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Author: Marjorie Lewis

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Dog Training Dogs

Misconceptions About Dog Behaviors

Dog Behaviors
Naughty playful puppy dog border collie after mischief biting pillow lying on couch at home. Guilty dog and destroyed living room. Damage messy home and puppy with funny guilty look

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “A dog is a man’s best friend”. There’s no denying that these loyal and loving animals can really be our best friends and companions. While they can be our best buds, this doesn’t mean that we completely understand each other. Think about our relationships with humans whom we speak the same language with. There are still so many misunderstandings. Imagine how many misunderstandings there are between dogs and humans! Below, I outline some common dog behaviors and common misconceptions about them to help you foster a better relationship with your furry friend.  

Barking

Dogs will be dogs and barking is what they do to communicate with everything – humans and animals. While barking is normal, it can be excessive so it’s important to be aware of why your dog is barking.

If they are barking because someone is at the door, it’s their instinct to protect you. If your dog is just standing in front of you and barking for no apparent reason, they could just want attention, may need to go outside, or may be hungry. The reasons a dog barks are infinite so remember that if it’s starting to get on your nerves, yelling is only going to fuel the fire. It’s important to remain calm and communicate in a non-aggressive way. After all, your dog doesn’t necessarily know what you’re communicating to him. 

Misconception: The dog should understand what I want from him.

No dog instinctively understands the rules for living amongst humans. The boundaries and expectations that we hold for our pets must be defined and trained for the dog to understand. While our dogs do learn to interpret our tone of voice, posture, and facial expression, they do not understand our words. Consistency, patience, practice, and positive reinforcement are our best tools to cultivate understanding in our dogs.

Aggression

Do you have that dog that, no matter what, always shows aggression towards people or other animals, especially dogs? If a dog doesn’t get much time around others, they may show their protector instinct as a default behavior because they don’t know how to communicate with others, even their own kind.

Misconception: Dogs always understand one another.

It is true that dogs have a “language” all their own. They use stance, posture, facial expression, and tail wagging to indicate to other dogs their intent to play or avoid contact. Most dogs will pick up on this non-verbal language shared by many breeds and interpret it correctly. However, there are many dogs that were not socialized at an early age, or at all, and will not understand the customary signals. Help your dog to learn this language early through careful socialization and plenty of dog play.

Chewing

If you’ve had a puppy before, you’ve probably experienced the chewing stage to some degree. Dogs are chewers because they use their mouths for exploration, second to their noses. Since puppies have so much to get familiar with, they tend to chew more often. What about those dogs who are no longer puppies that are still chewing everything? You may get very upset with them because they should “know better”, which brings us back to our first misconception. It also may be because they are not given what they need to keep from being bored and use chewing as a way of entertainment. They could also not like their environment and chew to destruct it. Regardless of the reason for chewing, it’s not always the dog’s fault. 

Misconception: It’s always the dog’s fault

There are so many times when a dog is punished or corrected for what we call “bad behavior” when in fact, the behavior is a completely natural one for a dog. Quite often the misbehavior is simply a misunderstanding of our expectations. As responsible dog owners, we should always ask ourselves what role we have played in this behavior we have labeled “bad”. Have we taken the time to clearly teach the required skill?  Have we trained clear boundaries and made our expectations clear so our dog can understand? Take the time to put yourself into the dog’s perspective and see the world as they do. Is it still clear that this was “bad behavior”?

Digging

Going back to the point of being bored, your dog could be excessively digging because they have nothing to keep them entertained. Remember that dogs who spend a lot of time outside will naturally dig because they want to bury a toy or because they want a cool place to lie down. If your dog is digging, you don’t have to task them with a “job” to stop it. There are other ways to mitigate digging.

Misconception: Dogs need a job

While it is true that boredom can cause all sorts of behavior issues, a “job” is not always the answer. Dogs have no concept of a “job” as we do. Dogs do need regular activity, and an environment that is enriched with sensory stimulation, and for some dogs, trained tasks give them stimulation and focus for their energy.

Dog Behavior Misconceptions Can Be Lessened with Animal Communication

Misconceptions are a part of life and at the same time, there don’t have to be so many. Hiring an animal communicator can help you get an understanding of why your dog has certain behaviors. Once you have an understanding, you can work together to change those behaviors.

I’d like to leave you with two things to keep in mind about your dogs as you embark on the journey of better understanding. 

