Canidae; cunning but loyal

Canidae are pack animals, except the fox, which is solitary. They hunt in a pack because they are small and cannot hunt efficiently alone. They have strict social hierarchies. Within the group there is one dominant position; below it, the animals submit to the animal above and dominate their subordinates. Although there is a lot of competition, challenging and confrontation within the pack, there is also sharing and accepting dominance for the welfare of the pack. They are more adapted for endurance than speed. Cunningness is seen in all the Canidae but in varying degrees.

General themes

Strict social hierarchy
In patients, this is seen as an issue of 'superiority and inferiority'. For example, they perceive a boss or a dominant person to be superior and themselves to be inferior with a feeling of being looked down on and despised. Conversely, there would be an intense desire to be superior or to maintain one's dominant position by not allowing anyone to “boss” them. We also see expressions in patients like wanting to achieve higher position, greater rank in an office or organization etc.
Competition and hierarchy are key features in Canidae, while independence and freedom are key in Felidae. Hierarchy is so strong in Canidae that nobody dares to go against the “Alpha”; you have to be submissive and never disobey the leader. Because of this quality, it looks as though they are very loyal but when we examine this in depth, we often find resentment: “Abuse by the master” or “Varying degree of grudges against the dominant one” can be there.

Team work or group effort
Team work or group effort is a very strong theme in Canidae (chiefly seen in the wolf). These individuals know that they are incapable of attaining their desired goal all by themselves. In order to achieve their goal, they need a united team: sports such as cricket, football, hockey, relay race would be good examples to understand this theme.

This is a positive quality of the Canidae: they are totally dedicated to the group and they believe in team spirit. It is because of this quality of dedication that wolves, after being domesticated, turn out to be the best pet and human friend. In the team, they are also competitive, so Canidae patients tend to compare themselves with others.

Intelligent and cunningness
In patients, this is seen as an intelligent way of planning and adopting strategies to fulfill a task. Cunningness is also seen in snakes and spiders. In Snake remedies, it will be expressed as having two facades. What they present on the outside will be completely different from inside; they have two sides, nice on the surface but poison inside. In Spider remedies, cunningness is seen in the form of feigning, deceit, tricking and trapping others in order to know the weakness of the person and then attack. Cunningness is there in varying degree among Canidae and is mostly expressed as an opportunistic quality; they find the weakness of the opponent and attack the weak point. 

Endurance, not given up easily
Canidae do not have the power or strength of the Felidae but they have endurance. After starting the chase, they do not give up till they hunt the prey down and for that they plan cleverly and distribute work amongst the group. Group effort and endurance makes them the best predator with a low failure rate. In patients, we can observe this quality expressed as: once he decides he does not give up until he achieves his goal. In short, Canidae are tough.

Expression Words: Group, Team, Combined effort, Hierarchy, High rank, Low rank, Top level, Low level, High level, Low class, Superior, Inferior, Boss, Planning, Plotting, Cunning, Deceit, Endurance, Sharing, Submissive, Obedience, Faithful, Loyalty

Lac caninum

Themes

Loyalty and submissiveness
The most important and apt word for Lac caninum is 'loyal'. In spite of being harassed and tortured by one’s superior, these individuals bear all the suffering and remain faithful and loyal towards their boss or master. They work hard and fulfill their master's expectations to keep them happy. An example would be of a partner who is able to take a lot of abuse and yet remain loyal to the spouse. This is the survival mechanism during domestication from wolves to dogs; even wolves need dedication to and acceptance of the ‘Alpha’ in the pack.

Pleasing to be part in the group
It is dependent on its master for food and so it is out to please him. Survival depends upon keeping its master happy by its performance, its affection, etc. It has to perform or it will not be wanted anymore and its master will kick it out. Lac caninum people try hard to please, to be liked, cared for and accepted because they feel left out and rejected. This pleasing quality can be observed in other Canidae but it is in dogs that we see the highest level of pleasing because they have to suppress their aggressive part and submit completely to the master. Suppression of emotions (anger or sexual instincts) is most prominent in Lac caninum.

Low self-esteem
Lac caninum people develop a feeling of low self-worth: “I am not good enough.”; “I don’t know anything.”; “Others are better than me.”; “I’m lower than others.”; “I do not have enough confidence.”; “I am not able to do this.”; “I’m not good at this.”. So, superficially, the person looks like Calcium carbonicum or Magnesium carbonicum because of low self-esteem.

