Sometimes people are shocked to discover that animals can get really angry if you TALK about food (i.e. limiting their food). On the plus side, it does confirm that animals really do listen to and understand just about everything we say. It is also a reminder of the importance of really paying attention to what we say around our animals.
The first time an animal got really angry with me regarding food was a while back when I was giving Reiki to a dog who had recently put on a lot of weight. While I had my hands on her, I kept getting the sensation of her body having to work really hard to deal with the extra weight and it concerned me. It felt like my heart was having to work harder, my lungs were working harder, and my body felt tired.
I spoke with her guardian about what I was sensing and asked her if she would consider helping her dog lose some weight. She said she was, although she had concerns about giving her dog less food because she hated to see her hungry. We talked about some of the options she had, such as substituting high calorie treats with things like ice cubes, which her dog loved, or giving her dog less kibble and supplementing her meal with steamed vegetables and other things that would help her feel full but not be so caloric.
Just then, her dog who had been resting very peacefully on the floor opened her eyes, lifted her head off the floor and growled at me. I tried explaining to her that we weren't talking about giving her LESS food, just healthier food but her growling continued and she even threw a few barks in there for good measure. I realized we needed to get her on board or this was never going to work.
I explained to her again why I was concerned about her weight, that I feared it could negatively impact her health, that it could diminish her quality of life and even take years off her life. I told her that we really needed her help. She was still growling but it was a softer growl now.
I asked her what was bothering her the most and she expressed concern that she might feel hungry all the time, or the food might not taste good, so we made some agreements with her. We agreed we were going to try it for two weeks and then check in with her again. If she really hated what she was eating, we'd come up with another plan at that time. We also agreed that she would continue to get her special Sunday dinner of chicken and rice. (It was very important to her that we didn't mess with one of her favorite rituals). Her mom also promised to try to make her meals as flavorful as possible. I'm happy to say that the growling and barking stopped as soon as we started talking to her about the agreements and asking for her input and support.
As promised, when I checked in with her two weeks later, I was pleased to find that she was not unhappy with the food she was eating (which even surprised her) and she noticed she was feeling less tired. I could tell the moment I walked in the door that she had lost some weight and when I began giving her Reiki that day, her body felt less taxed than before, so I knew the changes were good ones. We made another agreement that day to check in again on the food issue a month later to make sure everything was still alright. As with every animal I have ever met, they really do appreciate being treated with respect, they appreciate being included in the decisions being made that affect them.
I always treaded very carefully around the issue of food after that . . . until a month or so ago when I accidentally made another animal really mad. I was giving Reiki to a horse on this particular day. Her guardian mentioned that in recent months the horse had been trying to scratch her chest on anything she could find, whether it was the corner of the watering trough or anything else she could find to rub that spot on. She pointed to a place on the horses chest and I could see that she had rubbed some of her coat off in that one area. I told the horse I was going to put my hand there and see if I could get a sense of what was going on. The first thing that popped into my head was a food allergy.
I began asking the guardian if anything had changed in what she was eating in the last couple of months, thinking that maybe she was eating something new that had triggered an allergic response. At first the guardian couldn't think of anything that was different. One of her friends who was there with us mentioned they had been giving the horses a new kind of treat in recent months. I said, "Well, one way to tell would be to not give her the treats for a few weeks and see if you notice any change" and just then, the horse pinned her ears back and gave me a glare that let me know she was MAD.
As soon as I realized that she was reacting to our conversation about treats, I began trying to explain to her that we didn't mean she wasn't going to get any treats, that we were just talking about not giving her that particular treat to see if that was the cause of her itchiness but she didn't care. She was getting madder by the second and she even tried to bite me. I apologized to her profusely and stepped out of the stall. I knew I needed to give her some space.
I continued to talk to her and her guardian, trying to allay her fears about treats being taken away, but her ears were still pinned back. I felt so bad. The last thing I ever want to do is upset an animal. I kept trying to talk to her but she wasn't listening. She just kept saying, "Don't mess with my food" "Don't mess with my food!" - over and over again. I told her that I was very sorry and that I would respect her request, that we would not mess with her food.
She began to calm down and her ears went back up. I continued to send her Reiki to help soothe the anxiety I had unwittingly stirred up in her. Once she had calmed down some more, she told me that she would rather deal with itchy skin than have any food taken away. I told her I understood and relayed that information to her guardian.
Her guardian began telling me a little more about her horse's history, and as she did, everything about the horses reaction to a discussion about food made perfect sense. The horse's previous owner had stopped feeding her. When she was rescued, she was literally skin and bones, with every single one of her ribs showing. When her current guardian adopted her, she was told that the previous owner didn't want her anymore and thought that if he just stopped feeding her, she would die. It broke my heart to hear what she had been through and I couldn't blame her at all for not wanting someone to mess with her food.
After hearing about her history, I apologized to her again and told her how sorry I was for what she had been through. I told her that no animal should ever be treated that way and I was deeply sorry that she had experienced such awful neglect and abuse. I told her I was sorry that I had upset her and that I understood now why our conversation about treats had made her so mad. She told me again that she didn't care about having itchy skin, that food was more important to her.
I knew that as long as she held the pain from her previous trauma in her body, she would continue to feel that way. I also know how important it is to honor and respect the wishes of our animal companions. Their opinions may not always make sense to us but I believe it is vitally important to listen to them and honor their feelings about things.
It was a good reminder for me about the importance of paying attention to what we are saying in front of our animals and the importance of watching their reaction to what we say. They may not be able to communicate the same way we do, but rest assured they are always trying to communicate with us. The more we pay attention, the greater chance we have at building strong partnerships with our animals, based not only in love but in trust.
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