I came across a strange notice the other day -- someone having a "drastic kennel reduction" of Jack Russell Terriers in which a dog was being offered up for sale or adoption (it was unclear which).
The listed dog was 7 years old and was "a great producer" and "competes in the Working Terrier Division."
Hmmmm. Clearly a hump and dump rosette chaser without too much loyalty to the dog! "Competes in the Working Terrier Division," eh? Right. One piece of working paper and it was off to the working class, was it? And then, after as many "working dog puppies" as possible could be squeezed out, it was time to clear out the dog to a new home, eh? Nice!
And then came the strange words: "He has been kept holistically, and it is a requirement that this continue."
Eh? What's that even mean? A requirement? Ha! Good luck with that.
"Holistic" is a philosophy, and as much as I love dogs, I do not think they are much on philosophy.
I thank God for vaccines, antibiotics, and surgical staplers, and not just for my dogs, but also for myself, my kids, my spouse, and my friends.
The folks who are pushing "alternative medicine" these days are too often engaged in potentially life-threatening quackery.
For God's sake, if your child is sick with an eye infection do NOT call the aromatherapist to treat the problem!
If you are suffering from internal bleeding, do not go to an acupuncturist! Do not buy a healing stone!
If you have a baby, make sure your child gets all its vaccines, and is fed a normal diet rich in fats to help build the brain.
And YES, please follow this same advice with your dog!
As for homeopathy, the side-car of holistic medicine, if that crap works, James Randi is prepared to give you $1,000,000 if it can be proven in a double-blind test. And yes, he does have the money.
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6 comments:
Lots of 'holistic' and 'natural' dog food with herbal extracts etc being advertised, too. I have yet to find anyone who can explain to me how it's better for the dogs.
Have you read London Labour and the London Poor? The chapter on the fashions in dog-selling (bulldogs and pugs and such), seems like something you'd be interested in.
http://dl.tufts.edu/view_text.jsp?pid=tufts:UA069.005.DO.00078
I have some very good dog friends who believe in this holistic stuff. I tend to ride the line of show me it works and explain how it works - on a dog and I *might* consider it and usually that's enough to keep my tackbox clear of any lotions, potions, oozes, and salves.
Usually *holistically* as applied in dog circles from my experience has the meaning of no or minimal vaccinations (better find out which if you have dogs running with distemper ridden raccoons), raw or home baked diet, (let's hope they're doing that right), and possibly alternative medicines as opposed to anything that come from a pharm company.
This has lead to some rather funny and sad conversations. I recently got a new dog who came from the heart of year-round heartworm country to the pacific NW in a heartworm free zone. So I asked the question "how many more doses of HW meds should I use before I can stop using it and be reasonably assured that HW won't be a problem?" The response from my holistic crowd was I kid you not use "Guinness black label beer." So I asked the question of what about black label beer actually kills heartworm? Not a response, not one... So I hit google and I was able to find one anecdotal reference to a story someone had about using beer as a dewormer. Nevermind if it was successful, nevermind if a vet actually witnessed it working correctly, it was nothing but a story worthy of Snopes fed to people ready to believe anything so long as it doesn't come from a chemical bottle forgetting that their solution is also a chemical and possibly a far worse one at that for the dog.
I know my holistic and natural raising friends mean well to their dogs but somewhere along the line less chemicals became alternative, untested, unproven chemicals only.
Have you watched the homeopathic ER? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMGIbOGu8q0
No one can deny there was a problem with dog foods a couple of years ago that actually killed dogs.
I keep my dogs away from certain preservatives and certain foods that they are allergic to (same with my own life).
My dogs see a kind Vet who discusses all possible treatments and we decide. He agrees that some vaccines are over done (rabies was finally reduced to 3 years from 1 year).
Some things in life must be researched instead of following the status quo and being a lemming to the sea. I don't believe everything I read, as anyone can publish anything these days. I agree to disagree with some posts and comments on your blog ;)
Unknown, it would be more interesting if you had a name and said things you believed in enough to sign. If you don't or won't, then it's just typing.
P
So sorry, I'm new to this kind of thing. I signed in with my Google account so I thought it would record my name. My sincerest apologies!
"Unknown" is Wendy Olson
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