No Initiative Allowed

Maggy is a four year old spaniel. Her owner presents this case: ‘She is pathetic. She developed phantom pregnancy behaviour and was, at the time of the consultation, completely depressed.  There is no milk.  A hormone treatment made no difference. It started after a new kitten arrived in the house.

‘She is very patient with the kitten; she chews it but doesn’t hurt it.  Now she does not even want to go for a walk.  She has been miserable for a while now.  She wants to rest on to your lap and have her face close to you. I have to chuck her out of the room so she’ll leave me alone; it is worse now.

Right from a pup she was dominated by her sister; she really has a yielding personality.  She is incredibly easy for a spaniel.  She will enjoy herself in the garden but does not go far, never runs off. (They have a nice large garden which spills over into the woods and the fields without a barrier.)  She will chase the pheasants but not the ducks or deer that come through the garden.  She will catch the pheasants but won’t hurt them.

Last night, by accident, I shut the door on her paw and she didn’t even yelp; she just stood there pathetically. At times she will go out of the kitchen (where we spend most of the time) to sit in a corner of the hall. She will do this as soon as the hall door is open.  She just sits there depressed.  She has always done this.  I cannot remember when it started.

Outside, she will always get in a car if she can, and I have to get a lead to get her out if it.  This worse part for her is when we all are doing things and she doesn’t get attention.

She puts on weight easily.  She does not have an outgoing personality.  She appears unhappy.  She always wants attention, and at times she gets shouted at, but she just continues.  You feel mean shouting at her.  She is very obedient in every other way, but she does not know the word ‘No’.  At other times she easily goes to sleep on her own in another room.

She is good with my granddaughter; she plays with her and curls up with her.  There is not a nasty thought in her.

She gets on well with the terrier but the terrier started to snap at her to make sure she got out of the car first when we go for a walk.  Now Maggy does not even attempt to get out of the car anymore: she just sits there.  Once out of the car (I have to use a lead to get her out ) she will happily walk with the other dog.  She is okay walking with other dogs, but will run off if they attempt to play with her.

She had an odd personality for a spaniel right from the start. She never bothers my husband who is very ill. She became frightened of thunderstorms because of the terrier. It is as if everything is in boxes, no fantasy, no learning, not looking.’

Solution:

A straightforward repertorisation gives away the remedy.

Mind, Carried, desire to be carried

Mind, Yielding disposition

Mind, Will, weakness of

Mind, Sulky

Mind, Delusions, forsaken

Mind, Delusions, life, cut off from life

Bamb-a (4/5), aur (3/5) carb-v (3/5) Carc (3/5) Puls (3/5) Tritic-v (3/5) ant-c (3/5) ars (3/5), Aur-m-n (3/5) etc…

In this case, only one rubric would have been enough:  ‘Mind delusion, life, cut off from life’.  Just the unusual repeated behaviour of putting herself away in the corridor when the door is open, is strange enough to rely on one rubric only: cutting herself from the outside world is exactly what she does: she really lives this symptom.  It is nice to see that Bamboo is in the other rubrics as well.

The choice of ‘Sulking’ was unhelpful (= wrong choice) to illustrate the fact she stayed in the car or sat away in the corner.  This was more an expression of her non-decision (typical Bamboo).

Of course (apart from the treatment she received from her sister) there is no reason why Maggy should feel like an outcast. The owners are good with their dogs.

What to say about the remedy?  The amazingly good description made by the owner at the end of the consultation (last phrase) just summarises it all: It is as if everything is in boxes, no fantasy, no learning, not looking.

Follow up:

Bamboo 200 twice.

Within a few weeks she changed completely.  The owner did not come back for follow-ups, but I met her one year later and she said that Maggy had become a different dog.  She is still behaving well of course, but does not have all this need for attention or putting herself away anymore.  She is just a normal, happy, loving, family orientated dog now.  She is not “pathetic” anymore.