FAQ’s

What is a sentient being?

‘Evidence from multiple scientific studies has helped us to understand that a wide range of animals are sentient beings. This means they have the capacity to experience positive and negative feelings such as pleasure, joy, pain and distress that matter to the individual.’ (Animal sentience - RSPCA)

What types of animals and behavioural problems can Quiet Minds help?

I am happy to work with all small and large animals, from birds to elephants and everything in between.

This list is just an example of the types of typical behaviours  that I have been asked to address:

Dogs:

Separation anxiety

Pulling on the lead

Aggression with people/other dogs

Lacks Recall/Over excitement/doesn’t listen

Doesn’t travel well

Horses:

Problem transporting/getting boxed

Problem catching/tacking up

Biting

Aggressive Reaction

Cats:

Attacks people

Anxiety

What can I expect in the first Quiet Minds session?

The first session usually takes around an hour, firstly I will work with you and then we work together, with your animal.

Using Mindfulness techniques, I will teach you how to ‘find’ the Present Moment and then we will ask your animal to join us. They will already have been drawn in, while we have been practising and they usually respond by becoming calm and sleepy. How quickly this happens depends on each individual animal - they can sometimes lay on their side and fall into a deep dreamy sleep, others may just lay calmly down but their facial expression will tell us where they are in their ‘state of mind’.

At this stage, depending on how quickly they calm, we can start to work with them on their ‘problem’, but always at their pace. If they take longer to feel the Present Moment, I will suggest that we end the session there and I will ask you to continue to practise the Present Moment with them for 5 minutes, every day for a week, or until you feel confident they are responding to your feeling. Then we will work on their ‘problem’ during the second session.