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The first thing I got from Issy was her anxiety, and she told me they were gone. I got the image of a man and a woman. I asked Caroline who was gone, and she said her parents had gone to New York for the weekend. When I told her Issy was upset about it, Caroline said she had told her they were going. I reminded Issy that Caroline had told her grandma and grandpa were going away, and Issy responded with - are they coming back? Caroline had told her they were going, but neglected to tell her about their return. Her regular practice was to tell Issy about the goings and the returns, but had forgotten to this time. Even though grandma and grandpa always came back, Issy's reality was: when they're gone, they're gone. Once we told her when they would be back, and Caroline apologized to her for her oversight, Issy settled down and returned to her normal behavior. We can tell animals when we'll be back either by their routine (after your nap, at dinner time, when it gets dark, etc.) or by the hour. Each hour of the day has a feel to it, so we know the approximate time even without a watch. If we tell our animals we'll be back at, for example, 4 o'clock, we are embodying the feel of 4 o'clock as we say it. The animals get the feeling of 4 o'clock, and when that feeling happens, they know we're coming home. If we go away for several days, we can picture to them the number of sunsets, or the number of dinner bowls, we're going to be gone, and then picture ourselves coming home and greeting them. Letting our animals know when we're coming back is a simple way to avoid or alleviate a lot of anxiety. It doesn't work all the time, especially if an animal is experiencing severe separation anxiety, but it is an effective preventative measure in many situations. If you have a situation or a question that you would like so see addressed, send a fax to 410-358-8300 or e-mail to terri@petspeak.com. Responses will appear in future columns. For an animal communication appointment, contact me at terri@petspeak.com, or at 410-358-3954. |
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THE ANIMALS' VOICE (continued from front page)