Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The new year brings about many exciting projects and ventures. I'll be teaching French goat/sheep farmers on the subject of zoopharmacognosy later on in the year, this will be part of a formal academic paper. Also confirmed is a trip to China and Taiwan where I will be teaching and holding classes & TV interviews.  I will fill you in with details on my return as I am just about to leave for a holiday in beautiful Austria with Tom and then onto France with my partner Martin.

I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and thank you for your continued support.
Caroline

Zoopharmacognosy on Swiss Radio

My name is Isabelle and if you find yourself travelling from Zürich to Milano, it is my voice that you hear at the train station. Many wanted to know who the voice belonged to, so I was asked to give a interview for one of the most popular Swiss radio channels  'the person behind the voice.'
I agreeded providing they let me talk about my passion in animal protection and Applied Zoopharmacognosy, the latter I learned from Caroline in the UK.  The interviewer was excited about both zoopharmacognosy and animal protection, and so on 16th December zoopharmacognosy travelled through lots of Swiss households as sound waves ;-)  


On the 24th there is a repetition, so I hope that lots of people will hear about Caroline’s wonderful work on Christmas day.

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and send lots greetings over the Alps … Isabelle Augustin

Zoopharmacognosy: Another way forward for dog & animal training? Katie Scott -Dyer

I first had the pleasure of meeting Katie Scott Dyer at an event hosted by her in Bristol, where Sarah Fisher and I independently gave a talk. Katie is an incredible woman with such a dedicated passion to Animal Behaviour, it is thanks to Katie that the door has opened for me and my students and graduates to work at Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary Bristol, where she introduced me to Pauline, who runs the shelter. Pauline  is also so incredibly dedicated to the welfare of animals, tirelessly working all hours, while open to anything that may be of benefit to an animals' well being. 

In addition to many Animal Behaviourists beginning to regard zoopharmacognosy as a great compliment to their work, I also wanted to mention the benefits that I am experiencing with green clay for various itchy skin conditions.

On one particular day last month I went to help a dog with demodectic mange (non contagious) at the shelter. The puppy’s skin was hot and itchy, a gel was not appropriate so I dusted her coat with a preparation of powdered green clay, neem and a drop of garlic. Instantly she settled and stopped itching, and her skin became less angry.  In most cases of itchy skin I work with an anti itch gel, in these cases it is usually related to allergies. The week before green clay was once again the hero. In this case the dog had a fungal infection, the skin was hot and damp, typical of conditions where fungal infections thrive. Since the skin needs to dry out to create a hostile environment for the fungus, I dusted powdered green clay into her coat, with a few drops of sandalwood and again the effects were immediate. She stopped itching and her skin began to heal in the days to follow.

Quote from Katie's Blog   www.verypets.co.uk 

Ingraham gratuates woking in rescue centres. Hungary

Update from Hungary; Eleanor Goold

I am pleased to report that I have had some great results on a dog I worked on at a shelter who was terrified of humans. Mackó (translates to teddy bear) had come from a home where he was abused for all of his life and was incredibly timid and fearful. He was a tough one to crack as I could not leave oils for him (the few staff at the shelter have barely got enough resurce to shelter and feed the dogs let alone try to rehabiliate them) and I could only visit weekly. I did four sessions with him, and he is now a totally different dog - the dog who would cower in the corner of his cage and not come near to humans or even socialise with other dogs, now greeted me with a wag of the tail and wanted to play. He now has a much better chance of being homed. I think some of the shelter staff were at first a bit cynical - but I persevered and now they have seen the results they are very welcoming and open to zoopharmacognosy. It is interesting to note that Mackó never really took to the usual range of emotional oils, and rose was always a definate no. His favourite at first were seaweed, spikenard and sea buckthorn. He was not once interested in any macerates, dried remedies or powders but at our last session he was only interested in immortelle. He was so afraid of the oils in  bottles or bowls, but he loved to inhale the oils from the palm of my hand.

Kennel Cough

Recently kennel cough has been in conversations. A disease that is hugely distressing to dogs, costly and a problem to many shelters.  However Wood Green Animal Shelter is having great results in keeping kennel cough under control. Tracy Challis has done a lot of work in this area and has written up some very encouraging results.

"Here at the shelter we often see Kennel cough due to the high stress levels and poor health of some of the animals that come in. To alleviate this problem and the congestion associated with the illness I began to work with oils that I felt could help. Eucalyptus being my first port of call and bergamot being another due to its airborne anti bacterial properties. I found that dogs with symptoms of kc have really wanted these oils both together and separately and that their symptoms reduce within 48 hours and the majority have then not required pharmaceutical drugs to treat it. This has meant that they are then back to full health within a very short time frame and training can begin or they can be re homed."

