Covering the head healps to calm. Animals tend to respond faster to Reiki than humans. They generally have a more dynamic energy system and their powers of recuperation tend to be superior. They also have less accumulated stress, emotional blockages and self-sabotage tendencies. It also appears that the more domesticated the animal, the slower it's recovery time.
Domestic animals tend to take on the stress and emotional traits of their owners.
Those of us who have pets are all too aware of how much they can be a reflection of their owners. When you see a neurotic, tense dog you can usually assume that to obtain lasting results you will need to treat the owner with Reiki . Plants also respond to Reiki because they are also living energy fields that can be out of balance and will respond to the harmonizing effects of Reiki. By the fact that Reiki works on animals and plants we are able to discount any suggestion that the effects of Reiki are psychosomatic. It is very effective to use second degree Reiki on animals,sometimes it can be difficult to give a hands on Reiki to an Elephant or an Tiger for instance.