Dr. Heather the Vet

Dr. Heather the Vet A holistic vet in the Catskills of eastern NY using a combo of ancient + cutting edge tech.
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Acupuncture, spinal manipulation, Chinese herbs, lameness evaluation and treatment for animals that fit in the door!

I'm shy to talk about this but....when something works, I must share!!🥰As a veterinarian, I'm focused on animal health. ...
07/12/2024

I'm shy to talk about this but....when something works, I must share!!
🥰
As a veterinarian, I'm focused on animal health. As a human, I've been forced to focus on my own health. A big part of my Why is seeing the results of diet, functional medicine, herbs, and daily habits in my own body and mind.
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I experiment on myself for most every technique or product I recommend for your pets. First hand experience is what I trust!!
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So now I find myself using a Korean skin care product line that I've fallen in love with...so I gotta share it.
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My Before and After pics aren't super convincing, and Kevin won't let me take pics of him to share. Trust me when I say, the results are amazing. As my friend said, after sampling: "My face is as soft as a baby's bottom!"
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The hair products? wow.
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Korea is the Skin Care Capital - and the standards for ingredient quality are far superior to what we've got here in North America. This is not as Natural as some options, but also true, no toxic chemicals, no endocrine disruptors - if they made a product for dogs I'd use it on The Terriers!
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Hey.....maybe that's not such a bad idea...
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At any rate, this weekend my Team is offering a Blitz of half hour opportunity Zoom calls. I'll put the schedule below. Surely one of these times is open enough for you to spare a half hour of your time? . .
Learn about the product, and consider the opportunity to earn extra money while sharing a product you believe in. Multiple income streams are where it's at!
😁
The link for every Zoom is: RimanLove.com
There are prizes - so many prizes! - you'll even get entered in a raffle just for attending and telling them I sent you.

!!! LAST CHANCE !!!👏👏👏Monday July 8th is the online BEMER Horse Set Academy FREE TRAINING and you do not want to miss it...
07/05/2024

!!! LAST CHANCE !!!
👏👏👏
Monday July 8th is the online BEMER Horse Set Academy FREE TRAINING and you do not want to miss it >>>
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Starting at noon EDT (9am Pacific) we'll cover everything you ever wanted to know about this incredible healing modality.
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Plus it's my BEMER Academy Debut!
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Don't miss my Coming Out - and the hilarity that will doubtlessly ensue. . .BE THERE OR BE SQUARE
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Here's the link:
https://ep-beta.bemer.services/en_US/events/Q5L3LY_Equine-Academy--ET--07-08-24_Online_Online_-__?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0XSN5tKKJvg-7NFvhEOBBmowoBAMMEpc6ZtcE5M4EbaN4DBMlAS1Q2WNI_aem_nZ7IZ9wPgog2QwtP_kZY9A

🔶 DO NOT MISS THE BOAT! 🔶

Leslie Burgard DeFusco sent me a few photos she found of my Boi Jackpot, right after she plucked him out of the Virginia...
06/30/2024

Leslie Burgard DeFusco sent me a few photos she found of my Boi Jackpot, right after she plucked him out of the Virginia shelter where he'd landed as an unclaimed stray dog.
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Date of Young Jackpot: 8-18-2008
Date of Senior Jackpot: 5-26-24
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We gave him a December birthday, which means he's steadily approaching 17 💜 His Adventures are less physical, more mental-emotional, and I would not trade him for all the riches of the world.
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My Jackpot 💕


For those who may appreciate another voice regarding my recommendations on treating heat stroke… 
06/28/2024

For those who may appreciate another voice regarding my recommendations on treating heat stroke… 

Is it true that if we use cold water on heat stroke pets they will go into shock?

One of the most common things we still hear is that we can only use tepid water on a pet with heat stroke, incase they get some complications like hypothermic overshoot, peripheral vasoconstriction hindering a cooling response, and cardiogenic shock...

We have heard not to use cold water in case it causes shock... this rarely happens!

But guess what? In a recent study over 26% of dogs presented with heat stroke died, with flat faced breeds making up nearly half of heat stroke cases seen in the study.

