High Dilution Medicine in the Treatment of Separation Anxiety in Dogs: A Descriptive Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study

Separation anxiety in dogs causes great distress, which leads to many clinical symptoms. Homeopathy diagnoses susceptibilities in sick individuals and treats them globally with a single medicine through the law of similarity, according to Samuel Hahnemann’s unicism. The aim of this study was to quantify the behavioural changes seen in dogs treated with a high dilution medicine for separation anxiety. The demographic profiles of the dogs and their changes in cortisol levels during treatment were also to be documented. By means of a qualitative questionnaire filled in by their owners, 23 dogs diagnosed with separation anxiety were selected and repertorized according to classical homeopathy and treated with verum high dilution medicine or placebo, besides blood collection. On the 30th day, dogs were reappraised and could undergo changes in their medicines and potencies. On the 60th day a new blood sample was collected for comparison. The pharmacist was responsible for randomizing and dispensing verum medicine or placebo. In the verum group, 11 dogs (68.75%) were classified as having received effective treatment. There was no significant difference in cortisol levels between the groups (p < 0.05). The mean age of the dogs was 4 years and 7 months, and destructiveness was the most common clinical symptom. Most of the dogs were male, mixed breed, not neutered, living with a couple without children, hyper-attached to their owner and had been obtained as puppies from pet stores. Though it is possible to conclude that high-dilution medicine was able to modify dogs’ behaviour, and as a feasible alternative to separation anxiety treatment, it is not possible to conclude any connection between high-dilution medicine and cortisol.

Keywords: Homeopathy, High dilution, Dogs, Behavioural Disturbance, Hyper-attachment

No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).