Comments on How to Stand Up to Your Veterinarian’s Bad Advice

No idea if you’ll see this, I know this article is old. I have a 16 month old male intact raw fed newf. He’s due(legally) for his rabies. So far I’ve ignored it. He’s not boarded and doesn’t go to dog parks. We are getting a female soon and I’m at the point where I never want to take her in. I can’t find a vet who won’t push shots, heartworm meds or look at me strange for how I feed. Do I just avoid vets unless they really are ill? And the rabies law??? There’s no titer test allowed here in VA

You mentioned Rimadyl, so I felt the need to respond. My Cocker was 18 years old, deaf and nearly blind, but still healthy for the most part and his heartbeat was strong and regular. He was starting to have issues with climbing stairs and walking for long so the Vet wanted to put him on Rimadyl. I did not do my research before I gave it to him and have forever regretted doing so. Within 9 days of starting him on it he began vomiting. I assumed it was the meds and took him off of them and took him back in to the office. Nine days after a good check-up and he now had a heart murmur!! The Vet refused to believe it was the Rimadyl, but I knew it. She wanted me to keep him on the meds. He would not have gotten ill and then all of the sudden had a murmur. That is when I did some research and found out that my Tucker was not the only one to develop a heart murmur after starting Rimadyl. I never put him back on them...but he still passed away six months later. I will never forgive myself for giving them to him at all. DON'T GIVE YOUR DOGS RIMADYL!!!!

I recently suspected my four month old pup had a UTI. I immediately started her on D-Mannose but wanting to confirm it, I took a urine sample (not the unvaccinated pup), to the allopath I've been using for several years - nearest holistic vet is an hour away. He saw nothing under microscope but sent it off to be cultured anyway. Two days later, yep, "she has a UTI, how much does she weigh?" I declined their Clavamox, the D-Mannose was doing a fine job and I started giving her a natural urinary product. I went in to pay a few days later and they charged me $204 for what was probably all of maybe 15 minutes worth of work. Having seen homeopathy work, I'm done with taking any of my seven cats and four dogs to the allopath unless they're bleeding to death.

Thanks for such a helpful article. We all need more confidence and power when dr whitecoat is pressuring us to spend our hard earned money on services that will hurt our pet's health and refusing to tell us safer healthier and cheaper alternatives.
My extra large mixed breed dog was severely limping on 3 legs and holding up the hind leg. I took him to the vet which in minutes after a high pressure drawer test with my dog squealing in pain, said yes, this is fully torn ccl acl stifle knee joint and will refer a surgeon that can do TPLO within 2 days for $4850+. You must make an appointment for emergency surgery in the next day or so. I asked for alternatives to surgery and was told nothing is available. A fully torn ccl acl stifle joint must have TPLO surgery asap. Dr whitecoat prescribed previcox NSAID very expensive. I gave my dog the previcox and the next morning he had severe stomach pain. I called the vet and he said not to worry about the stomach, he'll be fine, just call the TPLO surgeon to set up an appt tomorrow. My dog stomach pain was worse so I didn't give any more previcox. I searched online death by previcox NSAID and saw numerous comments of dogs dying within 2 days of taking previcox. When I confronted the vet, he was very angry that I still had not set up an appt for the TPLO and said my dog would be lame for life and have to be killed if I did not set that appt. I was so angry, so I started researching safer alternatives for TPLO, came across Dog Knee Braces, and ended up buying a custom posh dog knee brace. There are human braces for human knees so why not a dog knee brace for a dog knee. My dog wore the brace for several short dog walks each day, and as the weeks passed, he could walk longer and longer. In a few short months he was walking normally, and soon I put the brace on less and less. My dog healed with a fully torn ccl acl just wearing a dog knee brace for knee support for walks. My vet is very angry that I refused the surgery and got a dog knee brace instead and even madder that my dog healed. I am looking to hire a new vet, hoping to find a holistic vet. Thanks for posting all the questions to ask when hiring a new vet.

