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TREATING
ANIMALS WITH Bach Flower Essences®
an article by Kim Rockshaw, DIHom, BFRP
In the last thirty years or so, treating
our beloved animal companions with holistic healing methods has become
increasing popular. There are many reasons for this, including the increasing
expense of allopathic treatment, side effects of many conventional drugs
and of course, the over-all well being and comfort of these dear creatures.
One area that I am pleased to see becoming more widely accepted and used
is the use of Bach Flower Essences® in treating emotional and behavioral
problems. While many traditional veterinarians are increasingly prescribing
drugs like Prozac, Elavil and other medications, many of my clients come
to me looking for an alternative. Some come because the drugs did not
help(i.e.,the animal would be appear quieter, or more sedate, but the
emotional problem still existed, as noticed when the drug was discontinued).
Many are not happy with the side effects they are witnessing. Many are
also seeking a permanent improvement or cure, that cannot be achieved
by drug therapy. Allopathic medicine (nor even herbal treatment) cannot
get to the reason and cause behind an emotional imbalance.
At the time Dr. Bach was developing his essences (1931-1936) in Europe
and England , Wales , etc, homeopathy had already been employed in the
treatment of domestic and farm animals. Dr. Bach, a homeopath, as well
as a bacteriologist and pathologist,was quite adamant that the essences
would be helpful to animals and plants, as well as people. Though it was
not common practice at the time, to treat animals with essences, his assistant
Nora Weeks was quoted as saying in 1942, “Animals suffer from moods
in the same way as human beings, . . . The Remedies help man and beast
alike”. But unfortunately, it has only been in the last 30 years
or so, that we have seen the use of flower essence treatment with animals
flourish and grow.
My first exposure to the Bach essences, was in 1990, when I was working
at an Animal Shelter in Illinois . One of our more progressive volunteers
would give the dogs and cats Rescue Remedy® before they would go before
the cameras on our weekly adoption TV show. Once I moved to California
, I began learning more about essences and attended a few seminars. I
then started using them on my own animals (I have a small, licensed sanctuary
for special needs cats), with amazing success. In 2003, after going through
the wonderful training of the Nelson Bach Foundation, I earned the right
to become a BFRP. Now, using essences on both animals and humans is a
integral part of my practice and with my own animals or those who are
rescued.
The beauty of the essences, to me, is their simplicity. No matter where
you are in your work with animals, the essences will always help. It can
be as simple as just using Rescue Remedy®, say, to spray on feral
cats in traps, or putting in the food and water of a nervous, frightened
shelter dog. It is also most helpful for your own pets prior to vet trips
or any stressful situation. Because it is a remedy for panic and trauma,
I have also had success in using it for more serious situations. For instance,
on numerous occasions, I have been able (and under my direction, clients
have been able) to, pull animals out of seizures, by dropping a few drops
of Rescue Remedy® onto their tongue. It is amazing how quickly the
seizure either stops or is greatly reduced in severity. By no means do
I think this is curing the tendency to seizures, but it quickly helps
diffuse an often terror- filled episode! Another situation where the “anti-panic”
action of Rescue Remedy® can help is when an animal with asthma is
stressed and goes into an attack. The fear of not breathing compounds
the problem of course, and can be greatly helped with a few drops of Rescue
Remedy®, on the tongue of the animal. (It can also be rubbed into
the ears, paw pads, etc., but I find it does not work as quickly as the
oral route; more doses may be needed.) Always be careful not to put your
fingers too close to the animal's mouth, especially in the case of seizures.
. . try to drop from above. (I might add that I also have seen Rescue
Remedy® help human beings in the midst of an asthma attack.)
Another wonderful quality of use flower essences, is that they are extremely
safe and gentle. Even if you choose the wrong essences, you will not hurt
your animal. Also, unlike certain herbal treatments, they are safe and
effective, to use in conjunction with allopathic drugs, with no fear of
drug interaction.
In more chronic behavioral conditions, the essences can be extremely helpful.
