Stay-at-home restrictions are lifting for some areas soon.  Perhaps you are one of them.  But if not, when the time comes, you’ll want to be aware of how this may affect your animals.  Be prepared so that your animals can avoid a potential emotional meltdown.

If you have been staying at home during this time and this was not your normal routine, then your animals will have gotten very used to all of the extra attention you’ve been able to give them.  Even if you have an essential job somewhere, you’ve probably been spending more time at home because of the restrictions.  And your animals will have noticed.

Many animals have gotten accustomed to their family being around.  And they may expect this “new normal” to keep on lasting indefinitely.

When you return to your regular routine of leaving your home, your animals may act out in undesirable ways because they are ‘separated’ from you.

Trying to return to a normal life may cause your animal to become anxious or even depressed.  And to add fuel to the fire, this past week, scientists were anticipating coronal mass ejections (CME) and solar flares to occur.  These sun events can also contribute to a change in your animal’s behavior, including being agitated or restless.

You may see signs from your animals before or after you start to return to a more normal routine.  Animals are very sensitive, and can tune in to you, sensing that their life is about to change.  Watch for these possible signs:

• Nervousness or wanting to hide
• Drooling or panting excessively
• Whining or whimpering consistently
• Biting or clawing their way out of spaces
• Self-mutilating
• Lack of appetite or wanting to eat
• Tearing up household items
• Seeming very sad or not wanting to engage with you or others
• Demonstrating other undesirable behaviors that they never had before

Thankfully, there are a number of things you can do to help you avoid undesirable behaviors from happening.  Consider implementing these tips:

Talk to Your Animal

• Yes, talk out loud to your animal.  Prepare them for what’s going to happen.  Let them know you’re going to be returning to work, etc.  Tell them that you love them but it’s important you return to your routine to support your family, etc.  It may sound silly but talking to your animal can make a huge difference.  You can also picture in your mind what it is you are trying to tell them because they can tune it to the images you are projecting.
• Tell your animal when you are going to leave and when you are going to return.  You can say you’ll be home by dinner time for instance.  If you are gone overnight, you can tell them you’ll be home in one moon or two suns for example.
• Since you will be spending less time with your animal, let them know what time you can still spend with them.  What will this “new” routine look like?  They may not recall what the old routine was like.  Will times change for walking, feeding, etc.?  Even though you may be back to work, can you still spend some extra walk time or cuddle time with them every day?  Tell them out loud what their schedule looks like and what you can do with them so they will have that to look forward to.
• Remember that it’s always good to remind your animals regularly of your conversations, as a one-time chat is really not enough.  After all, they love it when you talk to them about your day, your feelings, your dreams, and so on.  You need to reassure your animal, just like you would a child.  And make sure you stick to your plans with them or they’ll feel let down.
• If your animal starts to behave differently, if you know animal communication, you can ask them why they are acting that way.  Maybe your “new” schedule is not clear to them and they don’t understand when you’re supposed to be gone.  Maybe you aren’t spending the time with them that you told them you would.  Your animal can share with you why they are behaving that way.  You can ask them what will help the situation and work out something that makes you both happy.

Incorporate Other Holistic Animal Care Methods

• Color Therapy can work wonders.  Before you start returning to some kind of normalcy, you can lay on the floor a light blue or light pink blanket, sheet, or towel for your animal.  Light blue is calming and light pink can help with separation anxiety.  If your animal is depressed, yellow may brighten their day.  Your animal will lay on or near the fabric when they want to.  This is about the energy the color gives off, not what color your animal actually sees.  Every color has its own energetic vibration, and animals are very sensitive to energy of all kinds.  If your animal is already demonstrating undesirable behaviors and these colors do not help, muscle testing can show you the ideal color for your animal.
• Energy Work is something you can do that can relax and comfort your animal.  Anyone can offer basic energy work.  We all have healing energy inside of us.  Offering your animal energy work for even 5 minutes a day can make a difference.  If you aren’t sure how to do this, please click on the Basic Energy Work Techniques PDF document you can download or print out.  Start offering this now and it may be smooth sailing for your animal’s return to “normal”.  If your animal is already having some issues, try offering energy work more frequently.  Often, when animals get used to receiving energy work, they’ll seek you out for it.  They may even present a part of their body to you that could use attention, like their hindquarters.
• Nutrition can affect your animal’s behavior.  Grains and “hot” proteins such as chicken and lamb can heat up their body and potentially cause them to become anxious.  Daily probiotics can put the good bacteria in the body, keep the stomach calm, and help the immune system to stay balanced.  Remember that the overall well-being of animals and people have a lot to do with what’s going on in the gut.  If your animal needs help now, bee pollen or chamomile tincture may help to calm them.  Muscle testing will show you the best foods, supplements, and amounts for your animal.
• Massage can provide a special touch for your animals.  Massaging their chest and in their “armpits” can relax them.  You can move your fingertips in slow, gentle circles.  Watch their expression for signs of relaxation such as eyes softening, head lowering, and drooling.  Animals can fall in love with this and it’s a great way to strengthen your bond with them, especially when you start getting back to a normal life.  Avoid bone and any areas of concern.  Animals with certain health conditions shouldn’t be massaged.  Check with your vet if you have any concerns.
• Aromatherapy can be beneficial.  Bergamot, Lavender, and Neroli are some essential oils that can be soothing and helpful with anxiety and depression.  The easiest and safest way to offer aromatherapy is to open the bottle, allow your animal to approach, sniff, and walk away.  Muscle testing can show you which oil is ideal.

These are just some examples of the many things you can do to help your animal ease back into a normal routine.  Don’t be afraid to step outside of the box and try new things.  If you need advice during this time, please feel free to contact us here.  We are happy to assist you and your loved ones.

To help your animal even more, consider taking an animal communication class.  Our next teleclass is on May 17^th with registration due by May 9^th.  Click here to learn more about this life-changing class you can do from the comfort of your home on your phone or our web phone.  You may also look into joining our jam-packed Animal Heart & Soul Learning Center, where we provide four years worth of holistic animal care methods, along with health issues such as anxiety and grief, through videos, class documents, call recordings, bonuses, email chat group, and more.  Click here to find out more.

Happy Tail Blessings!

Kim & Allison

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