Animal Diseases:
A New Look at the Vaccine Question

By Richard H. Pitcairn, DVM, PhD

What we are going to do, in this presentation, is look at the question of vaccinations in four aspects. First, I want to tell you how my clinical experience led me to understand that vaccination was important, in a causative sense, in many of my cases. Second, we will look at the homeopathic perspective on chronic vaccine disease, or vaccinosis. Third, I wish to present some ideas on how vaccinosis may manifest in the dog and cat. Fourth, we will consider the question of the efficacy of vaccinations — do they really do what they are purported to do?

We are looking at this question, also, from my perspective as a practitioner of homeopathic medicine, not from the allopathic model that assumes vaccines to be useful and safe with occasional aberrations. Most of us are aware that vaccine-caused diseases — such as immune disorders, bleeding problems, tumor formation — are recently receiving attention from the allopathic community. However, the premise that these are exceptions to a basically safe procedure is not the same viewpoint as that which I am presenting to you today.

Introduction
My understanding of the importance of vaccination in animal diseases gradually developed over several years. I began homeopathic practice without considering vaccination as a factor of special importance. So, what I did was to consider the totality of symptoms in the case and choose the remedy which seemed to be the similimum based on that picture. This is classical homeopathic procedure and, ordinarily, one which would be effective. However, there were a significant number of cases that would not react curatively. Though there was improvement in some respects, nonetheless, a cure was not forthcoming. Eventually, through following the case over a period of time, the image of the remedy Thuya would emerge — which when administered would resolve the case which had been so difficult.

What, then, is the significance of Thuya as a remedy? Thuya is the most important remedy to be used for that state induced by vaccination. Other remedies noted to have this correspondence are Sulphur, Mezereum, Malandrinum, Sarsaparilla, Carcinosin, and Silicea among others. Malandrinum and Carcinosin are interesting remedies because both are nosodes — the former from horses with “grease heel” and the latter from a cancerous discharge from a human being. Thuya, Mezereum, and Sarsaparilla are vegetable remedies — Thuya from the Arbor vitae tree, Mezereum is known as Spurge olive, and Sarsaparilla an herbal medicine. Sulphur, the element and Silicea, which is silicon dioxide or quartz are mineral remedies. Thus we have representations from all the major remedy classes.

It gradually dawned on me that the underlying problem in some of my difficult cases was a state of illness that had been induced by vaccination. So, rather than simply use a totality of symptoms to choose my prescription, I found it more effective to emphasize the rubric “Vaccination, effects of” almost to the exclusion of other remedies. In this way, I was able to make progress in some very frustrating clinical situations.

Let me give you a few recent cases that demonstrate the usefulness of Thuya.

Case 1: Jack: Ten month old DSH, male cat. Ill since first obtained as a stray kitten about 12 weeks old. Symptoms primarily fever, diarrhea and vomiting. Associated symptoms were red gums, retained baby teeth, offensive breath, thirst, swollen cervical lymph nodes, craving for strange foods (cinnamon rolls, persimmons), blood at end of penis, licking genitals, dragging bottom on floor, and very strong-smelling urine. When neutered at age seven months, he developed fever, fear of noise, trembling, warm head, dilated pupils, pale gums with red line along the teeth, loss of appetite, craving for plastic, cardboard boxes and house plants, extraordinary hysterical fear on being allowed outside, dry stools with constipation, prolapsed third eyelids, crying in pain before passing a fluid stool, and vomiting any water drunk. Several homeopathic remedies were given during this illness with sometimes definite improvement, almost to normal. However, the condition always recurred and the previous remedy would then not be effective. Based on the symptoms of chronic diarrhea of offensive stools, with lots of gas causing sputtering sounding stool, and crying in pain before urinating — this cat was given Thuya 30C. Client reported almost immediate improvement with return to “97% himself” within a few hours. He has continued to be free of most of these symptoms since this one treatment with Thuya.

Case 2: Jerri: Three and 1/2 year old mixed chow dog. Afflicted with sarcoptic mange and recurrent ear infections for 2 and 1/2 years. Treated allopathically without resolution of the problem (Mitaban and Paramine dips, immune system stimulants, bacterial extracts, etc.). Skin condition characterized by itching, hair loss, thickened dark skin, red irritated skin involving primarily the feet, lower legs, around the eyes, abdomen, top of the head, inside both ears. Patient has also become timid & cautious with the other dogs. Condition markedly ameliorated by a dose of Thuya 1M with regrowth of hair, normalization of appearance of the skin, reduction of ear inflammation, and return of normal personality and behavior. Condition recurred, in milder form, one year later (after use of homeopathic nosodes for disease protection) and was resolved by one dose of Thuya 10M.

