Hi,

Mia seems to have blown up again after this season like she did the last one. I know she's not in whelp DEFINITELY. Last time I bought Pulsatilla from Dorwest Herbs & adminstered them to her on their dosage recommendations and I will start it again with her but is their anything else I can give her. Besides being very, very, very slightly subdued, she shows no other physical/mental symptoms. Anyone help? :)

Hi,
Pulsatilla is the most prominent remedy for phantom pregnancy. There are other ones for unusual cases but if she hasn't any other symptoms then I would think that alone should be fine.

My Bess suffers with it but it seems to have lessened in severity over the last couple of years. I always give Pulsatilla and discourage her from "nesting" and "mothering" cuddly items. I also give her more exercise and play with her more to take her mind off things as it's said to shorten the duration.

hope this helps
Kath.

Giving Raspberry Leaf tablets from day 1 of season to day of "delivery" plus EPO is reputed to help avoid pps altogether.

I had thought of EPO too as it is given to women to help regulate hormones, I will try to get some tomorrow for her, if anything at least she'll have a shiny coat! I have been recommended to try Sepia 30c too, has anyone used this? Thanks

Christine

Hi Christine,
Sepia can be used for phantoms if the dog has an agressive or unpredictable temperement ( Puls. for mild, gentle temp.). I'm wondering why you feel you need to give more remedies when Puls. is the most widely used for this complaint. Did you feel it didn't work very well?

I have used Sepia, not for this, but usually for infertility in cows and to get cows to "mother" their calves.

Agnus Castus from any healthfood shop for the 'mardiness'. Puls. to stop milk production ;-)

Hi Kath,

Pulsatilla was ok but I really need to get this bloated look away from Mia, she looks like she is about 7 weeks in whelp! I have cut back a bit on her food and tried to up her exercise even more (Much to asti's (Her grand-dams) disgust!) as I want to make sure she just isn't a bit porky but I'm sure she isn't as she has blown up so quickly.

I wasn't sure about Sepia as I had read it was for moody bitches and she is just her normal self besides the massive ribs & loin.

I have her entered for Midland Counties show - a week Thursday - and I would really like to get her started on something to help asap.

Christine

Hi Christine,
I've had another scout around but can't come up with any other remedies that fit the bill. One of my books says, "if they don't fast of their own accord, it is important to keep the diet very scant" so perhaps you could cut back food even more if you think that's OK for her.
It also says that treating with Homeop. will result in them becoming milder each time (as Bess's have) compared to hormone treatment so carry on with the Puls. anyway. I know it doesn't help for this time but you can also help prevent it by giving the Puls. once weekly for 8 weeks starting when the bitch is in season.

I'll keep digging to see if I can come up with anything else.

Kath.

I have bought a remedy called Endophan. It arrived today and I've been told I should see a difference in a week! Hopefully by Midland Counties, Mia will be her slim, trim, toned self! :)

Hi Christine,

I've never heard of that. I did a Google search and only 1 page came up !! so would you give me some info on it, please, as I'm very interested? :) All I could glean was that it's homeopathic and £7.99, I couldn't even tell who was selling it!

Hope it does the trick. Hope you win at the M.C. show too.

Best of luck
Kath. xx

Edit: Thanks for email and info Christine.

Hi all I would be interested in that also, my bitch is getting very good at having phantoms, but she goes very miserable, shaking and does not eat anything, where do you get that endophan from. I have tried homepathy ie pulsatilla and to be honest it done nothing for my bitch, but these are getting worse each time now and I either find something to stop it happening altogether or get her spayed which is something I really dont want to do but for the bitchs sake I will, any suggestions anyone

Janines

I'd go along with tohme's advice with the Raspberry leaf tablets. You can often eliminate phantoms entirely, but if they do occur the symptoms will be much milder.
:)

And Raspberry Leaf tablets from certain suppliers are actually licensed medicines, proven to treat this condition.  This is much better than just giving a supplement - sorry if there is no info. or documentation on 'endophan' I wouldn't use it! 

