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How Animal Reiki Helped My Poochon Pup: Benefits of Animal Reiki

Molly Malone shares how Animal Reiki helped her poochon puppy in its early years

“…Reiki really helped him to settle down to sleep at night and get into a peaceful evening routine. He used to love having his hair brushed and afterwards he would snuggle his body into my hands for some Reiki…”

Georgie arrived towards the end of the lockdown here in the UK. It seems strange to think back to those times of uncertainty now that life has mostly returned to normal, but I was lucky that he came to me when the restrictions were easing. He was a strong healthy Poochon pup (a perfect mix of white and cuddly Bichon Frise and strong and intelligent Poodle). I fell in love in an instant.

Now, anyone who has taken the Animal Reiki training here at the Reiki Healing Association will know that Georgie is not my first pet companion. Animals have always been a big part of my life. Growing up I was around animals from a young age with chickens, ducks, rabbits, birds, dogs, fish and even atortoise. I think from the age of 4 I was consciously aware that I wanted to help and work with animals. I told my parents I was going to save the whales and help all the animals in the oceans. Perhaps it was spending my first few years by the sea in Australia, or perhaps it was something deeper within me, but I was passionate about marine life and conservation from as early as I can remember. My dad got me a little plaque saying Molly Malone, Marine Biologist, when I was just a child. I still have it today. And I went on to get my degree in Marine Biology when we moved back to the UK.

I was incredibly fortunate to be attuned to Reiki from a young age, I remember by Dad teaching me the Reiki principles and being excited by the fact Usui cared about all the creatures and wanted us to be kind to them. Reiki has always been a part of my life, but it wasn’t until the loss of my first childhood dog, that I was inspired to combine my passion for both Reiki and the animal kingdom. Reiki brought comfort as my childhood dog crossed over – at that devastating moment, Reiki brought some sense of peace. Reiki allowed me to feel like I was helping and supporting, at a time when it is very easy to feel helpless.

That experience was a big turning point for me with Animal Reiki. It forever changed my understanding of our deep connection to animals. The pure unconditional love between a human and an animal I believe is one of life’s greatest relationships and is something to be cherished and celebrated. Pets are our best friends and family members, our loyal confidantes and supporters. I think our pets love us unconditionally, they see us for who we really are.

Although I have worked with many animals since then, both wild and domestic, it wasn’t until little Georgie came into my life that I had the chance to practice again on my own fur family. I knew Reiki would be an integral part of Georgie’s care, to complement the support he received from his vet as he went through all his puppy vaccines and early check-ups.

The first time I introduced Georgie to Reiki was on the day he first came home. Understandably he was nervous as he entered a foreign domain, with new faces, new smells, new everything! But I was sure to cleanse his basket, crate and the new toys and bedding before he arrived, setting the intention to create a comfortable and welcoming energy. I sent Reiki distantly before I left to pick him up, visualising him happy and at ease in his new home, surrounded by a healing bubble of love.

Like most puppies, Georgie had bursts of endless energy and I found that Reiki really helped him to settle down to sleep at night and get into a peaceful evening routine. He used to love having his hair brushed and afterwards he would snuggle his body into my hands for some Reiki. During the day I would invite Georgie to to share in a session whilst sitting at the other side of the room, and he would come up to my hands inquisitively, sniff and bark and then settle down to sleep by me and I could continue with hands-on Reiki.

As I work from home, I was lucky that I didn’t have to leave Georgie alone very often in his early puppy years. But in the rare cases that I did have to, I used Reiki to send healing from a distance to help him relax and stay calm. A lot of dogs suffer from separation anxiety – they are highly intelligent and social creatures – and being apart from their humans can be very stressful for them. Reiki is a great way to soothe and relax an anxious dog.

Some of the other times that Reiki helped in Georgie’s first year were during his first Firework’s night, his first trips in the car, vet trips, and after his castration operation to help him feel safe as the anaesthetic drugs wore off, and to also support wound healing. Georgie really didn’t enjoy wearing a cone, so I used Reiki to help ease his discomfort as he healed.

