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"Honey"... Ex-puppy farm Golden Retriever bitch owned by Rob and Sian.

Honey is a 6-7 years old, Golden retriever bitch, owned by Rob and Sian, and came from "Many Tears", an organisation that rescues and re-homes dogs, especially those from "puppy farms" in Ireland. These dogs are often not house-trained, shy or even frightened of people and have no experience of life within a household. Rob and Sian asked me to visit in August 2010 as they had made a lot of progress with her but there were still some outstanding issues.

On her consultation form, Honey was described as insecure, needy, excitable (with specific triggers) but often suppressed the excitability. She was often "Robotic" and needed routine to cope with day-to-day life. She often expressed herself vocally by "talking". She was very food orientated and while not defensive, she gobbled her food up always keeping an eye on the other dogs. At her worst, she would become flat, submissive and "glaze" for minutes at a time as if she was having a petit mal fit.

Her behaviour towards Rob was of concern as she would suddenly panic and run away from him when he made a sudden movement such as lifting his arms. She would also panic if voices were raised, even if only calling from another room, or if quick movements were made close to her. She did not like things around her head such as a slip lead being put on and also displayed controlling behaviour in that she would lie across the doorway, not to guard but just so that she was able to keep everyone in her line of vision.

I did a home-visit and carried out a consultation with all members of the family (human and canine) present and discussed the potential for essential oils and how to offer them safely, plus the importance of allowing the animal a choice as to whether she took them or not. I also gave some behavioural and management advice to help build trust within their relationship. Rob, understandably, felt a little "emotionally bruised" that this dog they wanted to help so much, appeared to be frightened of him at times so we discussed various approached he could try.

I carried out a kinesiology (muscle testing) assessment to create an "energetic map" of her energy system and the various imbalances within it. The oils that were indicated to trigger the body to correct these imbalances were Helichrysum (H. itallicum) Yarrow (Achillea alternifolia) and Angelica Root (Angelica archangelica).

Honey showed an immediate and intense interest in the oils and indicated this by sustained inhalation, licking the oils from my hand and lying quietly by me. Apparently within 2 days of starting the oils, she stopped lying across doorways and would lie quietly on the rug or in her bed.

On 14 th September Sian reported..." She is doing really well thanks - she loves the oils and just seems much more level.  She is glued to my husband now, which is taking some getting used to by him as he has been used to the complete opposite!!"

I caught up with Sian in February 2011 and this is what she said. "Honey is still doing really, really well - she is so much more chilled out now and loves the oils.  We are only giving them to her every few weeks now as she does not seem to need them more frequently than that but we still cannot get over the change in her.  She just seems so much more happy and balanced around us and especially with Rob.  As you know, initially Rob could not go near her as she would freak out but that has all gone away now.  She is so much calmer and responsive around Rob - she even goes to him now and raises her paw to him to get some fuss!   The other thing we have noticed is that she is also a lot calmer on her walks when we meet other people.  She's not keen on children but then nor am I so we can't really hold that against her!!!

I must confess, we have also been using the oils on Jessie (cocker spaniel).  As you know, at times she could be quite aggressive towards Honey but they have become the best of friends now and even share a bed in the lounge in the evenings!!!   Jessie seems less possessive of us and is not bothered now by Honey demanding attention - at one time if Honey even dared to come and sit by me and Jess was close by, she would growl at Honey who would then withdraw.

All in all I would say that the oils have been a big success for us and our little pack of dogs and I cannot speak highly enough of them and yourself.  It has changed the balance within the house totally - something we were at a total loss with so thank you!"

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