Gaby is one of these lovely German Shepherd dogs, well bitch actually, as she is a girl. She comes in the surgery and greets me generously every time. And she does this regarding the fact that I have previously given her a general anesthetic to make X-rays of her elbow (6.5 months). At the young age of four months she became lame. It was one of these terrible genetic diseases we see in large breed dogs. The processus anconaeus in the elbow had not fused and started creating some inflammation and pain in this left elbow. As soon as she exercised she became lame.
When she was 8 months we gave her another general anesthetic, this time to cut the ulna shaft to take the strain off the elbow joint and diminish therefore the irritation caused by this loose piece of bone. The idea is that by doing this, some union of the loose processus is achieved which reduces the lameness. The surgery was successful and the lameness reduced 70 %. But every time Gaby had a run in the woods she still became lame. It was therefore time to call in some serious medicine.
At the time of the consultation, Gaby was 1 year old.
Who is Gaby? That is the question I often ask my clients.
(As usual, I give the phrases in the same way and order as my client has expressed them during the consultation.)
She is stubborn, she has to keep trying, she can’t wait, she will go back for more, she has to push it. You can’t give an inch because she will take a yard. She is not keen to please, she doesn’t care. She is not sensitive. She doesn’t care about being told off.
She is calm and well mannered with other dogs, polite. She doesn’t push with other dogs. Keeps her place.
She has a calm upbringing in the house, she is calm about things. She doesn’t startle but is unsure about things sometimes but soon comes back to things.
She will come in when our other dog barks. She doesn’t back up, she works off the other dog. She is keen to go to work, she can’t wait to get in there. She is sociable. If she doesn’t want to play with other dogs she comes to me. She doesn’t push the issue.
She already started to police other dogs in the training classes, she is not behind for her age, she is an early learner. She always sits with us, she wants to sit with the pack.
She eats dog poo: her own and that of other dogs. Nothing stops her doing this. I even left one with loads Tabasco on! She just ate it. She has eaten dog faeces from day one I had her.
She eats anything you drop. Difficult to train her to leave things. But she won’t finish her food dish if I fill it up too much! She eats the bread for the birds in the garden but she never steals. She doesn’t like parting from the other dog unless she is with me. She used to be very worked up when she was left on her own.
She is good in the car.
She used to chew her dew claws, like somebody who bites his finger nails. When young puppies are in a play fight she walks away from them, she avoids them.
She is VERY nosy. You cannot do anything without her sticking her nose in it. She doesn’t get stressed by noises or anything else in the house. She doesn’t react to things as if she doesn’t notice they happen; this is when she goes out walking with us. She then has her nose in everything and goes her own way.
“What sort of child would she be” I ask the owner.
She would be an inquisitive child, slight rebellious, not an easy child.
“Would you say she is never really satisfied?” I ask.
The answer is a resolute Yes!
“Would she smack her parents?” Again this question is followed by another resolute Yes!
I suppose my questions give away my thoughts?
I did not repertorise this case. It was the general impression that made me think about Tuberculinum.
Gaby received one dose of Tuberculinum 200.
Her lameness disappeared for 2 months. Then there was a re-occurrence of the same lameness. A new dose of the 200 dilution makes the lameness disappear again in three days.
When I see her 16 months later. Tuberculinum 200 solves a temporary state of lethargy.
Eight months later she is still fine.
Since she received her remedy, Gaby has become a very reasonable person. She works in the canine education club where she helps in educating dogs that show aggressive behavior. She teaches them that aggressive behavior does not pay by pushing them away in the ring and ignoring them. She is only very occasionally lame when she runs on hard surfaces like the road etc. She can go for hours in the forest without showing any sign of lameness at all. She has become much calmer and obedient.
A few words on Tuberculinum.
Many people know that tuberculinum burns the candle at both ends. They are usually turbulent children, somewhat in advance of their age and have a tendency to “‘slap their parents”. They don’t need to physically harm their parents, but there is usually some lack of respect. The restlessness and continuous drive of Tuberculinum is motivated by a desire to know. Tuberculinum also needs to move about to “detach”‘ himself.
I was given the remedy one day by a colleague (one 200k dose) and had a rather disturbing dream the following night: In the dream cruel war fighting and sexual activity were mixed in an incoherent way. Some of the images where very explicit. I felt at the same time somewhat surprised from the horrible aspect of the dream but also very detached from what happened. The cruelty of the images had not really had any effect on me.
It was as if I had been somewhere where I usually don’t go. This “journey” was not just a little investigation but a full blown experience lived without regrets or upsets.
In the case, the first two lines give away a large part of the remedy. Note that I said she came to greet me and later the owner says that she “is not keen to please“. The greeting is a form of pushiness. Most dogs greet you to make sure you are going to be nice to them or out of generosity. Gaby doesn’t. She greets you to push in. Because of that, right from the beginning the remedy came to my mind. Very often the first words in the consultation are the ones that hide the remedy. Further on in this consultation the owner stresses the good sides of Gaby, reducing the chance I’ll suspect Tuberculinum as a remedy.
