TCVM Dog

07/23/2024

This is a re-post from my Reiki for Horses and Ponies profile on Facebook:

I just had to post these two pictures of Arabian mare Rasha that her owner sent me to use as "healing photos" for the Tong Ren groups, because juxtaposed, they are the perfect representation of YIN and YANG.

Those of you that have talked to me in person or on the phone know that I love Traditional Chinese Medicine and use the TCM philosophies a lot in my work. Everything in life is about that balance of yin and yang (dark and light, cold and warm, down and up, etc.)

The picture on the left shows YIN Rasha... It's dark and shady and cool, she's covered in mud which is dark and wet, her head is down which is yin, the grass is short and low to the ground which is more yin.

The picture on the right shows YANG Rasha... It's bright and sunny and warm, she's clean so glowing white, her head is up which is higher and closer to the sun so more yang, the flowers are tall and growing up again toward the sky so more yang.

Just a little TCM fun ☯️🦄

03/23/2024

In TCVM (Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine), all foods have a thermal quality... that is, some foods are hot or warming, some foods are cold or cooling, and some foods are neutral...and because the balance of YIN and YANG (think cold and hot in this instance) is an important part of maintaining the health of any individual, the foods we eat can be the cause of our issues, if we eat the wrong ones, or the antidote, if we eat the right ones. This is why FOOD THERAPY is one of the five modalities of TCVM.
Picture your typical young Labrador Retriever; they're usually wild with energy, jumping and pulling on the leash, panting with big red tongues. This Lab would be Yang, and a hot dog. You wouldn't want to feed this dog hot or warming foods or you'll increase that frenetic energy even more and maybe end up with hot spots, as one example of increasing this heat imbalance.
And on the other side of the spectrum, picture a smooth coated, older Chihuahua, small and shivering, wrapped in a blanket, not wanting to venture outside, or even off the lap. You wouldn't want to feed this little nugget cold or cooling foods, as he is Yin and a cold dog already.
Examples of HOT FOODS are: lamb, venison, and chicken for proteins; and peppers, and spices like cinnamon and dry ginger. Food preparation also changes the temperature energetics of food. Cooking food warms it, baking at thigh temperatures warms it even more, and processing food warms it.
And, the temperature energetics of your animal proteins are also affected by things like: what age the animal was slaughtered for meat (young animals are hotter than older animals); what diet was the animal fed (grain fed is hotter than grass fed); wild is cooler than farm raised, etc. etc.
So now imagine that you feed your hot, young Lab a kibble (dry, baked) that has Lamb as the protein source (a warming meat, and slaughtered young), and it's all highly processed... In Western Medicine, this might be fine, as the nutritional values are all in line with the recommendations for a growing young dog. But in TCVM, you would be starting down a road of chronic imbalance for your dog, and eventually chronic imbalances lead to disease.
Examples of cold foods are: turkey, rabbit, duck, and white fish, for proteins; and watermelon, cucumber, and celery.. Eating foods raw is cooling; if you're cooking, light cooking like steaming or poaching is cooler than frying, roasting, or grilling. If you're baking, baking at a low temperature is cooler (or less warm) than baking at a high temperature, and so on.
So if you choose a cold, raw diet of turkey (considered cooling, whereas chicken is warming... and interestingly, chickens are slaughtered very young, sometimes not even two months old, while turkeys are typically a year or two old) for your elderly Chihuahua... brrr... you will be compounding the imbalance of cold that your dog is already battling with.
More on this to come, but I just love TCVM Food therapy, and for dogs; sometimes, all it takes is a diet change to solve your dog's health issue.
Below is a link to a company that has TCVM friendly diets. Check it out, they're interesting.

PET | TAO Solution Chill Canned Dog food is a TCVM energetically cooling formula to counteract excess heat. Great for dogs who pace at night, pant excessively, eat grass, prefer cool surfaces, act agitated, or live in a warm climate.

03/11/2024

Tom Tam talking about Qi... and bio-electricity, bio-photons, and bio-gravity.

更多資料有關“銅人” 療法，令系統發揮其原本的功能, 恢復健康。More Information ,Tong Ren Healing. Allow the system itself to perform its original function to restore health.► www.tongrens...

