View Question

Fly Snapping In A Dog

by CorinneC - October 22, 2020 View Case Report

I have 5yo terrier X that has done some random fly snapping since adopted 3 yrs ago but this behavior has recently ramped up. He was camping in August with the family and became hyper alert to flies and insects. Since home he stares at his feet and snaps at them. And now his air snapping at flies has escalated.

His bloodwork and PE were all normal. His tongue is lavender and his pulses toned. My thought was to treat for Liver Blood deficiency and Wind Invasion with Tian Ma Gou Feng Yin, plus maybe add Xiao Chai Hu Tang for trapped Yang?

I’d love your thoughts as always Steve. Traditionally these can be tricky cases and many go down long roads if either PHB and Keppra or antianxiolytics, often without success according to VIN. I couldn’t find anything as of yet in CuredCases but I’m hopeful you’ve seen something similar!

by naturevet

October 22, 2020

Hi Corinne,

If fly-biting is a type of seizure, then anti-seizure formulas like TMGTY are a place to start. I think there is reason, though, to look at this more as a case of hypervigilance, or anxiety if you will, brought on by negative experiences with actual flies. The dog becomes sensitized, and mistakes environmental cues (e.g. twinges of sensation on the skin, buzzing sounds, etc.) as flies, which it then pre-emptively snaps at.

Another intriguing possibility is that fly-biting is an indicator of latent GI issues. Here is an article in PetMD discussing that possibility

A formula that treats both ideas - agitation and GI issues - in a Liver Blood deficient dog is Yi Guan Jian. I would be tempted to explore that as a possibility. You can roll in Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin to extend the action of the formula to actual seizure activity, if that is what is going on.

I hope that helps you out! Let us know how it goes!

Steve

by CorinneC

October 25, 2020

Yes I actually found this article too after writing to you. Very interesting stuff. Flynn does have digestive issues so I’ve placed him on a homemade diet as well but I wasn’t sure on herbs for this end. I will add the YGJ as well as it does fit well with his signs.

Thank you, as always, for your help!

by FigueroaJohn

July 25, 2023

Thanks for sharing about that my dog also had unusual behavior when flies surrounded them https://petdisease.net/ blog helped me fix that

You must be logged in to reply

CuredCases.com