THE GREYHOUND GROUCH
If you're familiar with Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), you know it involves tapping the body while addressing the emotions around an issue. Tapping stimulates meridians, which can change patterns in the brain. On a cellular level, this method purges the body of negative thoughts, stuck emotions, or deep-rooted trauma. The tapping process looks ridiculous, but it works effectively with separation anxiety or aggression issues.
EFT works well with animal communication. By communicating with the animal, I can determine which emotional centers, or chakras, are out of balance and then determine the emotional cause contributing to the animal's behavior problem. In other words, animal communication sets the groundwork and gives me a starting point so I know what to address while tapping the meridians.
In the following stories, these dogs were "tapped" at outdoor public animal events for as briefly as 20 minutes, except for Lorenzo, who required several sessions.
Chuck, The Grouch.
Rescued Greyhounds can come with issues, as any exploited animal can. Mostly, this breed is gentle, cat-like in their demeanor, graceful as deer, and reminiscent of horses, with their steady, soulful gaze.
I met Chuck at a national Greyhound event in PA. He was huge for four years of age, a bit anxious, stiff, and on guard. He growled when I touched him. His person, Larry, said Chuck freaked out and lunged when he passed black dogs. He also growled at people on his walks with Larry.
The growling had to do with Larry, who admitted to being somewhat of a recluse and preferred to cross the street rather than smile and chat with people. Chuck was following the clues and speaking out for his person. Upon realizing this, Larry agreed to be more open and engaging. His wife decided to trust Chuck more and loosen her grip on the "reigns" - the leash. Concerning black dogs, Chuck had blockages in the solar plexus, navel center, and root chakra. Feeling unconfident, Chuck felt vulnerable and afraid. He also became territorial and would not share his blanket or toys with other dogs.
Since Chuck wouldn't allow me to touch him, I tapped Chuck in the air - above his body parts: head, chest, and at the base of the tail. As I tapped Chuck, using statements that involved trusting, relaxing, playing, centering, and grounding, I also communicated images of black dogs being peaceful creatures like his Greyhound housemate, Abigail. I told him no one would ever hurt him. He was safe.
I saw Chuck the next day. His posture was more relaxed. Larry's grin was ear to ear. He said they passed Black Labs at the event. Chuck pranced along, calm and happy, and ignored them. Larry had also found Chuck sharing his blanket with another dog, laying together with heads six inches apart. Delighted to hear this, I reached out to Chuck, and much to my surprise, he allowed me to pet him.
Red, The Aggressor:
I wasn't sure why Red's person had decided to take him around thousands of dogs at a big animal fundraising event in Los Angeles, but here he was. Red's body language clearly revealed his angst. Eyeing every dog that passed, he couldn't relax. He was panting with anxiety while his person, Amanda, tightly pulled his short leash toward her.
She explained that Red went crazy, lunged, and tried to bite other dogs. Like most aggression issues, the root cause here was fear.
Like most dogs, Red welcomed the tapping. I tapped the usual three places, adding the top of the eye, the side of the eye, and under the eye - the same places we would tap ourselves. I used statements involving fun interactions with other dogs while sending him corresponding mental pictures. Animals think in pictures, and sending a thought while attaching an image delivers the message.
After a short while, Red began to stretch and yawn. After about 20 minutes, Red's posture and demeanor totally changed. He was smiling! He was curious. He looked anxiously at Amanda, then toward the dogs at the event, then back to Amanda. I heard, "Come on! Let's go!" I do admit I was shocked at this immediate turnaround. I told Amanda to let go of her control and untrusting grip on the leash and to get moving because Red was ready to meet and greet. Off they went into the field of dogs.
Lorenzo, The House Destroyer:
The natural tendency of curious wolf behavior, Stan informed me, was investigating everything with their teeth and claws. Lorenzo, a young white wolf, was destroying the house, and he was also one pointedly attached to the man of the home, Stan. Whenever Stan would step out of the house, especially when Stan walked to his garage, Lorenzo would pace around the home. He would destroy couches, curtains, and anything he could get his teeth on until Stan's wife, Ellie, phoned Stan to come home. If Ellie tried to stop Lorenzo's behavior in any way, he would bite her.
During our communication, I found that Lorenzo's obsession with Stan and disregard for Ellie was more than pledging allegiance to his alpha human. Lorenzo was also confused and upset as he watched Stan disappear into this ominous building twenty-five yards from home. Lorenzo felt he needed to protect Stan from impending danger.
With typical wolf skittishness, Lorenzo would not allow me to touch him. So I called out the affirming statements while Stan and Ellie tapped him. Lorenzo laid down in pure delight and almost fell asleep. Afterward, Lorenzo paced a bit when Stan walked out to the garage, but he seemed to drop his worry significantly. Lorenzo would dash over to a pillow or the couch, and instead of chewing, he stopped short and seemed to be thinking. Lorenzo sat with me outdoors and seemed to completely forget about his person. After three tapping sessions, Stan continued to see improvement, but our work would need to be continued.
If you're wondering, you can also use EFT on cats, but be prepared to be tapped back or hissed at! In these cases, tapping can be done on yourself, using yourself as a surrogate while visualizing the taps on the animal. Tapping this way is also effective via Zoom.
Whole Person Magazine JUNE / JULY issue 2016