Looked down upon; self disgust and self critical
Feeling looked down upon or self-disgust is the consequence of low self-esteem. The self-esteem is so low that they feel dirty or have disgust for themselves. They are embarrassed to sit near you; they feel ashamed and cannot talk comfortably with anybody. They are embarrassed to start a conversation. Even during case taking, we can observe that the person is talking about some part of their body as though it is very dirty or disgusting: “My skin is dirty; my face looks very disgusting with pimples on it.”

Other symptoms

• They can be irritable and ferocious but if someone is more irritable and ferocious, they give up, they submit.
• They suffer because they compare themselves with others.
• Alternating sides
• Sensation of floating or flying in dreams, as well as in vertigo
• Sensitive to smell, to noise
• Sycotic miasm

Provings: Swan and Berridge

Lyssinum

Lyssinum is the nosode made from rabid dog; the raw material for the mother tincture is collected from the saliva of a rabid dog. It contains the rabies virus, Lyssa, meaning rage or madness. The rabies virus lives as a parasite, depending on its host for life. It attacks the central nervous system suddenly and rapidly, causing great rage, biting, and violence.

Themes

Feeling of torture by someone you are dependent on
This remedy resonates with a state where the person feels horribly ridiculed or tormented. Often, there is a history of serious family abuse. Such mistreatment arouses phobic type of behavior, so we see a lot of fears in this remedy. Accordingly, there is a conflict between their dependence and their need to revolt against this constant torment.

The main feeling is of having suffered wrong, being tormented, especially by one whom he has served, been faithful to and is dependent on, thus creating an intense feeling of anger and rage, in which the person can bite, strike, and even violently mutilate.

Violent anger/ rage leading to craziness
One can imagine that in such a fearful person, there could be a lot of rage, which is a strange mixture of emotions. On the one hand, fearful and the other hand, violent rage; so in a sense, rage is a defensive mechanism to cope with the threats from outside. They become very angry but the anger is followed by quick repentance or remorse.
Because the rage comes on suddenly and almost impulsively, they are left with an incredible sense of guilt or repentance afterwards. In a way, this guilt is a protection, as they are usually dependent on the person who is abusing them and therefore to continue to lash out would not be in their best interest

Deeply phobic; profound intense fear leading to craziness
We can observe very intense fear in Lyssinum cases. Lyssinum’s fear is ‘fear of insanity’: “Am I going mad?” The intensity of fear is so high that everything goes out of control. Everything is so intense and profound that it can lead to craziness. They have all sorts of fears but prominent fears are:  fear from water, from glittering objects/ mirrors/reflected lights/sun light, fear of dogs, of madness, of all animals, of choking.

Sudden, violent and acute effect or action
Lyssinum people are highly impulsive and during case taking, it is difficult to find out the correct or accurate focus of the case. What we can observe is sudden, violent and acute effect or action. They are hectic and rash in talking, which makes it difficult to follow them and we cannot sort out anything except intense sensitivity (morbidly sensitive).

Other symptoms

• Aggravation from: heat of sun, glistening objects, running water (water in any form), copper in any form
• Physical general – CNS irritability; wild look, staring, rolling movement of eyeballs; ropy, viscid, frothy saliva, constant spitting; acute sense of smell and hearing; sneezing from dust or bright light (DD Lac-m)
• History of rabies vaccines or animal bite
• Easily choking, difficulty swallowing
• Convulsions, worse from light, from liquids, from trying to swallow, from running water
• Choking at the sound or sight of water

Proving: Constantine Hering

Excrementum caninum (dog’s excrement)

Themes

Domination and extreme abuse
Domination and abuse is obvious in Canidae but here, the domination and abuse is so intense that they lead to total suppression of oneself. In Lac caninum, domination is acceptable, they do not complain much about it but here, it is so intense that  the person develops intense hatred towards  the dominant person, as though they are being tortured.
Mind; hatred; mother, of/ persons of)
Mind; domination by others agg/ father by/ mother by/ women suppressed by men

Suppression of anger with hatred
The intensity of the suppressed emotions produces other emotional, mental and physical symptoms: suicidal thoughts, aversion to company, panic attacks with lot of anxiety, low self confidence, arrested mental development, heart palpitations with anxiety, indisposed to talk, aversion to work, compulsive disorder of work, etc.
Mind; anger; family, toward/ parents/ mother/ mother in law
Mind; anger; ailments from, agg.; suppressed