  1. Dogs don’t experience guilt. The postures and expressions we see in a dog and interpret as guilt are usually fear or anticipation of punishment. This is based on the owner’s posture and tone of voice, not guilt from a past behavior. Therefore, you should use positive reinforcement to change behavior, as scolding them will not make them feel guilty and not do the act again.
  2. You can teach an old dog new tricks. Old dogs can absolutely learn new tricks. If the dog is mentally and physically able to respond to cues and rewards, it can learn. In fact, learning a new skill or trick can add interest and energy to an older dog and enrich his senior years.
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Animal Health

How An Animal Communicator Can Assist Your Aging Animal

Aging Animal

Aging is a natural process for all living organisms. Sadly, as humans and pet owners, we not only have to go through the aging process ourselves, but we also have to see our aging animals go through it. As with humans, this can be a joyful and challenging experience, all at the same time. While the aging process is very different for us and our furry friends, there are a lot of similarities. 

Pets Get Diseases, Too

According to VetSource, there are 7 common health problems found in aging animals, which also happen to be found in aging humans. They are:

  • Kidney Issues
  • Heart Problems
  • Cognitive Dysfunction
  • Arthritis or Joint Problems
  • Dental Disease
  • Lumps and Bumps
  • Loss of Vision and Hearing

As stated in our most recent blog, The Many Ways an Animal Communicator Can Help Your Veterinarian, life-threatening and nonlife-threatening health problems should always be addressed by a veterinarian, and an Animal Communicator can provide complimentary assistance.

Using An Animal Communicator Through the Disease Process

Pet caretakers can use animal communication to deepen their understanding and relationship with the pet who has been diagnosed with a disease. For instance, I’ve worked with a senior dog who, during a consultation,  reported a spot on his lung that didn’t feel right. At first, he described it as a “flat feeling spot”. At our next session, the feeling had changed to “an area that doesn’t expand easily when I breathe”.  A vet exam revealed a growth in that lobe of his lung. As the family, vet, and dog progressed through medical treatment, animal communication sessions helped to monitor his pain levels, difficulty breathing, and his personal experience of the disease progression. At each session, the dog was able to express any changes he felt as a result of medication and dietary adjustments. Working together as a team has helped this family to navigate a difficult time with less stress and worry. They have been able to fine-tune his treatments and he has survived more than 10 months longer than his original prognosis.

It’s best to check in with pets regularly using animal communication to observe changes or symptoms, especially when disease is present. Many health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes can reach a life-threatening level before a pet exhibits visible signs. Animals are often able to describe physical sensations such as difficulty breathing or irregular heartbeat which can alert you to seek medical care before the situation becomes critical. In situations like these, an animal communicator can help pet owners manage the disease and prolong their pet’s life.

If you’re considering using an animal communicator and your animal has already been diagnosed with a disease, it’s best not to share the diagnosis details with the animal communicator prior to your consultation so that they can feel what is reported from the animal first and not have perceptions skewed by another perspective. 

Using An Animal Communicator Through the End-of-Life Process

As you know, the end-of-life process is often accompanied by disease. As a pet’s health declines there are simple things that the pet can share with you to better help you manage their physical condition and surroundings to support them during the aging process. For example, a pet may look sad and you may think it’s unhappy. When in reality, he simply isn’t as energized in his old age and is just tired. When communicating with your animal, they may report that they are feeling dehydrated and don’t have enough energy to get to the bowl. Therefore, you can just move the bowl closer to them to make the effort easier.

Knowing what an aging animal wants can really make a difference in its final days. I have worked with a senior dog who is blind. Since he is blind, his sense of smell gives him great joy despite not being able to walk very well due to his weak legs. To improve his quality of life, the owners pick him up and take him to the park so he can smell the lake, the dirt, and the other animals that have been there. This is the best day ever for him but they wouldn’t have known how to give him joy in his final days had they not worked with a communicator.

Additionally, when a pet is nearing the end of its life, palliative care is often put in place to maintain a level of comfort and quality of life just as it would for a human. The animal communicator can provide information that the veterinarian can use to help them transition more comfortably.

No matter if your pet is just aging or aging with a disease present, their level of comfort and well-being are critical so do what you can to make their last days, their best days!

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Animal Communicator Partnerships Animal Health

The Many Ways an Animal Communicator Can Help Your Veterinarian

Veterinarian

Have you ever had a sick pet that you’ve taken to the veterinarian and after dozens of tests and thousands of dollars, there’s finally an answer to the change in their behavior? If you have, you know how frustrating this can be. If you haven’t, I hope to help you prevent having this experience.