Case 3: Monster: Seven year old DSH, tiger stripe. Chronic diarrhea for 1 and 1/2 years with 1-3 bowel movements a day. Very offensive diarrhea with a lot of gas being passed. Thuya 200C, one dose, resulted in marked improvement, with a perfectly formed stool within three weeks.

Case 4: Mei-Ling: Six months old, female charpei dog imported to Brazil from Kansas. Never well since first obtained, now is diagnosed with a seborrhea (biopsy) and skin fungal infection. The skin is dark, itchy, with red, scaly spots. These lesions spread rapidly over most of the body. Client says the puppy was normal until receiving “puppy shots.” She began to lose hair all over, especially from flanks and front legs and on the back near the tail. Treated with oral antifungal drug and two ointments without improvement. No effect from treatment with Sulfur 6X; temporary improvement with Rhus toxicodendron 200; rapid recovery after Thuya 200. Change for the better was very rapid with hair growing in faster than ever seen before with this dog. Another dose of Thuya 200 needed three months later, after exposure to plaster and chemicals used in refinishing a room. Other remedies were needed, months later, for some lingering minor symptoms, but Thuya clearly turned this case around.

You can see from these cases that progress was dependent on use of Thuya, the anti-vaccine remedy. Though this was not necessarily the final remedy for these patients, it seemed to be a necessary prescription. It is as if vaccinations have the ability to block response to a constitutional remedy, an obstacle that must be dealt with before cure can be underway.

Homeopathic Discovery of Vaccinosis
Of course, this “discovery,” which was actually more the reinvention of the wheel, prompted me to search the homeopathic literature for information about the relation of vaccination to disease. The most important source on this phenomenon is the book Vaccinosis and Its Cure by Thuja with Remarks on Homeoprophylaxis by J. Compton Burnett, M.D. The first edition of this book appeared in London in March 1884.

It is here that vaccination is first clearly described as a chronic disease. The effect of vaccination, besides the physical effects of stimulating an antibody response, is to establish a chronic disease — one that is long-lasting, indeed, in some cases a lifelong, condition. Burnett refers to the chronic disease that results from vaccination by the name Vaccinosis. So, we will adhere, in this discussion, to the same convention. Vaccinosis is to be understood as the disturbance of the vital force by vaccination that results in mental, emotional, and physical changes that can, in some cases, be a permanent condition.

Burnett gives several cases that demonstrate this. Several of them are in infants and children, showing the profound effects of vaccination on the growing organism. However, I wish to emphasize the long-standing effects of vaccination so will mention a couple of example cases to you.

Case 1: A woman, of about age 50, suffered greatly for 20 years from a condition of terrible pain in the eyes. The attacks of pain were so severe, that she would be confined to bed for days at a time and for some periods as long as six weeks. In spite of many examinations and treatments by allopathic doctors, no relief was forthcoming. The patient was confined to a darkened room, her head bound, and crying from the pain. These attacks were always preceded by what seemed to be “flu” and the frequency of these episodes was such that she was confined to her room about half of every year.

As this patient had been extensively vaccinated, the use of Thuya as a remedy was used by Burnett. Thuya, has a type of cephalgia similar to that described by the patient and, indeed, use of Thuya 30C successfully resolved the condition in six weeks. A follow-up in one year showed that the cure held.

Case 2: A young woman, 19 years of age, suffered from severe headaches for nine years. The attacks were characterized by a pain in the back of the head as if it were being squeezed in a vice with throbbing of the head as if it would burst. These attacks occurred once or twice a week. Associated symptoms were habitual constipation, poor appetite, a tendency towards styes, eruption of boils, cold feet, easily made motion-sick, tendency to faint, skin sensitive to wind which becomes rough with cracks forming in the lips. The patient had been vaccinated against smallpox at three months of age, seven years of age, and again at fourteen years. In spite of this vaccination, she had actually come down with smallpox at age 10!

She was treated with Thuya, in low potency, over a period of several months and was eventually cured of her symptoms. A two year follow-up confirmed the stability of the cure.

Many other cases are described in Burnett’s little book. Lest you think that only head pain is the outcome of vaccinosis, let me hasten to give brief descriptions of some of the others.

