Problem Animal?

What are the signs to look for?

What are they trying to say?

How do I know for sure whether my animal is a problem animal?

Our animals speak to us all the time; all species do. Problem animals tend to speak a little louder than the norm.

Most of us have forgotten how to listen to and hear what they say.

They often feel frustrated because we cannot hear, and they will show us in ways they hope we can understand.

The nature of most animals is to please. When they repetitively act up, they are doing so for a reason. And they are trying to bring your attention to their restrictions, pain, and unhappiness so that you can help them resolve their problem.

Because you are their owners, they trust you to look after them like they feel you trust them to look after you. They are there when you are sad. They are there when you are sick. They are there when you feel lost, so why shouldn’t you be there for them.

They often leave small clues to show they are battling, but we aren’t all inclined to subtlety. These could all be signs that they are trying to avoid discomfort.

One thing Milyn does see often is that because owners ignore the signs of the subtle or low-key signals, generally, because they are just too distracted in today’s busy time, it forces animals to shout to get their owner’s attention.

Most people will now only seek help, and although still very saveable, had the owner been more aware of the subtle signs, the shouting could have been avoided.

In most situations, rather than you having a problem animal, you are more likely to have a problem owner.

If the owner had listened to what the animal initially tried to communicate, things wouldn’t go so far.

In an animal’s natural state, it is not mean or nasty.

Humans teach them this negativity, albeit through the negative thinking that only humans can do or through actual emotional and/or physical abuse.

Milyn’s approach to working with “problem animals” is to allow the animal to explain its reason for distress and resultant acting out.

Removing the causative factor leading to an animal’s adverse behaviour can change the entire journey’s outcome.

It should be considered that regardless of the above, behaviour may become learnt.

If a specific behaviour has become the new norm for the animal, finding the cause does not always help resolve the tension.

You may need to be referred to an animal behaviourist to assist in ending the pattern of adverse behaviour through positive reinforcement that has been reinforced and learnt.

Below we mention some of the behaviours that animals may display to show disdain.

Milyn explains that every day she does consultations, new behaviours come into play and that one never really knows unless you are aware and pay attention to what animals are trying to communicate.

Remember that all the behaviours mentioned below may display physical OR emotional unhappiness.

Typical behaviours that dogs and cats, most pets,

may display to indicate that they are unsettled:

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Hiding Away

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Backing Away

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Fleeing

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Baring Teeth

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Crankiness

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Depression

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Panting

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Listlessness

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Appetite Loss

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Excessive Yawning

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Ears held flat

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Tail Clamping

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Hair on End

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Bracing Body

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Tension in Body

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Cowering

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Playlessness

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Whining

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Clingy

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Demanding

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Low Energy

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House Soiling

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Destructive

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Aggression

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Biting

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Scratching

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Altered Sleeping Habits

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Obsessive Licking

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Unusually Withdrawn

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Excessive Chewing

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Low-Pitched Meows

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Lip licking

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Uncharacteristic Howling

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Rigid/Stiff

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Abnormal Body Language

Behavioural traits that horses will show us on the ground:

(Consider some of the above as for dogs and cats.)

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General Disdain

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Biting when Girthed

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Cribbing

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Windsucking

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Face Pulling

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Lip Smacking

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Avoidance

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Weaving

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Head Shaking

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Pawing

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Rearing

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Bucking

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Disrespect of Space

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Bolting Away

“There is no such thing as problem animals but only animals with problems needing to be heard. At the end of the day, if we all learnt the awareness we need to live with eyes wide open, the mindfulness and the patience to absorb it all, we could notice the subtle cues before the pawpaw hit the fan.

Ultimately, I feel that all we need to achieve is to learn to live from the heart and listen to our gut.

When you notice the niggly feeling that something is wrong, instead of drowning it with logic or excuses you don’t have to deal with, breathe and let your intuition say its bit.

Let your gut guide you and at the first moment of worry or uncomfortableness, listen, breathe, and act. Check things out, or at the very least, be sure to take notice more mindfully every day until you are sure that you are at peace and that your animal is indeed happy or whether you must act.

First place is always to listen to your gut!” Milyn

Here are a few ways a horse may show you that they are battling physically or emotionally while riding:

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Head throwing while riding.

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Bracing through their abdomen may feel like they are not tracking up correctly.

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Often accompanying bracing of the abdomen comes holding their breath, which in turn may affect how they stride out with their front legs.

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Repetitive bucking and kicking out in a ride.

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Rearing

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Some horses will constantly chew on their bits as a sign of frustration.

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Tail clamping also affects the way that your horse strides out.

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Repetitive refusal of specific manoeuvres.

While riding, you may experience that your horse’s movement is:

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Not fluid.

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Not fully engaged, particularly behind.

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Uncomfortable and choppy.

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Not tracking up.

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Restricted behind and/or in front.

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Falling inwards with circular work.

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Drifting with their hindquarters.

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Stiff as a board on the turns and the straight.

With the above mentioned, it may feel to you who is riding that you cannot get deeper into your seat, your back is jarring, and you feel unbalanced.

It is not a comfortable ride, and what worries you most is that you feel unsafe physically and disappointed in your best friend for allowing you to feel this way.

If you or your horse are experiencing physical or emotional restrictions hampering your riding, Milyn can help.

Knowing where these roadblocks are, we can strengthen and resolve them so you and your horse can experience maximum comfort and a limitation-free ride.

Milyn recommends the Know Your Horse consultation to resolve these issues. Click below.

Know Your Horse

Please remember that animal communication does not replace veterinary care.

In a perfect world, all medical professionals would accept the support and guidance a good animal communicator can give and use telepathy with veterinary care.

For us as people, going through physical restrictions also typically leads to emotional instabilities and fears, so it is for our animals.

Even when conditions are purely physical, telepathy can guide one in understanding the cause, the factors that aggravate, etc., and the emotions surrounding it, which often causes much of the disdain.

For the various available consultations and to find the one suited to you, click below.

Consultations

“Animals exist with us and

communicate with us in many ways,

if we allow ourselves

to become still enough to notice,

and if we live in a sacred way –

in the realization that communication

with them is natural.”

Reverend Misa Hopkins

The video below is about using a technique called Grounding, aka Earthing.

You can practice it to guide you closer to hearing your animal.

“There are many things one can write about this one special person, my paper won’t be enough, but to put it bold and short…

I met Milyn in 2011 and from the start was amazed and intrigued by her ability to engage with animals. She is a great inspiration, physiotherapist, mentor and can sense immediately how any being is feeling.

She is truly blessed with a gift to really knowing what is going on mentally, physically, and psychologically. She treats body, mind and soul and is a soundboard of what any animal is really saying to us. Her beautiful heart, empathy and sympathy is a real asset to this world.

It is a real honour and privilege to have come to know her in my lifetime and I can just say thank you for her being part of it.”

Florine Lombaard

Animal Connection Consultation

To really know your animal, learn to understand it first. Milyn listens to what your animal has to say about its experience in the world it lives in using animal telepathy.

She encourages animals to open up regarding their physical or emotional restrictions. Milyn translates this information to you to encourage a better understanding and connection between you and your furry friends.

Whether you are experiencing problems with your animals or not, sharing how they perceive their world and those living there is a gift.

Animal Connection

Equine Connection