Tuesday 20 December 2011

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

Saturday 3 December 2011

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.