As pet owners, our pet’s health, well-being, and safety are of the utmost importance to us. Considering this, it can be disconcerting at times trying to determine what exactly is going on inside of them – if only they could talk, right? Well, they can! Through telepathic communication, we have the ability to ask them how they are feeling, what they are feeling, and where they feel it. Having the animal communicate this information rather than making assumptions, is so much better for the animal, the owner, and the veterinarian as it alleviates guesswork. When it comes to your pet’s health, combining the services of an Animal Communicator with a veterinarian can lead to less testing and diagnostics, saving money and time and resulting in a quicker diagnosis.

Assisting Your Veterinarian

At any age, behaviors and physical changes can happen and we don’t always know the cause of these changes. This can cause us, humans, to be stressed, but it can also cause heightened stress levels in our pets, which in turn could exacerbate the issues going on, making it more difficult to determine the root issue. 

Even when the issue is not presenting itself as severe, when something changes in our pets, our first instinct is to take them to the veterinarian. This can be costly and require multiple visits and tests. Therefore, when you observe initial changes, scheduling a personal consultation with an Animal Communicator can equip you with more information to help your veterinarian focus his tests and diagnostics more effectively.

When we humans go to the doctor, the doctor interviews us and we are able to express our specific needs and feelings so the doctor can then provide focused treatment based on what we say. For instance, if you’ve noticed that your pet is not eating as much as normal and the pet is able to express that there is a tooth that is bothering them. Chances are that I can narrow down the area of where that tooth is; upper jaw, lower jaw, left side, etc. With this information, you can go to your veterinarian and tell them more specifically where to look for the issue. An Animal Communicator fills this gap so that your veterinarian can begin by evaluating the area mentioned and remedy that problem more quickly without unnecessary costs and tests.

Another example is a horse owner who reports that there are changes in their horse’s behavior and they think it may be lame. A veterinarian would have to evaluate all legs from top to bottom with a physical exam or radiographs and they may just give them painkillers to solve the problem. When working with an Animal Communicator, the horse may tell them that it has pain in the left, front leg at the knee. Combining the visual veterinarian exam with the feedback directly from the animal can enable the doctor to target diagnostic testing more quickly and accurately. In this example, the veterinarian could begin with radiographs of the knee and visually confirm the issue, saving time and money.

The Importance of Checking In Routinely With Your Pet

By giving your pet the opportunity to express themselves and truly tell you the things that are going on with them, you can broaden and deepen your relationship with your pet. It can allow you opportunities for them to let you know early when an issue arises so that you can get the necessary treatment for them or even prevent an illness. Stay on top of your pet’s wellness by scheduling a conversation with your pet communicator today.

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Animal Communicator Animal Health

Animal Medical Intuitive – The Basics 

As a pet owner, have you ever sat and pondered about your pet? Maybe they’re starting to act out or even withdraw. No matter what their behavior, or lack of, the reason behind what they’re doing could very well be due to a medical problem which is where a medical intuitive could prove to be very helpful. 

Having a pet is one of life’s greatest blessings, but because of the communication barrier, it can become difficult at times. What if you could sit with your pet and ask them questions about their behavior, health, likes, dislikes, or just things that you are curious about? Well, you can!

A medical intuitive is an alternative medicine practitioner, who uses their intuitive abilities to find the cause of a physical or emotional condition through the use of insight rather than conventional medical diagnostics. Other terms for this practice include medical clairvoyant, medical psychic or intuitive counselor. These practitioners do not diagnose or treat medical conditions. They can, however, offer insight from a unique perspective that often adds useful information when used in conjunction with conventional medical diagnostics. It is one tool that can be added to your overall wellness protocol.

What Do Medical Intuitives Do?

Medical intuition focuses on visualization skills and intuitive and innovative scanning to obtain information from the physical body and its energy systems. It is designed to assist health care providers in a cost-effective, targeted approach to a patient’s presenting concerns, and is not meant to serve as a diagnosis of illness or disease. Studies have shown that medical intuitives have strong, subjective accuracy rates in identifying primary and secondary health issues. Additionally,  their services are positively evaluated in the context of an individual’s concerns regarding their health. 

History Of Medical Intuition

Edgar Cayce (1877–1945) was one of the most well-known medical clairvoyants. He was said to be able to discern the health conditions of people, and in many cases, heal them of their affliction. Many of the treatments that he developed are still used today. 

In some cases, medical intuitives have been hired by hospitals, clinics, and medical offices, particularly in California. Some medical intuitives also work with M.D.’s.