You should:

💧Get someone to call the local veterinary practice and tell them you're going to travel down with a heat stroke patient
💧Pour, hose or if possible immerse the pet in very cold water (this should obviously be done under constant supervision, ensuring the head is fully above water and immersion should not be attempted if the animal is too large, or you are unable to do so without hurting yourself)
💧NB: If using a hose pipe, make sure it has run through until cold, as they can often contain water that is extremely hot in the tubing initially
💧Do not drape in towels and leave them in situ. Keep the cold water flowing.
💧Move to a cool, shaded area
💧Prepare to transport to vets in a cold, air conditioned car

In studies they found that:

🌅International consensus from sports medicine organisations supports treating EHS with early rapid cooling by immersing the casualty in cold water.
🌅Ice-water immersion has been shown to be highly effective in exertional heat stroke, with a zero fatality rate in large case series of younger, fit patients.
🌅Hyperthermic individuals were cooled twice as fast by Cold Water Immersion as by passive recovery.
🌅No complications occurred during the treatment of three older patients with severe heat stroke were treated with cold‐water immersion.
🌅Cold water immersion (CWI) is the preferred cooling modality in EHS guidelines and the optimal method applicable to UK Service Personnel
🌅Studies suggest using either ice-water or cold-water immersion

The best intervention is PREVENTION, but if you find yourself with an animal with heat stroke, using cold water either by pouring, hosing or ideally (if safe) immersion then this may help reduce their temperature to safe levels while you transport to a veterinary practice.

Read more below:

https://www.vetvoices.co.uk/post/cool-icy-cold-or-tepid

My posts and reels about heat stroke in dogs are getting a bit of attention.🧐That’s good! I love that y’all wanna do rig...
06/26/2024

My posts and reels about heat stroke in dogs are getting a bit of attention.
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That’s good! I love that y’all wanna do right by your dogs.
🥰🫶🥰
I kept that information INTENTIONALLY crisp and short. My own experience is that in an emergency situation, we humans often panic, and only remember bits and pieces of relevant info.
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I am no different from you. When one of The Terriers is injured, or acutely sick, I can hear my brain flushing like a toilet. That’s when I Phone A Friend….
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Here I am - your Friend on a Phone!! Ain’t social media neat?
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First, please remember that most people UNDERESTIMATE the negative effects of heat on their dogs. Walking around on a hot summer day, I see many dogs showing clear signs of heat stress:
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Panting, tongue out, flaccid/flabby - early stage overheating
Panting, tongue out, flattening at the end - closer to danger zone
Panting, tongue out, flat end, edges curling - DANGER OF HEAT STROKE IMMINENT!
Watery, squinty eyes
Can drink, but not much
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Dogs do not sweat, so while giving them water is of course necessary, it is just not going to cool them the same way it cools a human. The few sweat glands on their feet are not relevant at this point.
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Drinking ice cold water isn’t great for their system - it ain’t great for yours either, boss.
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Dogs get rid of excess heat by panting - that is their ONLY METHOD OF COOLING! This means that brachycephalic breeds - smoosh-faced babies like Pugs and Bulldogs - have their air conditioners permanently disabled.
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Dogs have been bred by humans to fulfill many different needs and niches. A Chihuahua is going to be much more heat tolerant, generally, than a Siberian Husky. The thick undercoat of Arctic and mountain breeds of dog insulates them for extreme low temperatures, and makes them much less tolerant of high temperatures.
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Heat Stress progresses to Heat Exhaustion or Heat Stroke when the dog is:
🔥. . .🔥. . .🔥. . .🔥. . .🔥
Panting uncontrollably, cannot stop to drink much if at all
Staggering, wobbly
Trembling - can progress to seizures
Limp, trouble standing, prefers to lay down
Vomiting
Passing watery stools, diarrhea
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This is when Emergency Measures should be taken!!
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Immerse your dog in an ice bath, if that’s available to you quickly - like a cooler full of drinks at a party. Dump the beverages and immerse your dog.
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This will not cause organ failure. When a dog goes into multi-system organ failure after being cooled from Heat Stroke, the damage was done by the heat, not the cooling.
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Be aware, when I say immerse your dog in an ice bath, I don’t mean for you to leave them there for half an hour!! Dunk them, soak their fur to the skin, then take them out of the water and into A/C or a fan.
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This could be when you put your dog in an air conditioned vehicle, and transport to an emergency veterinary facility for medical care.
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Another thing I do not mean: do not spend precious time setting up an ice bath for your overheating dog. Use what is available to you: a cold hose, pool, stream, lake, bottles of cold drinks (even if they aren’t water, just get the darn dog wet!).
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While you are soaking your dog to the skin, someone else is starting up the vehicle and cranking the A/C. A third person could be calling area animal ER’s to find out who can provide emergent medical attention the quickest.
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The best way to prevent permanent damage from heat stroke is to avoid heat stressing your dog in the first place. Pay attention to the weather, remembering that any dog is LESS heat tolerant than most humans.
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Humans drink water to support sweating, which evaporates from your skin, and cools you down. Your dog does not sweat! Manually wet them down with a hose or body of water to promote evaporative cooling. Soak them to the skin, or it won’t help much.
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Stopping activity to give them water is helpful, but will NOT be sufficient in hotter temperatures. As a rough guide, let’s say anything over 80 degrees Fahrenheit (25 Celsius) is definite cause for concern. I know many dogs who struggle when temperatures rise over 60F (15C).
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I hope this clears things up.
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For more pro tips, thoughtfully considered information, and a community of awesome proactive pet parents, come join my FB group: Happy Hairy Holistic Pets with Dr. Heather