One of the main conditions I see and treat are hyperactive animals, especially
dogs. The essences Impatiens or Vervain can be very helpful, depending
on the animals individual behavior. Vervain is for very high energy dogs
that never seems to stop! These dogs that chase cars or bark constantly;
horses needing Vervain will break through or jump over fences just to
run. A combination I seem to use a great deal is that of Vervain and White
Chestnut. (White Chestnut is of course for compulsive, obsessive thinking
and activity.) Animals needing this are those who are high energy and
have repetitive behavior problems, such as focusing and/or trying to play/chase
a ball constantly. Impatiens dogs have more nervous energy and an be described
as edgy or “high strung”. Indeed, Impatiens can be helpful
in treating dogs that tremble or nervously shake and is sometimes effective
in treating various neurological problems. Gastrointestinal problems due
to a nervous constitution, can be greatly helped by Impatiens, as well
as skin afflictions. For instance, if you have a dog that bites or chews
itself out of nervousness, and also has a sensitive stomach (will vomit
easily when upset) and trembles, shakes a great deal, use Impatiens, for
long term treatment. In these cases also consider Beech and possibly Crab
Apple and/or White Chestnut. Impatiens is also helpful for irritable birds
that preen themselves constantly or pull out feathers to the point of
self destruction. In these situations, it would be wise to try combining
with White Chestnut . (Also consider Crab Apple for any skin problems,
or excessive chewing, itching, etc.). For birds, essences are easy to
use, by making up a misting bottle and spraying the essence combination
onto the bird as well as putting into clean drinking water, daily.
Another very common condition for which essences are beneficial, is that
of separation anxiety. Dogs and cats can manifest this in many ways. Some
are bored, and will become depressed and stop eating. Some bark and destroy
the house or yard. A number of essences that can be helpful are: Red Chestnut,
for the animal that is quite protective of their owner and becomes anxious
for their well being. These animals will often sit by the window or door,
waiting to see if their caretaker or even another animal companion comes
home safely! Chicory, for the clingy animal that will actually exhibit
attention seeking behavior if the owner leaves him alone or is not paying
enough attention. These animals will often destroy the house or yard in
protest! Heather, for the very talkative and clingy animal. Heather animals
are can be reluctant to obey their owners or handlers as they want their
own way. Walnut should also be considered to put in these combinations,
since it is for change of any sort. Honeysuckle essence is another choice
to consider, but it is more situational. Honeysuckle may be used with
the essences mentioned above, but can also be used as a situational remedy,
along with Walnut. An animal needing Honeysuckle is disturbed by the situation
of being separated from a home or person; they do not share the deeper
pathological neediness of these other remedies.
For those whose animals are having trouble getting along with others,
always consider Beech and Holly. Beech is to instill tolerance and flexibility
to new situations. These animals can sometimes, but not always, have numerous
allergies, since they are intolerant of many things. They are often sensitive
to noise, or changes in the weather or environment. Holly is more of a
specific jealousy remedy; these animals usually display more aggressive
tendencies than Beech. They can be really angry, suspicious and even revengeful
about new people or animals in their environment. When introducing a new
animal or person, always consider Beech, Walnut and possibly Holly. If
you have an animal that is extremely dominant , pushy, territorial and
aggressive, also consider Vine.
Grief is a condition that warrants the help of essences. The essence Honeysuckle
is most helpful here, along with Walnut and Gentian. Also consider Heather
or one of the other separation essences. However, remember that grief
is situational, so deeper more pathological essences are not always appropriate.
If the depression is severe and the animal seems go have given up hope
(i.e., has stopped eating, or socializing), Gorse should be considered
along with the three other essences.
One of the most commonly used essences when working with animals is Chestnut
Bud. This is to help break bad habits and instill new behavior patterns.
One can see how helpful this would be in so many situations: Training
horses and dogs for show, house-training or other types of behavior modification
work with dogs, inappropriate urination and/or spraying with cats. I highly
suggest using Walnut along with Chestnut Bud in all cases.
The most important thing to remember when selecting an essence or essences
for an animal is to ask “why”, the animal is behaving in a
certain manner. In other words, it is most helpful to try to “get
inside the animal's head”, so to speak, and figure out the underlying
emotion. The more specific you can be in understanding your pets' behavior,
the more successful you will be at picking out the correct essences.
On of the most common “errors” I find when people are new
to using essences, is that of not giving the essences enough time to work.
Many times, after I have suggested using Rescue Remedy® prior to a
stressful event, a person will report back that they did not see any results.
If you are giving Rescue Remedy® in anticipation of an event, you
must dose two or three times (15 min. apart), starting at least 45 minutes
before the event. Oral dosing always works best, but very sensitive animals
will respond by rubbing it into their ear flaps, paw pads or on gums.
