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essence for dog that attacks his tail

topic posted Tue, May 13, 2008 - 9:33 PM by 
I've been working with flower essences for awhile, mostly with dogs. I've run across a specific issue that I wondering if I can help with essences (doing acupressure and reiki already).

This dog has resource guarding behaviors in general, but he seems to be disconnected from his tail and will guard from it too (as if doesn't belong to him - though he doesn't like people touching it either, so he does feel it).

The essences he's on right now are: Cherry Plum, Indian Pink, Snapdragon, Poison Oak, Mallow, and Baby Blue Eyes.

Does anyone know of a remedy that might help with this specific aspect of disassociation from his tail?

Repertories really don't cover this, at least the ones I have, it's such an unusual condition that I feel it needs a reinterpretation.

For example, I was looking at Echinacea, Arnica, and Rosemary.

I would love to hear anyone's thoughts on this.
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  • Re: essence for dog that attacks his tail

    Wed, May 14, 2008 - 12:00 PM
    the only thing I can offer is another perspective to consider...

    what if the behaviour with his tail isn't connected to the generalized guarding behaviour? what if it's not dissociation at all? what if he wants or needs to hurt himself for some reason?
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    • Re: essence for dog that attacks his tail

      Wed, May 14, 2008 - 12:41 PM
      and IS he in fact hurting himself? or does it just LOOK aggressive?

      maybe he's got powerful guarding instincts bred into him and he's just bored and looking for any excuse (no matter how small or absurd) to exercise his nature. if he's cooped up in an apartment, maybe he'd like a little spring-loaded "intruder" (cuckoo clock style) that he can guard against all day ... yeah, I'm being silly now, but just a little. lots of dogs like to feel useful.
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      • Re: essence for dog that attacks his tail

        Wed, May 14, 2008 - 7:49 PM
        Well, he lives a pretty active lifestyle, and he's not home alone all day. They're retired, there are two dogs, they get several walks every day, excursions, and play dates. This is not a boredom issue.

        This behavior is very stressful for him, it's definitely not a game. He doesn't injure himself (no punctures), but most dogs don't injure other dogs in guarding situations either (it doesn't pay to go around getting injured - they have great control of those knives in their mouths).

        The owners are doing a good job with him training-wise, and his other behavior is getting better. He's improved immensely in the time they've had him, and he has a long history of problem behavior. I'm sure improvements will come overall, it's just this specific one that I'm interested in targeting soon with his next remedy mix.

        Thanks!
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        • arte...
          artemesia
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          Re: essence for dog that attacks his tail

          Fri, May 23, 2008 - 6:37 PM
          I haven't been actively working with flower essesnces for a little while, but I do know that when I was, Green Hope Farm in New Hampshire was making an amazing line of essences with animals specifically in mind. You might check out what they have, maybe even email them. I used to communicate with Molly and she was really nice and helpful.

          I hope you find something to help the dog, it sounds like a very stressful for him.
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