Endophan isn't a supplement it's a homeopathic remedy. I think there's no info on Google because it's the makers own trade name.

BUYER BEWARE...Endophan turns out to be Pulsatilla under the company's branded name and bloody expensive Pulsatilla too. There is nothing on the site of the company to suggest it is Pulsatilla until you actually buy the product and there it is on the container. One sharply worded email has just been sent. Thing is I already had Pulsatilla here, a bigger quantity & a lot cheaper. If I get no response, it'll be a public name & shame. :(

It is easy to check on whether a product is a recognised homoepathic remedy by searching on the net or, better still, contacting Ainsworths who stock everything.

The trouble is that Endophan is their own name for it so there's no info on the net. What made me suspicious was that their remedy for difficult matings is called Sepease and the classic remedy for that is Sepia, so I figured it's just Sepia in disguise and wondered if that was the case with the Endophan. It's annoying that they blatantly do that as people who are new to homeopathy can get hoodwinked into paying more money.

I agree, any of the big co's like Ainsworths, Helios, Freemans etc are good for advice ( and possibly price...haven't compared lately)

Kath

My suspicions were true then. I am SO glad I emailed you. I hope you gave them a really good blasting, Christine. I think name or shame is called for whether they respond or not.

Kath.

EDIT. just read my emails Christine, your blasting meets with my approval!!!

ADMIN DELETED

Canine Natural Cures. There I said it!! Well, I suppose I'd better only say I *suspect* them, not *accuse* them. Wouldn't want to get myself into a court battle. ;)

As they say on Have I Got News For You....Allegedly!! :D

Kath.

I have sent back the Endophan and I am hoping for a refund minus the 4 tablets I used.  What I'm angry about is I had mentioned to the lady who wons the company that I was already treating Mia with Pulsatilla but yet she was more than happy enough to send me the same remedy and tell me to take her off the Pulsatilla she was already on!    

Anyone has any remedies for an all over itchy dog with itchy eyes?  

Sulphur. ... If she desires coolness. Made worse by heat. Can be given with other remedies to enhance their action.
Arsen Alb. ... if she wants warmth.
Puls. ...for a bitch with skin irritation at night and with red patches. You're already using this but using Sulphur as well may help.

All homeopathic.

Kath.

Did you say you had changed your food again? The itching could be food related?

Sarah/Kath,

The itching is actually Curtis, he's making a nice meal of his loin! I'm wondering if it might be Royal Canin as he has been on it - and loving it - for about a fortnight so I may have to put him back on Burns, which he is ok about but his toilet isn't as firm as when on RC.

Christine

When you change onto BARF (not suggesting that you do :-) - it's just part of the story) dogs do 'detoxify' and there is a lot of itching & scratching going on then :D

This is what made me wonder about a possible allergy? Royal Canin will be at MC tomorrow...so a chat with them about their range might be worthwhile if you like other aspects of the food :D

Maybe we should think up some names Kath & market these homeopathic remedies under other names & then charge a small fortune for them?

Sulphur - Stopitch?
Arsen Alb -Needheat?
Pulsatilla - Endoitch?

etc....

;)

Brilliant idea, Christine!! Love the names. :D :D

What about the Company name?

Cons-R-us?
Endohonesty?

Kath.

Hi,
My bitch appears to showing signs of a phantom preganancy. I can see from this forum that Pulsatilla is the thing to get - and one of the best places is Ainsworths - but can anyone advise on dosage - she is a 30kg 13 month gun dog - do I just give her the same as it says for a human ? Thanks.

Hi Christine, :)

In homeopathy the size of the animal has no bearing on how many tablets you give at a time.  What matters is the potency (how many times it's been diluted) i.e. 6c, 30c, 200c etc, (lower potencies for chronic illness, higher ones for acute illness) and the frequency given (the more acute the illness the more frequent the doses)

But in simple terms the answer is yes, the same as it says for humans! :)

I hope that makes sense.
Kath.