Experiences of an Animal Flower Essence Practitioner

Experiences of an Animal Practitioner

by Jane Stevenson, founding owner of Creature Comforters UK and Advanced Practitioner
with contributions from A. Digby, dog trainer and deputy manager of Creature Comforters UK
Published in the BFVEA ESSENCE JOURNAL - Autumn 2013

It is well known within the essence community that flower essences can help address the emotional and behavioural problems of animals in much the same way as they do people. And now a growing number of vets and trainers endorse them as a way of gently helping a wide range of problems, by this natural, non-chemical means.
But in what way, if any, does the application of this therapy differ between people and animals, for example, when selecting essences, should one consider an animal’s display of emotion, such as jealously, as equivalent to that of a jealous person?
As a Flower Essence Practitioner specialising in the care of animals for over twenty years, I find a different approach is required when providing consultations for animals. Of course one needs first to understand that animals are sentient beings that do actually have ‘emotions’ and not just that they display ‘behaviours’ (that their responses are purely instinctive - without the need for contemplation). Zoologists, such as Aubrey Manning, assert that there are two main aspects to animal behaviour, the physiological and the psychological[i] and both should be considered and defined. Naturalist Charles Darwin wrote in his book The Descent of Man[ii] of the differences between the emotions of humans and animals, that they are ‘only in degree and not in kind’. From my experience in practice I have also found this to be true. Therefore, yes an animal can feel the primeval emotion of jealousy (as every pet owner knows!) but can your average pet feel the more complex variant - envy, which entails feelings of resentment and sometimes malevolence? And can our pets experience more sophisticated and perhaps less instinctive emotions like compassion and empathy?

That classic chewed-slipper situation!
Let’s take this familiar scenario with your pet dog:
You return home to find your dog has chewed your slippers. She has that ‘guilty look on her face’… but is that actual ‘guilt’? Is she feeling a sense of regret for what she has done? Is she concerned about how her actions may have upset you and how her chewing your best pair of slippers made you feel? Can she empathise – does she feel compassion?
Yes she may be feeling worried. Worried about what punishment she may receive. She may be aware – from your actions – that you are cross with her. She may fear how your mood will affect her, and she’ll fear how her actions will affect your actions but, in my opinion, she won’t be concerned with how her actions have made you feel. Therefore, a flower essence such as Pine (which is for feelings of guilt) would not be applicable in this nor any scenario related to animals because, to feel guilty, you have to be capable of feeling compassion for another. This dog is more likely to need an essence like Aspen, Rock Rose or Mimulus (ones for fear), and perhaps even a dose of Chestnut Bud, to help her learn from her mistakes.

My personal detective
In all my years as a Practitioner there are essences in Bach’s complete range that I have never used for animals. Other practitioners may have a different experience; they may have found all 38 of the Bach Flower Remedies to be useful. But my belief that not all essences apply is confirmed by the primary method I use when selecting them – dowsing. I make personalised blends for animals from all over the world and therefore a lot of my work is done via email and post. I use a recent sample of fur, mane or feathers, or a photograph, as a witness to ‘tune-in’ to the energies of the animal; the pendulum then guides me to the appropriate essence. Choosing flower essences with the dowsing method has been a beautiful teaching device for me in so many ways because it provides an objective means of choosing an essence. It has enhanced my understanding of the function of each essence and given me deeper insight into why animals react to emotional difficulties in the way they do. Additionally, of course, you can’t ask your pet how they feel (well, you can try, but you won’t get a sensible answer!), therefore, for me, it is the perfect method to use as a practitioner for animals.
We are aware that when choosing flower essences for people you must treat each person as an individual, and not make assumptions; you must listen carefully to how they feel. With animals it can be more difficult because you can’t ‘listen’ to them, in the literal sense. Diagnosis and prescription for animals is, however, more straightforward for the group of behavioural problems to which certain flower essences often apply, for example the common condition of Separation Anxiety. The essences Walnut, Chicory and Honeysuckle will almost always be used to help ease this problem. But many of the psychological, psychosomatic and behavioural problems of animals can be much more complex and difficult to identify. Owners often contact me as a last port-of-call because they have tried many other treatments and cannot get an answer as to why their pet is unhappy or misbehaving. This is where dowsing is an invaluable device because it can often unearth the root of the animal’s emotional problem, for instance, it can reveal that an aggressive dog that was always thought to behave this way simply through dominance and anger, is actually aggressive through fear and trauma.
A consultation can often work out in this manner …..When the list of required essences and their uses is described to the pet owner it can help them to remember an incident or experience in the past that may have triggered their pet’s current behaviour. For example if I gave a consultation for a dog who barked inexplicably at wire-spoked wheels, and I was choosing essences without using the pendulum, I may be inclined to select essences for obsession and aggression. However, using the pendulum I may discover that the required essences are ones that – when combined – indicate a traumatic and frightening event in their past. These essences could include Star of Bethlehem, Honeysuckle and Mimulus. The owner may then recall an incident with their dog, in the distant past, involving an accident with a bicycle. In this way the dowsing pendulum acts as a sort of ‘detective’ uncovering clues as to why the animal is now unhappy, frightened or misbehaving, and the essences with their described functions, in turn, become an informative diagnostic tool. The positive feedback from my clients, over the years, confirms the remarkable accuracy of the dowsing technique.