Low self-esteem with dependency
Similar to Lac caninum, low self-esteem and low self-confidence are associated with dependency and fear of failure. In Lac caninum, the situation is hopeful and acceptable, while in Excrementum caninum, there is intense fear of failure and inadequacy, which leads to complete helplessness
Mind; dependent; children, on / parents, on
Mind; confidence; want of self; failure, he is a/ inadequate, feels/ support, desires
Mind; delusions, failure, he is a
Mind; anticipation; examination, for
Mind; fear; examinations/ failure, of/ undertaking anything
Mind; helplessness; education of children, in / postponing everything to next day

Self-disgust
like Lac caninum, this remedy also has aversion to self and a low self image.
Mind; aversion; oneself, to

Co-relation with source
In this remedy, there are dreams/ thoughts of excrements and toilets, in contrast to Lac caninum and Lyssinum.
Mind; dreams; excrements/ dog’s excrements/ toilet; sitting on/ vomiting; excrements

Other symptoms

• Ailments from sexual abuse and rape
• Mind; colors; charmed by; golden/ colors; desires; golden
• Delusion or image that body parts/ arms/ legs are smaller, and shortened
• Dreams lascivious/ seduction/ necked people/ prostitution/ violent sex; Dreams; lascivious, voluptuous; partner, frequent change of/ voluptuous; perverse; girls, about little)
• Dreams of dogs/ cats, felines
• Fastidious; appearance, about; personal
• Music; desires; drums

Proving: Hans Eberle and Friedrich Ritzer

Lac lupinum

Wolves live together in groups called packs. In the pack, there is one “alpha” position; below that, animals submit to the one above them and dominate their subordinates. There is also a 'beta' position, below the 'alpha', the lowest position is the 'omega'. Each wolf tries to find the  weakness in its competitor's social position so that it can gain dominance over its immediate superior and at the same time does not allow its subordinates to dominate it. It is very important for the pack to continue because wolves are small animals which cannot survive for long singly and need a collective effort of the pack while hunting. They are built for stamina, possessing features ideal for long-distance travel. Usually, they attack the sick, old or the young ones, as they can be easily killed. During hunting, the alpha male coordinates a few members for the initial chase and then, during the latter part of the chase, the rest of the team join to support the chasing group and allow it to rest. By doing this, the wolves have enough reserves for the chase and the prey gets exhausted. This is a very effective hunting technique and probably one of the reasons for their success rate in hunting being better than wild cats.

Themes

Hierarchy; highly sensitive to intrusion and highly conscious of her own space
The issue of hierarchy is pronounced in wolves. There is a lot of competition in wolves to gain dominance over their superior and at the same time not allowing their subordinates to dominate them. This is reflected in Lac lupinum as an issue of 'superiority and inferiority' (Dreams; inferiority, of social). These individuals are concerned about their position in the group/ family/ organization, etc. They are very hard on their inferiors and they like to please their superiors in order to hold onto their own position (Please others, desire to/ Dreams; pleasing superiors, of). They are extremely sensitive to loss of their own space or position, so they make an enormous effort to hold onto their position. They do not give up easily and they ready to fight to the death. They feel the constant threat that their position might be taken away and they might be thrown out, so they try very hard to have total control over their position. (Delusions, invader, he is / Dreams; intruder, intruders; he is a/ Dreams; intruder, intruders; sees).

Although there is lot of competition, challenging and confrontation within the pack, eventually they reconcile and make friends, accepting the dominance of one over the other, so that the pack can survive. In patients, this is seen in team work or cooperative effort: they work as a unit, with one person heading or coordinating the entire team.

Belonging to group; need to be accepted
Belonging to the group is vital for wolves because the wolf cannot survive alone. On the one hand, they are dependent (Dependent; mercy of others, at) but basically, they are wild animals (Mind; violence, vehemence; desires to watch/ Dreams; violence) so they need total control over their emotions (Anger; suppressed, controlled). Though they struggle very hard to belong to the group, they have the feeling that they are treated as outsiders or they are under the constant threat to be thrown out (Delusions; family; does not belong to her own/ Delusions, imaginations; repudiated, is; relatives, by/ Dreams; alone, he is/ Dreams; bystander, he is a). The difference between Lac caninum and Lac lupinum  is that for the former ‘pleasing’ and ‘need to belong to a group’ is quite hopeful and positive, accepting the  group or master, while for the latter, the dominant feeling is that once they are thrown out, then there is no chance to be included again, so they struggle hard to maintain control over their  position.