Normally I don't share something new until I've tried it myself - I am my own lab-test animal 😬-Since I no longer have c...
06/24/2024

Normally I don't share something new until I've tried it myself - I am my own lab-test animal 😬
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Since I no longer have cats 🥲 there's no way for me to test this platform! It's an AI app that assesses feline pain score based on a photo you take, from the comfort of home.
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Now, I'll never agree that automated "intelligence" is better than expert human care. But cats...well, cats are masters at hiding pain and discomfort. Even the most loving pet parents easily miss the signs.
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When you bring your kitty to the veterinarian, often they are stressed enough that a thorough pain evaluation is - well - challenging.
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Yet cats absolutely suffer from pain, arthritis, bladder inflammation, stress and anxiety - and loving cat families want to address those health conditions.
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A lot can be learned from a cat's face, and this AI tech helps to root out the signs your kitty might benefit from some assistance.
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Check it out:

At sylvester.ai, we create predictive healthcare products powered by artificial intelligence to improve animal health.

06/23/2024

🔥HEAT STROKE🔥
What to do if your dog is overheating.
❄️COOL QUICKLY❄️
I promise you this is the correct information. A delay in cooling could result in multi-organ failure and death ☠️
Join my Happy Hairy Holistic Pets with Dr Heather for more valuable advice and insights on dog care.

Dinner with Kevin and Mom - a belated celebration for his 60th birthday 🥳
06/23/2024

Dinner with Kevin and Mom - a belated celebration for his 60th birthday 🥳

🔥HEAT STROKE🔥Northeast US has been in extreme heat and humidity all week, no end in sight; some of y'all live in hot cli...
06/22/2024

🔥HEAT STROKE🔥
Northeast US has been in extreme heat and humidity all week, no end in sight; some of y'all live in hot climates all year.
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There is a common misconception that an overheating dog will be injured if you cool her quickly.
👊 MYTH-BUSTING TIME 👊
If you think your dog is overheating - COOL DOWN AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE!!!
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Ice cold water 💦 is the fastest way to reduce body temperature. If you can submerge your dog in cold water, DO IT! Pull the drinks outta the cooler and get as much of the dog as you can in there.
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Cold hose, pool, stream, pond - whatever ya got, get your dog wet! If all you have are cool drinks, pour those on the dog.
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Moving air 🌬 on a wet body speeds cooling! Get your dog in front of a fan, in the shade, or ideally in A/C.
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Once your dog is stabilized, THEN figure out transport to the nearest vet clinic or ER. COOL FIRST, VET SECOND!
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Do not worry about getting your dog too cold - we can warm them again easily. Brain damage and multi-system organ failure are the result of heat stroke, NOT the cooling process!
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How to recognize overheating? Look at Juniper in this video clip. Her tongue is flattening, and you can even see the edges starting to curl. I took a few seconds to record this for your education - then I gave her a drink, doused her with water, and leashed her up so she could cool down.
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By the time your dog's eyes are squinty and watery, and his lips are pulled back into a grimace, the overheating is progressing. If he's staggering, acting disoriented, you are in danger territory.
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Dogs are like toddlers (without the tantrums). Let them have fun, but manage them for safety.
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How are y'all enjoying yourselves in the summer heat, while staying out of danger?

