Many have asked “Can you tell my dog not to ___?”

Well, can you tell your kids not to jump on the sofa, and he / she would remember not to do it again once and for all?

Pets are living beings, even if we can communicate with them, it doesn’t mean we can change their behaviors like inputing commands into computers.

Pet communication allows us to better understand what’s in our pets’ mind, but they still require lots of patience and techiques to train.

Take our new pup, Moby, as an example.

He loves biting and playing with the poopie pads at home.

We told him not to, but he just goes back and mess it up.

I asked him “Moby, do you know it’s wrong to mess up the poopie pad?”

He said, “Yes… but it’s so much fun!”

Me:  You have to stop, otherwise, you’ll be going back to your cage. (a punishment)

Moby:  Ok…

The next day, we let him out and he started messing up the poopie pad again.

Why? 

Because baby dogs are absent minded, and it requires lots of patience to remind Moby not to mess up the pad.

In other words, it is not long the matter of “talking to the pet”, but taking action to change his behaviors.

Now, whenever he start going close to the pad, we would warn him.

And if he messed up the pad, he would be caged.

Overtime, Moby learns that poopie pads are for pee and poo. :)

A month ago, we have purchased a chihuahua from a pet shop.

We were thrilled to welcome this new family member of ours, until three days later, the little 3-month old pup passed away suddenly during his sleep.

The vet couldn’t find out a reason for his death but told us that it might be caused by unethical pet shop owners.

What these shops do is to starve these pups so that they always look small and cute.  Since they weren’t being fed at all (they were only given gloucose water), their internal organs were demaged.

We tried going back to make complains to the pet shop, but there weren’t proves to show that the problems were caused by them. 

It was sad for everyone seeing this little pup leave just after 3 days coming home with us.

And for those who plans to purchase any pups, pay attention.  Talk to these pet shops, tell them that you’ll take the pup for a vet check up before purchasing.  Most importantly, if you feel that all they want to do is to sell you the dog (fast), there must be problems.

———-

Anyway, something interesting here is that, the moment we took Zebra (the deceased pup) to the 24 hours pet clinic, Stitch (our older Chi) told us that Zebra never left the house.  Which means, during his coma state, he was probably gone already.

8 days after Zebra death, I had a conversation with him, as follows:

Me:  Hi! Zebra!!!

Zebra:  Mom!!!

Me:  How are you?  I miss you a lot!

Zebra:  Don’t worry, I am ok now.  (I could actually felt that he was happy)

Me:  Zebra, we got another new pup in the family, called Moby.

Zebra:  Yeah, I know, I play with him all the time!  (In fact, we asked Stitch and Moby, and they both say that Zebra was around playing with them)

Me:  You are home all along?

Zebra:  Yep

(The conversation went on), at last, I said:  Zebra, we all love you dearly, but if you have to leave, it’s ok to go.

Zebra:  (he didn’t say anything and just smiled)

2 days after our conversation, Stitch and Moby told me that Zebra is no longer in the house.

Zebra, I am sure you’ll be much happier in heaven now.

This has nothing to do with pet communication.

Just something silly I did for my colleague’s dog, enjoy:

I know, I know, I have made it clear that I don’t talk to deceased pets.  However, as a pet owner, I feel for those who lost their best companions, and sometimes, I give leeway…

Meet Nana, a 4 year old Corgi who recently passed away due to pancreatitis.  Quite difficult to take especially when Nana was still so young.

Had a chat with Corgi on the 8th day after she passed away.

Nana was really upbeat, lively, and happy when I saw her.  She was jumping up and down, wagging her tail, and even jumped up on my face!  I guess she was feeling really good again! haha..

Me:  Hi! NaNa.

Nana:  Hi!!! How are you?

Me:  Your papa asked me to have a chat with you, just to check things in.

Nana:  Yeah, I know.  Papa told me. (smiling)

Me:  Hey, Nana, papa wants to know why you always stop him from going into the shower!?

Nana:  Oh… that… Yeah… I hate it when he showers.  He looks really creepy behind that shower curtain!

(Turns out Nana’s owner never close the bathroom door when he showers, and that’s why Nana could see him through the shower curtain)

Me:  Papa wants to know when you begin to feel sick?

(Nana showed me a mental picture:  It was during the daytime, when she just finished her meal.  She then started to feel dizzy and had a difficult time breathing.  Then she fell sick and vomit)

Me:  Do you know what made you sick?

