Homeopathic Remedy for Honey's Swollen Paw is Working

So.. we went to visit the homeopathic vet last Thursday, to see if she could recommend anything to give Honey the best chance of healing - before we resorted to using antibiotics.

The Vet said that she wouldn't have expected a nail bed infection to result in swelling all the way up to the "knuckle joint" of Honey's toe, and she couldn't see any sign of infection other than the swelling.

She gave us a lovely homeopathic first aid kit, but also prescribed some homeopathic tablets to use on Honey. She felt that a combination of arnica and rhus tox would be the most appropriate treatment. They focus on easing bruising, inflammation and swelling. Both are supplied within the first aid kit, but she gave us a separate bottle of tablets that combine the two - at no extra charge.

We started Honey on the tablets straight away - plus we carried on with the salt water bathing so that we covered all angles.

The following day there was a dramatic improvement in the swelling. I was glad to see Honey was on the mend, but also kicked myself for not getting photographic evidence the day before. So... without delay we took a photo on day 2.



It was much worse than this, and I'm not sure that the photo shows it clearly. The swelling that you see around the knuckle joint area - went right down to the nail - and the toe was twice the size of her other toes.

Now... on day 5 - the swelling has just about gone completely.. We've stopped bathing in the salt water - as the swelling has dispersed from the nail upwards - meaning that the only area left with a tiny bit of swelling now - is the joint. Here's a photo from today..

We'll naturally keep an eye on things - and we're carrying on with the tablets until the swelling has completely gone - but hoorah - it looks as though everything has been sorted - and no antibiotics required... yay!!!

Managing Honey's Nail Bed Infection - Without Antibiotics

In the end yesterday turned out to be quite a monumental day on my journey of trying to care for the pups in as natural a way as possible...

I went to the Vet, who confirmed that it looked as though Honey had a nail bed infection. As I'd anticipated she suggested a course of antibiotics to clear the infection, but when I said that I didn't really want to give her antibiotics she understood and said to try just soaking the paw in warm salt water for five minutes, twice a day... If it got any worse, or didn't clear up in a week, I could ring up for an antibiotic prescription...

Great - that was just what I needed - confirmation of what the problem was, and a simple, effective and natural way to deal with it.

As the day progressed however it entered my head that if the infection DID get worse, or if it didn't clear up with warm salt water - then I would need to give her antibiotics in a weeks time anyway, and I wondered if there was anything else I could do to help the infection clear. The Vet didn't know of anything and said that she couldn't believe that garlic would help at all. I don't know about you, but personally I find it quite strange that educated people can sometimes find it hard to comprehend that nature could provide healing alternatives.

Anyway - as I was pondering on what other steps I could take, my phone rang, and it was the homeopathic vet that I'd left a message for earlier in the day...

She was a pleasure to talk to, but couldn't advise me without seeing Honey first, although she did indicate that there were many homeopathic and herbal options available. In the end she suggested I take the following action if I were serious about trying to raise the pups using natural approaches:

1. Book and appointment to have a consultation with her. She said that she would provide me a homeopathic first aid kit, plus loads of reading and information about natural flea control, natural worming, homeopathic vaccinations and so on. She also said she would do both of the dogs for the price of one...

2. From then on she said that she would be happy to be at the other end of the phone to point me in the right direction for any future problems, and provided it only involved a telephone conversation on her part - she wouldn't charge for that - but she needed the dogs to be registered with her, and she needed to see them etc - before we could get to that stage.

The total cost for this consultation and first aid kit to me will be:

1. A 45 minute drive
2. £100

Now, I figured that with an effective first aid kit and the option to call on someone qualified for advice or support when I needed it, I would be well armed - and could potentially save more money than that in the long run (one off visits to the Vets like yesterdays cost me £25 - it would have been more if I'd taken the antibiotics) - and even though I can't actually afford the consultation fee at the moment - you can't really put a price on your dogs health... My new outfit or that meal out can wait - surely!

So - NOW I'm really excited. I have an appointment tomorrow with a veterinary qualified holistic vet who uses homeopathy, herbs and acupuncture to treat animals.

I have met Nick Thompson, a highly regarded holistic vet, when we filmed him in Somerset earlier in the year for www.innerdog.tv He was amazing - and I loved everything he had to say. However Somerset is quite a distance from here, and I was really pleased to discover that this Vet (Mrs Pedler from Mercer and Hughes in Saffron Walden) who is 45 minutes drive from me, knows Nick Thompson really well, and is obviously from the same school of thought... yay - natural puppies here we come....

What To Do About A Puppy's Swollen Paw

The day before yesterday Honey and Ziggy were having their usual fun in the garden when all of a sudden, Honey stopped, plonked her bottom on the ground and lifted her paw. She seemed very unbothered by it, and allowed Paul and I to examine her paw and apply slight pressure to different areas, without any squeals or obvious distress. We couldn't see any signs of cuts, scrapes, thorns or anything - so decided to leave her be and see what happened. For the rest of the day she walked with a slight limp, but other than that - seemed pretty much her usual self.

Yesterday, there seemed to be no improvement in the limp, so we examined her paw again, and this time noticed how she casually pulled it away when we touched a certain area. Now that we had identified the area, we homed in a little, and after pushing some puppy hair aside saw a slight abrasion beside one of her nails. It didn't look too bad, so we bathed it in salt water and went off to bed.

This morning we woke up to find her paw had swollen quite considerably in the night. It is generally advised to take your dog to a Vet if there is any swelling, so we have an appointment this afternoon with our local veterinary surgeon. Honey's starting to get used to the Vets - only a few weeks ago she was there to have stitches in one of her other paws!!

I'm slightly concerned though - when she went for the stitches she had general anaesthetic plus the Vets gave her some antibiotics. I'm not a fan of antibiotics in humans, and don't feel any differently about them when it comes to dogs, especially when they're just wee puppies... I hope they don't want to give her more today. We've given her some garlic with her food this morning, as that it supposed to be good for infections - but I'd love to know more about natural approaches to problems such as these.

I've check out homeopathic vets in the area, and the nearest one is quite a distance away - plus we can't afford insurance that would cover us for complementary therapies at the moment. There are some good insurance companies out there that do provide cover for complementary therapies on your pets, they're just not within our budget at the moment.

I've just phoned that vet to get some advice, so that I'm at least aware of some kind of natural alternative when I visit our local vet later today... I've had to leave a message - and am currently awaiting a reply...

Meanwhile - I'm trying to keep Ziggy and Honey separated when they're playing. I don't think rough and tumble on a poorly paw is wise - plus Ziggy seems to think it's fun to nip Honey's poorly paw!! The joys of having TWO!!!