Weekend adventures: some Wood Turtles live in the gorge behind our home. This one opted for a rafting adventure when the...
06/17/2024

Weekend adventures: some Wood Turtles live in the gorge behind our home. This one opted for a rafting adventure when the terriers became curious about her existence!
🌊☀️
What did YOU do over the weekend?
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PS: DON'T FORGET TO JOIN MY LIL COMMUNITY OF PET LOVERS in my newly formed FB group: Happy Hairy Holistic Pets with Dr. Heather

What a great weekend in Ithaca!It has been TWENTY FIVE YEARS since we earned our diplomas and got set loose on the world...
06/10/2024

What a great weekend in Ithaca!
It has been TWENTY FIVE YEARS since we earned our diplomas and got set loose on the world with our veterinary skills 🤓
These people still inspire me, humble me, and lift me up. Thank you Karendemoy Daverockwell for always remembering to take pics so I can remember how lucky I am to be part of the class of

NINE-NINE!!!!! 🥳🤩🥰
Shana Silverstein Barbieri Antonia Jameson Jordan Sarah Wilson Cummings Tara Sparks Haley Karin Wilson Amy H Schein Mark Huber Lillian Good Deirdre Brandes Oei Clare Fahy Karin Wagner

I think y'all know I use, love, and sell BEMER devices for 7-8 years now. Selling medical devices was never a part of my...
06/05/2024

I think y'all know I use, love, and sell BEMER devices for 7-8 years now. Selling medical devices was never a part of my plan, but I've learned to accept the opportunities that come my way.
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Somehow, I qualified to attend a BEMER Manager retreat this past weekend, in beautiful, warm Scottsdale AZ
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What a great little boomerang trip!! Privileged to see friend and brilliant colleague Dr. Joshua Berka 🥰 got to know Dr. Carsten Bartsch and what makes him tick 🤓 meet BEMER Int'l CEO Stephanie Gleim 🤩 and her newly hired VP of Sales Ben Woodward 😎 as well as friends old and new!
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I am 100% the worst at remembering to get photos, so most memories will have to stay uploaded in my personal Cloud 🤐 Here's a smattering of who's and what's.


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PS thanks for the hat, Ian Robb 🫶

Dogs love their smells, don't they?! 🤓
05/30/2024

Dogs love their smells, don't they?! 🤓


What Fun!!!🤩Yesterday, we took a field trip - me, Kevin, and The Terriers. We went up to Hudson for an AKC Scent Work tr...
05/12/2024

What Fun!!!
🤩
Yesterday, we took a field trip - me, Kevin, and The Terriers. We went up to Hudson for an AKC Scent Work trial...our very first!!
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Shout Out to FASNY Museum of Firefighting for the gorgeous and interesting setting for the trial. Cool place, visit if you have not.
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Thanks also to the members, judges, and volunteers who made this Albany Obedience Club trial a success.
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We had four opportunities to Find The Odor that was hidden in each of four different search areas - Exteriors (outside), Interiors (inside), Containers (boxes in a room), and Buried (boxes of sand or water).
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It's hard for the dogs because it's a novel environment, with lots of new, interesting smells, and lots of dogs in high excitement.
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It's hard for the handlers because we have no idea what we are doing, and we need to stay calm and focused enough to observe our dog's behavior and make the correct call.
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We had no expectations except to have fun, observe our dogs' behavior, and learn something.
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Out of four chances, Jackpot showed me clearly where The Hide was located twice!!! The first and last searches, he was not focused -- which is totally understandable. I've figured out some ways to be more supportive if we do this again.
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Out of four chances, Miss Juniper and Kevin correctly identified The Hide THREE TIMES!!!! I was able to watch each of their Searches. They were a really great team. Kevin has to stay really calm to balance June-bug's enthusiastic search style.
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We took our time and we supported our dogs, who seemed to really enjoy themselves. Watching them work brings me great joy. I think Kevin is starting to understand why I love this sport so much.
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Oh -- almost forgot: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Meet Munson - and wish him a Happy 13th Birthday!!!🥳🥳🥳I met Munson almost EXACTLY one year ago. His family was very worr...
05/09/2024

