Hey! I like granola! :)

So far as 'natural is ok if it doesn't harm' just remember. . . arsenic, cyanide, and tobacco are natural too.

We use quite a few homeopathic remedies at the rehab centre - rescue remedy, arnica, colloidal silver. Mostly for healing wounds, bruising, shock etc. They work really well for lots of our cases, including birds, but they are mostly an adjunct to standard meds, not a replacement.

I use citronella oil on my pot plants to keep the cats from digging them up (or in Sam's case, eating them all and ppuking), and the advantage of that is it smells nice and gets rid of mosquitos as well.

But the one that I really laugh at is when we merge new meerkats into a group. It's always done by moving the group and the newbie to a new enclosure so that no-one feels territorial. But what really works amazingly is that as we sling them in we spray them all with lavender. Not for the calming effect, but because they then have no way to scent out the foreigner - they're all too busy rushing around doing the meerkat version of 'EEEEWWW I STINK!'

I didn't know aroma therapy was such big in the world of dogs. Learn something new everyday...

A vet that I worked for did acupuncture. He spent many years in school for it. He tells his clients to be extremely careful about who they bring their pets to should they not be able to get an appointment with him as there still isn't any hard rules about it which can cause a pet more harm than good.

If pets benefit from aromatherapy ( and it's used safely) I think it's great as long as owners don't use it to mask underlying problems. i.e- If a dog freaks out everytime it goes to the vets for a yearly physical, clearly a few drops of lavender is not going to cure the problem.

I use Bach's Rescue Remedy on my dogs during the summer months to help with their fears of thunder storms. I get mixed results as I have to apply it before their adrenaline rush kicks in. If I apply too late or when the storm is too close, nothing is going to help as they are already in "fight or flight" mode along with shaking and panting.

When those times happen, I just put them in lock-down in their crates and let them be while checking on them occasionally to make sure they are atleast confortable. To sit on the floor to tell them that it's okay only re-enforces the behavior, so it's best to keep a birds eye view on them and pretend like nothing is going on. Once the storm passes, they're put outside to empty their full bladders and are brought back in.

This Icelander knows that research is being done in the UK (it's in the beginning phase now and under the supervision of a Vet University) on the use of homeopathic remedies on dogs. Vets note & confirm the dogs condition, the dogs in the group will be treated by the Brits leading homeopath for dogs (nope, can't recall his name nor the Uni.), remedie & amount used noted and then results rechecked by vets afterwards. The studies aim is to confim / or not confim that homeopathic remedies work on dogs.

Sure I use homeopathic remedies as well as known household tips. Here we have limited resources and most meds/drugs (even Frontline) is only to be had at the vets. I can't afford not to !