Since this first report the dogs coming in from Ireland are now exposed to the oils during their time in issolation. Before this practice approx 38 dogs from a batch of 40 would come down with kennel cough at a cost of approximately £60 per dog to the kennels. However since working with the oils, only approx 1 out of 40 come down with it and the ones that do, display very reduced symptoms.  The oils are put outside the enclosure, although  close enough for the aroma to disperse into the air. The cost of the oils £30.00 to cover  all 40 dogs .

Essential Oils vs. Airbourne Bacteria

It was not until the nineteenth century that microorganisms were identified as the cause of much disease.  This led to the first laboratory test on the anit-bacterial properties of essential oils.  In 1887 studies were published in France showing that microorganisms of glandular fever and yellow fever were easily killed when exposed to a selection of essential oils.  A prominent French chemist, Rene Maurice Gattefosse, coined the name "aromatherapy" in 1937, on discovering that the volatile nature of certain oils enabled them to disinfect the air.  He used the name aromatherapy as the title for his book, published that same year, which was chiefly concerned with the anti-microbial effect of the oils.  From 1887-1937 over one hundred journal articles had been published on this subject but neither these nor clinical trials did anything to persuade the medical profession that essential oils had any real use other than as flavouring agents.  At one time essential oils were  difused in French hospitals wards to disinfect the the air.    It maybe therefore be desirable to use essential oils such as Bergamot in areas such as veterinary waiting areas or kennels where airborne disease may be prevalent.

 

It Shouldn't Happen to Cats

Essential Oils and Cats: A Misunderstood Conception. 4th November 2011

Recently there has been a ban on using essential oils with cats amoungst some influential rescue centers. This ban is the result of  many websites making statements along the lines of essential oil toxicity in cats, stating that essential oils should never be used with them. Unfortunately, these websites do not cite their sources (which is a reliable indicator of an unsubstantiated claim).

An extensive publication search brings up just three reports on essential toxicity to cats; two involved the use of tea tree,  the third with potpourri .  The papers imply that the oils were taken orally or applied topically although the papers note that they cannot be certain whether the cause was accidental or not.  There are no reports on the toxicity of other essential oils with cats and not even a mention in two popular veterinary toxicology handbooks;  . There are plenty of mentions of toxic household plants but none feature in the applied zoopharmacognocist’s kit.

The concern with cats over other species is more theoretical than actual.  The issue is that cats have very low gluconryl transferase activity, an enzyme involved with breaking down some foreign chemicals including alcohols and, more importantly, phenols . There are only a small number of essential oils that contain high levels of phenols, the most commonly used being clove, cinnamon, wintergreen, yellow birch and the phenol rich chemotypes of thyme. In our experience and the experience of our students, cats have never selected these oils (or tea tree for that matter) except for thyme on one occasion. In the case of thyme, there were no negative effects recorded. Phenols are also in many detergents, disinfectants, which are all used without consideration in everyday life.


Almost invariably cats will select essential oils through inhalation and will almost never select them orally. Some websites claim that allowing cats to inhale is also risky; again there is no evidence to suggest there is a risk, especially if the oil is offered in well ventilated areas and the cat is free to remove itself from the odour.

 Ingraham Academy student Ann Brown (above) working with Applied Zoopharmacognosy

If anyone has worked with cats and essential oils they will know the relief from suffering that can be achieved. Since this work has stopped in a cattery, the sedatives have increased and the cats are coming down with disease. The staff who were trained in using the essential oils were "gutted " with the ban. I am told the cattery is now back to chemical sedatives and stressed cats.

Ingraham Academy student Kirsty Grant  (above) working with Applied Zoopharmacognosy.

A cat rolling in rose buds and catnip

Cats do not usually ingest essential oils they inhale them, as they would in the wild when they roll on the plant to release its fragrance. The importance lies in reading the cats’ response to the aromas and not forcing any on them.

Working in a Vet Practice with cats and essential oils
In a small animal veterinary practice in Surrey,  I worked with  hyperthyroid cats. The first cat was  seventeen years old, she selected lavender & seaweed absolute. On arrival her heart rate was high - 150, which is typical of a hyperthyroid cat, but within five minutes of inhaling the oils the heart rate normalised to 100.

Almost all cats with hyperthyroidism chose chickweed macerate, seaweed extract, and rose or lavender essential oil. In recent work with hyperthyroidism in cats, however it has been noted that they will usually select  spirulina.