Nana:  I think it was the dog foods I ate.

Me:  Nana, Papa is very sorry for not being a perfect papa for you.  But he wants you to know that he loves you dearly.

Nana:  What?  No!  I think papa is cool.  He is very funny.  I was very happy around him!

Me:  Do you miss papa?

Nana:  (Wagging her tail) I love him, but I am also very happy now here.

Me:  Papa wants to know if you ever become another dog, what signal can he pick up to know it’s you?

Nana:  Well… if he ever see a pup that smiles a lot and scratch her ears, that’s me!

Interestingly enough, there was another dog popping up during our conversation.  It looked like Nana but I believed that it was a Sheppard dog from it’s face.  I asked Nana’s owner if that dog has anything to do with Nana, since Nana kept showing me that image, her owner introduced me to Laba, Nana’s friend who has been living with her in the same house.  Laba is a Corgi, but many people mistaken him as a Sheppard.

Hm… I guess Nana really misses her buddy.

A client asked if my communication skills with pets get better over time.

I guess so.  But then, wouldn’t it be also true if the animal feels more connected with me as time passes, and therefore, would open up more?

Take little Terry, my friend’s dog, for example.

This pooch refused to talk in the beginning, but now, he’d tell me stuff that goes on about his life.  Just over the weekend, he came told me that his mom feels sad because he saw her crying.  The fact was, her mom had recently broke up with her boyfriend, little Terry’s “dad”.  He also told me that he would support his mom wholeheartedly, and will try to get use to not seeing dad! 

I didn’t initiate the conversation, but since Terry knew I understand him, he would come find me.

So, in the end, I guess it’s more like human meeting friends.  You won’t open up when you first meet, but as time goes by, you feel more trust from that person, and therefore, would tell more.

Stitch and her friend Toffee (pup in green) go to work every Friday.

Stitch seems to love her pal and they share almost everything (more like Stitch taking Toffee stuff, but..whatever).

They wee and poo on the same pads, Stitch sleeps on Toffee’s bed (like in the picture), and would even take Toffee’s foods.  But all these didn’t seem to bother Toffee, which Jessica (Toffe’s owner) felt strange ’cause Toffee doesn’t seem to have that “sharing” nature in her.

I asked Stitch:  Stitch, why are you taking Toffee stuff?

Stitch:  She lets me do it.  She is ok with it.

Just when I thought Stitch was lying, I met Toffee at work and asked Toffee if that was true.

Toffee:  Yeah… I let her.

Me:  Really?  Why?

Toffee:  Oh, I got lots of those foods, just take them, I’ll get more from mom.   It’s fine for Stitch to take my dog foods, but not the chicken!!!  Do not take my chicken!

Hm… so that’s why!  No wonder Stitch is so happy when she sees Toffee!

Many pet owners would ask me questions like: “Can you tell my dog to stop wee-ing on the carpet?” or “Can you tell my cat to stop scratching the sofa?”

I understand how frustrating it is to see your pet doing annoying stuff and no matter how many times you tell them to stop but they just never listen.  BUT one thing I want to point out is that, I talk to pets, but I can NEVER alter their behaviors unless they want to.  The negotiation process is just as hard for pets as for humans! 

Use my chihuahua, Stitch, as an example. 

She is a big foodie, and she gets really (over) protective of her foods, to an extend she would growl and bites if you get close.  My boyfriend has recently gotten into a “cold war” with Stitch because he thought offering Stitch the foods was a nice gesture, and the growling and the biting just doesn’t show her appreciation!

Here is the conversation I had with Stitch:

Me:  Stitch, why aren’t you talking to William?

Stitch:  Because he doesn’t want to talk to me.

Me:  Really?  Why is that?

Stitch:  I don’t know, may be he was angry?

Me:  He is angry.  Because you bit him when you were eating the foods he gave you.  Did you bite him, Stitch?

Stitch:  Yes.

Me:  Do you know it was wrong?

Stitch:  Yes.

Me:  Are you sorry for what you did?

Stitch:  Yes.

Me:  Do you want William to play with you again?

Stitch:  Yes, sorry William.  It won’t happen again.

