Help for traumatized dogs

You probably don't know that I sometimes write special promotions for FeelBach! - the company that sells Bach Flower Essences. Because I've studied the use of Bach Flowers, and because of my history with animal rescue, I also get to help people who write them with dog-related problems.

This week a woman wrote to ask how to help her friend's dog. It seems the dog had killed some chickens, so the man had picked up a dead chicken and beaten the dog.

The dog hasn't gotten over it. It barely eats, has diarrhea, and cowers when people go near.

I won't say how I felt about that. Since you're a dog lover, you already know.

Anyway, my job was to help find relief for the dog. In most cases, dogs who are upset or fearful can get relief from the "shelf blend" called Feel5ive.That's the formula I've used on rescue dogs who were having a hard time adjusting to their new life in a kennel cage.

But this dog was more than just upset, so I went through the attributes of each of the flower essences and chose those that address problems with trauma, fear, anger, rejection, and loss of trust.

My hope now is that this owner will be diligent in giving the dog the treatment. And I hope he'll look inside and realize that his mis-treatment of that dog was an outward sign of his own emotional problems. Bach Flowers can help him, too.

I also recommended that the man sit down with the dog and apologize. I don't know how many of our human words dogs understand, but I know they understand emotion. If he's genuinely sorry, the dog will know. And maybe the Bach Flower Remedies will allow him to forgive, and to trust that human again.

What would you have advised? Did I miss anything?