Comments

  

I have seen loads of cats with amazing results, including my own and would be lost without using the essential oils with my cats! I will try and see if I can get some sessions on film for your blog! Catherine Edwards

Having a read through this makes me chuckle as my 3yr old cat gets into a few scraps and came home the other week covered in big scratches and a bite wound, really hot and very unhappy.  He usually doesn't like the oils close to him at all but came right up close, nearly touching the clove oil and deeply inhaled for 3 consecutive days by then he was well on the way to recovery!!  He obviously knows what he needs and when he needs it.

Really nice to know that there's now some true info on cats and essential oils on the internet: Liz R

A Happy Equine customer (with a horse on the critical list)

 October 2011

As I arrived back from the dentist (a couple of weeks ago) after having had a minor operation on my mouth, the phone rang. It was Friday after 5pm and my mouth hurt, but for some reason I picked up the phone. The person had just placed a large order and wanted to collect it as soon as possible, as her horse was on the critical list in an equine hospital. All orders are put together on an individual basis to keep them as fresh as possible, so the next day I spent several hours packing it up so she could collect it Saturday afternoon.

It was thought that her horse may have been suffering from poisoning but it was unclear, he was not responding well to treatment, and it was thought he wouldn’t make it as he was going down hill fast. When she got to the vet hospital that evening (Saturday) the only thing he was interested in was green clay and peppermint, taking the former orally and inhaling the latter. This was then followed by licking a few grains of food (which was a break through since he was on a drip and previously had no interest in eating).


I received the following email.
I am very pleased to say High Flyer is now home and on the mend after taking the green clay and peppermint, thanks to your help with Applied Zoopharmacognosy. I went back the following morning (Sunday) with a bag of Pure Easy feed and nearly got mugged by him! Apparently the vet had gone in at 4am to change fluids & found him with a mouthful of hay, so she grazed him in hand first thing and he was very interested in a long stemmed coarse grass, came in & had breakfast & when I got there about 10am, was on his 2nd feed of the day! I offered again and this time he went for the barley grass, as well as the clay, but wasn't really interested in anything else, although he did start to drink again, so they took his fluids off. He also wolfed down 3 handfuls of the Pure feed I give all my horses, which has pre- & pro-biotics, in preference to the molassed coarse mix the vets had.

I took him back out to graze in hand and he went back to that same grass, which I'm sure is Cock's-foot grass, and ignored everything else. Vet seemed  surprised that he didn't want the newly mown lawn grass! Left him to rest and came back in the afternoon, which went the same way as the morning, and he maintained the earlier improvement. Vet took him off the critical list that night, although wasn't prepared to let him home until liquid dung had ceased!

On Monday, again only interested in barley grass, and then produced perfect dung! Vet announced he could come home Tuesday if he maintained overnight - which he did, and I was able to collect him Tuesday evening!

Since then, he's just gone from strength to  strength, turned out for a few hours a day, eating like foods going out of fashion & amusing everyone with his playing with his barley grass, which he wants most days. He also got quite enthusiastic about the peppermint oil, licking several drops off my hand, and a little German Chamomile. He's not too keen on the marigolds, either dry or damped, so it will be interesting to see his reaction to the macerate when that arrives.

Many, many thanks for your help!

October Course Review Small Animals (Dogs) Cambridge

This was another great 4 days where we all learnt so much from the animals in order for them to help themselves back to a healthier way of life.  It was a smaller group than usual as at the last minute for various reasons several students were unable to show up. Those attending really enjoyed the small group of 6, so I have decided to reduce the class size to around 6/7 for future Small Animal courses to be held at Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary.  The Small Animal courses are very popular with over 36 students attending training in the past 6 months. The Canine Workshop at Tilly Farms in February 2012 is also fully booked.

On the first day we worked with 2 dogs, who we followed up with the following day, as well as seeing another dog on day two.  All the dogs stole the student's hearts, but I will write about Boss, since I am able to include a clip below. 'Boss' is a young dog around 2 yrs old, staff /boxer mix. He was one of the shelters longest residents.

A comment from a staff member “we have never seen him lay down in his kennel, although he must do at night we never have seen him”.

Boss selected lots of calming oils and shortly afterwards lay down and closed his eyes. Over the next 3 days when we went to take a look at him in his kennels, he was mostly laying down sleeping wagging his tail if he open his eyes to look at us. One passer by described him as ''the most chilled out dog in the shelter'. However sometimes when he saw us he would jump up and wag his tail so hard  his hind would swing too!  On day 3 of our visit he had been reserved. The other 2 dogs were also re homed the following week.

