For those that haven't read my posts, we having struggled with skin issues since she was eight weeks old. Luna was recently tested and diagnosed with severe ( 5000 score ) allergies to 21 environmental , and 11 food allergies. We have a great vet, who is using a combination of western medicine and homeopathic treatments in a bid to avoid steroids if we can. She referred us to a specialist canine chinese herbalist. This is all a very alien concept to me, but I have an open mind and am willing to try anything to help my baby.
It was very interesting and completely different from western medicine. I was initially trying to show the vet all her rashes and bumps and scratched areas .... and of course, she wasn't in the least bit interested in these outward manifestations !
Firstly, there was no sense of rush. We were the only client there. She asked me all about Luna's daily life, in detail ... what she does, how she behaves, her food preferences, how she sleeps, how active she is, if she likes to be out in the sun, how she is after exercise , etc, etc. She spent a long time just talking to Luna, stroking her, feeling her body, looking at her in general. She felt her pulse points for ages. Observed her breathing. Laid her hands on different parts of her body to feel her body heat. Looked closely at her tongue.
She diagnosed Luna as having an excess of yang. Yin being the cooling forces of the body and yang being the heat. In a healthy dog, both would be equally balanced. An excess of yang ( warm energy ) in Luna is resulting in inflamed skin, restlessness, scratching. This imbalance of the Yin and Yang creates "wind" in the body. Its a hard concept to grasp, ( and I didn't ! ) but the internal processes of the body are classified by elements ( earth, water, fire, wind etc). In a nutshell the yin and yang disparity has caused a blood and liver deficiency and a temperature imbalance, ( these 3 being the "wind" ) which is all manifesting as skin and coat problems.
I can confirm that Luna is indeed a hot dog .... its like sleeping next to a radiator with her in bed. She is also a very calm puppy, spends a lot of time just laying quietly, always has been ..... which is apparently her coping mechanism to keep her body temperature lower.
She is also drawn to any water, a hose, a tap, the shower, loves to get wet at any opportunity ...or will even continually dunk her entire head and paws in the dogs water bowl. All now makes sense, that she is trying to cool herself.
She has been prescribed a herbal combination called " Si Wu Xiao Feng Yin " ..... which consists of about 20 different herbs, the only one I recognise, being Angelica. These are cooling herbs and liver support designed to expel the "wind" and nourish the blood.
In addition she is to be fed "cool" foods and is to avoid "hot" foods. Cool foods are fish, duck, rabbit, brown rice, barley, broccoli, apples, bananas, pears, cucumber, lettuce and mushrooms. Hot foods are turkey, chicken, lamb, venison, shrimp and lobster ( as if !! ), sweet potatoes, squash and pumpkin.
Food is going to be an issue, she is currently on a lamp protein kibble ..... she is allergic to all fish, and I know I won't get rabbit ! She can have beef, though,that is considered neutral.
She is also to be given flax seed oil supplements and natural active yogurt, daily- both have cooling properties on the body.
Dr. Belle said that she has seen amazing results with this herbal combination .... and I should notice an improvement within two weeks, and a big difference within a month. I have a six week supply to give it a fair shot.
Wish us luck !
It was very interesting and completely different from western medicine. I was initially trying to show the vet all her rashes and bumps and scratched areas .... and of course, she wasn't in the least bit interested in these outward manifestations !
Firstly, there was no sense of rush. We were the only client there. She asked me all about Luna's daily life, in detail ... what she does, how she behaves, her food preferences, how she sleeps, how active she is, if she likes to be out in the sun, how she is after exercise , etc, etc. She spent a long time just talking to Luna, stroking her, feeling her body, looking at her in general. She felt her pulse points for ages. Observed her breathing. Laid her hands on different parts of her body to feel her body heat. Looked closely at her tongue.
She diagnosed Luna as having an excess of yang. Yin being the cooling forces of the body and yang being the heat. In a healthy dog, both would be equally balanced. An excess of yang ( warm energy ) in Luna is resulting in inflamed skin, restlessness, scratching. This imbalance of the Yin and Yang creates "wind" in the body. Its a hard concept to grasp, ( and I didn't ! ) but the internal processes of the body are classified by elements ( earth, water, fire, wind etc). In a nutshell the yin and yang disparity has caused a blood and liver deficiency and a temperature imbalance, ( these 3 being the "wind" ) which is all manifesting as skin and coat problems.
I can confirm that Luna is indeed a hot dog .... its like sleeping next to a radiator with her in bed. She is also a very calm puppy, spends a lot of time just laying quietly, always has been ..... which is apparently her coping mechanism to keep her body temperature lower.
She is also drawn to any water, a hose, a tap, the shower, loves to get wet at any opportunity ...or will even continually dunk her entire head and paws in the dogs water bowl. All now makes sense, that she is trying to cool herself.
She has been prescribed a herbal combination called " Si Wu Xiao Feng Yin " ..... which consists of about 20 different herbs, the only one I recognise, being Angelica. These are cooling herbs and liver support designed to expel the "wind" and nourish the blood.
In addition she is to be fed "cool" foods and is to avoid "hot" foods. Cool foods are fish, duck, rabbit, brown rice, barley, broccoli, apples, bananas, pears, cucumber, lettuce and mushrooms. Hot foods are turkey, chicken, lamb, venison, shrimp and lobster ( as if !! ), sweet potatoes, squash and pumpkin.
Food is going to be an issue, she is currently on a lamp protein kibble ..... she is allergic to all fish, and I know I won't get rabbit ! She can have beef, though,that is considered neutral.
She is also to be given flax seed oil supplements and natural active yogurt, daily- both have cooling properties on the body.
Dr. Belle said that she has seen amazing results with this herbal combination .... and I should notice an improvement within two weeks, and a big difference within a month. I have a six week supply to give it a fair shot.
Wish us luck !