02/26/2024

Chinese Herbal Medicine blends come in many different forms. They can be found in powder, granules, capsules, tea pills, tinctures, salves, and there could be a few I'm missing!
The bottles in the pictures below are from Jing Tang Herbals, founded by Dr. Xie, who also founded Chi University. Chi University is where many (to most) veterinarians do their TCVM (Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine) training, including studying Chinese herbal medicines. Dr. Xie is a third generation herbalist.
It's important to remember that Chinese herbal medicines are MEDICINE, not just herbal supplements. They need to be prescribed by a doctor, a TCVM veterinarian, as they can be harmful if given incorrectly. One dog with a stomach issue might not take the same blend as another dog with a stomach issue, etc. and this will depend on the individual dog's TCVM exam.
After learning more about Chinese herbal medicine, I am always amazed at how freely people dole out herbs to their pets (and themselves), be it in the form of supplements, natural flea and tick sprays, shampoos, treats, you name it.
"It's just an herbal," I hear all the time.
But I've come to be very respectful of herbs.
They're powerful!
And the warming and cooling properties can have a significant effect on your dog. You don't want to heat up a hot dog, and you don't want to cool down a cold dog.
Blends of herbs like they make at Jing Tang, are formulated for TCVM patterns, maybe to boost kidney yin or qi, to tonify blood, to resolve liver stagnation or phlegm, to drain damp or to clear heat. They are an important part of a TCVM care plan.
All the herbals pictured below are medicines that my dog Tootsie is on, some daily, some only as needed. For instance, she's not taking Lyme Formula regularly right now, but takes it once daily in spring and fall (and maybe summer) for Lyme prevention.
She only takes the Stomach Happy if she's having an off day with her stomach, which happens rarely, mostly only if she snarfs something she shouldn't have at the park. Because she has pancreatic enzyme insufficiency, she doesn't always fare well eating something that isn't part of her regular regime or given with pancreatic enzymes. On a day where something like that happens, she'll take only Stomach Happy and no other herbs.
The Ear Damp Heat is only as needed as well. It's for the hot, muggy, summer weather, when without it she might end up with an ear infection.
The Stasis Breaker is daily at this point. She takes it for the mammary tumors that she's had for two years, but often on the herbs, recede to barely noticeable.
The Wei Qi Booster is to boost her immune system to help with the tumors, but also to help with her oral hygiene health, as I'd really like to avoid a dental for her if at all possible at this point.
The External Wind she takes in allergy season, to ward off the face rubbing/itchy licky-paw symptoms. This also protects the meibomian gland tumor she has under her left eyelid. When she gets itchy, the first thing she does is rub this eye, and then the tumor gets aggravated and inflamed.
The Body Sore is wonderfully helpful with old age stiffness and arthritic hips, but she takes it when she can, when she's not taking too many other things.
I'm very happy with how she's managing her "geriatric" years, and am one hundred percent grateful to have such a wonderful TCVM vet in Dr. John Perdrizet of The Sanctuary Animal Clinic. If you're local to western Massachusetts, it's in Holyoke, and worth the drive!
I was also lucky enough to work with Dr. Perdrziet for 8 years and to have absorbed some level of understanding of how Chinese herbal medicine is used, so I'm happy to talk more about it if anyone is interested.

02/10/2024

What is Mo-fa?
Mo-fa is a Tui-na technique given the nickname of Mo-fa Hello-fa, because it's a good way to introduce yourself to the dog (or horse or other animal), and allows them to get used to your touch.
It's similar to petting, but also has been described as "intentional petting" because you're listening as well as touching. You might find tense or taut areas that could use some attention, that maybe need the Qi moved.
But it's a soft, light touch, not deep and pressing in.
It can be useful in calming nervous animals.
Apply Mo-fa where the animal wants it, where they offer themselves for it.
Mo-fa can give you a lot of information too. You can feel if they're hot or cold, any areas of inflammation, any scars or recent wounds, areas of sensitivity, tight muscles, lack of muscle.
Mo-fa can resolve Qi stagnation (and remember, stagnation equals pain), and is said to be good for digestion.
Dogs, of course, love Mo-fa. And you'll find that if you think about it when you're doing it (intention), it feels different than just petting the dog!
In the videos, you'll see me using Mo-fa during one of my in-person Equine Reiki sessions. I use it on this horse because he tends to be stiff and tight in his shoulders, to warm up the muscles and get the Qi moving.
It's really made a difference for him.
I also use it on his legs, usually with both hands at the same time (but I had to hold the phone to video), to help with his arthritic knees.I feel like the Mo-fa helps to draw his body's attention to his legs, and that's important, as to me they feel energetically forgotten.
We are having good results and his farrier recently commented that his knees were much improved in terms of range of motion and his ability to stand with one leg up for shoeing.

02/10/2024

Happy Chinese New Year everybody! It's the year of the Wood Dragon :) It's supposed to be a really good zodiac year for me, so I'm thrilled. I am an Earth Rooster. I hope the TCVM Dog page will be a part of the abundance due to come in 2024 and we can grow and learn and share together about Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine. Even though this page has a primary focus on dogs, I am happy to think about horses, and all other animals here as well, and how TCVM might apply to them. Have a wonderful year!!!

02/08/2024

This is interesting!

👀 Seen in the Daily Telegraph

"Health experts recently warned that opioid painkillers do not work for 9 in 10 people with chronic pain.

