What I wish someone had told me about animal communication

My Dog Heard Me Perfectly. She Just Didn't Care.

It was raining. Honey Bear, my Doberman mix, was standing in the yard, in the rain giving me a look that could only be described as deeply offended. I needed her to go outside and pee. I asked her nicely. Then I asked her less nicely. Then, because I read something about animal communication, and thought I knew things, I started beaming mental images directly into her brain; vivid, detailed pictures of her squatting in the grass and relieving herself.

We were both soaking wet. She looked at me. I looked at her. Then she communicated something back, clear as a bell.

Mom. I know what you're saying. I don't want to pee in the rain.

That was the day I learned that I didn’t understand how animal communication worked. She heard me perfectly. She just had her own opinions. I had a lot to learn, thankfully I found Danielle McKinnon’s courses and started the path to her certification. While certification is not required I feel better taking this path seriously.

Before you book a session with an animal communicator, including me, there are some things I wish someone had told me before I started this work. Not to scare you off. Just to set you up for the real thing, which is better than the thing people imagine.

Nobody is 100% accurate

Here's the thing about animal communication and psychic abilities in general that sounds alarming but is just honest: nobody is one hundred percent accurate. Not the most experienced communicators. Not the people with the most glowing testimonials. Not me. If someone is claiming otherwise, that's your cue to back away slowly.

Animal communication works through a psychic connection that can be read as images, feelings, physical sensations, a knowing or words. The animal sends something. The communicator receives it. And then the communicator, a human being with their own life experience and their own brain, translates it. That translation process has room for interpretation. It's less like a telephone call and more like a telephone call where one person is speaking a different dialect and the other is doing their best to understand.

For example, I tend to see a lot of analogies that use trees and nature. I worked with a communicator that would get songs. I’ve been trained to give the raw data that I receive and not to try and interpret it.

This doesn't mean it doesn't work. It means it's a skill, not a superpower. Going in to test the communicator is a little like going on a first date to interview someone. Sure, you can do it. But don't be surprised if the vibe is off.

Your animal has their own opinions

You come to a session with questions. Your animal comes to a session with their viewpoint. These are not always the same thing.

Sometimes an animal doesn't want to talk about what you ask. Sometimes they bring up something you didn't ask about at all, and it turns out that's the more important thing. Sometimes they are fully aware of your concern and simply disagree with your framing of the situation.

I asked Dax, why she won’t cuddle with me. Her response was “What’s the point?” This is the animal leading the conversation, which happens more than people expect. This is what you want. Actually, I do want Dax to cuddle, but I will settle for the occasional coconut head resting on my leg.

The dog said he didn’t get enough treats

Animals present themselves honestly. They also present themselves strategically. These are not mutually exclusive.

Waffles the dog once told me he doesn’t get enough treats. He also wanted me to know that he was a very good boy. His human sent me a photo. The dog was not in need of treats. He was, in fact, a very well-fed dog who had simply decided that wanting more treats and needing more treats were the same thing. He was not wrong, from his perspective, this was the truth. Dogs love to talk about food.

Animals see themselves through their own reality, not necessarily through objective facts. A cat might show he’s starved for attention with a loving human household. A dog might genuinely believe she’s three seconds from death every time you leave for work. This is useful information. It's just not always accurate information. Opening the conversation is the start of collaboration with your baby.

Animal communication is not a training tool

I want to be very clear about this, mostly because if I could telepathically make dogs do things they didn't want to do, I would have started with my own. Dax still counter-surfs. I have communicated my feelings about this extensively. She has communicated hers back. We are at an impasse. I put a baby gate across the kitchen entrance.

Animal communication is a conversation. You can share your perspective, explain why something matters to you, ask for cooperation, ask them for a solution. What you cannot do is issue a command and expect compliance. Animals have free will.

Sometimes a session can create a real shift in behavior, because the animal genuinely didn't understand something, or had a concern that wasn't being addressed, or needed to feel heard before they could change. That's real and reasonable.

Sometimes the message makes no sense until it does

A cat once showed me an image of himself wearing a leather jacket on a motorcycle. Not near a motorcycle. Not looking at a motorcycle. On one and riding it. I had nothing. I passed it along to his human anyway, because my job is to relay what I receive, not to only relay the things I understand. Not to interpret what I receive.

The cat's previous human had been an avid motorcyclist.

This is the part of animal communication that still gets me. The cat knew. The cat sent something completely accurate and completely specific. I was just the middle person holding a piece of information that only made sense once the human had the other half. What may feel like a "miss" sometimes isn't, it might just need more translation.

Animals are funny. They can be sassy, affectionate and push back. This is my favorite part. I once introduced myself to a cat who looked at me past his raised leg while he was licking himself. His human laughed at the accuracy of that action.

What animal communication can do

Here's what I've watched animal communication accomplish, in real sessions, with real animals.

Insight into behavior that training alone couldn't crack, because there was something underneath the behavior that nobody knew to look for. Deeper understanding between animals and the people who love them. And occasionally, a cat on a motorcycle making complete sense to exactly the right person.

It's not magic. It's not a hotline to a perfectly obedient animal. It's a conversation, with all the messiness and surprise and occasional stubbornness that implies.

 

And then there's the spirit work

This is where I find myself most at home.

When someone's beloved pet has passed, the connection doesn't disappear.

 I've sat with dogs in spirit who came through with so much personality, so much specificity, that their person knew immediately we were talking to their baby. Not vague comfort. The actual dog. The one who did that thing had that habit, loved that particular spot on the couch.

This is the part I can't fully explain and won't try to. What I can tell you is that for a grieving person, feeling that connection, knowing their animal is okay, is not a small thing. It's everything.

Back to Honey Bear

She does pee in the rain now, with attitude. We came to an understanding over time some of it through communication, some of it through her understanding that she wasn’t going to get permission to pee in the house, some of it through the mystery of a dog's inner life that I will never fully access no matter how good I get at this.

She still puts her nose up in everyone's business. Literally. No amount of telepathic imagery has touched that one. Some things are simply non-negotiable.

Honestly? I respect it.