If your animal friend objects to the alcohol taste, you can always mix
a few drops into a teaspoon of purified water before dosing. When a situation
is an acutely, occurring trauma (as described earlier when discussing
seizures), often one dose of Rescue Remedy® will stop the panic immediately.
But if the stressful situation is happening in the future, please remember
that often a few doses will be needed.
In chronic situations, I sometimes see people give up after a few days
of using the essences. In many cases, these are old, embedded behaviors
that originated years earlier and can not be corrected overnight. Also,
working through chronic behavioral problems often takes more than one
combinations of essences. On numerous occasions I have had to work four
to six months with patients, using various essence combinations to achieve
a complete cure.
The other factor that will help achieve success with treating animals
(and people) for non acute or chronic situations is how the essences are
administered and how frequently they are given. Success with essences
is often based on the consistency of dosing. In humans, we recommend a
few drops on the tongue four times a day, or put in a glass of water and
sip throughout the day. When working with animals, we have to be a little
creative in how we get the animal to absorb the essences. For instance,
a healthy cat, does not drink much water. I have found the suggestion
of putting essences in a water bowl, not very affective with cats (unlike
dogs or birds). The essences will often evaporate before they are ingested.
So, I encourage my feline owners to put a few drops on the animals canned
or home prepared food* twice daily, then dose orally once or twice daily,
and you can also rub into their ear flaps. Though sometimes difficult
due to time and other constraints, I usually find the quickest and best
results occur the more oral doses are given. The animal has to be ingesting
or receiving the essences in some way, at least four times a day to start,
at least for the first few days. After a week or so, sometimes the dosing
can be reduced to three times. Once you have established a good dosing
schedule please stay on this until you see maximum results have been achieved.
In some cases the behavior may continue to improve through a whole bottle
of essences. I have seen a few (though rare) cases where after a few days,
the behavior will completely turn around. In any case, if the animals
emotional progress has improved and then plateaued for a few days, it
is time to stop the current essences and/or go on to other essence(s).
This article is not meant to be a comprehensive treatise on using the
Bach essences for animals. If you do not have any books on treating animals
with essences, I encourage you to purchase one or two. They will be greatly
helpful in choosing the right essences, as well as learning how to dose
properly. If you have a chronic behavioral problem with your animal companion,
that you cannot resolve on your own, please consider consulting with an
experienced BFRP who works with animals.
Be patient. Your animal friends are beautiful little individuals, and
flower essence therapy is a highly individualized form of healing. It
sometimes takes a few tries to find the right essences. Be consistent
with your dosing. The time and effort you put into working with the essences
will be so wonderfully rewarded. As you watch an animal personality blossom,
fears dissolve, and emotional balance achieved, it will be all be worth
it!
*(Author's note: Though this article is not meant to discuss animal nutrition,
it is my opinion after many years of research and working with animals,
especially cats, that a strictly dry food diet is neither appropriate
or sufficient. Quality canned foods and/or a home prepared meat based
diet is essential for numerous health functions, mainly those of the urinary
tract and digestive system)
Kim Rockshaw, MM, DIHom, BFRP, is a homeopath and Bach Flower Essence
Practitioner living in So. California . Ms. Rockshaw became interested
in holistic medicine in 1988, after suffering her own severe health challenges.
She started using Homeopathy and Flower Essences on animals while working
as the Medical Director at an Animal Shelter in Illinois . After moving
to California, in 1992, she earned her degree in homeopathy and later
went through the Nelson Bach Foundation training to become a Bach Flower
Essence Registered Practitioner. Besides this training, she has had a
strong medical background in working with domesticated animals. Besides
her consulting practice, she maintains a private, licensed sanctuary for
cats with special needs. She is also currently authoring a book, entitled
“ Prozac Free Pets”: Simple, Safe Holistic Treatments for
Your Pets Little (and not so Little) Behavioral and Emotional Problems.
The book, which will be published in the late spring of 2008, advises
on using homeopathy, flower essences and some behavior modification, to
treat animals with emotional imbalances.
Ms. Rockshaw offers consultations for both physical ailments (chronic,
serious illness as well as acute) and emotional problems. She uses homeopathy,
Bach Flower Essences®, supplements, herbs and nutrition. Currently,
much of her practice is devoted to working with animals and she much of
her work is done by phone consultations (many clients are long distance).
For further information, you may visit her website at: www.kimrockshaw.com
or call (949)-366-6818.
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