* Wasting away (marasmus) of an infant being nursed by a recently vaccinated mother.
* Several cases of skin eruptions, pimples, ringworm.
* Enlarged cervical lymphatic glands and unhealthy lungs tending towards tuberculosis.
* Loss of hair, in patches, on the face of men.
* Unusual susceptibility to influenza and general ill-health.
* Facial acne and nasal dermatitis.
* Diseased fingernails.
* Chronic vertigo.
* Paralysis and muscular weakness.
* Very painful spine, with weakness, inflammation, twitchings, etc.
* Hand cramps and enlargement of the spleen.
* Insufficient growth in children with paralysis on one-half of the face.

These cases and others, in subsequent books, began to present to the homeopathic community the nature of vaccinosis. Indeed, it was possible, from these cases for Burnett to declare vaccinosis a variant of the sycosis miasm. As you will already know, sycosis is characterized by affections of the skin, the lymphatics, the immune system, susceptibility to fungal infections, susceptibility to cold, damp weather, arthritis, affections of the blood, and many other symptoms of this sort. Most importantly, it is typical of the sycotic miasm, and therefore of vaccinosis, to develop growths of all types — cysts, polyps, warts, tumors and cancers.

Some of Burnett’s other books, especially Tumors of the Breast and their Treatment and Cure by Medicines, Curability of Tumors by Medicines, and Delicate, Backward, Puny and Stunted Children especially bring out some of the variety inherent in vaccinosis and the tremendous damage it can do once established.

One more thing I will mention before leaving the subject of Burnett’s work. This is his interesting observation that the person that is most susceptible to contracting the disease being vaccinated against is more likely to die (after being vaccinated) when they do come in contact with the natural disease. In other words, rather than protecting some individuals as planned, it actually makes them more susceptible. The vaccination having created a chronic disease ahead of time, can predispose the patient to a more serious natural illness which combines with the established vaccinosis. As we shall see later in this presentation, there is evidence that this is what has happened in vaccinated populations.

Does this extend our understanding of vaccinosis? We can expand our definition to say that vaccinosis is the establishment of, instead of the acute natural disease, a chronic condition which now has the time to develop a multitude of manifestations not ordinarily seen. Another way of saying this is that the process of laboratory modification of a viral disease to make a vaccination strain is the conversion of the disease from acute to chronic. The virus has been changed so that its natural tendency to arouse a strong response it gone. Instead it can be introduced into the body in a form that does not elicit much of a reaction. The result is the establishment of a chronic disease that has never been seen before in clinical practice.

To illustrate what I mean by this, I would like to briefly discuss aspects of three of these vaccine diseases — chronic canine distemper, chronic rabies, and chronic feline panleukopenia.

Chronic Canine Distemper
Canine distemper, a very old disease of dogs, is well known in its clinical manifestation. According to The Infectious Diseases of Domestic Animals,(1) the major symptoms are:

* Watery discharge from eyes and nose.
* Conjunctivitis, with discharge (eventually purulent).
* Vomiting and diarrhea, loss of appetite.
* Watery feces, mixed with mucous, offensive and often bloody feces; intense malaise, loss of weight, and death.
* Severe, fetid diarrhea.
* Spasms, fits, epileptiform seizures.
* Paralysis.
* Eruption around the mouth where hair meets the naked skin of the lips.
* Swelling of the feet, red footpads.
* Pneumonia.
* Eruptions on the skin of pustules, on the abdomen, inside the thighs, and elsewhere.
* Emaciation.

What I am suggesting to you is that, because of repeated vaccination, the acute disease of canine distemper has changed form to appear as a variety of chronic diseases. The original disease, Distemper, has been, for the most part, replaced by Distemper Vaccinosis, a chronic disease of great variety. This chronic disease also creates a susceptibility to new acute forms of distemper like parvovirus. Because by its nature, chronic disease is more developed than an acute disease, the many ramifications of this condition have been given new names from the mistaken idea that they are different and distinct diseases.

In the table that follows, the acute form of the disease (on the left) has become the chronic (or new acute) disease on the right:

 

(The full article is posted on Dr. Pitcairn’s website.)

 http://www.thinktwice.com/animal.htm

Reprinted with permission from…
A New Look at the Vaccine Question
by Richard H. Pitcairn.

All The Help You Can Get To Train Your Dog

No-one is about to claim that training a dog is an easy thing to do. Dogs are animals with personalities, and whether or not those personalities are amenable to training, they will present different challenges with each different dog. It cannot be denied that some are easier to train than others, but no dog is untrainable. It is simply the case that some dogs need to be given more of a chance than others to pick up what their master wants them to learn. After all, humans are the same – if you got straight As in your freshman year of high school, congratulations, but you are in a minority.