How Can An Animal Medical Intuitist Help?

When a human visits a medical professional, they often engage in an extensive intake interview where the doctor can ask in-depth questions about how the patient feels. This interview helps the physician narrow down potential causes and develop the next steps for testing and diagnostics. As many animal owners can attest, veterinary diagnostics can be a very hit-or-miss process, expensive and frustrating. It can be difficult for a vet to focus on the root cause based only on our visual observations. An animal is not able to verbalize his physical sensations such as:

  • “My throat feels raw when I swallow.”
  • “The pain feels sharp in my left upper hip and radiates down my leg.”
  • “I feel a rapid flutter in my chest” 
  • “I feel the pain in my right front hoof. It feels fine at the walk but the pain starts when I canter” 
  • “I feel nauseous and low on energy”

When a horse exhibits lameness it can often be difficult to tell which limb is the cause. Narrowing down the focus onto one limb can save everyone a lot of time and money.

Clients often consult an animal communicator/medical intuitive prior to a non-emergency vet visit to collect information that will help the vet to zero in on the root cause and reduce the number of tests required. By locating sensations during an intuitive scan of the body, an animal communicator can report details of pain location, intensity, and quality. These details help the pet owner and their medical care team to discover symptoms that are not visible to us and to refine the treatment plan.

Regular “check-in” with a communicator can be useful to monitor the well-being of a pet during a course of treatment by asking the pet about pain levels, appetite, and other symptoms.

Pet owners also consult a medical intuitive to help them assess the quality of life of their senior pet as they navigate the challenges of old age.

As an animal communicator and animal medical intuitive, I use a scanning technique to feel what the animal is feeling in his physical body. As an empath, I feel the physical and emotional feelings of the animal in my own body reporting sensations of pain, pressure, headaches, nausea, itching, vision disturbance, hearing loss, dental issues, joy, sadness, lethargy, difficult respiration, etc.
Contacting an animal medical intuitive should never be your first choice in any emergency situation. Always contact your vet or local emergency clinic first. The intuitive work can complement your conventional veterinary care but never replace it.

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Animal Communicator Horses

Why Every Horse Trainer Needs An Animal Communicator

horse trainer

As every experienced horse trainer knows, there is no magical shortcut to training a horse. For every horse you take on for training, there is a unique process of observation, trust building, cue and response, repetition, reward, and patience.  Whether the trainer is starting a green colt, retraining an OTTB, or polishing the skills of a Grand Prix competitor, they must be tuned into the non-verbal communication used by all horses.  

Trainers Are Already Using Animal Communication

Without even realizing it, the best trainers are already using the main skills of animal communication. 

  1. Acknowledging that the horse is a thinking, feeling, non-verbal being.
  2. Remaining focused and present at the moment with the horse in front of them.
  3. Collecting and processing non-verbal information from the horse based on his body language and response to cues.
  4. Allowing his intuition, or “gut feeling”, developed from experience, to guide him to the instant and appropriate response.
  5. Always remaining self-aware and responsible for non-verbal, physical, mental, and emotional messages that he is sending out to the horse.
  6. Building trust and a mutual language that allows for two-way communication.

Miscommunication Is Bound To Happen

At any, and every point in this training process the opportunities for miscommunication and misunderstanding are almost limitless for both parties. Even the horses that are willing and able to clearly communicate are often confused by mixed signals or lack of information.  

In many cases, a trainer starts with very little knowledge of the horses’ temperament, past experiences, and individual preferences. Just as humans see the world through the filter of their own past experiences, the same is true for horses. They carry the baggage of past training, fear triggers, and physical discomfort forward with them into each new experience.

Why Having An Experienced Animal Communicator Is Important

The skills of an experienced animal communicator can offer the perfect complement to those of the horse trainer. Through telepathic animal communication, one can explore other aspects of equine behavior that can not be answered from visual observation. The communicator can gather information in the form of images, emotions, and physical sensations that can build on the visual picture of who the horse is. By adding this tool to the training toolbox of skills, any horse handler can enrich the partnership they share with the horse.

Save Yourself Time And Money

Can you imagine the time, money and frustration to be saved if the horse could simply answer the following questions?

