The Remedy is in the Detail

The homeopathic consultation is an attempt to document the characteristics of the animals' disease, its' mental picture and its' general features. It usually takes me half to one hour to do this fully. We can either do an hour's consultation or we often do half an hour initially to establish fundamental aspects of the case and another half hour to fill in other important detail.

The most useful features to me are the strong or unusual ones. If your animal is not strongly one way or the other for some of the questions below, don't worry - just move on to the next question in the list below.

Please try to be as honest as possible. The better the information we have to select the appropriate remedy, the more likely we are to select the best one for the job.

This page is here to allow you, the client, to see the range and depth of questions that will be asked so you have an opportunity to do research, or study your animal closely to maximize the amount of information noted in the consultation. I usually divide the consultation into four main parts:

(PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PRINT THIS PAGE AND ANNOTATE ON PAPER)

1. The Particulars of the Disease.

What can you detect as being wrong with your animal?

If there is more than one complaint, can you rank them in order of importance?

When did the problem first start?

What was happening in the animal's life/owner's life at this time?

For example, was there a change in the environment, a bereavement or any other mental or physical trauma, vaccination?

How did the problem progress to the present day?

What factors (heat, time of day,weather, water, food, exercise, pressure, etc.) change the disease for better or worse?

2. The Mental Picture

Does your animal have any fears?

When there is activity in the house/garden/yard/field, will the patient be drawn to it, or prefer more solitude?

Does your animal like to be petted/physical/contact/sympathy? What then, are they like when they get ill? Shadows or loners or neither?

Is your animal introvert or extrovert? In what situations?

Are they a leader or a follower?

What is your animal like at shows?

Is your animal obstinate or relaxed?

Is your animal ever aggressive? When?

Are they ever jealous? What of?

Would you describe your animal as lazy or zealous?

What are they like when they get dirty?

Are they tidy or untidy individuals?

In one or two sentences, how would you describe your animal?

3. The General Picture

Does your animal prefer to be warm or cold? Does this vary when they're ill?

Have you ever had any health problems in the 6 weeks following any vaccination?

How is the appetite?

And the thirst/lack of thirst? Roughly how much do they drink?

What do you feed your animal? What tidbits do they get (be honest, I won't bite your head off!)?

How do they eat?
What are the feeding utensils?
What is their sexuality like? If neutered, when?
How are their bowels? Have you ever seen constipation or diarrhoea?
Is your animal windy?
Have they every had problems with skin, eyes, the senses, teeth, breath, breathing/lungs, circulation/bleeding, digestion, hormones, sexuality, urination or defecation?

Is your animal currently on treatment? What is it, exactly?

Your animal's previous medical history should have been forwarded to me by your veterinary surgeon. I will, however, go through the history to make sure that all problems have been addressed, even the ones that didn't warrant a visit to the vet.

4. The Clinical Examination

I will conduct a thorough examination of your animal to assess it's current state of health and any peculiarities that may be demonstrable.