Internationally are many, many generations of animals, families never had a vaccination, or need to use allopathic products.
Healthy people, animals have an Overall Sense of Well-being, and strong immune system.
Generations of families confidently have had a Classical Family Homoeopath – Classical Family Veterinarian. Consulting in an office, and most often via Internet, telephone and email.
Little history how, when N. America become this drug, vaccine dependent.
How the AMA took over America
http://healthimpactnews.com/2012/american-medical-revolutions-how-the-ama-took-over-america/
Gradually N. A. families – are reading, researching, speaking to international Classical Homoeopathic families – gaining confidence to locate a Classical Family Homoeopath and Homoeopathic Veterinarian.
Homoeopathy addresses:
PAST inherited conditions – PRESENT symptoms, conditions – improve overall health in FUTURE with a resistance in future generations to catching infections.
1) Acute, first-aid, trauma’s, minor temporary infections, ailments
2) Chronic, recurring conditions
- failure of the body to recover after acute illnesses, infections
- inherited, pre-disposition to chronic ailments
- “Vaccinosis” resulting sicknesses, recurring symptoms
3) Constitutional Homoeopathy
- Chronic problems which are overcome by homeopathy treatment Recovery will be aided by improving diet, lifestyle and use of constitutional and complementary, collateral, acute homeopathic remedies
4) Predisposition
- unique patterns of weakness in the body from hereditary predisposition to certain diseases and long termed chronic conditions
5) Maintaining Cause
- cause of a complaint, symptoms that may be altered by changes in diet, environment, improved sleep habits, healthy lifestyle, home, workplace.
Becoming healthy overall with constitutional care
Traditional, Classical Homoeopathy
“Is a Complete System of Medicine, which takes into account YOUR symptoms and thoughts. Homoeopathy is a personal system designed for YOU. Homoeopathy used for centuries for better health by slowly strengthening YOUR Immune System.”

I know how antibiotics work, I'm an RN. I'm not talking about the prescribing of antibiotics for the common cold. Are you familiar with Dr Sam Donta, Lyme disease specialist....look him up, he has a lot of good things to say about antibiotics.
Have you ever had an infected tooth? Needed a root canal? I can't imagine treating those conditions without antibiotics. These medications were invented for a reason, that's all I'm saying.

L, perhaps antibiotics are helpful in some situations, but they are used altogether too much nowadays. If a doctor or a vet doesn't know what the problem is, their first reaction is to dose it with an antibiotic.
It is prudent advice to stay away from antibiotics as much as one can. Think about the word antibiotic. Anti=against; biotic=life. It means "against life." It kills all bacteria--good and not so good. What kills one aspect of life kills all aspects of life. Isn't it a better option to use a remedy that boosts immunity so that the body can do what it was meant to do naturally--heal itself? I mean, that's where we want to go ultimately although we may need remedies to deal with the acute problems at the beginning for relief.
The body was designed to heal itself and sometimes it needs homeopathic remedies to send a message to the brain to boost and speed up the natural healing process. Homeopathic remedies work with the body, not against it. This is a big subject and I would love to see Dr Falconer write a series on this topic. Once you understand how the body works and how to work with it using remedies, not against it using antibiotics, you will find that your life and your pets' lives will enjoy a quality of life you never imagined.

What is wrong with antibiotics? Antibiotics are a good thing, just as a lot of homeopathic remedies are.
I wish homeopathic vets and traditional vets would agree on some things, because right now I am so confused, I avoid going to all vets unless it is an emergency, and then I go to the 24 hour place.

If the puppy is having repeated relapses, it's not healthy and the homeopathy may be treating acute symptoms (which is wonderful) but it's not treating the underlying condition. Why set it up for a (possibly-truncated) lifetime of repeated bouts of pain and misery if it's possible to cure it completely? I have personally suffered from Lyme Disease that was not treated quickly and now have 14 lesions in my brain, which cause some chronic neurological deficits; I was on doxycycline and another antibiotic for almost a year after damage had already been done to try to prevent *more* damage. Yeah, it wasn't fun and I needed a lot of probiotics during the course, but at least I don't now have 24 lesions in my brain and more deficits. Get the puppy treated to get rid of the bacteria completely.

I listen to what both have to say, traditional veterinarians versus homeopathic veterinarians. Sometimes I use a combination of treatments and recommendations.
I have had dogs that tested positive for Lyme and 2 of them had a good response to a couple of courses of antibiotics. No symptoms and 1 is still going strong at age 14. But for 1 dog the Lyme had caused kidney damage by the time it was diagnosed, so it was too late for the antibiotics to have the maximum effect.