It was very reassuring to know that I could use Reiki whenever Georgie needed a little help or energy boost. Even on all the good days when Georgie was healthy and happy, Reiki provided a beautiful way to build trust and respect with Georgie and connect and bond with him on a deeper level. We are both rewarded by this exchange of energy and love.

Why is Reiki so beneficial for Animals?

Animal Reiki is becoming an increasingly popular way to support the health, wellbeing and happiness of a pet. When working with Reiki on animals we expect similar benefits to a human session – such as intense relaxation, pain relief and help with the symptoms of an illness or ailment, with the goal to support their individual needs on a physical, mental and emotional level. Every animal will be different and have unique life experiences, issues and species-specific health complications but the beautiful thing bout Reiki is that whatever the problem, Reiki goes where it is need to act in the highest good of the animal, by balancing their energetic system.

Animals are highly receptive to energy. If you have pets you’ll know how quickly they pick up on the emotions of the humans that they live with. They are very sensitive to changes on an energetic level and as they are are eager to support and love their humans, they can often sympathetically take on and reflect the problems of the people around them. Subsequently, as well as the physical problems and injuries animals can face, there can be a lot of emotional, behavioural and mental issues that affect animals on a daily basis – especially if those animals have ever experienced conditions of abuse or neglect.

Reiki is a very safe and natural healing therapy that is easy to learn and simple to administer and can work wonderfully in conjunction with other veterinary treatments and procedures to promote health and wellbeing every day.

Whether you want to support your pregnant rabbit, help you nervous rescue dog on their healing journey, or provide end-of-life support for your pet cat, animal Reiki can help in many powerful ways and it can really be a privilege to connect with an animal in this way.

Considerations when working with Reiki and a Dog

An important part of any animal Reiki session is understanding that it is always a partnership between the animal and the practitioner. You are the channel for Reiki energy, and the animal should have complete control over how the session progresses. Every session should be tailored to their needs and you should be respectful of their comfort and carefully respond to their reactions and behavioural changes, whilst listening to your own intuition to guide you through the session. Often the dog will nudge your hands or move themselves into the right positions to tell you where they want Reiki! You will come to recognise tell-tell signs they are accepting Reiki such as relaxed eyes and ears, yawning or seeing them fall asleep. It is important to let the dog know that they can take as much or as little Reiki as they wish.

Here are some other things to consider when working with a dog.

1. When working with dogs it is important to be aware of their social and emotional needs. Dogs are very social and naturally inquisitive creatures, so they like to sniff, bark and may get excited or nervous. If they get excited and try and play with you at first, just try to stay calm and relaxed and let them familiarise themselves with you. They should eventually relax into the session once they acknowledge your intention and trust your energy.

2. It is important to work in an environment that the dog is already comfortable with, so pick a calm, quiet space where the animal will feel safe.

3. Dogs are creatures of habit and instinctively know when its time to eat or go for a walk. At these time they will tend to be focused solely on eating or walking and often become overexcited in anticipation. I recommend working with an animal at time when the dog is most relaxed and settled, for example after a walk or after they have eaten or if they come up for a cuddle.

4. Hands-on Reiki is not always appropriate or safe, especially when working with a dog that is anxious, skittish or has displayed reactive or dangerous behaviour in the past. The goal of a session is always to make the animal feel better (not more stressed!), so use your judgement and work distantly or in another room/behind a baby gate or crate if you feel that would make the dog happier, more relaxed and receptive to the session. Remember that dogs that are in pain may not cope well with being touched.

5. Animal sessions are usually a shorter than human sessions. They may only last a few minutes! A dog will move away from you or focus attention elsewhere when he wants to end the session.

If you would like to learn more about working with animals and how to run a professional session, you can check out our Animal Reiki Certification here.

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