  • What is the trigger for this behavior, is it physical, mental, or emotional?
  • Where do you feel pain? What is the quality of the pain; sharp, dull, pulsing?
  • How does the saddle fit? Do you feel any uneven pressure?
  • What training exercises do you enjoy most? Which ones confuse you?
  • In which environment do you feel most focused? In the indoor arena or the outdoor jump ring?
  • Which daily activities stimulate you in a positive way? Which causes boredom or shuts you down?
  • Does the pace of your schooling suit you or do you need more of a challenge?
  • What things, places, or activities trigger your fear response?
  • In what exercises are you feeling confused and how can I clarify the goal to make it easier?

Customize Your Training Based On Your Horses Needs

It is amazing how often humans and horses alike come to assumptions about one another that are inaccurate and cause conflicts and misunderstandings that disrupt the training partnership. Giving the horse an opportunity to share their perceptions and clarify goals, opens up new possibilities for negotiation and compromise in the relationship. 

Armed with these answers, the horse trainer now has the opportunity to rethink and format the training environment to suit the unique nature of that particular horse.  Making even small adjustments to accommodate the individual horses’ needs can go a long way to building a deeper, trust-based, relationship with any horse in your care.

If you are interested in more tips and exercises for building trust with your horse, please visit this article by Erica Ash.

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Animal Adoption Dogs

6 Things to Consider Before You Adopt a Dog

adopt a dog

Congratulations! You’ve decided to adopt a dog! Dogs can be amazing companions, excellent cuddle partners, and complete a family. The excitement of adding a furry friend oftentimes overshadows the long-term responsibilities that come with owning one. Making an impulsive decision can lead to frustration, and stress for both you and the dog. Before adopting a dog there are several things that you should consider to ensure you are prepared for the long-term responsibilities that come with owning one.

What Are The Reasons You Want To Adopt A Dog?

Before taking the final steps of adopting a dog, ask yourself: 

  • What is the motivation for wanting one? 
  • Have you recently gone through a major life event? Are you looking for a short-term feeling of companionship?
  • What does your lifestyle look like?
  • What do you envision your life being like in 5 – 10 years, does having a dog still make sense?

Additionally, there are ways that you can get a sense of what it would be like to be a dog owner full time, such as fostering. By temporarily fostering a dog, you can get a realistic picture of what daily life would be like as a dog owner, and it does not require a long-term commitment. 

What to Consider When Adopting a Dog

  1. Do You Have The Time It Takes To Care For A Dog?

Having the time to care for and spend time with your dog is one of the most important parts of being an owner of one. You always have to keep in mind that they rely on you every day for food, water, potty breaks, exercise, and attention. Some questions to ask yourself regarding your time are:

  • What does your daily schedule look like? 
  • Do you work from home? 
  • Is your schedule flexible?
  • Do you have time to train your dog?
  • Do you often go on overnight or weekend trips?

When considering adding a dog to your family, the time that is required is often not realized. This leads to the owner feeling overwhelmed which sometimes results in the pet being put back up for adoption. Be realistic about how your daily schedule can be impacted before making a final decision.

  1. Can You Financially Afford A Dog?

Having a dog is EXPENSIVE! It’s similar to having a child. In addition to the basics like food and veterinary care, you have to include crates, harnesses, insurance, toys, training, and boarding. While you may see an adoption fee as being affordable, that is just the beginning. Annually, owners spend an average of $1,480 on pet dogs’ basic expenses. While this can give you an estimate, pet owners generally spend more than that on their furry friends.

  1. What Does Your Household Look Like?

Think about what your current household situation looks like right now and how you think it will change over the next several years. Think about things like:

  • Do you have children?
  • Are you expecting to have them? 
  • Do you have aging parents that may need to live with you? 
  • Do you have a yard?

Having a dog and a busy family is very different from living single, or with two retirees. Keep in mind that as your family grows, so does your dog.

  1. What Type Of Breed Is Best?

Many dogs that are offered for adoption are often those of mixed breeds. Therefore, you may not know exactly what you are getting. By doing a little research on different kinds of breeds you can get a better understanding of what their adult size and general temperament will be. There is an overabundance of benefits to adopting a mutt and some of them are listed here.

  1. What Has The Dog Previously Experienced?

When adopting a dog, you never really know what their experience has been. Some of those who put their animals up for adoption often try to give as many details as possible, but who is to know what is true or not? Most often very little information is known about the life experiences that the dog has had. A puppy born and raised in a safe foster home will probably have fewer training and behavior challenges than a two-year-old that has been passed on from living life on the streets, through a shelter, or multiple adoptive homes before being chosen by you. Just like humans, dogs can carry mental and emotional baggage and you have to ask yourself if you are able to provide the patience, love, understanding, and training if necessary. 