Meet Munson - and wish him a Happy 13th Birthday!!!
🥳🥳🥳
I met Munson almost EXACTLY one year ago. His family was very worried about him. He was struggling to do the things he loved - like climb up on his favorite cozy chair.
Their excellent primary care veterinarian had prescribed all the things they knew could help, but, it wasn't enough. Munson was having a hard time.
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That's when we met - his family asked for more help, and their vet sent them to me. I'm a real Team Player!!!
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Munson's family is incredibly dedicated to his wellbeing, and they dutifully followed every recommendation. It was much more complicated than giving him a bowl of kibble, but they didn't care - they were determined to help their boy!!
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A combination of acupuncture, manual therapy, cold laser, functional supplements, and Chinese herbs have given this Goodest Boi improved quality of life............and his favorite chair.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUNSON!!!!!💜💜💜

Giveaway chance!A trusted vendor is sponsoring a prize giveaway. I stumbled upon this today. Personally I just love the ...
04/24/2024

Giveaway chance!

A trusted vendor is sponsoring a prize giveaway. I stumbled upon this today. Personally I just love the name of the new vendor, Give A S**t they make dog p**p handling supplies.
Anyhoo.....yes they want your email in order to enter. That's the new currency these days.
If you want to enter, I'm putting the link 👇 for you to use.
or not.
Pic of my very verrrry rela###x'd patient on his acupuncture sofa. I'd say he approves my therapy 🥰

Are you like me? Do you find daylight savings time a chore - especially winter into spring?Mornings are always hard for ...
04/18/2024

Are you like me?
Do you find daylight savings time a chore - especially winter into spring?
Mornings are always hard for me. I love - really love! - early morning. I love the angle of the light, and listening to the world wake up. The songbirds are back in NY and it's divine.
Still, waking up and getting out of bed is hard for me. It gets so much worse with the jarring time switch of DST.
What this tells me is that I am not In The Flow - specifically, the Circadian Flow of life on earth.
Everything I know about biology and neurology confirms that my body is designed to work in harmony with the natural flow of energy that follows the sun.
I want to fix this - do you?
Join me in this FREE PROGRAM that starts May 5th
YES I SAID FREE!!! no commitments except to yourself.
I'm doing it, because my dogs deserve a human who is more in tune with their reality.
If y'all want to do this too, we can even set up our own private FB group for moral support.
Info below, to avoid FB algo of hiding posts 🙃
😎🌞🌕🌎

You - who are reading this. Meet me at the corner.Let's go.If not us - then who?If not now - then when?💜thanks to the di...
04/07/2024

You - who are reading this.
Meet me at the corner.
Let's go.
If not us - then who?
If not now - then when?
💜
thanks to the divine Marguerite Uhlmann-Bower

An important announcement from your friendly neighborhood holistic vet regarding the upcoming solar eclipse in North Ame...
04/04/2024

An important announcement from your friendly neighborhood holistic vet regarding the upcoming solar eclipse in North America. I only have your pets and horses safety in mind!!!
😁

Spring and the Wood Element - Part Two 🤓(read my post from 3/21/24 for Part One)The Wood Element rules the connective ti...
03/23/2024

