Page 11 - Summer 24

to the point of deliberately barging into tables, chairs and the owners. There was no noticeable improvement after the remedy, which, I think, reflects the rather imperfect similimum which was present. The potency was probably too high for a not perfect similimum to have worked beneficially. The high potency was given as it was considered this was a disturbance of the mind in a very strong vital force, so would be better corrected by a higher potency preparation. The owners, understandably, decided to give up on homeopathy at this point, assuming this was just the nature of the dog.
Re-assessment
When the behaviour became even worse, in early 1997, I went back over the case. Although it was tempting to try Iodum, it was felt a new approach was necessary. I decided the essentials of the case were contained in two rubrics, which were so marked that the remedy should be in both of them:-
MIND: Impulse, morbid – run, to, and...
MIND: Music aggravates.
Both were the major and, especially in the case of music aggravation, unusual features.
Only two remedies appeared in both rubrics, Tarentula hispanica and Scorpio europaeus (Androctonus).
Scorpion has a characteristic fear and anxiety, a strong aversion to company, and is not sleepless. Tarentula hispanica has sleeplessness and a desire for spicey foods and fat aggravation, as well as the sensitivity, excess energy, and extreme sensitivity to music. It too has a reputation as a remedy in hyperactive children.
Treatment given: Tarentula 200c split dose (starting 28/2/97)
Follow-up [2]
She was reported greatly improved very shortly after the remedy. Although still lively, she now settles down and is no longer manic; she even stays in the room while music is being played, apparently unworried. She still watches
spiders intently and wants to catch small insects; perhaps this was a pointer to the correct remedy!
Discussion/ other management
Training classes and behavioural classes were also considered, but the problem appeared to be so deep- seated in the dog that it was thought that the imbalance would, at best, be suppressed rather than cured.
Dietary adjustment can also benefit such cases. She was already on James Wellbeloved dog food because of its more “natural” nature. It would have been difficult to feed exclusively home cooked food because of the other dogs. It is often difficult to assess when natural exuberance becomes mental pathology; it seems many people want homeopathy to turn a Dalmation into an Irish Wolfhound! It is interesting here that the remedy did not stop the liveliness and exuberance of the patient, just enabled this to be controlled to a normal level.
Reflections from 2024
‘She still watches spiders intently and wants to catch small insects; perhaps this was a pointer to the correct remedy!’.
This is an understatement! It is so easy to get caught up in the mechanistics of case analysis, and to forget the SRP’s that open a case up to eyes attentive enough to notice and willing to see. In addition, the desire to be by an open window, particularly in the car while travelling, is noteworthy.
There is no record of me asking about windy weather, but the rubric GENERALS: Wind; desire to be in the wind contains only 5 remedies (Synthesis 9.1), one of which is Tuberculinum; it is also one of only 6 remedies in the rubric GENERALS: Wind ameliorates. Although not an exclusion rubric, such a desire to be in the wind (including sticking the snout out of a moving car window) should lead one to consider whether the tubercular miasm could be involved. Similarly, the desire for spicey and full-flavoured foods can be suggestive of its presence. It is a very interesting exercise for me also to reflect on my early cases from a position nearly thirty years later. If I were to be
repertorising this case today, I would exclude the rubrics for fat aggravation (too common in dogs); the Mind – Sensitive (too big to be useful); and the lean people / appetite wanting rubrics, feeling that these are end results of the hyperactivity and restlessness, and not core elements of the case.
Had I taken this case today, it would seem clear that Tia was behaving fully consistently with a tubercular miasmic influence. Add to this her behaviour towards spiders and insects, plus the unusual effect of music, Tarentula hispanica would be uppermost in my thoughts as a first treatment, initially as a 200c but with every expectation of needing to go higher for a more complete cure.
Tarentula hispanica
No mention was made in the case write-up of the “bleary- eyed” reaction to the initial prescription of Tuberculinum, or the apparent behavioural aggravation. From my vantage point of 2024, I think I can say that this was almost predictable. I would also have been not unhappy to see such a reaction, as it was a strong indication that the remedy was close (who was it who said that the worst response you can have to a remedy is no response at all?). This would lead to looking further into relevant tubercular miasm remedies, including Tarentula hispanica. It could have been interesting also to dose with Tub 30 or 200 following the Tarentula prescription (perhaps not a 1m... ..the exuberance of youth!)
9
continued on p10