Chinese Herbs Bring Ancient Wisdom
to Modern Dog's Health

from Modern Dog Magazine, March 2009

 For thousands of years an entire region of the world’s people and animals has thrived on Chinese herbs with documented results. An understanding of these herbs can provide a great wellness plan for veterinarians and guardians to create and maintain vibrant health for the dogs in their care.

Where Western herbs are usually used singly, Echinacea to support immunity for example, it’s important to note that Chinese herbs are always combined in a blend of usually eight to ten herbs that work in synergy with one another. In other words, each individual herb is not as strong as the sum of the parts, and together they work to resolve problems without any negative side effects.

The principles and theories of Chinese Medicine focus on treating the root of a dog’s problem, which then naturally relieves his symptoms. You might not consider hip dysplasia, arthritis, allergies, irritable bowel syndrome, vomiting of bile, and/or diarrhea as symptoms of the same underlying problem. But from a Chinese perspective, all of these symptoms fall into the same general category—liver Qi stagnation.

Here’s what happens. In Chinese Medicine, a healthy liver works as a pump to provide the smooth flow of Qi or life energy throughout the body. When your dog has an even, smooth flow of Qi, he enjoys good health. Arthritis, whether from poor genetics, injury, or overuse, is considered an obstruction of the flow of Qi through a joint. That obstruction causes the pump to work harder and may eventually overheat.

When heat develops in the body, it could go anyplace. If it goes to the skin, it will be seen as skin allergies. Or it could go to the stomach and cause chronic vomiting, particularly vomiting of bile. If the heat goes to the colon, it manifests as irritable bowel syndrome, soft stool with mucous, gurgling gut, and loss of appetite. All of these conditions, from a Chinese perspective stem from liver Qi stagnation, and specific herbal combinations will treat each one:

-juan bi san is an ancient Chinese blend used for thousands of years to move Qi through the joints thereby relieving the pain and inflammation in joints;

-long dan xie gan san, another ancient herbal combination, resolves liver Qi stagnation and lowers heat to the skin thereby relieving the heat, inflammation, and itching of skin allergies; and

xiao yao san works to bring down the heat in the stomach or colon and resolve the gurgling gut, soft stool, and poor appetite of irritable bowel disease.

Have you ever wondered why so many dogs die of kidney failure versus any of the other major organs? Chinese Medicine explains that the kidney is the flame of life, and as dogs age, their flame depletes. Slowly but surely they start having chronic soreness in the lower back, weakness in their hind limbs, and hearing loss.

One of the beauties of Chinese Medicine is this connection between kidney depletion and hearing loss, because it alerts us to a situation before it becomes serious. When your dog first shows hearing loss, blood work will not show kidney depletion. Two-thirds of the kidney will be shut down before the problem actually shows up in his blood work, and by then it is serious. When your dog’s hearing starts to fail, you know kidney depletion has begun, and that’s surely where Chinese herbs can help.

Dogs who tend toward anxiety become more anxious with age. Chinese Medicine explains this by distilling the entire world into five elements: fire, earth, metal, water, and wood. The heart is the fire element, and the kidney is the water element, so the kidney (water) controls the heart (fire). Anxiety represents an imbalance or disharmony in the heart fire, and a weakened kidney loses some of its ability to control the heart which would keep the dog’s anxiety in check. Keeping the kidney healthy diminishes anxiety in our older dogs.

Here again, from a Western perspective you might think of anxiety, hearing loss, lower back pain, and weak hind legs as four separate issues, but from a Chinese perspective they are all symptoms of a kidney deficiency. Two specific Chinese herbal blends will treat these problems:

-liu wei di huang san is a classic kidney tonic and as such addresses chronic lower back pain, weak hind legs, and hearing loss in our older dogs;

-tian wan bu xin san will tonify the kidney so that it can control the heart anxiety. This commonly used ancient blend is considered anti-anxiety in modern times.

Consult a Chinese Medicine practitioner and make sure to choose herbal blends containing only pure botanicals with no animal products or fillers. The application of Chinese medical theories and the use of Chinese herbal blends provide the power of wellness to give you and your dogs long, healthy, quality lives together.

Chris Bessent, D.V.M. has practiced holistic veterinary medicine in southeastern Wisconsin for 21 years, treating animals with Chinese herbs, acupuncture and chiropractic. She also teaches the benefits of Chinese veterinary medicine through seminars, classes, and internships. Founder of Herbsmith, Inc., Dr. Bessent may be reached through www.herbsmithinc.com.