Canine flu. Blah. <Cough!> <Cough!> Retttch!
Canine Flu? Yes, But Now There’s a Remedy!
It looks like Austin is about to get on the map for an infectious dog disease that’s making the rounds in the Midwest. Based on symptoms, I’m betting I’m treating dog flu, in my long standing clients’ family of three Akitas. Right here in the Texas Hill Country.
And just when I thought I’d be writing a quick blog piece entitled, “Dog Flu is Dead!” — I’d not heard of any further cases since posting about dog flu several weeks ago.
These three dogs are following the same pattern reported in dogs in the Midwest dog flu epidemic posted earlier:
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The illness starts with sneezing
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Coughing follows, and is harsh and often ends with retching
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Cough is dry
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Cough is worsened with exertion
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Watery eyes
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A bit of drippy nose
Sara and Karen’s dogs aren’t acting very lethargic, and none are restless, compared to reports from dog flu parents elsewhere in the country. But they are sick, a bit withdrawn, and pretty intense coughing is the predominant symptom of their illness.
A New Epidemic Remedy Discovered for Dog Flu
Mica, a three year old spayed female, was the first of their pack to fall ill on Monday night, May 4th. On a walk that night, it appeared to Karen that Mica must have inhaled something, as she suddenly started sneezing repeatedly. Just as suddenly, coughing followed, coming in waves, 5-7 in a row, and every 3-4 hours another bout would grip her. The frequency of the attacks increased steadily until they became hourly by Tuesday morning.
No one slept very well that night.
Tuesday afternoon, Mica had already been scheduled for a routine vet visit for her Spring heartworm test and exam. [She was negative on her heartworm test, and has been on my Drug Free Heartworm Program all of her life!]. The doctor she saw posited that, even though she had a slight fever, it might be allergies or an inhaled foreign body, like a piece of grass.
She recommended an antihistamine and a whiff or two of steroids, both of which were declined by Sara.
The brightest news is that, on her own, Karen looked at Mica’s symptoms and decided to try a remedy from my emergency remedy kit called Phosphorus 30C. It worked brilliantly! [An earlier cough remedy, called drosera 30C, helped only a bit, so was abandoned after a couple of doses.]
One on The Mend, Two More Sick
When I consulted with Sara and examined Mica, I also didn’t think canine influenza was likely. She looked quite healthy, though she did cough in my exam room several times. As she had decreased her symptoms significantly from her homeopathic phosphorus (70%, by Sara’s estimate), I was confident that, what ever was causing her to cough, she was mounting an excellent response and would soon be well.
I sent her home with a higher potency of phosphorus, 200C, to use if the improvement ceased.
Imagine my surprise when I got an email from Sara this morning.
Well dang, I think we may have a household case of dog flu after all. The symptoms hit Yogi [11yr old male] Friday afternoon and Taiko [3.5 yr old male, Mica’s sibling] Friday night [5/8].”
Both were early in the course, so we’ve decided to treat both new cases with the phosphorus 200C, and I sent Sara home with Phosphorus 1M to give to Mica, should see not continue to get well. (It’s a common practice to raise the potency of a remedy that’s slowed down in helping the patient.)
Initial doses of the phosphorus in Yogi and Taiko brought some improvement, but not as dramatic as Sara saw with Mica.
The Treatment Plan
We’ll stick with homeopathic phosphorus for all three dogs for now, repeating a dose when ever they either cease improving for six hours or more, or they lose their improvement and start to worsen. That’ll be judged mostly by how frequently each dog is coughing: if it’s getting less frequent and less intense, great, the remedy is helping them “fight the good fight.”
If any of the dogs stops responding to phosphorus in any potency, our Plan B, based on my analysis posted earlier, is to change to homeopathic Nux vomica 30C, which Sara and Karen have ready in their emergency remedy kit.
Your Best Bet at Canine Flu Prevention, Updated
Remember the dog flu prevention protocol I posted earlier? I thought the remedy was likely nux vomica, based on my analysis, but I’m changing my tune. Based on Mica’s brilliant response to Phosphorus 30c, if you suspect dog flu in your area (hearing any coughing dogs?), I’d go back and read this post, where you’ll see I’ve simply substituted Phosphorus 30C for the Nux vomica 30C.
Real life experience with homeopathy in sick patients will always trump theory. We’ve got Mica rapidly improving, and that means the remedy Phosphorus is likely to be your best dog flu prevention now. In that earlier post, I’ve also now put Nux vomica in the #2 position, instead of Bryonia.
The vaccine is still likely to be worthless. Remember: it’s for the H3N8 canine flu. Not likely to work on this epidemic, caused by the H3N2 flu virus. And you know the damage that comes from vaccination, right?
I wouldn’t touch the dog flu vaccine with a dirty ten foot stick.
Please Tell Us Here if You Think You See Dog Flu Near You
Just when I thought the dog flu epidemic had died, it looks like it may be right in my own backyard. Keep your eyes open and jump into the comments if you see canine influenza-like symptoms anywhere near you. Central Texans, I’m talking especially to you.