  1. Animal Communication

Adding animal communication to your resources for making the adoption as smooth as possible is always a good idea. During a telepathic communication session, a dog is able to share thoughts and images from his previous experience. They can let you know their favorite things and also the things that trigger fear or aggression. Getting to know the history and personality of your pet through animal communication helps get your relationship off to a solid start.

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Animal Communicator

Communicating With Our Animals

communication

The relationships that we form in our lives can be a great source of strength and healing for us. When out of harmony, they can also become a source of stress. The relationships that we form with our animals are really no different. Our animals bring us joy and comfort, unconditional love and acceptance, they ground us and enrich our lives. For many people, the connection with their pets constitutes their primary and sometimes most enduring relationship. Yet the ease and joy of this relationship can become disrupted when the pet begins to exhibit behavior issues, health concerns, or conflicts with family members. Communication can be a key to resolving these conflicts. Accurate communication can be difficult even when both parties speak the same language. Therefore nurturing a healthy relationship is a challenge when your partner shares no common language. 

What is Animal Communication?

While it may defy belief systems for some, there is a communication means available to bridge the gap: Telepathy,  Animal communication, or inter-species telepathic communication, which is the process of transferring thoughts, images, and feelings from one party to another using extrasensory perception. Animals are able to relay a surprising depth and variety of information about themselves and their environment including physical sensations, emotions, and events. 

Researchers, like Rupert Sheldrake, biochemist, and physiologist, believe there is a background fabric of the Universe made up of energy that is called the “Morphic Field” that links beings and acts as a channel for telepathic communication. Others may call this field the “Universal Mind”. Deepak Chopra refers to it as “the Field of all Possibilities.” 

How Does Animal Communication Work?

Accessing this telepathic field is a skill that comes naturally to all animals, including the human animal. We as humans, with thousands of years of verbal language orientation, have largely lost this skill. Animals, however, remain strongly connected and are skilled telepathic communicators. As humans have come to rely on verbal communication, we have become less aware of our telepathic abilities. But as we think and speak, we are continually producing energetic broadcasts that contain visual images and emotions, though consciously we are virtually unaware of their content. We tend to tune back in only during creative endeavors such as design, art, meditation, or creative visualization. As we have tuned out our own broadcasts, we have also tuned out these messages from our animals that contain their thoughts, needs, feelings, and perceptions. 

Misunderstanding frequently arises between humans and animals because we do not “hear” one another accurately. Our animals are broadcasting their needs and we are not tuned in to their channel. They go unheard. 

Why Is It Hard To Communicate With My Pet?

Our animals are continually scanning our telepathic channel to discern our needs and expectations. What they encounter is often a confusing, contradictory, overlapping jumble of images and emotions to which they cannot relate. In one brief training session, we might jump to dozens of topics; “I’m teaching the dog to sit”, “I am sad about Aunt Mary”, “did I pay that bill”, “my shoulder feels sore”, “I need to go to the grocery store”. None of these thoughts are relevant to our dog and he would perceive it as broadcast static and have no choice but to tune it out. 

Communication between humans and their animals improves when we learn to think more like them. Animals create their thought forms from the present moment without regard to the past and future. They tend to keep it simple, without the demands of ego. They perceive themselves as spiritual beings connected to all things and eternal in nature. They lack a perception of polarities, no right, and wrong, things are just as they are. Animals are generally free of guilt and judgment for themselves and others. 

We can learn to clarify our telepathic static to improve communication with our animals and also increase our own self-awareness. Starting requires quieting your chattering mind. Breathe into a calm and alert state. Observe your mental imagery and notice how often worry about the past and future intrude. Bring your focus to the present moment and think of what you DO want, not what you DO NOT want. 

Author and Speaker Mike Dooley teaches that “thoughts are things”. From the perspective of our animals, this could not be more true. When you worry about a possible disaster in the future your mind creates an image of that event. As your animal observes this image he can not distinguish it from an actual occurrence. It is the same when we worry about a trip to the vet or a dying pet. Your thought form is purely an illusion but to the animal, it is very real. 

In our attempt to train our pets, we continually think of the behavior we do not want to experience. We teach them, “Don’t jump on the couch”, “Don’t chase cars”, and “Don’t chew on the furniture”. Yet with each verbal statement, we create a telepathic image of jumping on the couch, chasing cars, and chewing furniture. Because there is no visual concept for “Don’t”, we are unintentionally communicating the exact opposite of our desire. 