Constant sense of danger ; need of protection and safety
Being wild animals, wolves are in constant danger of bigger predators, so they live under a constant threat, for themselves for the family and  for the pack (Delusions; danger, of/ Delusions; die; about to/ Dreams; attacked, of being/ Dreams; danger; death, of/ Dreams; danger; impending/ Dreams; murdered, of being/ Dreams; shooting; shot, of being). Either they need to escape or hide in a safe place and protect their young and others. (Dreams; children; danger, in/ Dreams; child, children; protecting them/ Dreams; hiding; danger, from/ Dreams; danger; escaping from a/ Dreams; protection, about/ Dreams; saving others; trying to save, to help/ Help; others, wants to). The mother wolf fiercely protects her young.  

Acute senses; alert and active
Wolves live in a wild and dangerous world, so they need to keep their eyes on every possible activity around them. They need to be alert, with their senses acute and active (Senses; acute/ Sensitive, oversensitive; noise, to). They need to be in total control of the environment and situation because if they lose control, then they might die at any moment (Anxiety; control over senses is lost, as if). They also need powerful senses and total control of the situation when they are hunting. 

Other symptoms

• Over-sensitive to criticism
• Suspicious – sensitive to be betrayal/ deceit
• Fear of acid attacks or attacked by poisonous dangerous liquids
• Sensation as if holes in legs
• Very hardworking, very active + highly effective in working with high responsibility
• Cancer miasm – Nancy Herrick
• Highly sensitive to apples… Dislike
• Claustrophobic; trapped – Patricia Hatherly
• Restless; desires to run – Patricia Hatherly
• Fire is a major theme,  there may be fear of fire
• Affinity for the colors  red and black – Patricia Hatherly

Provings: Melissa Assilem, Nancy Herrick

Canis latrans

The coyote is smaller than the grey wolf. The ancestors of the coyote diverged from those of the grey wolf. Its social organization is highly flexible, living either in nuclear families or in loosely knit packs of unrelated individuals. The coyote has been described as "the most vocal of North American wild mammals"; the name Canis latrans means “barking dog”.  Coyotes are very elusive and secretive animals. The basic social unit of a coyote pack is a nuclear family centered around a reproductive female. Unlike the wolf, which has been known to practice both monogamous and bigamous mating, the coyote is strictly monogamous, even in areas with high coyote densities and abundant food. The male plays an active role in feeding, grooming, and guarding the pups and even hunts for the females during pregnancy. However, unrelated coyotes may join forces for companionship, or to bring down prey too large to attack singly. Such nonfamily packs are only temporary, and may consist of bachelor males, non-reproductive females and sub-adult young. A coyote captures small prey by pouncing upon it with its paws, but usually kills larger prey by rushing at it from the front and slashing its throat, killing it with the canine teeth.

Themes

Adjustable, flexible, adaptable
The coyote is a highly adaptable and versatile carnivore. It can change its diet, breeding habits, and social behavior, and can survive in a changing environment. This quality is expressed in patients as ‘flexible and able to adjust to any situation’; this is how they succeed in life.

Another reason for the coyote’s flexibility is that it is not a specialized hunter of large prey as the wolf is; they do not have the need to create the strength which comes from the group, so they stay united either in a nuclear family or they remain single. In Lac lupinum, they need aggression and control to protect their own space because they have a strict hierarchy, while in Canis latrans, they are flexible and have less need to fiercely protect their own space from intruders. 

Less aggressive than wolves

Coyote pups are born in dens or hollows and the coyote generally does not defend its territory outside the denning season.

Clever, trickster
The coyote is a prominent character in Native American folklore as Trickster. In humans, it is expressed as intelligent or as having the capacity to turn any situation in your favor. They have the intellectual capacity to take advantage of any adverse condition.

No proving is available; this understanding is from natural history.

Canis mesomelas

Jackals are more scavengers than predators. They live in packs. The basic unit of a pack is a mated pair that functions as a leader. This monogamous pair group defends its territory from other pairs by vigorously chasing intruding rivals. The pack is so oriented towards the lead of the parent-pair that if one of the parents dies, the pack itself may not survive. They have cooperative hunting and scavenging. Hunting in pairs or family groups increases their chances of a successful killing. They have a good ability to adapt to changing environment. They are clever and cunning, especially in the manner of obtaining food. The male and female display a high degree of synchronized activity and call each other when separated. They sometimes howl together, demonstrating to others the bond between them. Helpers play an important role in protecting and rearing the pups.

Themes

Loyal and faithful to the partner; ultimate bond
Jackals mate for life; they are loyal to each other and they have good synchronicity between each other. This quality is expressed in humans as strong bonding between partners. They trust each other more than themselves. They like to work together and need to do everything with the help of each other. There is no dependency or submissiveness but rather companionship and team work.