Boss: 5 mins compilation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X38eCEtav0Y

Autumn course review Equine

As you can see, I have finally set up a bog, which many students have wanted me to do for a long time now. It has been a busy year with an incredible amount of interest in zoopharmacognosy, with fantastic results that students and graduates are experiencing with animals self selecting what they need to put themselves right.

HorseWorld Autumn 2011
The courses this autumn have been brilliant with animals teaching so much to the students. I could not have asked for a better selection. One of the horses we worked with was Doug, a young pony who had just been gelded. He had been rescued due to neglect. He was so dangerous that, they were not sure that we should work with him. If his aggression continued he would have to be PTS. We were not allowed to touch him as at the very least he would aggressively try to bit anyone. He circled the stable frantically until he was offered vetiver, which he took approx 1 ml by mouth.

A constituent in Vetiver, Khusimol, prevents V1a  receptors being activated by vasopressin in the hypothalamus (activation of V1a receptors in this part of the brain is associated with aggression in males), which may explain the calming effect on male aggressive behaviour.
 
Each student held an oil. Doug stopped by each oil that he wanted and presented his head for  them to be applied, namely valerian which activates GABA and Neroli.

He led back to the field much more calmly. The next day we worked with him in the field, he could have stayed away from us but came up to the students and gently worked with them selecting what he needed to help himself back to physical and mental health. He licked several oils from my hand  and did not try to bit once, allowing himself to be stroked. Within 24 hrs there was no longer a problem touching him, leading him or walking out with him. You had to have been there, the change was truly unbelievable.  Today he continues with the same calm behaviour.

Fiona was a great teacher too. She was a gypsy horse who at first showed no interest in anything I was doing and just wanted to escape. Until we made her a pain alleviating gel, which we applied to her previously damaged legs. When she realised we were there to help her, she held each leg out for the application of the gel and then pointed to her hind legs. The students were very moved by Fiona and her personality, which emerged from this shut down horse.

The Small Animal class update to follow shortly

Bristol 2nd yr degree animal behaviour & welfare students visiting Holly Hedge & Applied Zoopharmacognosy

Holly Hedge is an animal sanctuary located in Bristol specialising in cats, dogs and guinea pigs.

 Last week 18 Animal Behaviour and Welfare degree students from  Bristol University Vet School came to visit the Sanctuary. I was asked to introduce Applied Zoopharmacognosy with a demo and explanation. Time was limited but it went across very well with students wanting to learn more, so are coming back next week so see a full session in practice.  Hopefully Tom will be able to do a talk at the university to explain the scientific mechanisms involved, which they were also very interested in.

I have just began doing some volunteer work there and had great success with the dog I worked with. He had been the longest in the kennels having been there for the past 7 months. Shortly after working with him he was re homed.

 I  hope to be holding future courses and cpds at Holly Hedge.  Groups will be small. If anyone is interested please contact the office. 

A fearful Golden Retriever

Ingraham Student, Anne Brown sent the following story of her success with Caty:

At the vets Caty always goes into a panic, screaming & trying to escape from any exit (including windows!) On this occasion Caty reacted as she always did and went into a panic.  Once inside the treatment room  Caty  tried to escape through the window, however Mrs G finally managed to get the bottle of Linden blossom out of her bag and offer it to Caty.

The result was almost instant! Caty sat in front of Mrs G and inhaled the aromatic chemicals, she then licked a small amount from her hand, calmly sitting and looking at her.  The vet asked what she was doing & she proceeded to tell him about their visit to me and using the essential oils. Caty remained calm for the rest of the visit, even waiting while the bill was settled, when usually she would be heading at speed for the exit door! The vet seemed very interested  and open to Applied Zoopharmacognosy. 

                                               

This is such a fantastic result I just had to tell you about it!

Australasia accredits The Ingraham Academy of Applied Zoopharmacognosy

8th October 2011

The International Institute for Complementary Therapists (IICT) has over 3000 members in Australia and New Zealand, and is one of the regions fastest growing professional bodies.

Caroline is therefore very pleased to say that with the hard work of graduate, Michelle Hubbard, the IICT has given its professional seal of approval to Zoopharmacognosy and established the Ingraham Academy and sole trainer in this field.

Australasian graduates can also apply for professional insurance cover with OAMPS.

African Pigmy Hedgehog

28th September 2011

Christina Lines, a student of the Ingraham Academy, who works at an animal charity in Cambridge has recorded a short film on her mobile of her work with an African Pigmy Hedgehog. Citrus oils seem to be the order of the day.

Academy graduate works wonders in Hungary

22nd September 2011

Elenor Goold reports from Hungary that outside of Budapest there is very little help for the animal shelters. Zoopharmacognosy however is making positive headway and achieving positive results in extreme circumstances.