Cross-Species Case Study: Luli the Rescue Dog
Luli was about 7 years old when I met her. I fostered her in a small town in the struggling world where they're still kicking the family dog and drowning unwanted litters. As with all adult animals her history was unknown, but she definitely had some trauma.
Luli was absolutely fearful of moving vehicles, first of all. I couldn't get her into the car at the animal shelter and once I did, she cried all the way home. I managed to get her to the river and to the beach after a couple of days, and while she showed her dexterity jumping among the boulders, she carefully avoided the water completely. Bath time showed that she did not like the water at all. She had a habit of scratching and biting herself constantly. Her sleep was filled with moans, groans, and twitches that seemed agonized and tortured.
The biggest obstacles seemed to be the car and water, so we started there. I applied the hypnosis method to her while she was lying beside me on the sofa one day. In the hypnosis, I simply removed her fear of the car and went through the rest of the hypnosis method in an attempt to clear her car trauma. I then repeated the technique with water trauma. Luli slept hard for two days after that. I had to carry her outside for potty time as she refused to move at all. After a couple of days of hard rest, Luli was fine and energetic like normal again.
With the dog refreshed, it was time to test the hypnosis results. I led her (leashed) to the car and opened the door to the back seat. As expected, she cried and refused. However, when I put a piece of cheese in the middle of the seat, she jumped in and got it! This was progress! She immediately jumped back out. We did this a couple more times and I saw her anxiety ease with jumping into the car. After a couple of repetitions, she jumped into the car with no problem and did not insist on immediately jumping back out.
The next test was the water. I surmised that she had been tried to be drowned in the river as a puppy, so it made sense that she was deathly afraid of the water. I took her to the beach, walked into the gentle waves, and coaxed her to join me. She refused, naturally, and sat on her haunches in stubbornness. The sand doesn't have any traction though so I didn't have to pull hard to bring her to me. She was hesitant, but fine! She did not fight or run away. We waded a few different times that day, trying to get her used to the water, and she was completely fine! A different dog than before. After a few beach visits, we attempted the river. This was harder for her. But, I managed to gently coax her into the water about knee-deep! It was a lot for her, but she did it!
We next addressed more anxiety healing. I found that she had been kicked and hit a lot by her former family, then they abandoned her and moved away. We worked to neutralize those wounds as well with the given technique, and she scratches and bites herself much less these days. It's still a problem -- who knows how long she has had this habit -- but it's much better. And actually her scratching now appears to be mostly out of habit and physical as she sweats because she's scratched off her hair, then is uncomfortable and itchy. I apply talcum powder on the sweaty areas and she calms immediately. The biting habit is very annoying. Her sleep is restful and peaceful.
I removed energy of violence and cruelty, and her vibrance levels leapt about 30%.
Compliance training was next. She flat refused to cooperate for no apparent good reason. So I used the given hypnosis method in two ways: to remove the energies of stubbornness, and to instill compliance behaviors. She improved her compliance by about 70% after three sessions, which is enough to make my life a lot easier.
Luli is a very sweet dog, and I am so very pleased that we have managed to alleviate a lot of her anxiety. She is a lot more comfortable in her own skin and with me, and she is easier to manage. Today, she wants to get into the car whenever I go anywhere, like a lot of dogs. She throws a fit if she doesn't get to come! She absolutely loves the beach. She still doesn't love the water too much, but we are working on it. Bath time is much easier these days and she is learning that the water is not going to hurt her -- and neither am I.
The hypnosis worked surprisingly well! Luli had to be conscious and within hearing distance. It seemed to be a bit more effective when I was looking her in the eye, but in any case, it works as it works on human beings.
Such excellent news for all traumatized animals.
(All images stock, courtesy of Unsplash: Thanks to Radojcic, Spaa, and Stampfli)