Behaviour aspects
Every animal is an individual, so there are many reasons why they can exhibit behaviour patterns.
The behaviour may come on suddenly and leave us confused why our animal companion seems to have changed overnight. Animal communication can help shed light on an ongoing pattern or a sudden change in behaviour. In a communication session you have the opportunity to ask directly ‘Why are you …….? ‘ so you can understand what’s behind the behaviour.
The session also provides the opportunity to also ask the animal the best way to help the situation. We discuss what they share together, to ensure you are both happy with any agreed actions.
Animal communication gets to the heart of the situation, providing clarity to know how to resolve it quickly and effectively.
It’s important to have consulted your vet about your animal’s behaviour prior to the communication, so that health reasons can be ruled out. If you haven’t done so I will ask you to do so before I communicate with them. Please see below for some case studies about working with behaviour patterns. For more examples please see my testimonials page.
Case Study Behaviour pattern:
Barking, chasing runners & cyclists & a dislike of men – Mac the dog
Jackie contacted me about her dog Mac as his behaviour was concerning her. He was barking excessively, chasing runners and cyclists and was also wary of men. In the car he would bark a lot and get very distressed when the car slowed down or turned a corner.
Due to the number and range of issues I explained to Jackie that a few consultations may be necessary. In the initial consultation I had a very strong feeling from Mac that he was Jackie’s protector and that it was very important for him to feel he could protect her. This was triggering his excessive barking. We discussed how Jackie could help with this and a week later when we spoke Mac was already much calmer.
In the next session we worked on his fear of men and chasing runners and cyclists. Through the connection I understood that his fear of men was from before he lived with Jackie. During this time his limited experience of men hadn’t been positive, so I suggested how Jackie could address this. The next week when we spoke she reported that Mac had taken a biscuit from a man in the park! By understanding how Mac felt about runners and cyclists I was able to give Jackie suggestions of how to help with that situation too. She was delighted to report back that instead of chasing them he was just ignoring them when they went past.
The final area to address was the car. There had been improvements as a result of the other changes Jackie had made but Mac was still not entirely comfortable in the car. I got the sense of him feeling isolated from Jacquie when in the car This was causing him distress because of his need to protect her. He also conveyed to me a concern about where they were going. I explained this to Jacquie and we discussed what she could do. When we next spoke Jacquie told me that Mac was behaving when in the car.
Here’s what Jackie said:
“Asking Becs to help us change the behaviour of Mac, our Westie has been a remarkable and rewarding experience. He came to us from a difficult background and he was a very insecure dog. He hated closed doors and followed us everywhere and hardly ever settled down. Apart from being very attention seeking, his worst habits were: barking ferociously at all and sundry, chasing and nipping runners and cyclists and appearing to dislike men! But he is very loveable, affectionate and super with children. He loves to please and delights in being told he is good.
Working from a photograph, Becs analysed Mac and his behaviour incredibly accurately. When on the phone she connected with him and he immediately calmed down. She was able to give advice and agree a plan of action to facilitate improvement.
His behaviour is much improved (consequently we are much calmer too). He now walks past runners and cyclists, barks much less and even seems able to accept men! We are amazed at what has been achieved and so grateful for the help that we have received. We would unreservedly recommend Becs to anyone who has a difficult dog.”
Jackie, Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Case Study Behaviour pattern:
Barking & chasing when the phone rings – Shaun the dog
Janet was concerned about her dog Shaun’s behaviour, she thought he was being aggressive with their other dog Shep, as when the phone rang he would chase him and then nip him.
When I connected with Shaun I got the sense of a very loving and affectionate dog who loved to play. As I explored how he felt when the phone rang it became clear that the phone signalled play and fun for him and that was behind his chasing behaviour. When I explained to him that nipping Shep hurt him, Shaun conveyed to me the sense of not wanting to hurt anyone. He conveyed he had been taken from his mother early and that he didn’t realise the behaviour was wrong.
I explained this to Janet and she confirmed that Shaun had left his mother at six weeks and so could have missed out on learning from his mum and siblings. She also explained that his first owners had given him up as he was nipping the children. Janet was reassured that aggression wasn’t behind the behaviour and we talked about what she could do to help Shaun stop.
Here’s what Janet had to say:
“When Rebecca asked for a photograph of Shaun we wondered how she could possibly gather information from it. There were several things she picked up which convinced us that there was communication going on. She was able to describe not only Shaun’s character but also some of his physical issues. In addition she described some specifics in terms of what he did and didn’t like. She described him giving her a sensation like ‘bobbing for apples’, which confused us for a while until we realised that in the summer we had filled the paddling pool and played by dropping his nylabones in and he had to retrieve them. She picked up on his dislike of high pitched whistles, like those from power tools and his love of our blue squashy sofa!
We had contacted Rebecca as we were concerned that when the telephone rings Shaun jumps up and runs round to find and nip our other dog. Rebecca assured us that Shaun’s intention was not to pick a fight but he just wanted to play. She suggested various strategies for distracting him and suggested we change our reactions. We did some distraction but mainly we changed our reactions and instead of jumping up to intervene in a possible fight we told Shaun it was alright and kept everything very calm. Things have improved and knowing that Shaun only wants to play has helped us manage the situation in a better way.”
Janet, Doncaster, South Yorkshire