So it makes sense that there is help that can be found to improve the behavior of a dog you are finding hard to train. As ordinary “civilians” when it comes to the overall behavioral patterns of a pet dog, it goes without saying that we will not magically have access to the “button” inside a dog’s mind that makes it behave well, perform tricks or anything else you want it to do. There are professionals who have written books and made DVDs showing helpful tips and hints, and a wealth of websites which do the same.

You may even take your dog to a trainer who will be able to identify ways to get it behaving the way you would like. The expense of doing this makes it something that you may not want to do too regularly, but if all else fails it can be beneficial to you and to your dog.

http://dogtamer.info/

All The Help You Can Get To Train Your Dog

Dogs in general have a tendency to follow their instincts and their influences. Canine behavior is something that has given countless experts reason to write countless books, and as far and wide as you go you are unlikely to find an expert who advocates an aggressive manner of dog training. The reason for this is that dogs absorb what they are taught very quickly, and behaving aggressively towards a dog will influence it to behave in an equally aggressive manner. Deep down in every dog, there is the instinct of a wolf – because that is what they have descended from.

Now, if you find a wolf in the wild and take an aggressive posture towards it, the wolf will not back down. It is likely to go for your throat and not stop until either you or it are incapacitated. Although domestic dogs have lost something of that instinct and ferocity, there is buried deep down a tendency to react with aggression when it is backed into a corner by an owner – if you strike a dog, it may back down. If you repeatedly strike it, it will react as any animal under threat – and it will hurt you.

Give a dog fun, exercise and affection and it will reciprocate in the most wonderful way. Its instinct is to form a bond with its owner and do anything it can to please them. Use this instinct to your advantage, and watch your dog blossom into someone you can be proud of, rather than a wolf with slightly blunted teeth and instincts.

In our society, there is a tendency to have a political response to most things. Many people are of the opinion that criminals transgress due to an unhappy home life or a poor upbringing. Comfort and discomfort are a major part of the influence that affects a person’s life, whether you are of the opinion that some people are “just bad” or otherwise. By the same token, dogs are liable to react to their circumstances, and it is well-known that a more content dog will behave in a more respectful manner.

When it comes to training a dog, you will get results if you motivate by fear. However, these results may not be satisfactory to you because although the dog will respond to commands, it will do so tentatively, conscious as it is of the fact that getting it wrong will lead to punishment. If a dog is trained in a happy atmosphere with an owner who is prone to reward good behavior, then it will react to the correct stimuli in the correct way. It will behave in a way which makes you feel proud, rather than simply satisfied.

If you have concerns about being too “soft” with your dog, simply remember that a dog will react in kind to the way it is treated. If you let it be lazy, then it will take the opportunity – simply because that is what it knows. If you encourage activity, however, it will reward you with the behavior that you want from it.

A dog will respond to training, if the person training it has the knowledge and perseverance to make it happen. This kind of perseverance can be hard to come by, and it can be difficult to be patient. There is a lot of training that can be done simply by what nature has furnished us with, such as our voice and our hands. However, to make the job easier there are numerous tools that we can buy. Dogs are, deep down, obedient animals by nature – but it is a matter of what they obey, and finding this can be a process of trial and error.

Dogs are known to respond to what their ears tell them. They are well known for having an excellent sense of hearing in combination with their excellent sense of smell. This means that certain noises which are insignificant to humans will draw a reaction from a dog. Many trainers find that, where all else fails, it can be beneficial to use a whistle or a clicker. If a dog is misbehaving, making a short, sharp noise will get its attention like nothing else. Sometimes the wrong noise can hurt a dog’s ears – so you should research the product that you are buying to ensure that it is humane.

Other tools can play on the other senses that a dog has. Although dogs cannot see as clearly as humans, they are responsive to motion. Holding one of the dog’s toys to teach it to show restraint can be very beneficial in this respect.

Training a dog is a practice which makes big demands on an owner. There is a lot of effort involved in ensuring that a dog behaves well, and each person will have their own views on which methods are the most effective and efficient. What is certain is that each dog will react in its own way to different stimuli. One of the most effective tools in keeping a dog on its best behavior is the human voice – make sure your dog gets used to the sound of yours, because this is how you will get the best out of it.

As humans, we are used to recognising the tone of each other’s voices. We have become so good at this that we almost don’t need to hear a person’s words in order to know what they are saying. A warning tone, a praising tone, a cheerful tone… each is recognisably different to us, and it will be recognisable to your dog too. In this respect, you can teach your dog well by allowing it to recognise what you are saying, without having to teach it a command.

