If You Aren't Using Flower Essences, You Are Missing the Best Part of Your Pet!

by Elaine Edwards, Cobb, California

The story of how I ended up with seven dogs will have to wait for another time - suffice it to say that I have a mother Border Collie, and five of her pups that are two and half years old now and a female McNab that I rescued from an unkind master. Living with this many dogs has its challenges and rewards, as you may have guessed.

In the beginning, it was all fun and games - puppies are sooo cute and playful - Misty, the mom loved to romp and play with the pups and the father, a neighborhood Romeo, even joined in the play sometimes. Then I adopted Joey, the McNab and she and Misty didn't see eye to eye on anything. About that time, I moved to a nice 6 acre ranch with a big house and lots of room to play. The change of home base, helped with the two older females territorial leanings.

When the pups were six months old, I dutifully took them to the vet to be spayed and neutered. The only male we have is one of the pups named Kermit and he is as gentle and loving as any dog I have ever had. Two weeks later, the attacks began. The first one started with Joey in the middle of all the other dogs. Then, two weeks later, the largest female Sugar, was viscously attacked by the smallest female, Rosie, who thought she was boss. When the attack ended, most of the other females ware attacking Sugar and I had a terrible time pulling everyone off her before she was torn to bits. I was sick at the thought of my wonderful dogs doing such terrible things to each other and waited with dread for the next attack. I never knew when or where it would happen and it always was the same dog, Sugar, who ended up on the bottom of the pile being torn apart. I knew if this continued, she would never be the happy dog that she started out to be.

I finally called in an animal behaviorist, who told me that I was to be the alpha dog and no one else was to be allowed to lord it over the rest. Also, I was to walk each dog 10 minutes a day on a leash with Heel, Sit and Stay. I started doing this training religiously every day and it helped. Still, every 2 to 3 weeks, there would be another attack. The animal trainer had told me this behavior would probably get worse and that I would have to keep the dogs in cages and separated to solve the problem. I couldn't bear the thought of caging my beloved dogs or trying to separate them and then give them enough attention. I also could not face the thought of giving any one of them away or having them put down.

Up until this time, I had been using Rescue Remedy, the five-flower essence formula that Dr. Edward Bach discovered in his search for gentle healing remedies from flowers. At least that helped keep Sugar sane and calm, even though she was very nervous at the slightest look from Rosie. Since the Rescue Remedy worked so well for trauma and injury, I decided to look further in the wonderful world of flower essences. I had used Impatiens for myself several months before the pups were born and found that I was able to face my own impatient self and learn to relax and take things all in their own good time.

So I ordered a Flower Essence Repertory from the Flower Essence Society located in Nevada City, California and was delighted to find a whole section on flower remedies for animals. I ordered several small bottles of them and started dosing each dog every night before bed. Quaking Grass for animals living in a group; Chestnut Bud for remembering training lessons; Star of Bethlehem for abused animals who have suffered injury or trauma; Tiger Lily for hostile or aggressive animals; Holly for jealous pets who vie for the attention of the caregiver; Chamomile for barking dogs and Cosmos to encourage interspecies communication. The Flower Essence Society suggests limiting the combinations to no more than five at a time, so! would have different combinations for each dog. On particularly bad days or when Sugar was badly hurt, I used the mixture several times a day which helped calm and heal the wounds.

Of course, all of this took months to halt the aggression and heal the trauma suffered. At least I had something to use that I knew would eventually help. I gave them only love and praise, treated them with the utmost kindness and patience and kept up the flower essences. After 15 months of this reign of terror and injuries to the dogs, it has been 7 months without any attacks. Each dog now is totally aware of what can happen when there is too much barking, too much horse play and too many dogs in one place. They treat each other with respect and caring - no food fights, careful of each other's space and individual likes and dislikes. I can now allow them some play between two or three without fear of aggression. They have become the wonderful animals that they were meant to be and are healthy, happy, loving pets. They look to me for love and help and rely on each other for fun and company.

If I hadn't found flower essences to heal the inner life force of each dog, I would have lost the companionship of seven wonderful, loving dogs. I am lucky enough to have a vet who is open to holistic healing practices and she has helped me find better ways to immunize the dogs, heal cuts and injuries and even keep them flea-free with flower essences and homeopathic remedies.

If you are having any behavior problems with your pet or pets, I highly recommend that you investigate the possibility that flower essences can turn your aggressive, fearful pet into a happy, calm, gentle companion, and save you many hours of worry and work.