I am a vet tech and there are many exceptions that I take to this article. My main problem is not that this article promotes homeopathy (I don't know enough about it in general and know nothing about the Lyme treatment they're using in particular to speak against it) but the overall message that you shouldn't trust your veterinarian (who most likely has much more education than the average client and most certainly has vastly more knowledge when it comes to veterinary medicine). First off, I want to talk about the owners. If they are so dead-set on using homeopathy to treat this dog, why did they not go to a vet that has knowledge of homeopathic medicine and treatments? This is definitely an area that not all vets choose to specialize in. It is so important for a pet owner to find a veterinarian that they trust and is willing to work with them and their values; this does not mean calling around and finding the cheapest vet clinic (which is how many people seem to choose their vets). For example, the Drs and staff at my clinic discourage (or at least, don't encourage) the feeding of raw food. However, there is another clinic in the city that has a Dr that does recommend and even sells raw food. Therefore, if you were a person that was determined to feed raw, the other clinic would be a much better fit for your needs. That's not to say that one clinic is better than the other, they just have different values and opinions. In hand with this, an owner also needs to develop a good relationship with their vet so that they do respect their judgement and advice. This means bringing your pet in for check ups at least once a year (even if not getting vaccinated) and discussing general health, well-being, and preventative measures for the pet. This way the vet knows both the client and the patient well and has a solid foundational relationship on which to work with when illness does occur. They can then tailor the treatment to the patient much more easily and work with the client much more smoothly because they know the client's viewpoints and values. Second, I know from lots and lots (and lots) of experience that many clients only hear what they want (or expect) to hear. There have been so many times when a client tells me a totally different story than what I know the vet has actually told them. While this may partially be the vet's fault for not making sure the client understands everything they're being told and not misinterpreting, it doesn't mean what the clients in this article are reporting is what actually happened. The Dr. may very well have explained why they recommended antibiotics, but the owners were so sure that homeopathy was the only way to go that they tuned everything else out. Again, this also goes back to finding a vet that you believe and trust and building a relationship with them. Finally, I don't think the Dr. did anything wrong in prescribing antibiotics to a dog that appeared healthy at the time. The whole nature of Lyme disease is that the acute symptoms come and go, while the bacteria itself hides and is extremely difficult to get rid of. The fact that the dog had symptoms just a few days before the appointment means that the bacteria is still present in it's body. They also mentioned that the antibody tests aren't totally reliable, which is true, but they've already been treating the dog based on a tentative diagnosis of Lyme disease, so why are they upset when that diagnosis is confirmed? And prescribing 60 days of antibiotics is not overkill. In fact, most treatments for Lyme disease consist of pulsing antibiotics for 30 days at a time every few months, and this can last up to a couple of years. So I guess my big take away from this is the vet that wrote this article is the ignorant one because he's basically saying that any vet that doesn't believe what he believes shouldn't be trusted, even if they are giving sound medical advice that doesn't necessarily conform to his limited homeopathic values.

At first, it is hard to stand up to Dr. Whitecoat or any "expert" who acts as if they're practically God. Information is power and the more we know, the better off we are. I agree with Dr. Will about standing our ground; when they know we won't back down and are willing to take our business elsewhere, they usually have a change of mind. If they don't, it's time to find a new vet. We searched long and hard to find a 100% natural vet but have been successful at last.
Since all of our dogs have suffered vaccine damage, hubby and I decided years ago that we're never again vaccinating or re-vaccinating any living creature in our family. We started by calling every homeopathic vet in our area. By that, I mean within 200 miles. We didn't bother with those listed as "holistic" after our experiences with those types turning to be "fauxlistic" instead. We found a homeopathic vet who is 1 hour from our home. I called their office and asked if they'd take clients who chose not to vaccinate at all and not to re-vaccinate animals who've already been vaccinated. The response was "of course." We took our dogs in for a yearly wellness exam and blood work, which gave us a chance to talk with the vet and find out what his real beliefs are. Thankfully, he's truly a homeopathic vet and agrees with our decision to never vaccinate the new naturally raised pups we'll be getting. My recommendation is to call every homeopathic vet in your state to find a true homeopathic practitioner and one who will work with you on never re-vaccinating. It's worth the drive and you only need to see them once a year for them to be able to give you a vaccine exemption document and to treat your animals without having to physically see them every time. The rest of the time, you can do phone or email consults as needed. We've done this for our guys and it's been successful every time.
Another fabulous article, Dr. Will. It's a joy to read each newsletter and the helpful comments from other natural path people. Blessings to you all.

