I'd love your help, as always, when you get a sec,
Corinne in Victoria :)
Question Details
Chronic Pica In A Bernese Mtn Dog
by
CorinneC
-
February 29, 2024
I'd love your help, as always, when you get a sec,
Corinne in Victoria :)
Replies
by
naturevet
March 6, 2024
Hi Corinne,
The pulse would suggest you need something more dispersing. Since the dog is raw fed, we automatically suspect Shao Yang disharmony, so putting those two things together, I would reach for Minor Bupleurum of some sort. Stomach Heat is a feature of Yang trapped in the Yang Ming. From there it passes to the Heart to create anxiety. CHJLGMLT has XCHT in it, but the dynamic is internalizing, not dispersing, so it's not as good a fit. The fact that his eyes cleared up tells you you're on the right track, though.
Pica for cloth sometimes indicates Phlegm and Dampness accumulation, but that is unlikely in a raw fed dog unless it's too cold for their Spleen (causing, for example, a low appetite). Another perhaps more likely possibility is that the dog is craving fiber, which is understandable in a raw fed Shao Yang disharmony dog. Much of the disease processes in Shao Yang raw fed dog stem from the absence of plant material in the diet. It should, to my mind, make up 1/6 to 1/3 of what is in the dish.
If Spleen deficiency does seem likely to you, then you can team Minor Bupleurum with Yi Yi Ren Tang to help address Dampness and Phlegm, as well as expel Wind Damp from where it might be causing cysts on the dorsum. You could also instead use Xian Fang Huo Ming Yin, if these cysts look substantial and are getting inflamed. You could even use all three together for complete coverage of the issues. Because they all take care of related problems, including two successive levels of pathogen invasion, they are compatible
Hopefully this helps you out!
Steve
The pulse would suggest you need something more dispersing. Since the dog is raw fed, we automatically suspect Shao Yang disharmony, so putting those two things together, I would reach for Minor Bupleurum of some sort. Stomach Heat is a feature of Yang trapped in the Yang Ming. From there it passes to the Heart to create anxiety. CHJLGMLT has XCHT in it, but the dynamic is internalizing, not dispersing, so it's not as good a fit. The fact that his eyes cleared up tells you you're on the right track, though.
Pica for cloth sometimes indicates Phlegm and Dampness accumulation, but that is unlikely in a raw fed dog unless it's too cold for their Spleen (causing, for example, a low appetite). Another perhaps more likely possibility is that the dog is craving fiber, which is understandable in a raw fed Shao Yang disharmony dog. Much of the disease processes in Shao Yang raw fed dog stem from the absence of plant material in the diet. It should, to my mind, make up 1/6 to 1/3 of what is in the dish.
If Spleen deficiency does seem likely to you, then you can team Minor Bupleurum with Yi Yi Ren Tang to help address Dampness and Phlegm, as well as expel Wind Damp from where it might be causing cysts on the dorsum. You could also instead use Xian Fang Huo Ming Yin, if these cysts look substantial and are getting inflamed. You could even use all three together for complete coverage of the issues. Because they all take care of related problems, including two successive levels of pathogen invasion, they are compatible
Hopefully this helps you out!
Steve
by
CorinneC
March 6, 2024
Okay, that makes sense (I think ;), so I will start him on XCHT and Yi Yi Ren Tang to see if we can stop this pica madness! Thank you, as always, for your help!
Corinne
Corinne
by
CorinneC
November 15, 2024
So Takayo did amazingly well for 6 mth on this herbal protocol, but this week went to emerg for eating a sock. Owners waited a little longer than normal in hopes that it would pass (as well, they had just cancelled their insurance, UGH). He ended up with a sock caught in his upper duodenum and purple bowel so had to have surgery to resect bowel. Owners, and I, are feeling a little discouraged. I will not see him until Monday, but wondering if you have any further thoughts on this, the timing/seasonality, etc?
Corinne
Corinne
by
naturevet
November 20, 2024
Hi Corinne,
Given that it's fall, switching to Halscion might make sense for a while. It contains CHJLGMLT to help harmonize the Shao Yang, internalizing it in the fall and reducing any anxiety tendencies that may have been behind the 'sock seizing'. It also contains Yi Guan Jian, which can cool and moisten the Stomach, while assisting with the anchoring of Yang. That would be my next assumption, unless the pulse is toned and Full. If that is the case (like it was before, I think) then Adoptrex is the better choice. It combines XCHT and WLT. Since you saw results with XCHT plus YYRT, it's a good next step.
All of this is assuming there is no diet change responsible for the decline, and that the owner is supplying both plant material and probiotics (Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium) in with her raw food
Steve
Given that it's fall, switching to Halscion might make sense for a while. It contains CHJLGMLT to help harmonize the Shao Yang, internalizing it in the fall and reducing any anxiety tendencies that may have been behind the 'sock seizing'. It also contains Yi Guan Jian, which can cool and moisten the Stomach, while assisting with the anchoring of Yang. That would be my next assumption, unless the pulse is toned and Full. If that is the case (like it was before, I think) then Adoptrex is the better choice. It combines XCHT and WLT. Since you saw results with XCHT plus YYRT, it's a good next step.
All of this is assuming there is no diet change responsible for the decline, and that the owner is supplying both plant material and probiotics (Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium) in with her raw food
Steve
by
CorinneC
November 25, 2024
Takayo has always been on a great raw diet plus greens and Probenz probiotics (this I pulse 30 days on and off). His pulses this round weren’t as toned as I like so I’ll go back to Halscion. He’d been on that briefly last Spring I believe but did have a non-obstructive FB so I reached out to you. He’s done fabulously on XCHT and YYRT until just recently. I’m assuming I keep him on the YYRT then too?
Thanks a ton as always,
Corinne
Thanks a ton as always,
Corinne
by
naturevet
November 26, 2024
Potentially, yes. Although because Halscion contains Wei Ling Tang, perhaps it will be anti-Dampening enough? But it wouldn't hurt to change one thing at a time. First, the intro of Halscion, then the removal of YYRT.
S
S
by
CorinneC
November 28, 2024
Ok perfect. That’s what I’ve done for now.
Corinne
Corinne
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