will checkout the homeopathy practitioners that you recommend.


Thank you, Dr Jeff!

Elena
 

Dr. Jeff

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You're very welcome Elena!

Yes, you are exactly correct.

Happiness and breathing are both research-proven (in people) to raise cellular energy and speed healing. This appears to be clinically true in pets as well. However, I am not aware of companion animal research (there is for mice and rats).

Dr. Leah Lagos shares a specific protocol for optimizing physiology using the breath and mind in:


It should be easy to do with happy Hugger by focusing on things he loves.
 

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