As we become more aware of our telepathic imagery, we can retrain ourselves to match them to our intent. Accurate mental imagery can become a powerful training tool with our animals and can enhance the overall quality of our communications and our relationships. 

How Can A Professional Animal Communicator Help?

Professional animal communicators can help bridge the gap with animals, from pets to performance horses, in a variety of everyday circumstances. Professional animal communicators can help bridge the gap with animals, from pets to performance horses, in a variety of everyday circumstances. But with some understanding of this process and a little practice, you can become a better listener with your pets and learn how to broadcast your intentions more clearly, too. And better communication will help you both live happier, healthier, and more fulfilling lives.

Categories
Animal Health

Tips for Preventing Animal Dehydration

dehydration

Has anyone ever told you that you should drink half of your body weight in water to stay hydrated? Did you know that there is a similar methodology for animals, too? According to PetSafe, your pet should have a minimum of 1 ounce of water per pound of body weight each day. Sadly, many of us don’t know exactly how much our pets weigh and hydration is an afterthought. Many pet owners only think about it when their pet is showing signs of dehydration.

What is considered dehydration?

Technically, a pet is dehydrated when more fluid is used or lost than what is taken in, making the body unable to carry out normal functions. For cats and dogs, 80% of their body is made up of water which is essential for circulation, electrolyte balance, digestion, metabolism, organ function, and waste removal. 

Signs of Dehydration

The quickest way to tell if an animal is dehydrated is to pinch loose skin; between its shoulder blades for a dog and on the side of the neck for a horse. If the skin stays put or slowly returns to normal, then the animal is most likely dehydrated. Other signs of dehydration include:

  • Dry Mouth
  • Excessive panting
  • Appetite loss
  • Confusion
  • Depression
  • Lack of coordination
  • Lethargy
  • Red, inflamed gums
  • Respiratory trouble
  • Seizures or collapsing
  • Sunken eyes

What increases dehydration?

No matter what type of animal you have, there are going to be certain things that will increase the chances of dehydration or even make their current state of dehydration more severe. 

  1. Temperature – the hotter the animal is, the more water its body will use.
  2. Activity – increased activity equates to more water being used by the body.
  3. Diarrhea and vomiting – when there are periods of this, an animal is most likely excreting more than they are taking in.
  4. Diabetes – when an animal has diabetes, the kidneys work overtime to filter out the excess sugar. The excess sugar is filtered out, taking along tissue fluid with it which is what causes dehydration.
  5. Fever – this causes water to burn off more quickly.

Tips for Keeping Your Animals Hydrated

Each animal is different. They all have different activity levels and requirements based on their diet and health. 

Cats

Cat’s have a low thirst drive. Senior cats actually live mostly in dehydration. To help keep your cat hydrated:

  • Provide a water fountain with moving water.
  • Use wet food instead of dry.

Dogs 

To help keep your dog hydrated:

  • Make sure your dog always has a bowl, even on walks. Take a look at this portable dog bowl.
  • Put toys in the water bowl.

Horses

To help keep your horse hydrated:

  • Be sure to have a clean water source.
  • Balance electrolytes based on their workload.
  • Put a treat like apple juice in the water.
  • Use their favorite bucket (for example, shallow vs deep).
  • After exercise, put a small serving of grain in a shallow tub with water to encourage drinking.
  • Provide salt in their diet to make them thirsty.

If you find that your animal is still not drinking enough, there could be an underlying issue. Using an animal communicator is a great way to get to the root of the problem. An animal communicator will interpret what your animal is saying so that you can have a better understanding of how they currently feel and can take proper action. 

Categories
Pet Resources

11 Ways to Prevent Having a Lost Pet

lost pet

If you’ve ever lost a pet, you know how it feels to have your heart drop to your stomach when you realize they’re gone. It’s a feeling that we never forget no matter how much time passes. If you’ve never experienced this feeling before, I hope you don’t! In fact, I’ve put together some tips for you so that if you haven’t, you won’t, and if you have, you won’t ever have to feel that gut-wrenching feeling again. 