Problem is, even if Stitch really meant what she said at the moment, it doesn’t mean next time when she gets her favorite foods, she won’t do it again!  Sometimes, it’s really just the character of the pet, or sometimes, it would require revisiting the issue over and over again, until they get rid of their bad habits.

maya

[This case sharing had obtain prior consent from MAYA's owners before posting]

Just had a chat with Maya – May be it was because I was a stranger to her, and she didn’t respond to me until a few attempts later. I felt that she was a bit shy or guarded and it was a bit difficult for her to begin the conversation after a few times telling her that her “best friend” wants to know more about her – does she addresses you in other ways? Like mom?!.

Here are her responses to some of your questions: 

1. How did you end up being a stray?

Maya: What? I was a stray? I didn’t know that!?

Me: Well, it’s ok, that’s probably isn’t something happy to remember about. Anyway, are you happy now with your best friend?

Maya: Yes (she wagged her tail with a smile)

Me: That’s good, that’s all it matters.

 

2.  Why are you so scared of baths? Me: Maya, do you like water?

Maya: (She showed me a scene where she was playing with water, not exactly swimming but just having fun in the water – not deep water though.)

Me: Oh, so you like water? But howcome you don’t like baths?

Maya: It’s boring and uncomfortable.

Me: Really? How so?

Maya: I hate bubbles covering me! (I guess she meant foam!?) And I don’t like them rubbing things on me.

Me: Oh! How should they do it then?

Maya: I like to be massaged :)

 

3.  Do you miss your puppies at all?

(This one took a long time for her to respond)

(Maya told me that she had 6 babies, is that so?)

Me: Do you miss them?

Maya: Nah! I am sure they are going to be very happy.

Before I go, I asked if there are other things she wants to tell you. She said “Yeah, tell her that I love her and I like to be scratched.”

———-

Owner’s feedback:

Thankyou very much, that’s awesome to know. She had 10 pups, although for 2 weeks we had just 6, so she might have been attached to those six a bit more. Maya is always running about in water when we are down by it but never goes enjoys the baths, so that explains it and small dogs seem to annoy her more, I think because of the barking.

Thank you so much, it’s quite shocking and very interesting :)

Picture 1498

[The following case is published with Leng Leng's owner's consent]
 
Doggie’s name:  Leng Leng
Age: 7
Gender: Male
———-
 
Leng Leng is not a jumpy dog, he is calm and collected and a true foodie.  He loves foods and is very into this subject during our chat.  His mom (owner) wants to know what his favorite food is.  As soon as I mentioned the word “food”, a BOWL popped out – guess he was very eager to get his treats! ;p
 
Me: Leng Leng, what’s your favorite foods?  What do you like to eat?
(Leng Leng showed me something yellow-orangish but I wasn’t sure what that was.  Believe that it’s either banana or mango!?  Anyway, he also showed me chicken and beef)
Leng Leng:  Can you help tell my mom that I really really want a bite of those steaks? 
Owner’s feedback:  Bingo, he likes eating chicken (those chicken from soup) and once he had a little piece of Wagyu beef (very small piece)…but I don’t know about the yellow-orangish thing…
Me:  Alright, sure, I’ll pass the message to your mom!
 
Me:  What do you like to do?
(Leng Leng showed me a scene where he was running happily on grass.  I asked if this is what he really like to do?  It’s quite difficult to find grass for dogs to run on in Hong Kong.  Very often, when i ask dogs who live in Hong Kong about “park” (with grass and trees), they don’t respond, basically because most parks in Hong Kong are made of concrete and the concept of trees and grass doesn’t make sense to them. But in lang lang’s case, he specifically says he loves running on grass.)
Owner’s feedback:  Yes, he likes grass, as he was living in Toronto too…they had a backyard where they often bring him out.  Of course he misses that as he can’t see grass much now…
 
Me:  Do you like to play with other dogs?
(He should me a scene in which he was playing with a small breed dog.  Believe that he only play with selected dogs and preferably smaller breeds?)
Leng Leng:  I like to play with dogs that are shorter than me.  I like to be the taller one.
Owner’s feedback:  Yes, he only plays with selected dogs, in fact, he seldom meets other dogs…
 
Me:  Mom told me you pee a lot in the house?  Why’s that?
(There was an urge to pee from the bladder in specific - not sure what that is, but if you are very worried, check in with a vet.  Tell the vet that he pees a lot in the house, and ask if there is anything wrong with the bladder.)

Take a look at this short TV segment from San Francisco KRON-4 News. It talks about what animal communication is and how it works.

From: Professional Animal Communicator Barbara Martin

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