Thank your for highlighting Ryan and Megan and showing that we aren't alone.
Because when you are actually the one standing there in front of Dr. Whitecoat - a person with years of study and "credentials" - and you are opposing them, telling them you are making your own decision to do something different, it feels like the loneliest place on the planet.
5yrs ago, I was literally shaking as I walked out the veterinary oncologist's office. I had just been told my 2yr Great Dane had 6-9 months to live (which was false) and then was given a very stern talking to for declining chemo and radiation. I was left in a room to "think it over". When I declined again I was told the vet "in all good conscience" could not continue treating my dog. How crazy is that? I got fired. Today I laugh because at 7.5yrs Mona is a vibrant, playful, energetic dog. We showed them!

I was given a 2 year old Australian Shepherd named Piper, about 10 weeks ago by a very reputable breeder/trainer, who minimally vaccinates, feeds exclusively raw, and only lets her dogs go to homes that do the same. The breeder’s friend is a holistic vet who knows and treats all the breeders’ dogs. Piper was given her first and only rabies vaccines about 2 weeks prior to her transfer of ownership to me, to be in compliance with our state rabies vaccine law. I was told by the breeder that Piper also had a lot of exposure to ticks this fall.
I didn't have a reference point for what was normal behavior or activity for Piper, her being new to me, under stress with a new home, and recently receiving a Rabies Vaccine.
About 3 weeks after I had owned Piper, while in a training class the vet also attended, she came to me, stating that she knew this dog well, and she felt that Piper looked “Lymie”.…not moving or acting right.
She strongly recommended I put her on a month of minocycline immediately. I was shocked with this news and asked the vet if she ever used homeopathy to treat Lymes, and she said no. Feeling at a disadvantage since I didn't know the dog or the vet well, I promptly got the script and gave this antibiotic to Piper.
Within the first 5 days on this med, she had an aversion to food, seemed reclusive, fearful, timid, and often curled up in a ball in her crate, as though her gut hurt. Upon researching this med, it was apparent that Piper displayed all the side effects listed, including vomiting. I discontinue it, since I couldn't imagine how damaging another 25 days on it would be for her. I also suspected a Rabies vaccine reaction. I decided not to notify the vet, but to “First Do No harm”. I turned to homeopathy. I chose the remedies I felt were appropriate, Ledum, Lymes Nosode and Lyssin. I also gave her about 1-2 oz. of colloidal silver twice daily for 1 month. Within about 4 days from starting my regiment, I saw rapid and drastic improvement! I had a new dog! She moved beautifully, ate enthusiastically, and was energetic, engaged, affectionate, and playful! When the vet and breeder saw her again 14 days after the minocycline was prescribed, they could not get over the improvement in her! Well, I believe the improvements came from the homeopathic treatment, raw diet and colloidal silver, and a young healthy dog with a good immune system. As noted in this month’s newsletter, even Dr. Whitecoat didn't even have confidence in a 60 day course of antibiotic treatment for Lymes, so it is doubtful that just 5 days on the antibiotic did any good, but it appears to have caused harm. I’m very glad I stepped out and tried other healing modalities, more tried and true than Dr. Whitecoat's advice.In no way am I implying that this holistic vet is not truly holistic, she is wonderful, and Lyme's is scary...I just got great results with homeopathy in this situation, and I am pleased..... Piper is quite pleased too!

Thanks so much for all this great info - and for letting others share their stories and info with us! Every little bit helps. I've been trying to raise and treat our animals naturally since 1993. Far too many times, the WhiteCoat expert has either not helped or caused outright harm. We've had experiences with cancer, yeast, kidney disease, milary dermatitis, liver failure.... not all responded well, and it hurts b/c we love them so much. It's scary trying to figure all this out by myself! Tracker, (30 yr old horse) developed Moon Blindness (uveitis) in one eye. The vet said he was too old for surgery, but that eye really needed to come out. Instead we used homeopathy, herbs & colloidal silver. Took 3 mos to get it healed that time. The same eye has gotten infected twice since then, but he's nearly 34 and still has it. Sarcoids are non-malignant growths which itch, hurt and bleed; believed to be of viral origin. Our vet warned us that they would just return if surgically removed....I think he has probably had 30+ sarcoids in the past 2yrs. But instead of growing huge and interfering with movement and eating, we've given him anti-viral herbs and made an ointment. Couldn't find anything about homeopathy for sarcoids - would love to try it if anyone has any suggestions!

