Questionnaire for Pets and Animals
This questionnaire is designed
- As an educational tool for you, a caring pet owner.
- To help broaden your perspective and invite you into the world of the animals you love.
- To help you assess their flower essence needs.
- Because animals live in their feelings and instincts, thus making them highly receptive to flower essences.
How it can help you and your pet
- While an evaluation of this nature is somewhat general by definition, many people find it a helpful tool in assessing the needs of their animal friends.
- Some of the questions are species-specific, such as litter box problems, while others are more general, as with loneliness.
- For example, fear is the same for a horse and a hamster; thus the species is often irrelevant.
Other factors to consider
- The influence of other pets, adults, and children in the household/property.
- Owner-related problems.
- Diet, exercise, and various health-related factors.
- Most importantly, the presence of a loving, committed caregiver for the animal.
Please rule out medical causes with proper veterinary care.
Answer the following questions quickly; your first hunch will generally be the most accurate. Place a checkmark by the “yes” statements (in groupings of 3 to 9 questions); leave blank those statements you feel do not apply to your pet or are not a particular area of concern. Check yes if any part of the question applies.
Also, please note that flower essences will not control or manipulate your pet’s behavior. If you are wanting her to be more graceful, for example, a flower essence program will bring forth this quality only if it’s in her nature to be so. Nor do flower essences directly treat physical symptoms; thus this questionnaire addresses the animal’s emotional and behavioral needs.
Consider dating and saving your responses and re-test your pet at monthly intervals.
Note: the author subscribes to proper subject-pronoun agreement and uses both the masculine- and feminine-singular pronoun but not she-they.
| ALMOND – Moderation | |||
| ___ 1. | Does your pet exhibit nervous, frenetic, or obsessive behavior, i.e., does he over-groom, overeat, or overdo in any way? | ||
| ___ 2. | Does he need to adapt better to a domesticated lifestyle? | ||
| ___ 3. | Is he presently kept indoors after previously (by you or a past owner) being allowed to roam freely outdoors? | ||
| APPLE – Clarity | |||
| ___ 4. | Does your pet have chronic health problems, or does she have specific infirmities to which she needs to adapt? | ||
| ___ 5. | Do you suspect she has picked up health-related fear, worry, or doubt from others in your household? | ||
| ___ 6. | Is she the runt of the litter? | ||
| ___ 7. | Does she exhibit behaviors that are unhealthy or not in her best interest? | ||
| AVOCADO – Good Memory | |||
| ___ 8. | Is your pet dreamy, unresponsive, or generally disinterested? | ||
| ___ 9. | Are you working with him on training for specific behaviors? | ||
| ___ 10. | Does he fail to come home, or respond, when you call him? | ||
| ___ 11. | Is he slow to respond to training? | ||
| BANANA – Cooperation | |||
| ___ 12. | Does your pet get easily upset or inappropriately riled for no apparent reason? | ||
| ___ 13. | Does she tend to bully other household members, or would you like her to be easier to live with? | ||
| ___ 14. | Do you think she would benefit if her already gentle and sensitive personality were reinforced? | ||
| BLACKBERRY – Purity | |||
| ___ 15. | Is your pet unable to groom or care for himself due to illness or old age? | ||
| ___ 16. | Are there members in your home who exhibit negative behaviors or emotions to which your pet is exposed or does he himself express negative behaviors? | ||
| ___ 17. | Has your pet been exposed to harmful chemicals? (Medical attention may be necessary.) | ||
| ___ 18. | Is there an area of your home that has been soiled or sprayed? (Use this essence in a misting bottle in that area.) | ||
| CHERRY – Cheerfulness | |||
| ___ 19. | Is your pet often bad-tempered, prone to moods, or picks up moods of other members in the household? | ||
| ___ 20. | Does she appear moody? | ||
| ___ 21. | Although many animal lovers pamper their pets, does your pet express being “spoiled rotten” in negative ways, such as through difficult behaviors? | ||
| ___ 22. | Does she overstep established boundaries even after loving, consistent training? | ||
| COCONUT – Upliftment | |||
| ___ 23. | Is your pet coping with a particular painful physical infirmity? | ||
| ___ 24. | Is he aging and dealing with limited movement or range of physical abilities, or is he recovering from a surgery, illness, or accident? | ||
| ___ 25. | Are there difficult situations in the home or property for other members that might be affecting your pet? | ||
| CORN – Vitality | |||
| ___ 26. | Have there been any recent major changes in your pet’s living situation, or has he recently joined your family? | ||
| ___ 27. | Is he behaving sluggishly, or is he disinterested in his environment and those with whom he shares it? | ||
| ___ 28. | Is he an older animal? | ||
| DATE – Sweetness, Tenderness | |||
| ___ 29. | Is your pet touchy or irritable, (it is important to rule out medical causes), or does she seem to have a lot of “off days”? | ||
| ___ 30. | Does she pick on other pets in the household, or does she generally not get along well with other animals or people in the home/property? | ||
| ___ 31. | Is “stand-offish” a word that others use to describe her temperament? | ||
| FIG – Adaptability | |||
| ___ 32. | Has your pet received inconsistent training, or has he been trained one way by a previous owner and now receives different training from you? | ||
| ___ 33. | Does he exhibit bad habits that you would like to retrain? | ||
| ___ 34. | Is he overly dissatisfied with his food, barring his natural likes and dislikes? | ||
| ___ 35. | Does he have a history of many relocations of home or ownership? | ||
| GRAPE – Love | |||
| ___ 36. | Has she lost a household companion, either human or animal, to death or relocation, or have your pet’s babies recently been given away? | ||
