Helping Benny

Benny is a LOVELY guy. A giant, big-hearted teddy bear of a pup. Benny came to see me after rupturing his cruxiate ligament. Poor guy hurt his knee and was hobbling around like an old man! (Benny's only 7 years-old, by the way, he's got a LONG time left of playing with his pet and human family!) You see, Benny had done what MANY other dogs do during this time of year. It's FINALLY nice outside and when you get the chance to run after a long, shut-in winter, you RUN. Benny was going to have to wait with hurting knee for a month for his surgery because of all the other dogs ahead of him in line!

The vet gave him pain meds to help get him through the pain until surgery day, but his treat-hander-outer was hoping to keep him on lower doses of the medications. So we started doing acupuncture twice a week to keep his pain under control and to prepare him for his upcoming surgery. Benny also went home with an herbal formula that would do the same.

During the time prior to surgery, Benny's treat-hander-outer noticed that he was in good spirits! He was also in very little pain, which required lower doses of pain meds, just like they were hoping.

Benny's surgery day finally came and went and when I saw him for the first time after (a week after his surgery) I couldn't believe my eyes! Not only was he walking on his knee, he wasn't limping very much, either. On his second visit post-surgery, Benny waltzed right in with barely a hitch in his giddyup! The surgery that Benny had is pretty extensive, including reshaping of the bone in his knee. I've seen many pets who've had this surgery (while working at a vet clinic that performed such surgeries), and I've NEVER seen a dog with such a speedy recovery before!

I think this is a great case where biomedicine and natural medicine have worked together. While there was nothing that acupuncture could do to repair the torn ligament, acupuncture and Chinese herbs significantly reduced the amount of pain that was experienced, as well as prepared Benny's body for the surgery. His energy was already flowing smoothly pre-surgery, so it took very little to get back to that point.

Now, if only acupuncture could help keep this rearing-to-go pup calmer while his knee completely heals!

How to get your pet to take his or her herbs

Yesterday, I offered some ways to make it easier to take herbs yourself. Today I'm going to talk about the tricks I have up my sleeve for getting herbs into your pet.

Some pets are pickier than others. We all know the cat who will give you scars you'll remember for the rest of your life, or the dog who will very carefully extract even the smallest pill from a big glob of peanut butter. Here are a few tricks for making sure they get the herbs that will keep them happier and healthier for longer:

• If your pet is taking teapills and your pet isn't too picky, hide the teapills in something delectable. Typically, peanut butter or a slice of hot dog will do the trick. There is also a product called Pill Pockets that are special treats for hiding pills in. They come in several different flavors and sizes, and work for both cats and dogs. Many pets LOVE the taste of these!
• If your pet still won't take their teapills, you can crush them and sprinkle them on canned food. This works for many pets who then can't "pick out" a pill.
• If you pet STILL won't take their teapills, they can be dissolved in warm water (no more than a tablespoon) and fed to your pet using a syringe. Most vet clinics can give you a special syringe for doing just this.
• If your pet is taking a granule formula, try sprinkling, or mixing it in with some tasty (read: stinky) canned food. For many pets, this will suffice.
  
• If your pet isn't a fan of the granules contaminating their food, you can encapsulate the granule formula and give the herbs as you would any other pill. (see the first 2 bullets for tips)
• If your pet still won't take their granule formula, dissolve it in just enough water to be able to suck it up with a syringe, and feed it to your pet via the syringe, just like you would with the dissolved teapill.

Pets can be a little tricky to get herbs into, but what I have often found is that once a pet learns that the herbs make them feel better and don't have any side effects, they are MUCH more cooperative about taking them. I've had several pet patients who would come running to their owners when they said, "Okay, it's time for Becca's pills!" and then gobble them right down!

Hopefully one or more of these tricks will help you get herbs down your pet in a more relaxed, less-stressful way!

Tricks for getting those herbs down

If you're getting acupuncture done, chances are you're taking some form of herbs. They're not always pleasant tasting. They've been described as tasting, depending on the particular formula:

• earthy/dirty/muddy
• bitter/bile-like
• sweet
• sour
• blech/yucky/gross/&$#@!/etc.

Today I'm going to give you a few tricks that I've learned over the years from teachers, patients and through my own trial and error.

If you're taking a bulk formula (one where you're given the raw herbs and you make your own "witch's brew"), try making it a little more concentrated so that you don't have as much liquid to drink in the end. Once you have this smaller amount of liquid, try mixing it with your favorite juice. Many of my patients have found cranberry juice to be the must disguising of them all. Experiment and see what works for you and with your particular formula.

If you're taking a granule formula, you have several more options:

• Put the granules into capsules. Make sure to have your acupuncturist translate the dose of your herbs into number of capsules. There are encapsulating machines that you can find at your local health-food store for relatively cheap. This is a little time-consuming, but you'll be more likely to take your herbs, so you'll be feeling your best in no time flat!
• Put the granules directly onto your tongue and use your favorite juice to get them down. Some people really like this method, they find it's best to just get it done and over with.
• Mix the granules in your favorite juice, much like the bulk formula idea described above. Make sure to not use much juice, or else you'll just be drinking a TON of "off-tasting" juice. "Chase" your herbs with more juice.

If you're taking teapills, just take them ;)

Remember, you've paid for these herbs, you've invested not only your money, but time and your future into becoming healthier. Make sure to take your herbs as prescribed, and you're on your way to THRIVING!

Do you have any other tricks for taking herbs? I'm always looking for more ways to help my patients take their herbs!