Frustrated dog, cat, and horse owners will often enlist an animal communicator to get the animal to do what they want. They’ve tried and tried to get the cat to use the litter box, the dog to stop digging up the dahlias or the horse to just get on the trailer.
These are all legitimate concerns and ones I’m happy to address. However, animal communication is not about compliance. It’s about gathering information that will help animals and their humans find a way forward.
For example, a communication session can tell you:
• A noise from the water heater startles the cat in mid-pee. Moving the litter box out of the utility room, or adding one in a different spot, could make a big difference.
• Your dahlia-digging dog needs more enrichment. Which seems obvious, but he may also tell me that nose work or agility training would be even more fun than additional walks.
• The horse’s previous owner used force to get him to load. A small change — even you doing some deep breathing before you lead him to the trailer — would let him know he is safe now.
As with human brains, making the link between actions and consequences can be a work in progress. Nevertheless, knowledge is power, both for the animal knowing what the human wants and the human knowing where the animal is coming from. Why ask for compliance when communication gets you so much more?
As an animal communicator, I sometimes get information about sore hips, tummy discomfort and more.
The animal’s human caretaker often tells me about any health issues going in, and I always want to make sure any potential medical reasons for behavioral changes have been addressed by a vet. Other times the animal himself will tell me, or show me through images or feelings, during a communication session.
One horse I’d worked with for a while showed me some pain in his hips and along the left side of his torso. The next thing I knew he was backing up to the fence and asking me to place both hands on his hips. I did and began a Let Animals Lead® meditation to help him relax. After a while he began licking and chewing, then walked off to rejoin the herd.
I passed all of this along to his person and to the equine bodyworker who also worked regularly with him. After her session with him a day or two later, she sent me a diagram to show how she adjusted a misalignment on the left. The horse knew what he needed from each of us.
The codes of ethics I follow for both animal communication and Let Animals Lead® are clear about not dispensing medical advice or treatment. They’re also clear about showing up and doing what we can do.
You’re in the thick of a stressful time, and now your animal friend is sick or has developed a puzzling behavioral issue. That’s hard enough.
Since the link between illness and stress cannot be denied — nor can the link between you and your animal — you may even wonder if you are part of the problem. Did the animal take on your stress? Were you so distracted that you didn’t notice your pet was having problems?
“Am I making my animal sick?” is a question I’ve heard from friends and my animal communication clients. I’ve heard it from myself, too.
Before you go down this rabbit hole (I’ve been there; would not recommend), remember that the first person to talk to is a licensed veterinarian. Take the opportunity to learn and make recommended changes in your pet’s diet, environment or routine.
For that matter, this could also be a great time to top up your own coping skills. Exercise, for example — more dog walks, barn time, or cat play sessions — could benefit both of you.
Benefiting both of you is what this is about.
When I’m communicating with an animal, he or she will often show me stress in the household or barn. That can come through in, say, the image of a person angry or downcast. It could also be the sound of raised voices or just a heaviness I can feel in my chest.
Animals may not understand what’s going on, but they feel it. Some animals are afraid, perhaps for good reason. Most want to help.
Bentley, a 12-year-old Westie mix, developed digestive issues just as his person, Aileen, was grieving a huge loss. The vet prescribed medication and a change in diet. Still, she wondered if her stress had exacerbated his condition. “Am I driving him nuts?” she asked.
That notion hadn’t occurred to Bentley, who showed me a grey fog surrounding Aileen and her heart intact. “We’re doing this together,” he told me. They both have continued to heal.
It reminded me of when I feared I was making my tiger cat, Idgie, sick. I took her to the vet, we began treatment for her hypothyroidism and I took some important steps to heal myself and my life. On the night before her thyroid surgery, instead of the usual worrying I sat down to at least try a meditation. She curled up in my lap and purred. “OK, I think you’re starting to get it,” I heard before she drifted off to sleep. She inspired me to take better care of myself as well as her, and we enjoyed several more years together.
I’ve never had an animal tell me their person’s distress made them ill. What they tell me instead is that they and their beloved humans are tackling stress, illness and whatever else as a team. They can’t solve your problems (though your shepherd dog would gladly try), but they will sit, stand and walk with you every step of the way. That may be the best medicine of all.