After my dog had TPLO surgery they wanted to put him on Rimadyl, I asked if I could instead put him on homepathic Zeel, and to their credit they agreed I could. As for Lyme and other tick diseases I treat it with Ledum 1M 3 pellets for 3 days and that results in a negative.

I'm fairly new to the natural path and have only had to deal with a couple smaller issues, although I'll have to find someone to help with my dogs pollen allergies. I live in a small area and I am quite sure I'm the only raw feeder. There are a couple 'fauxlistic' vets but they don't really offer anything different for their increased price tags.
My dog ended up with a bladder infection but because she showed all her symptoms backwards to usual I didn't know until it was quite set in. She didn't want to have bowel movements and I figured it was because I recently switched to raw. She was skittish about a couple things but I figured it was because she had lost her dog friend and cat friend she's known her whole life. She urinated normally, no crying, no straining. then we had a fresh snow and pink at the end. I thought perhaps a stone, because the pink would go and reappear with the bowel movements.
Vet wanted to put her on antibiotics but I was not going to do that until I knew it wasn't a stone, or something more innocuous. I had to reschedule for an ultrasound . . . but while I was there, OH NO! Her vaccines are six years overdue! (She's seven, and honestly my family never re vaccinated after one year and we've always had long lived animals, but after both my dog's reactions I'm not even doing that anymore.) So I stood there trying to decide, cause he was really annoying me with his antics, if I should bring the vaccine warning to his attention and threaten to have his diploma, or just leave. But I must have had a look in my eye cause he very quickly backtracked and started explaining why I didn't really need them. (And rabies is not mandatory where I live, I'm sure I would have never heard the end about it if it was.)
Vet visit finished I took her to the lawn nearby for a quick piddle where she got boostered for free.
I did end up putting her on antibiotic, but only because the bacteria made a pocket in the bladder neck and I just couldn't get it. I prevented it from climbing though.
More recently she got a wasp, I think, cause I didn't actually see it but she's gotten them before and she has a nasty tendency to swell the eye on that side and roll the lashes in. She hadn't rolled the lashes yet and I'd been playing with homeopathy, (too bad it didn't work for the bladder infection but I know how to pick remedies better now and I know how she shows it) she seen my little case come out and wagged her tail at it, (she's not usually much of a wagger just to show how happy she was to see it). Gave her a couple apis 30c and just kept an eye on her. Within ten minuets she was opening the eye to peek at things and within an hour it was as if it had never happened. :)

I have used only holistic vets locally for the last 15+ years. On the thankfully rare occasions when my dogs were actually sick, they all reverted immediately to pharmaceuticals, surgery recommendations, etc. If I asked for holistic things to try first, they would tell me there were none. They were only holistic for well dogs. None of them seriously used homeopathy, and one told me he didn't believe in it. So I learned to do some of my own research.
I had a dog whose anal glands would get blocked. The holistic vet told me I had to have them removed and tried to scare me into it. I found a homeopathic remedy, and also began adding pumpkin to her food and she never had another problem with them during the next 13 years of her life. In another case, my dog had bleeding in his eye. The holistic vet told me to immediately take him to an allopathic opthalmologist. In that case, maybe I should have, because he became blind in that eye, but I did try some research first. I waited two days and took him to the eye doctor when his eye swelled, and he had to be on prednisone for the rest of his life, which was very short, about 6 or 7 months. I tried working with a long distance homeopath, not Dr. Falconer, but that didn't really help him.
So my problem is that if I don't have a vet who is really skilled and committed to holistic care, then I can't trust their recommendations and am forced to be my own vet, which is frankly kind of scary.
I'm glad to have started working with Dr. Falconer who I trust will be able to help my dogs holistically and guide me in choosing treatments.
Maybe another question to ask a prospective holistic vet is how they would use homeopathy. if they are totally against it, maybe they really aren't into helping the body heal naturally.

Great article!. Enjoyed all the responses as well. Just getting started with homeopathy. Almost done with Dr Falconers beginner course through Dogs Naturally. I live in.a small town in Illinois and my bet "tolerates" my choices. Very difficult to find homeopathic vets in my area.

I love your message about sticking up for yourself, Dr. Falconer.
I've been on the other side of the issue many times, too, where I'm trying to tell pet guardians NOT to use the strong meds but they insist! Can't tell you the number of people who demand antibiotics "just in case," or so they it will make the people feel like they're doing "something."
Sigh... It's probably going to take a long time to reverse the marketing messages and dogma the public has been fed for the last 100 years.