Acupuncture should be used to treat chronic pain rather than opiates according to new guidance for GPs and sufferers"

Little by little, step by step, but always in the right direction 🐾

02/02/2024

Tootsie has been awesome, walking over 2 miles a day.
Pretty good for a 14 year old girl!
We've conditioned her up to this point by doing shorter walks, 10-15 minutes 3-5 times a day, and then it used to be last year that we could do one longer, say 40 minute walk, a week, and that would finish her off for a few days.
But with the miracle of the good footing that we've had almost every day this winter, and the cool weather, she's been doing longer walks several days in a row.
This morning it's gray and drizzly, and she's a little on the slow side, so I sadly cancelled plans with her dog friend, Cavapoo, Jasmine, to not do the long walk today. But just now, as I look on my phone where I try to track our walks in the free version of the All Trails app, I see that she did three long walks in a row this week already, and last week too!
I'm so impressed.
She has her old girl moments, but she goes out and trots sound, and if you can convince her to stop sniffing every paw print in the snow, she can settle into a nice working jog/walk.
The reason I am posting this on the TCVM Dog page instead of just on my profile for friends and family, is because Energetics/EXERCISE is one of the five modalities of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine.
For people, Energetics refers to Tai Chi and Qi Gong, but for animals, it's Exercise. Dr. Xie, who founded Chi University where a vast number of the TCVM vets do their training, and also where I studied for my TCVM vet tech certification, said in one of my lectures that he feels dogs should be walked at least a half hour twice a day, minimum.
I've tried to take this to heart with Tootsie; although when she first arrived to me from Wisconsin a year and a half ago, she was done after 20 minutes. Not mentally by any means, but physically.
She was starting to get stiff, dragging hind toes.
I've worked on her hips some, not as much as I should, with Tong Ren/Reiki. She's had a few Tui-na sessions. I've invested most of her extra income care money into herbs for various other issues, and that's really paying off.
But just doing the exercise increasing little by little, and very regularly, has really made a difference in what she's able to do.
She isn't on any "maintenance" as we'd say in the horse world. No Rimadyl or Previcox, or god forbid Gabapentin. She does have an Herbal medicine, Body Sore, that she takes occasionally, but that's it.
Movement is important for our dogs! And the great thing is, we get to reap the benefits right along with them :)
Good girl, Tootsie!

02/02/2024

I had acupuncture this past Tuesday for the third week in a row.
For several years, I went to acupuncture weekly, and it was wonderful! Ideally we would all do that all the time for our good health and wellness, both physically and mentally. But I stopped going at the beginning of Covid and then life just took over; Tootsie came to live with me, work was busy, and I let it slide.
Only now that I'm back, do I truly see how much I was missing by not going.
The reason I started up now, at this particular moment in time, was, I woke up on the 21st of December with some swelling around my left eye. The eye itself was fine, no red, no pain, no itchiness, no discharge, and I had no other symptoms.
I did go into see a nurse practitioner at my doctor's office and she was stumped. She talked to someone outside the room (I imagine it was a doctor). They sent me home with a prescription for an oral antibiotic but told me not to take it if it didn't get worse.
They said try putting ice on it.
I did. No change.
So I went along through Christmas weekend. It never did get worse than it was on the very first day, but it would get a little better and then go back to ground zero. Pretty much, most days, it just stayed the same. If you look at my profile picture for this page, you can see it. I took that picture on January 1st.
Finally on January 8th, two and a half weeks in, I decided to try the antibiotics. I took the Cephalexin three times a day for five days as directed.
No change.
So I called and made an acupuncture appointment for the following week. On that day, January 16th, two days shy of four weeks out, it still had the same puffy swelling above and below my eye.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the liver system is connected to eyes. Verena, my acupuncturist, worked on clearing heat in the eyes and some pretty ouchy liver points. The next day it started getting better.
This past Tuesday was my third treatment.
Now, the swelling is so slight, you'd never know if you didn't look really, really closely. My doctor saw me for a recheck and said there was just a slight asymmetry remaining.
This is just one of those perfect examples of where Western medicine comes to a standstill and Chinese medicine follows the Qi and gets results.
Don't get me wrong.
There's a place for vaccines, antibiotics, surgery, imaging, blood work, and so on, but balancing the two systems is ideal... just like Yin and Yang, the two can work together for optimal health!
Don't forget that the same is true for your dogs and horses and other pets.
Thank you, Verena, for sharing with me your incredible healing instincts!
One last side note: As an energy healer (I am an Equine Reiki practitioner and also practice Tong Ren and Pendulum work on horses and other animals), it is important to take care of your own energy systems. One of the nice things about my work is I can treat myself, but you know how that goes... the carpenter's son and all... so, setting aside time and money to take care of my own health by going to acupuncture, only benefits the animals that I treat.