Typical Tips for Preventing a Lost Pet

There are several things you can do that are more common. For instance:

  1. Make sure your pet can’t go under, over, or through your fence. A fully secure physical fence is key. You can even get an electric fence so you don’t have to worry about securing your yard.
  2. Get your dog microchipped. Thanks to technology, we can use a microchip to locate our lost pets.
  3. Get a collar tag with your contact information on it. In the event your pet is lost, chances are much greater that they will be returned when your information is easily accessible. They even make collars that allow GPS tracking.
  4. Spay or neuter your pet. This will reduce the urge to run off and find a mate.
  5. Teach basic commands like “stay”. This way, when you walk out the door they don’t run through it and if they are outside, they don’t run off. 
  6. Keep them on a leash around other animals. Your pet may not be the dominant one so if they are outside, around other animals, they could get scared and run away if not kept on a leash. 
  7. Get proper training. Teaching the dog an off-leash recall will help you keep them near in the event they aren’t on a leash.

Atypical Tips for Preventing a Lost Pet

While the tips mentioned above are all great, there are some other tips that I’d like to share that many people don’t think about.

  1. Get a harness professionally fitted. So many people just order a harness based on their animal’s weight. If you get a professionally fitted one, they can’t turn into Houdini and escape. 
  2. Use positive reinforcement. When a pet is misbehaving, many owners turn to punishment as a way to correct their behavior. If you use positive reinforcement instead, your pet is more likely to stay around. 
  3. Install an automatic door closer. This gadget ensures that your door shuts tightly so the pet can’t push it open.
  4. Ask them what they want so they don’t run away. Animal communication is a great way to make sure they are happy and enjoying their environment.

How to Recover a Lost Pet

Using an animal communicator is best for prevention as you can’t “talk the pet home”. Many people believe that an animal communicator is psychic and can tell where the pet is going next. This is not the case. You can learn more about what an animal communicator is in our recent blog. 

If your pet is lost, some things you can do are:

  1. Canvas the neighborhood and let your neighbors know.
  2. Post lost pet flyers.
  3. Post on social media, especially on local community pages. Also, ask your friends to share your post.
Categories
Dogs

Polite Service Dog Etiquette

Why do you have a service dog? Can I have one? What does a service dog do? Every day, people who have “service dogs” are asked a myriad of questions. Below, we have included several facts that are important for those who do not have them to know. Before we get into them, let’s clarify what a service dog actually is. 

Types of Assistance Animals

In the United States, there are 2 types of assistance animals defined by the federal government:

1. Emotional Support Animals (ESA): Under federal law, persons with disabilities do not have public access to these animals. This is because these animals are not required to be trained and are not limited to dogs. However, emotional support animals do have access to housing under the Federal Housing Act. One must have a letter from a qualified professional stating the animal’s presence is needed to mitigate symptoms for a person with a disability.

2. Service Dogs (SDs): These dogs assist people with disabilities and have been trained to perform specific tasks to mitigate symptoms of the person’s disability. Federal law defines service dogs as dogs but does have an exception for miniature horses that meet specific criteria. Service dogs have been trained to alert to changes in body scent indicating a medical issue, guide the blind, retrieve items, alert for sounds, sense allergens in an environment, etc. The person with the disability has access to public areas with the service dog. These dogs must be well-behaved and cannot interfere with an entity’s ability to conduct business. Behaviors not suited for a service dog would be untrained bladder and/or bowel control, pulling to greet people or other animals, uncontrolled vocalization, etc. In the event that a dog begins to have behavioral issues, it’s a good idea to consult an animal communicator to see why. 

Encountering Service Dogs

If you see a person with a disability using a service dog, there are two essential things to remember when one encounters them:

  1. Speak to and maintain eye contact with the person and not the service dog.
  2. The dog must focus on the handler and its work.  Therefore, your behavior should not interfere with the dog and its ability to complete its tasks for its handler.

The following is a list of what is considered an interfering behavior:

  • Whistling, barking, or cooing at the animal 
  • Putting your hands out to pet the dog without asking for the handler’s consent
  • Maintaining prolonged eye contact (staring) at the dog
  • Praising or commanding the dog. 
  • Allowing children to interact with the dog without asking the handler’s permission
  • Asking the handler why he/she needs the dog
  • Asking the handler to have the dog demonstrate its tasks
  • Approaching the person and sharing stories about your dog or someone else who uses a service animal
  • Asking the person to educate you or your children about service animals
  • If you are out in a public area and are allergic or afraid, federal law mandates the person with the service animal has rights to the area. Therefore, it’s important for you to avoid the handler and the dog and not scream or run from the dog if you are afraid. If your allergy is life-threatening, please let the manager of the establishment know so that both of you may be accommodated. 

It is polite to remember that the health and safety of the handler depends on the focus and attention of their assistance partner. Please respect the space around the working pair.  When appropriate, many dog handlers will be happy to share information about the role of working dogs, however, please let them initiate the conversation.

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