Spring and the Wood Element - Part Two 🤓
(read my post from 3/21/24 for Part One)
The Wood Element rules the connective tissues of the body - the tendons and ligaments, and also the fascial network that supports your body and that of your pets and horses. Restrictions in these connective tissues can result from, or cause, irritation in the Wood Element. Tendon injuries respond well to herbal formulas that include liver tonics.
The eyes are also ruled by the Wood Element. When your pet’s eyes are weepy and irritated, it might be a simple response to dust, or it might represent a deeper imbalance. I use acupuncture points on the Liver Meridian to soothe irritated, painful eyes, or to spur healing when an eye injury isn’t responding to normal treatments.
Emotions are associated with the elements too. Wood personalities can be easily frustrated, and become angry when things do not go their way. A lot of terriers are Wood! I am a Wood, too. So are you! At least, part of the time, you are Wood. Remember that the Five Elements represent a flow chart. In vibrant health, we move seamlessly through the elements, in balance with Nature Outside as with our Inner Nature.
What many people forget to talk about when discussing the angry Wood personality is that the liver houses Hun, the ethereal soul. This is the untethered consciousness that is allowed to wander during the dream state - and yes, animals dream! - which must be rooted enough to come back when called.
A healthy Hun allows us to plan and execute projects, and to achieve life goals. Let’s take a moment to consider that domestic animals are not given the opportunity to plan their own lives. Even when we provide a “good life,” they are beholden to us for most everything. A beloved dog still has to wait for us to allow them out to potty, or to provide a meal. We decide what activities they engage in, and when. We even decide where, and with whom they live!
In no way am I suggesting that animal guardianship should be eradicated. I’m advocating for a deeper look at your relationship with your animal family.
The Wood element depends on movement and change. Use Wood Energy now to get going on projects you may have been pondering all Winter. Tap into the Wood Energy of the animals around you by teaching them new things - and do your best to frame the lessons around their natural strengths! Juniper is sparkly and silly, she loves the spotlight: I teach her tricks that take advantage of her exuberance. Jackpot is methodical and observant: we link complex tasks and praise him heartily.
When thwarted or constrained, Wood Energy becomes angry and inflexible. If your dog or horse “refuses” to perform a task, take a step back. It’s possible you are missing a key element: a physical issue may be causing discomfort, or the way you’re asking the question may lack clarity from the animal’s perspective. If they aren’t learning - you aren’t teaching.
Lessons from Spring and the Wood Element: remain flexible, but engaged. Classic rock fans know that 38 Special got it right: Hold on Loosely - but Don’t Let Go.
🌱🍃🪵🪺
Pics of my Woodiest Wood Girl, Jersey 💚 yelling at me for being unclear 😡 and running like The Wind 🌬



Happy Spring!!!So often I am a few steps behind in these posts, where others are timely. Oh, well….Here in the Northern ...
03/22/2024

Happy Spring!!!

So often I am a few steps behind in these posts, where others are timely. Oh, well….
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the Spring Equinox arrived on Tuesday, March 19 at 11:06pm EDT. This made Wednesday the 20th the first full day of Spring - hooray!!!
We live in the Northeast (me, Kevin, and The Terriers), and the weather right now turned suddenly cold in honor of the change of seasons. Additionally, that old adage, “March comes in like a Lion” is holding true, with lots of strong winds sweeping out the musty corners and cluttered closets of Winter.
Personally, I do not like Wind. I find it irritating. It makes me grouchy, protective, and anti-social. I know it serves a purpose, and I love it for that. My distaste for Wind may be irrational, but in Five Element Theory, I find an explanation for why I respond this way.
In the ancient Chinese system of Five Elements, Wind is part of the Wood Element. Remember that China is in the Northern Hemisphere, with most of the country in the middle latitudes - similar to the USA where I live. This means that much of what ancient Chinese scholars said about the external environment applies well to the United States.
The Wood element is the first of the Five Elements. It represents Spring, new growth, new life, and an outward, future-facing energy. Puppies, kittens, and foals are in the Wood stage of their lives. Right now, the Northern Hemisphere is in the Wood stage of the year. Dawn is the Wood stage of each day.
The organs associated with Wood are the liver and gall bladder. These organs are busy-busy! They are crucial for us to assimilate and metabolize our food, herbs, and medicines. There’s a rhythm to the liver and gall bladder (and yes, even though horses do not have a Gall Bladder organ, their livers produce bile, just like ours). The liver promotes, even demands constant movement in the form of circulation - which in turn, is essential to vibrant health!
The Wood element is associated with Wind - just like Spring! Wind is drying, and often unpredictable. It’s invisible yet noisy, and carries anything not tethered down along with it. As a Wood personality myself, I’ve got enough mental wind blowing around my thoughts. The wind outside upsets my internal state.
I started this as a short blurb about Spring and the Five Elements, and now the blog is getting out of control. I’ll add more later. Will you share your thoughts about Spring, Wind, and the Wood Element?
Photo of me on a very windy day on the Ireland coast, many years ago!!

