Can animal healing help a severely anxious dog when training and calming products have failed? Yes and Rudy’s story is proof! This case study follows how a border collie with extreme anxiety, hypervigilance, hip dysplasia, and unpredictable aggression found lasting inner peace through a holistic protocol combining Chinese medicine, food therapy, botanical support and healing his guardian too. If your dog’s anxiety feels unmanageable, read on.
Key takeaways from Rudy’s case:
- Severe dog anxiety is not always a training problem, it can have deep internal, energetic roots that only holistic work can reach.
- Raw food can worsen anxiety in dogs with a damp heat pattern in Chinese medicine, causing weight gain, overheating, and emotional dysregulation.
- A Shen imbalance, where the spirit leaves the heart, is a key driver of canine hypervigilance, explosive behaviour, and unreachability in anxious dogs.
- Targeted Chinese herbs can significantly anchor the Shen, improving focus, recall, and calmness at home.
- A dog’s behavioural challenges can mirror unresolved stress in their guardian so healing both ends of the lead creates lasting change.
Rather watch me talk about Rudy’s case? Check out this video where I walk you through it:
When Rudy first came to me, his guardian Jeanette was so distraught about trying to help him that she was in tears. As an experienced dog guardian, she had a total of six border collies over the years.
But none had been like Rudy. None had been so challenging in their behaviours that she had been reduced to such a state of sadness and hopelessness for him.
Yet behind those tears was so much love and care for Rudy. That despite all of his challenges, Jeanette didn’t want to see him suffer anymore.
She is a genuine dog lover through and through. And part of her struggle was she had followed all the usual avenues such as training and calming products, but nothing had touched Rudy’s high levels of anxiety.
So she came to me to see if I could make a difference, and that’s exactly what happened. But it wasn’t a straight road, as Rudy threw us a few healing curve balls along the way and I’m going to share all of them with you below.
Along with how we managed to help this unmanageable dog find inner peace and stability against all the doggy odds.
What Were Rudy’s Challenges?
- Stressed at any noise, inside or outside the home.
- So hypervigilant he even barked when Jeanette crossed her legs.
- Tons of energy but could never slow down.
- Any sock he would find he would eat.
- Walks were so challenging it was like an Olympic sport.
- Whenever an animal ad came on the tv he would start barking right before it actually came on the screen.
- He would attack Jeanette and her other dog when he was in a manic state.
- He was diagnosed with hip dysplasia on one side.
As you read that list you may see your own dog in there, in all of his challenges or some of them. And if you do, as you read on to see the magic that unfolded, remember the same is possible for your canine companion too!
And I hope it gives you a clear understanding of the type of dog anxiety we are talking about here. It’s one of the more extreme types, and definitely something that training or calming products are not going to touch.
Medications were never something Jeanette wanted for him. She wanted a lasting fix, where Rudy was supported holistically from the inside out. As she loves him dearly and was keen to reassure me that when he was in a calmer moment, he was just the best doggo.
However there was some kind of internal switch within him that she could see in his eyes the moment it flipped on. And then she knew he was going to act out in the way she now fondly calls ‘Doing a Rudy!’
What Did Jeanette Try Herself?
First they brought him to agility class to see if that would help calm him. But due to his hip dysplasia he was unable to continue.
In my holistic experience, that was a bit of a blessing in disguise. Because if you try to exercise this excess energy out of a dog like Rudy, you often end up with an unbalanced dog that is even fitter and can go like a Duracell bunny for even longer.
If you want to tire one of these dogs out I would lean more towards things like enrichment puzzles or sniffaris instead, to exhaust them mentally. That way you negate the risk of making them even more fit and energised. So that is something to bear in mind for your pooch if they are similar to Rudy.
Then Jeanette tried hoopers, but he was unable to fully concentrate if at all. He had zero recall and had to be on a long line so they could catch him at the end of the class.
For highly anxious dogs like Rudy that check out and lose all sense of the present moment, asking them to absorb training instructions can be a non-starter. As they are simply not in the room.
In my experience they need internal healing first and then once that has worked its magic, training can be much more successful.
The next thing Jeanette tried was all the recommended calming products she could get her hands on and none of them made a difference. And this in itself can make you feel hopeless.
And if that is where you are at, I am here to show you through Rudy’s story that there is still so much more that you can try.
Once I got going with him we used individualised botanicals that are far more potent and can therefore get at the root cause of his explosive and exhausting behaviour. Comparing that to off-the-shelf calming products, well there just is no comparison! For a case like Rudy we needed to bring out the holistic big guns!
And of course there is Rudy’s hip dysplasia. So for that Jeanette pulled out all the stops: taking him to hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, and red light therapy.