| ___ 37. | Is your pet excessively aloof or unapproachable by nature? | ||
| ___ 38. | Does she seem clingy or needy, or is she prone to whining or crying for no apparent reason? | ||
| ___ 39. | Is she alone for long periods of time without companionship, including while you’re gone for the day or on vacation? | ||
| ___ 40. | Is her behavior either bullying or jealous (may be expressed as soiling), or inappropriately territorial (possibly marking)? | ||
| ___ 41. | Do you know of, or suspect, abuse (meaning cruelty or neglect) from a previous owner? | ||
| ___ 42. | Is your pet’s behavior aggressive toward other animals or people? | ||
| LETTUCE – Calmness | |||
| ___ 43. | Is your pet nervous or restless by nature, or is he typically agitated by newcomers to the household? | ||
| ___ 44. | Does he express what looks like anger for no apparent reason? | ||
| ___ 45. | Is he young with a short attention span, or does “bouncing off the walls” describe his temperament? | ||
| ORANGE – Enthusiasm | |||
| ___ 46. | Has your pet just given birth? | ||
| ___ 47. | Is there a member in the household dealing with depression, or does your pet herself seem listless or despairing? | ||
| ___ 48. | Has she been abused or treated badly by a previous owner? | ||
| ___ 49. | Is she kept indoors after having previously been able to roam freely outdoors? | ||
| ___ 50. | Has she been declawed, debarked, or otherwise altered (excluding neutering)? | ||
| ___ 51. | Has she lost a companion, either animal or human, to separation or death? | ||
| ___ 52. | Is she dealing with a terminal or debilitating illness, or is she expressing an impaired ability to move? | ||
| PEACH – Selflessness, Expansion | |||
| ___ 53. | Is your pet overly demonstrative? | ||
| ___ 54. | Was he weaned too early, and does he chew or suckle objects of clothing or other animals? | ||
| ___ 55. | Does he need to get along better with other pets in the household? | ||
| ___ 56. | Have your pet’s babies recently been given away? | ||
| PEAR – Peacefulness, “Emergency Essence” | |||
| ___ 57. | Is your pet recovering from an accident, illness, or surgery, or about to undergo a medical procedure? | ||
| ___ 58. | Is her past history unknown? | ||
| ___ 59. | Has she been traumatized or injured in any way, either physically or emotionally, or has she undergone a crisis, or expressed panic, anxiety, or disorientation? | ||
| ___ 60. | Has she experienced a significant upset in her normal routine? | ||
| ___ 61. | Does she need to be left overnight at the veterinary hospital or boarded away from home? | ||
| ___ 62. | Has she been attacked by other animals? | ||
| ___ 63. | Does she need to be transported by car, plane, or other forms of travel? | ||
| ___ 64. | Is your pet in a time of transition, such as giving birth or nearing the time of passing? | ||
| PINEAPPLE – Assuredness | |||
| ___ 65. | Does your pet seem to need a stronger sense of his own identity, especially in a multiple-pet or person household, or does he seem to need excessive amounts of praise? | ||
| ___ 66. | Does your pet come from a kennel, shelter, foster home, or series of different living situations? | ||
| ___ 67. | Has he been in shows, competitions, or county fairs, or are you preparing him for these activities? | ||
| ___ 68. | Is he an older animal who, after being in the limelight of shows or having a specific function or job on the property, is no longer suited to those roles? | ||
| ___ 69. | Is he the runt of the litter? | ||
| RASPBERRY – Kindheartedness | |||
| ___ 70. | Has your pet been harshly disciplined and seeming emotionally wounded as a result? | ||
| ___ 71. | Is there any reason for which she may feel slighted, unappreciated, offended or somehow replaced? | ||
| ___ 72. | Is she receiving less attention than usual due to a new relationship or the arrival of new pets or babies? | ||
| ___ 73. | Is she exhibiting “lashing out” behavior, expressed as barking, hissing, soiling, spraying, shredding of furniture, or other destructive behaviors, or does her play express an uncommon or inappropriate viciousness? | ||
| SPINACH – Simplicity | |||
| ___ 74. | Is you pet “acting old before his time,” or is he an older animal who has been “put out to pasture”? | ||
| ___ 75. | Does he live in a stressful household or have to cope with certain tensions in adjusting to a domesticated life? | ||
| ___ 76. | Has he suffered abuse or neglect during his childhood? | ||
| ___ 77. | Does he act “not quite himself” after a surgery, injury, or illness? | ||
| STRAWBERRY – Dignity | |||
| ___ 78. | Has your pet lost the ability to groom, feed, evacuate, or otherwise care for herself? | ||
| ___ 79. | Has there been a divorce or separation in the household, or any situation that would be considered ungrounding for your pet, including any persons in the household who are dealing with as lack of self-worth? | ||
| ___ 80. | Is she nearing her time of passing, especially after a debilitating illness? | ||
| ___ 81. | Is there any reason lately for your pet to feel that her territory or “space” is threatened, or has her innate sense of dignity been overstepped in any way? | ||
| TOMATO – Mental strength, Courage | |||
| ___ 82. | Does your pet exhibit fear in ways other than instinctive or appropriately self-protective? | ||
| ___ 83. | Is he skittish or easily spooked, or does he jump at loud voices or noises? | ||
| ___ 84. | Does he bark excessively or somewhat hysterically? | ||
| ___ 85. | Are visits to the vet a source of distress for him, or does transportation cause him serious crisis? | ||
| ___ 86. | Is city life traumatic for him? | ||
| ___ 87. | Is he easily bullied and unable to stand up for himself? | ||
| ___ 88. | Does your pet have a “job” serving people, such as a police or guard dog? | ||
| ___ 90. | Is he upset by extreme weather conditions, including thunder? | ||
| ___ 91. | Is your pet’s previous history unknown to you? | ||
Copyright 2023 by Lila Devi. Permission required for reprints.