Three cases using EFT for dogs: Two for fear and one for a swollen paw

By Deborah Miller, Ph.D.

Gary, I’m an animal lover so using EFT with animals felt like a natural step in the use of EFT in my life. I find dogs sensitive and very accepting of EFT. In fact, I often find them leaning into my hands as I tap as if it feels so good. I’ve included three examples of how I’ve used EFT with dogs.

Namaste

Deborah Miller, Ph.D.

Fireworks and my Chocolate Lab Figo

I love trying EFT on every topic imaginable and on those around me. Well, dogs have always been a part of my life and currently I have a chocolate lab named Figo. I’ve been using EFT on Figo on many topics but mainly about his biggest issue, fireworks. We live in Mexico and since there are fireworks almost daily we get a lot of practice with EFT.

I do a simplified version of the EFT procedure. Basically, I use only the eye points, i.e. what corresponds to the eyebrow, side of the eye and under the eye. And most of the time I use only the side of the eye point. It is convenience and Figo likes it. He often leans into my hand and closes his eyes.

For fireworks I tap on these points and talk to him while I tap. I’ll give you an example of what I would say...

You are safe. It is ok they only make noise. They don’t hurt you. I know you hear more sound than I but you are still ok. You can release the fear. You are safe. Whatever it reminds you of that causes fear you can let it go. Let it go. You are calm and relaxed. Even when there are fireworks you are calm. You sit near me. You sleep. You eat and play normally. You act as if they didn’t even exist.

And so on. I’ve also done tapping with visualizing since animal communicators say that animals understand symbols better than words. I tap the points while imaging scenes of Figo being calm and relaxed even when the fireworks are close and very loud, that he is playing and ignores completely the sounds or that he sleeps at my side completely calm while the fireworks go off in the background.

It has taken time, probably about a year’s worth of tapping, but Figo is now so much calmer in the presence of fireworks. At first he would climb up the back of the sofa, or want to sit on me (not a pleasant experience with a large dog), or hide. He still does not like the sound of fireworks, but instead of going crazy with fear, he comes to lie near me. It is such a relief.

Calming the Neighbor’s Doberman Jack

My neighbors have a Doberman named Jack who is really afraid of everything, but deals with it by being aggressive. He used to bite the cleaning lady, people passing by and so on. Having to walk past him on a regular basis didn’t leave me feeling comfortable when I first moved to my current location. After a while I figured out that he was afraid and I took the time to get to know him (with the help of some food). We got to the point where I could talk to him, pet him and be comfortable around him. Yet, being a Doberman there was always that chance that he would attack and he did try to attack me three times.

I decided one day to try EFT on him. I would call him over and tap for no more than 15 – 30 seconds. I tapped that...

He was ok. He didn’t need to be afraid. We were neighbors. He didn’t have to fight with the neighbor dogs. He was safe. He could even learn to play if he liked.

I did this every once in a while when I walked by him. I doubt that I tapped with him more than 10 times. The shift in him has been dramatic. He is much friendlier, quieter, comes up for attention. Another neighbor commented that Jack was not aggressive like in the past without knowing that I had been doing EFT on him. It is a relief to see him calmer and happier, and safer for all of us.

Tapping on Fidi for an old Wound that wouldn’t Heal

I went to visit some friends and their old dog Fidi was limping. His front paw was all swollen and infected. I was told that their vet had been treating him for a long time but the wound wouldn’t heal. The vet didn’t know what it could be. The paw had gotten so bad that the vet suggested that the foot be amputated. My friends chose not to do so as Fidi was an old dog. So Fidi would hop along on three feet. He’d often lick his foot as if it bothered him.

I asked my friends if I could try EFT on Fidi while I was visiting. They agreed since nothing else had worked.

I started tapping on the eye points. I decided to tap on the physical aspects of the foot being infected...

That it hurt, it was bothersome. Later I decided to tap on him being a good boy. He did his job well of protecting the family. He didn’t have to suffer. Even if the family didn’t let him know he did a good job, they knew. Even if he got bitten by a snake or scorpion protecting them and they didn’t know it, he had done a good job. He is a Mexican dog, but that doesn’t mean he has to suffer. (Many Mexican dogs are street dogs and even though many are treated better now than in the past, there are still many who suffer). He is loved and appreciated. Even though he’s old he is a good protector. He is a good dog.

I did some tapping that the internal infection would clear up and move out like water.  It didn’t matter if we didn’t know what it was, it could heal. He was free to heal. It was ok to heal. That his cells knew how to heal this problem and they could do so easily.

Fidi liked the tapping. After the first session he would sit next to me apparently waiting for me to tap. He would lean into my fingers and hands, then go from sitting and leaning to lying down to actually falling asleep. After the first two tapping sessions he decided I was his therapist (helper) and came up to me any time I would come by and put his head by my hands. I tapped whenever I could and sometimes did surrogate tapping. The tapping sessions lasted seconds to several minutes.

After the first treatment he started to tenderly step on his foot. After the second he started to walk a bit on his foot. The swelling went down a bit, but was still present. During the few days I was visiting he walking more and more on his foot. It was a delight to see.

I continued doing some surrogate tapping after I left. I was told Fidi recovered completely. Apparently dogs hold onto their hurts and wounds too and tapping can allow them to release them and heal even if we can’t identify the cause.

Deborah Miller, PhD