He had also been on Metacam for the pain, which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory. For Jeanette she only saw that drug as a short-term solution as she was genuinely worried about the side effects in the long run.
And I fully agreed with her, I have a degree in Chemistry and Biology and worked in pharma for 7 years, so I fully understand how drugs work and their risk-reward ratios.
What Holistic Protocol Helped Rudy?
The first thing I did was take Rudy off his raw diet. Yes, you read that correctly! And you may be thinking I’ve gone mad, but hear me out.
Once Rudy started on a raw diet he began to put on weight, which was the opposite of what he needed for his hip dysplasia. He would also get really hot. Sleep on the tiles. And not want to cuddle as it warmed him up too much. Plus he was panting a great deal and his fluffy ears were roasting. And he also disliked getting wet.
If we look at this from a Chinese medicine lens we are seeing the signs of something called damp heat. Let me simplify that for you.
According to Chinese medicine food therapy, the energy of raw food is damp and cold. Rudy already had excess damp in his body which can cause things like extra weight, a sagging belly, and much more. And this is why he hated to get wet!
So by adding the damp raw food into his system, it just added more damp.
And when damp increases it actually generates heat which can be a bit hard to get your head around, so let me give you an example of it occurring in nature.
If you speak to any farmer here in Ireland who stores large hay bales in a barn, they will tell you that they have to make sure the rain does not leak in. Because if it does, and the hay gets damper and damper over time, it eventually goes on fire and will burn down the barn. True fact!
It wasn’t until I understood this as a practitioner of Chinese Medicine for animals that I genuinely grasped the concept of damp heat and the consequences it can have on the body.
So for Rudy, when we took out the damp raw food he not only quickly lost weight to take the pressure off his joints, but he also cooled and calmed right down.
Because another consequence of the damp heat for Rudy was that the heat also added to his emotional imbalances, making him hot-headed.
What Was the Root Cause Of His Anxiety?
Rudy was also suffering from a Shen imbalance. In Chinese Medicine every organ has a soul, and the soul of the heart is the Shen. In a balanced person or animal the Shen remains housed in the heart, keeping things in check.
The Shen is the spirit and psyche of the body, containing our emotional wellbeing, thoughts, and beliefs. It also guides our survival instincts, keeps us calm, and enables us to express love and compassion towards others.
But there are certain patterns of imbalance that can happen which cause the Shen to leave the heart and the body. When this happens it can seem as though your dog has left the room. They can experience high anxiety and become unreachable in those moments, exhibit explosive behaviours, extreme nervousness, and more.
In my clinic work at the moment there is an epidemic of canine Shen imbalances going on, which I believe is a direct mirror of what is happening in our human realm at this time.
And this was driving Rudy’s anxiety. It explains how he was able to predict when animal ads were going to come on the tv, starting to bark before they even came on the screen. That’s how far ‘out there’ he was with the Shen leaving the body. It was tipping into a form of mania, as it does with many dogs of this current time.
So how does all this relate back to him overheating? The Shen and the heart are both part of the Fire element in the Five Elements system in Chinese Medicine. So in essence, when the heart is out of balance it can make the animal run hot.
Add in raw food that drives up the dampness which, like that hay barn, will eventually create more heat, and you now have a very hot and emotionally imbalanced Rudy ‘Doing a Rudy’ any chance he gets.
So by switching him to a simple cooked diet with lots of doggy stews, he straight away cooled and calmed down significantly.
But there was still more work to be done! As he was still distracted at his hoopers with no recall, barking at the tv, and unpredictable in his relationship with the other dog in the household.
How Did We Anchor Rudy’s Anxiety?
The next step in his holistic protocol was to add in Chinese herbs that work to anchor the Shen in his body. And they helped significantly to bring him down a few more notches.
In fact it was with this herb that he started to shock his hoopers dog trainer. He was much more focused and his recall improved drastically, to the point that he no longer needed the long line at class.
Unless of course it was a full moon, then all the dogs including Rudy were back acting the maggot. But we allow for that, as once that passes he’s more calm and grounded again.
Rudy’s Downward Dog At Physio
Despite these improvements he was still barking at that the TV. And all his guardian wanted to do was to be able to relax at home in the evening after a hard day’s work. Plus she wanted Rudy to be as balanced as possible.
So we then added in a second Chinese herb to his regime. This one anchors the Shen even more deeply using minerals. And as his hip dysplasia was still a key concern, it also works to support the bones.
Soon Rudy became even more in harmony with his surroundings. No longer so frantic that he would go for their other dog or Jeanette.
He was much calmer at home and for the first time in his life started to lie on his back and shuffle around. He could also do downward dog much more readily and at will as you can see in the photo above of him at a more recent physio session.
