Fear Factor

When I first began working with Keene, and we were still in the “getting to know you” phase, I made the mistake of grabbing a tissue and turning towards him.  Immediately he dashed behind the two upholstered chairs, cowered and looked at me through terrified eyes.  Okay, I thought.  I didn’t get much of a history on Keene, but this was pretty clear fear based behavior.

He was willing to call a truce and share the space of the treatment room with me as we did our first session.  I tried not to move around or disturb him too much.  He appreciated that Pranic Healing is a no-touch healing modality, and he could keep a comfortable distance.  His energy was very collapsed and holding a lot of stress and fear.   Although he physically lay down, he still had that gripping feeling at the end of the first session.

The next week, having had the benefit of the prior session, I prepared myself before I approached him.  I softened my energy and quieted down.  He was in his ex-pen looking terrified. Very gently and slowly I took his collar from the hook and held it below his neck to clip it on him.  His body was super tense and rigid.  Although I was clearly not a threat, even the simple act of putting on a collar was too much for him.  He trembled and started peeing.

Up in the treatment room, I sat on the floor in an attempt to make him more comfortable.  His tail was stiff.  His body and all his muscles were rigid like a statue.  He wouldn’t look at me.  He just stood there, frozen.  I began working on him.  After a while, he laid down next to my legs, but not touching.  His back began to soften and the distance between him and my legs got smaller. I noticed his breathing getting deeper.  He snuggled in to my legs.  Another deep breath and he rested his head down on the blanket rolled up by my feet.

Again, being able to do this energy work off his physical body was so valuable because I really wanted him to be able to relax without my touch possibly disturbing him.  As he continued to lie there, I could see his body relaxing even more.  The muscles softening.  A yawn.  A sigh.   More deep breathing.  Eventually he turned his head and looked right at me.  Gone was the vacant stare of a dog dissociating, and I could actually see him in his eyes!  Success!!

Eventually his body became more animated.  He began to pant.  Another good sign.  He sniffed the floor around his area.  Excellent.  He spotted the chew toy and began working it.  Awesome – engaging with his environment!  As his body became more and more relaxed, he became more comfortable in treatment room, sniffing around and exploring the space.  We were just about done with the session, and although he still had his collar on I needed to put his gentle leader on to walk him back.  Fortunately, that was a non-issue.

As I attached the leash, Keene had this big-old golden retriever smile on his face!  He was actually watching me with interest, not with fear.  As we walked back down to his place, he had a spring in his step and a fluid ease of being that had not been there on the way up, just less than an hour ago.  What a joy to see this sort of turn-around in such a sweet soul!  He was a completely different dog leaving the room.  I’m really looking forward to our session next week.