Speaking in the correct tone need not even take practice. Usually, your emotions take control of your tone of voice, and skilled liars have to work to keep their tone even – so allowing your genuine tone to come through should be simple. The dog will come to recognise the cadence of what you say as much as the actual command – and it will be this that they come to associate with good and bad behaviors and their consequences.

Many dog owners at one time or another become frustrated with their dog due to its behavior. There may be many reasons for this. It could be that the dog is destroying things through constant scratching and gnawing, or that it is going to the toilet in the house. It may be that it is violent, or threatening, to other dogs and pets or to humans. In any case where a dog’s behavior is giving you reason for concern, you should always be ready to intercede and find a way to stop the behavior becoming a long-term problem.

Problem behavior in dogs is something that can make an owner feel very pressured. We all love our pets, and when they misbehave all that we want is for them to understand that it upsets us. We really would prefer that they would behave themselves all the time, but if they are going to step over the line occasionally we would at least hope that they desist the first time we request it. If they continue it, this is when it becomes “problem behavior”. This is something that we all want to avoid.

If problem behavior becomes a major issue for you with your pet, you should sit down and consider why it is happening. Is your dog getting the right amount and kind of exercise? Does it get enough human interaction? Is there something in its diet which might be causing it to behave in a strange way? All of these issues need to be considered, as that allows us to address problem behavior.

Most pet owners will confess, if asked, to the fact that they do spoil their pet in terms of treats, feeding and cuddles. There is certainly no shame in this admission, in fact most of us would agree that it gets right to the heart of the matter – spoiling pets is half the reason for having them in the first place. Of course, this refers to “spoiling” in the sense that your pet is given treats regularly and made a fuss of. Sometimes spoiling can go too far, and lead to another kind of spoiling altogether.

A dog will respond to treats in exactly the way you wish it to, as long as you stick to the straight and narrow with how you distribute treats. If you hand it a treat every hour or more, it will simply see this as standard behavior. Its own behavior will become fairly lazy and it will have little incentive to display the behavior you had come to hope for. Treats can be given just for the sake of it, but they cease to be “treats” in any real sense once they become the norm.

You should keep a keen eye on how frequently you give your dog a doggy-chew or a bit of food unbidden. These treats can play a major part in how you train your dog, and if a morsel of food is just another bite to eat in a long day of eating and relaxing, it will grow lazy and not bother much with tricks and behavior, which is a shame for all concerned.

There is a phrase used by people who have little in their lives but their work and commitments at home, with little scope for fun. “It’s a dog’s life”, people will sometimes mutter when the stream of demands on their time simply will not stop. They mean that it is tiring, unrewarding and punishing. And yet, if you look at the average dog, their life seems pretty sweet in comparison. Think about this; would you swap places with your dog? Most of us would probably say “yes”.

However there is, it must be said, something in that well-worn phrase which chimes with the dog-owners among us. A dog, after all, is rarely given the freedom to do absolutely what it wants. If a human being had to lead a dog’s life, the chances are that we wouldn’t do all that well at it. As humans, we can go and get a snack when we feel like it, our toilet is convenient and hygienic, and we can ask for things and be instantly understood. For a dog, things are generally at the mercy of their owners.

When you are training your dog, then, it is wise to cut it some slack. As far as it is concerned, you are exhibiting some very strange behavior that it will not understand initially, and if it is slow to respond then this can be understood. It is not a stupid dog for getting things wrong. In fact, by paying attention to you it is being very obedient.

There is a very commonly used phrase that most of us have heard and many have used, which goes as follows: “You have to be cruel to be kind”. Others among us will look at that phrase, or hear it said, and point out the inherent flaw in it. You do not have to be cruel to be kind. You have to be cruel to be cruel, and kind to be kind. In actual fact, cruelty and kindness are very rarely mutually applicable. Getting that straight will sort out a lot of problems, in life and when training your dog.

Now, certainly, there are times when you will need to be stern with your dog. Sometimes it will exhibit behaviors that you would really rather it did not. Some owners will tend towards the cruel side of things when punishing these behaviors, often punishing their dog with a physical blow. It should be recognised that punishing a dog consistently with physical reprimands will lead simply to either a hostile dog who will lash out without warning, or a lifeless dog which is scared to do anything for fear of reprisal.

There will be times when you need to reprimand your dog physically. A quick tap can often suffice when it is behaving in a threatening manner without good reason. Restraining it by the collar when it goes to attack a person or another animal is fine. But by beating your dog, all you are doing is removing the essential element of all pet-owner relationships – friendship.