These changes were showing us that the minerals in that second herb were easing the pain of his hip dysplasia as well as future-proofing his joints.
Can a Dog Mirror Their Guardian’s Stress?
One very interesting fact about Rudy’s story is that whenever they went away as a family to their caravan, he was as good as gold. All his behavioural challenges melted away. But as soon as they came back home he started up again.
Rudy’s Bronze Good Hoopers Award
When I work with troubled dogs I look at both ends of the lead, searching for possible ways they could be mirroring their guardian. As a way to show you your blind spots and areas of growth, so you take action on them to heal yourself. On top of that I also use animal communication to ask the dog directly what they want you to look at so you can live your best life.
For Jeanette, we were able to identify the difference in her emotional wellbeing when at home versus when she was away at her happy place in her beloved caravan.
This helped her get clear what changes she needs to make in her own life path, so Rudy no longer feels obliged to mirror her.
This story is an unfolding one for them as a family. But thanks to Rudy they are now on a solid path of growth, healing, and possibility.
And Rudy will always be a bit of a comet, it is just part of who he is. But now it comes from a place of joy and having fun, rather than high anxiety and lack of control.
And despite all of his previous challenges I am very proud to say that not long after finishing his work with me Rudy went on to achieve the Bronze Good Hoopers Award which is a foundational test evaluating a handler’s clear vocal/physical signals and the dog’s focus, impulse control and ability to remain calm off-lead. So in short he smashed it! Well done Rudy, we knew you had it in you all along!
What Rudy’s Story Shows Us
Rudy’s transformation shows that even the most challenging, seemingly unmanageable dog can find genuine peace when the root cause of their anxiety is addressed holistically. By removing damp heat through dietary change, anchoring the Shen with targeted Chinese herbs, and supporting both dog and guardian together, Rudy went from unpredictable and unreachable to calm, focused, and joyful.
The programme Rudy went through is my six-month transformational programme for dogs: Happy Dog Happy You. Where I work to resolve your dog’s physical, emotional and mental challenges by healing them from the root cause using holistic methods so you can live longer & happier lives together.
It’s changing lives around the world, and I work remotely so can help any dog anywhere.
You’re welcome to book in a discovery call through that program link above and we can have a zero pressure chat. It is possible to help these dogs as you can see from Jeanette’s review below on my work with Rudy. You’re not alone in it and I’m here for you both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can animal healing really help a severely anxious dog?
Yes. When anxiety is rooted in internal energetic imbalances such as a Shen disturbance or damp heat pattern in Chinese medicine conventional training and calming supplements often make no difference. Holistic approaches that address the root cause can achieve results where nothing else has worked, as Rudy’s case demonstrates.
What is a Shen imbalance in dogs?
In Chinese medicine, the Shen is the spirit and psyche housed in the heart. When a dog experiences a Shen imbalance, the spirit leaves the heart, causing extreme anxiety, hypervigilance, explosive behaviour, and moments where the dog seems completely unreachable. It is increasingly common in dogs today and responds well to specific Chinese herbal support.
Can a raw food diet make dog anxiety worse?
In some dogs, yes. From a Chinese medicine perspective, raw food has a damp, cold energy. In a dog who already has excess dampness in their system, a raw diet can increase that dampness, which over time generates internal heat. This damp heat can worsen emotional imbalance and hyperactivity, as it did for Rudy.
What is damp heat in Chinese medicine for animals?
Damp heat is a pattern of imbalance where excess moisture in the body eventually generates internal heat similar to how damp hay in a barn can eventually catch fire. Signs in dogs can include weight gain, growths, overheating, panting, disliking getting wet, hot ears, and emotional instability.
Why wasn’t training working for Rudy’s anxiety?
Highly anxious dogs experiencing a Shen imbalance are often not mentally present during training sessions. They cannot absorb instructions because they have, in effect, left the room energetically. Internal healing needs to happen first once the Shen is more anchored, training becomes significantly more effective.
Can a dog’s anxiety be connected to their guardian’s stress?
Often, yes. Dogs frequently mirror the unresolved emotional patterns of their guardians. In Rudy’s case, his behaviour at home reflected Jeanette’s own stress in that environment. When guardian and dog are supported together, the results are deeper and more lasting.
About the Author
Lisa Tully is a professional animal healer and communicator from Ireland, with an international practice working with dogs & cats using a multi layered holistic approach. She has over 15 years of experience and animal clients reaching across nine countries. She gets to the root cause of their emotional or physical problems to bring lasting healing using natural botanicals. So they can live longer & stronger by your side. Learn more at animalhealing.ie.