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Anxious, but not Aggressive – a trio of cases By Sara Fox-Chapman, USA
I don’t particularly like to treat frightened animals. Fear can all too easily lead to defensive aggression. Like all vets, I do my best to keep animals calm. There are some individuals, though, that seem to exist in a state of heightened arousal. This article deals with three such animals who, despite their level of anxiety, were mild mannered and docile. All three responded well to homeopathic treatment, retaining their mild nature while shedding their anxiety. These patients, where the vet never feels there is potential for aggression, seem to share certain characteristics of the cancer miasm. Might Carcinosin be a valuable initial treatment in any such cases? I started using Carcinosin with more patients in 2006, so my two earlier cases did not receive it.
Jake, a red two-year-old neutered male retriever mix, was first seen in January 2010. Ann adopted him a year ago; he was given up because of escaping and destructive behavior. Jake was an anxious dog. He was very sensitive to short, sharp noises like gunshots; he pan- icked and tried to bolt home. He was not bothered by thunderstorms. Other sharp noises like crinkling cellophane also bothered Jake; he cow- ered and left the room when he heard them. Jake became very anxious in the car, progressing from yawning, to panting, to whining, to barking during fifteen minutes trips. He needed large doses of Valium for longer trips, and he was still obviously distressed.
The biggest problem was Jake’s destructiveness in the house. When alone, he sometimes damaged things as if attempting to escape; it seemed to be a response to noises that he heard outside, as he became anxious with such noises even if Ann was home. He barked and chewed when confined. He was fine alone in the large back yard, but he could escape from it. Jake was afraid of children and men. He rolled over sub- missively to most dogs, though he sometimes played too roughly with small or elderly dogs. Jake wanted to lie outside in the yard (even in very cold weather) unless there were gunshots nearby. When he was afraid, he hid; he would run away if Ann tried to comfort him. When Ann was cross with Jake, he became very attentive. He was prone to getting loose
stools with dietary changes or stress. He didn’t drink much (despite being fed kibble), but when he did, it was a very large amount at one time.
Jake wouldn’t look at me in the consulting room, but he didn’t look away either; he kept me in the corner of his eye. Jake paced and looked at the door, he put his paw on the handle and looked at Ann. He eventually laid down but got up and down several times; while lying down he trem- bled, apparently from anxiety. He was very easy to examine because he froze; his physical was normal. He never solicited petting directly from his owner or me.
Counter-conditioning desensitization has helped Jake deal with nois- es on walks (he cowers instead of bolting), but it has not helped the destructiveness. There has been no progress for the past three months, so Ann sought homeopathic help.
The top fifteen remedies in the Radar Opus analysis using Synthesis repertory were: Arsenicum alb, Lycopodium, Sulphur, Belladonna, Phosphorus, Aconitum, Calcarea carb, Pulsatilla, Aurum met, Carcinosin, Natrum mur, Stramonium.
In Jake’s case, I felt that he would initially benefit most from a mias- matic remedy to assist him on a basic level, along with a symptomatic or local remedy to help with his acute bouts of anxiety. Jake was such a mild patient, and docile dog, while at the same time remaining aloof, that I
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For Jake’s analysis I chose the rubrics:
• Mind, Consolation agg
• Mind, Escape, attempts to
• Mind, Fear, noise, from
• Mind, Mildness
• Mind, Sensitive, reprimands, to
• Stomach, Thirst, large quantities, for
• Generals, Air, open air, desire for
• Generals, Trembling, Externally, anxiety, from
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