Dependent on partner; cannot survive without partner
Male and female mate for life and their bond is so strong that they are interdependent and if one partner dies, it becomes difficult for the other to manage. In humans, this quality is expressed as a deep depression after the death of a partner. I remember a colleague’s case where he successfully prescribed this remedy to a woman who became deeply depressed after the death of her husband.   

No proving available, understanding is from natural history.

Sanguis vulpes

Foxes are intelligent creatures, as well as being cunning and clever; they hunt alone. They have a good climbing ability; they can attack unsuspecting prey by hanging from tree branches. They are swift and agile runners, and use many cunning hunting techniques, such as stealth and stalking. These animals have considerable endurance; they can run at a speed of up to 48 km per hour. All foxes seem to be monogamous and both parents care for the young. Their life span is about twelve years.

Themes

Cunning, deceitful and tricky
Foxes are the most deceitful among the Canidae. They are clever and intelligent; they carry out their work by attractive tricks. On the other hand, they have a fear that someone will steal their possessions by deceit or trickery. Expressions from the proving: “I don't trust anyone.”; “I keep thinking people will steal things from me.”; “I realize how much I hide from myself, the truth, from lies.”

Solitary, loner, independent
Foxes are the only solitary Canidae; they like to stay on their own. This quality is expressed in humans by a dislike for domination and extreme sensitiveness to external disturbances. They do not like anybody controlling their lives. They like to live life freely and independently, they wish to make their own decisions. If anybody tries to control them, then they become irritable or angry and try to escape from this situation. Their experience is of being controlled, “trapped and suffocated”.
Company; Aversion to; Sight of people, avoids the/ Company; Aversion to; Alone, when, amel/ Anger; Controlled, being/ Controlling; Control of his environment, need to be in, at all times/ Delusions; Control, people are attempting to control her / Freedom; Desire for; Authority, with total aversion to).
Felidae remedies are also independent and do not like domination but they have an air of command and extreme responsibility, with a show of power and strength. For foxes, independence means escaping from the control of others and wanting to live life according to their own wishes. 

Constant alert and watchful
“All my senses seem more acute.”; “I am sleeping very lightly and wake with the slightest sound.”; “I felt really threatened by people sitting behind me and I had to keep an eye on them.”; “I chose to sit close to the door.” These expressions from the proving show the extreme alertness and hyper vigilance of foxes, because they have this fear of being pursued and attacked. They are always ready to escape and very suspicious of being deceived and being trapped. Foxes are the smallest of the wild Canidae and as are solitary; they do not have the strength of the group to fight back, so they need this hyper vigilance. They do not have any defense except running away or escaping away from confrontation and danger.
Alert; hyper vigilant, sleep, even during/ Sensitive noise, to; slightest noise, to the

Trapped; need to escape and hide
Foxes have the feeling of being pursued and being attacked, so they need to stay alert; their main defense is to escape and run away.
Escape; run away, to; hide, and, as she feels threatened/ Fear; behind him; when someone is/ Fear; danger, of impending; escape, with desire to/ Escape, attempts to/ Hiding himself; fear, on account of / Hiding himself; running away, and).
They do not trust anybody and are sensitive to being deceived and being trapped; they have a fear of narrow places
Fear; narrow place, in a

Other symptoms

• Sexual thoughts and fantasies
• Attracted/ Sensitive to the colour red
• Fastidious for CLEANING and ORDER
• Anger, impatience and irritability
• Get very nervous if any sharp metal is pointing in my direction.
• Dreams of robbery is very strong in proving
• Darkness; Desire for
• Wandering; Desire to wander

Proving by Nuala Eising

Pulmo vulpes (fox’s lung tissue)

The uses of tissues and organs as remedies have thrown light on many curiosities of ancient medicine. As the fox is probably the longest-winded of all animals, the doctrine of signatures pointed to his lungs as a likely remedy for shortness of breath.

Other symptoms

• Pulm-v. has persistent shortness of breath, causing a attack of asthma on the slightest motion. Strong, sonorous bubbling rales.
• FEAR: puppets hairy, of in children – Mangialavori
• RESPIRATION: ASTHMATIC: exertion, after – Mangialavori
• RESPIRATION: DIFFICULT: exertion, after – Mangialavori

No proving available

Photos: Wikimedia Commons
Cane corso; pleple 2000
Wolves; Holger Uwe Schmitt
Vulpes vulper; Public Domain