Animals Have Their Problems, Too
Working with Behavioral Issues
“Can animal communication help solve my animal’s behavioral problem?” is a question frequently asked by people who are considering working with an animal communicator. Sometimes, the request is verbalized as a blunt: “Tell my dog to stop ___ “, (fill in the blank with whatever your dog does that you don’t like).
Animal communication can be very effective when working with behavioral problems. It is a tool we can use to find out why the animal is behaving in such a manner, and to find out if there is something we can do to help facilitate a behavioral change.
However, it is important to keep in mind that animals have free will just as people do, and communication is not about control. For example, we can tell a person to stop a behavior that we don’t like, such as cigarette smoking, and they will probably continue to smoke anyway. If we explain to them that smoking is unhealthy and we would like them to stop because we care about them very much, we may have better luck in getting them to do as we wish. But ultimately only they can decide whether they will…or can…change their behavior.
A woman named Sally called me recently regarding her dog Greta’s unusual behavior. Sally told me to ask Greta why she was doing this “behavior”, would she stop this “behavior”, why had she begun this “behavior”, what could be done about this “behavior”, and so on. It was humorously obvious to me as the conversation continued that this woman did not want to tell me what the behavior was! Normally I do not recommend this approach, because what you consider to be a problem may not be a problem to your dog— in fact, your dog may enjoy the “behavior” very much! Not only that, but it is never a good conversation opener to ask an animal, or a person for that matter, what their problem is! It is always best to let the animal communicator know what it is you would like to find out from your companion. In this case I decided not to question Sally about the “behavior”, as I imagined that Greta would probably know what Sally was so upset about.
When I communicated with Greta, I could sense her fear and nervousness. She indicated that she had been urinating on some rugs. She told me that they were new rugs, and that they smelled like strange animals. Greta was trying to mask the smell with her own scent. I told her she did not have to feel threatened…Sally would not bring anything into the house that would harm her. I also let Greta know that Sally was very unhappy with the urinating.
Sally confirmed that Greta had been urinating on the rugs, and told me that she had recently brought back several new woolen carpets from her trip to Peru. No wonder they smelled so unusual to Greta! She had urinated on each of them, several times. Sally also told me that Greta had calmed down and had stopped urinating on the rugs after our consultation.
Although communicating with our animals can often greatly improve our relationships with them, sometimes additional work is needed to solve a behavior problem. A dog named Sam, who barked excessively, communicated to me that he felt bored and confined. Consequently, he barked at whatever went by the fence. Even though I communicated to him that his barking was disruptive, in his excitement he would forget about his person’s wishes and bark anyway. It took additional reminders, as well as an increase in Sam’s exercise and training, to resolve this behavioral problem. Now Sam and his person are living happily ever after.
It is important to remember that every animal is different and behaves in its own unique way. Some animals have very strong instincts, and find it difficult to change certain behaviors. Others are “people-pleasers” and find it relatively easy to accommodate a reasonable request. Animal communication does have an impact on behaviors, as most animals seem to truly appreciate it when we care enough to listen to their point of view.