03/18/2024

My happy place


What a fun day at Top Notch Dog Training in Wappingers Falls, NY! We attended our first NACSW trial as participants. Jac...
02/25/2024

What a fun day at Top Notch Dog Training in Wappingers Falls, NY! We attended our first NACSW trial as participants. Jackpot and Juniper both came with me and Kevin.

NACSW = National Association of Canine Scent Work - Nose Work or Scent Work is a game developed to bring the concept of detection-style training to dog lovers and companion dogs.

To bring some standardization to the trials, and the questions asked within a trial, all nose work participants agree to teach the dogs three unique odors to detect: birch, anise, and clove. For some venues, you can simply enter a trial at the introductory level, and see how you and your dog work as a team at pinpointing where odor tins are hidden in a designated search area.

For NACSW there is a preliminary requirement to pass an ORT = Odor Recognition Test: there are three rounds, one for each unique odor. This standardized test consists of 2 rows of 6 boxes per row, 4 feet apart. In one of the boxes is a tin with the designated odor. Each team has 3 minutes to examine the area and tell the judge which box contains the odor.

It’s a “Pass/Miss” test, you either get it, or you do not. Once the human guesses, by saying “Alert,” the judge says Yes or No, and you are finished with the test.

It’s fun and interesting for the humans – I think sniffing boxes is not super exciting for most dogs. Jackpot has shown me in practice that he can find the odor box almost immediately, but that jogging around the search area, checking out the larger surroundings, and possibly charming the trainer who is standing nearby, is really, really rewarding in its own right.

As much as he likes the yummy treats I give him when he tells me which box, he likes doing His Own Thing almost as much. He’s avoided the odor box specifically and repeatedly in training.

Our trainer, the wonderful Jessica Dinowitz, came up with a strategy: at the start line, make a show of giving JP a super-duper-yummy treat before releasing him into the search area.

Kevin handles Juniper in classes unless he’s not able to attend. She’s exuberantly enthusiastic each and every time. This li’l girl knows how to WORK and she looooves to EARN CASH PRIZES = yummy treats.

That said, she is a sensitive dog who I often say is constantly at risk of losing her terrier card. Her boldness knows boundaries and part of why we enrolled her in nose work games was to build her confidence in new situations.

Pics of the tired pups - of course I forgot to get pics at the actual trial. Many thanks to all involved in putting on this fun event!!!

To know how it all worked out, read the following rhymes:

*JACKPOT*
Today you passed your ORT!
How sweet of you to work with me.
You got ‘em all, 1-2-3!
So proud of you I’ll always be.

*JUNIPER*
You played the sniffing game today!
So much to see, and do, and say.
The first 2 found without delay,
We’ll try for Clove again one day.

Nutritional supplements and herbal medicine: how do we know if they are safe, or even contain the ingredients listed on ...
02/02/2024

Nutritional supplements and herbal medicine: how do we know if they are safe, or even contain the ingredients listed on the label, at the doses indicated on that label?
There is little oversight, and even less accountability around companies selling these products. If the product is made for a pet, the standards are EVEN LOWER. Basically zero.
How do we know there aren't stray pharmaceuticals, solvents, heavy metals, and chemicals that can harm our pets?
A minimum requirement is that the product carries a seal from the NASC: National Animal Supplement Council. Look for that seal on the purchasing website, and again on the bottle.
I use ONLY products from trusted and verified producers. In many cases, I personally know the veterinarian who formulates the products I recommend in practice (and use at home).
When additional products are indicated, I use an online dispensary called FullScript. This supplement distribution company does the legwork for me, making sure each product they send to you is verified, safe, and of the highest quality.
Buying "the same" product that I've recommended on Amazon or Chewy is no guarantee of authenticity: counterfeit products are everywhere, and these distributors do not verify what they sell to you.
Think you could identify a counterfeit? I call your bluff: the thieves have gotten really, really good at fooling us!! It's easy to fake a label, including the NASC seal, and make it look exactly correct.
Just one of the many benefits of working with me: confidence that the supplements you give your pet are safe and effective!!
🥰

Address

5162 State Route 213
Olivebridge, NY
12461

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+18453999844

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