Thunderstorms and dogs

[Dale Moss]

In the past, we've had questions about remedies for dogs scared by thunderstorms, so I thought I'd post this recent experience.
A client told me that her dog was growing increasingly frightened by thunderstorms, to the point where the dog was keeping her and her partner awake at night with her trembling, anxiety, and racing around. The weather report called for a severe storm that night -- and the client had already lost sleep for a few nights running.
The dog is aging, has some arthritic problems, and sought the highest place in the house whenever it stormed; I gave Borax (the client had given Phos. in the past with no help). Because I've been underwhelmed by the "fear of thunder" remedies, not finding them all that efficacious, I suggested that if the Borax failed, the client give her dog a few drops of the Aconite 1M I'd given her to help wean her off Paxil.
The storm that night was spectacular, a real light and sound show! The next morning I got a call from the client: I was a hero because they'd finally been able to get some sleep. Borax did fail to curb the dog's hyper-anxiety, but within two minutes of receiving the Aconite, she curled up calmly and went to sleep.
So add Aconite to your rubric for anxiety from/fear of thunder. It makes perfect sense to me and I can't understand why it wasn't added years ago.
Peace,
Dale

[Tanya Marquette]

so would you consider the intensity of aconite as strong as phosphorous?
phos is the only other remedy rated as a 3 in my radar program.
tanya

[CLBernat]

Fear of Noise is covered by a number of remedies. This is a chronic disease issue not an acute issue. Could be related to vaccinosis or inherited miasm. You need to take the entire case and find the animal's constitutional remedy to affect a full cure.

Dr. Carol Bernat

[Dale Moss]

Definitely. I think Phos. is over-rated in that rubric. I've never found it very effective in treating this fear in animals, particularly in older ones.
Peace,
Dale

[Rochelle]

I have always given Aconite , in a 30 C , to animals on Nov 5th which is UK's bonfire night with fireworks and have never known it not to work!!!
Rochelle
Registered Homeopath
EFT(Advanced) Practitioner
www.southporthomeopathy.co.uk

[Rosemary C. Hyde, Ph.D.]

This is a useful discussion for me. When I read Dale's post, I wondered at first if she was talking about my dog, whose fear of thunderstorms (only real ones, not on television, and also not any other loud noises, This dog knows an hour before storms arrive that they're coming, and starts pacing, scratching, and trembling.) Phos did nothing for her. I was surprised that Acon also did nothing. Stram worked twice, then stopped working. Ars, which she generally responds to well, does help to take the edge off, but doesn't give her enough peace to relax. In the past, I'd tried Borx, Gels, Sil, Sep, all with no effects. And I'd tried several of the Bach flower remedies that seemed as though they should have helped -- bud they didn't.
Two things are helpful: an "anxiety vest" which wraps her up tightly from neck to abdomen, and being squeezed in between my haunch and the arm of an upholstered chair -- in other words, physical restraints that make the restless part of the anxiety impossible (she's a small dog). We can't restrain her with success in calming her in any other way, however -- it has to be something very strong and uniform in pressure, and impossible for her to get out of.
Ars and Stram do come up strongly with this picture, but they don't solve the puzzle.
The following rubric makes me wonder about Zinc, which I haven't tried:

MIND - phenomena - escape, desire to - restrained and calmed with great difficulty

ars.h STRAM.kr zinc.k

I should probably also look at the possible miasmatic blockage from vaccines, and give a nosode, since Stram worked so well twice, then stopped -- something's blocked.

Other suggestions, of course, are welcome.
Rosemary

[Shannon Nelson]

Hi Rosemary,
For stram to work very well twice and then stop could (I think???)
simply mean that stram touches her, but doesn't match well enough to
really take hold. I saw a somewhat similar thing years back with my
then-toddler daughter, where a remedy worked *really* well (emotional
issues, sleep disturbance, fearfulness, rages), but for too short a
time and only a few doses; moving to higher potency renewed the effect,
but again too short, and only for a few doses, etc.--up thru 10M!
(That lasted the longest, at about 6 weeks.)

Then she got the *right* remedy, and the whole can of worms evaporated
like mist in the morning sun! So, when I see a remedy act well but
only for a while, my first assumption is that it's simply not the right
remedy. (I probably should do more of investigating nosodes,
intercurrents, etc.!)

Re phos not working (as well as the blockage angle), I wonder if a phos
salt??? (Or possibly carc??)

Shannon

[Rosemary C. Hyde, Ph.D.]

Good suggestion, Shannon -- Carc. It's certainly hovering around the edges, and it could help to loosen up miasmatic blocking. If, when I'd given her the Stram in higher potencies, it had worked again, then I would have known whether it was the right remedy or the wrong one. (i.e., if the higher potency renewed the effect, and it lasted longer, I would consider going up in potency again, to find the potency that would stick. If, each time, it lasted a shorter time, I'd know it was "close but not right." But it just stopped, and she didn't respond to higher potencies, which is why I was thinking "blockage." ) Although she's always responded well very consistently to Ars, it's not THE remedy, either -- no deep constitutional evolution.
Rosemary

[Tanya Marquette]

thanks dale.
i will add it to my reperatory as a 3
tanya