What’s a typical essence and what’s not?
In my experience, when dowsing, there are a small group of essences that are frequently indicated for animals for a range of problems. These are mainly ones for fear (Mimulus, Rock Rose), traumas (Star of Bethlehem), and nervous aggression/energy (Impatiens, Vervain, and Cherry Plum). Equally, however, there are other essences that, in twenty years, have never come-up when I’m dowsing for animals. These include some which, to me, seem evident including Beech, Hornbeam, White Chestnut, Pine, Willow and Cerato, and some which are less obvious like Centaury, Red Chestnut and Sweet Chestnut. It appears that the essences which are virtually never applicable to animals are ones where a degree of self-analysis or self-awareness is experienced by the patient. Self-analysis is a skill to which most animals are incapable. We have already discussed Pine essence, and why I believe it is not applicable to animals, but let’s consider some of these other examples.

Beech
A person requiring Beech will be working on developing feelings of tolerance and understanding. You could hardly expect or demand those two things of an animal; therefore Beech essence in my opinion, could not apply. For an animal which may outwardly appear to need Beech, I would perhaps suggest using Holly, Impatiens or Cherry Plum instead, which are for the base emotions of anger, frustration and rage, respectively.

Willow
This essence is generally for resentment, bitterness or self-pity. Yes you might hear yourself saying of your dog “he’s feeling sorry for himself”, but really it’s only a figure of speech, a touch of anthropomorphism. Animals aren’t prone to mulling-over things and dwelling on their difficulties. To feel bitterness or to sulk you need to ‘dwell’. If he looks like he’s sulking or ‘feeling sorry for himself’ he is much more likely to be feeling tired (Oak/Olive), unwell (Crab Apple) or, because many dogs just need more exercise, he may simply be bored (Gentian/Wild Rose).

White Chestnut
As Dr Bach described, this essence is “for those who cannot prevent their thoughts, ideas and arguments which they do not desire from entering their minds”. Firstly, from that description I would be highly unlikely to consider this essence appropriate for animals. Secondly, it is an essence which has never been indicated in my dowsing; therefore I have never needed to use it.

There are anomalies, however, where essences which - from their description - don’t quite seem applicable to animals but which are indicated as applicable in my dowsing. Heather is one such essence and is described for people who are prone to brood over their own problems and talk incessantly about them. This is an essence which comes up surprisingly often when I’m dowsing for animals. I had puzzled over this and, after poring over the case studies where Heather has been used, I have come to realise that when used for animals Heather is primarily for obsessive behaviour where an animal becomes fixated over objects or irritations.

Understanding the emotions of animals and the function of flower essences
So being a Flower Essence Practitioner has not only enhanced my understanding of the various nuances of the function of each essence, as in the case of Heather above, but it has also been an education in the differences between the emotions of people and animals. Having, in my own way, studied animal behaviour over the years, I have concluded that, yes, they are capable of a surprisingly wide range of emotions, but by no means are animals able to feel the complete spectrum of human emotions (the only exception to this may be animals with large brains and more sophisticated survival strategies such as apes). This viewpoint could be seen as controversial, either that ‘of course, animals can feel every emotion’, or conversely, ‘animals only work on instinct’. Neither is true, in my opinion. To believe one or the other is, excuse the pun, barking up the wrong tree! Your average pet is incapable of emotions requiring self-analysis, deliberation and contemplation such as revenge, envy or compassion, but they are capable of feeling the more primeval emotions of rage, jealousy, devotion and fear. Perhaps their emotional scope is simpler in relation to their level of intelligence or perhaps it is because animals have different motivations to us - ones to do with hunting and procreation, in other words – survival. But there’s more than that; to survive, or to make survival worthwhile they, and we, also seek the emotions of love from companionship, and of joy from play. Darwin observed that even ants play ‘like puppies’. One might ask, what is the point of an ant ‘playing’, what is the purpose? The answer might come: to make life worth living. Even insects, it seems, like to have fun!

Not only do we have anecdotal evidence that animals can and do feel conscious emotion but also, when writing of cats in 1992, veterinarian Bruce Fogle[iii] wrote ‘both humans and cats have identical neurochemical regions in the brain responsible for emotions’ as evidence that animals must feel actual emotions and not that they just display instinctive, physiological reflex behaviours. In conclusion, I believe our emotional responses are comparable to those of animals but not always equivalent. If chosen carefully and with consideration of the differences between us, select flower essences can be a wonderful healing tool for the emotions of all creatures that inhabit the Earth.

By Jane Stevenson
I am a BFVEA Advanced Flower Essence Practitioner and the owner of a Flower Essence Company, Creature Comforters® Ltd. All essences referred to in this article are made by Creature Comforters® to the precise, natural and traditional instructions of Dr Bach.

References:
[[i]] Manning, A (1979). An Introduction to Animal Behaviour. London: Edward Arnold
[[ii]] Darwin, C. (2004). The Descent of Man. London: Penguin Classics
[[iii]] Fogle, B. (1992). If Your Cat Could Talk. London: Doring Kindersley

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