Animal Communication
- views and case studies
It's About Relationship
The dog in life
the firmest friend,
The first to welcome,
foremost to defend.
- Lord Byron
I get a fair number of calls from people who have been advised to get rid of an animal because there are problems. Sometimes this is the best course, but most often what is needed is to salvage the relationship through a shift to holistic care and nonviolent training methods. The most important dynamic between you and an animal is the relationship you are able forge, not the externalities of looks, winning, or impressing others. This story from a client, Martha Siemonsma, speaks to the heart of that issue.
"Until about nine years ago, I had never so much as put a halter on a horse. The only time I had ever been on a horse was as a kid on one of those " Dude " trail rides. I had always wanted a horse, but my husband would hear nothing of it (he doesn't like horses). After fifteen years of marriage, I finally managed to convince him to let me have one. His uncle found me a thirteen-year-old grade mare that had been used on the ranch for years. The ranch was going to get rid of her because she was no longer able to handle the demands of ranch work. She had not been known to buck, kick or bite and had been ridden a lot. I bought her for $350 and named her Annie.
 "Annie turned out to be impossible to catch and harder to bridle: she wouldn't stand to be mounted, was high headed and low backed, head shy, and wouldn't allow anyone to pick up her feet. I got kicked twice trying to do that! I was able to take some basic horse handling and riding lessons from a local woman, who subsequently got severely injured and stopped teaching. After that I was pretty much on my own. The closest riding instructor was two hours away and didn't take beginning adults. I later found out that Annie had been beaten - no wonder she was afraid of people and head shy! Fortunately, she was kind, gentle, patient, and tolerant of my mistakes.
"I rode Annie almost every weekend the first three years that I had her - walk and trot exclusively. I tried a couple of times to canter, but got scared. I couldn't slow her down or get her to stop or turn. Her head would go up so high that she evaded any attempt I made, so I decided I really didn't need to do that anyway. I didn't have an arena or any place but an open pasture to practice in, so I decided to forget it.
"Things were going fairly well I thought, until one day in late August. I was about a mile from home and having problems with her so I decided to call it quits and head for home. We were at a trot when for some reason she spooked badly. I attempted to control her the best I could, but then she started bucking. It happened so fast I don't really know what happened, but I was catapulted off. Annie must have lost her balance for she fell on top of me, and then got up and ran off. I was stunned, injured, scared, alone, and a mile from home. I managed to make it somehow to a water trough where I could get water and some shade. I then waited for help for the next two hours. I spent some time in the hospital and ten painful weeks at home with multiple fractures of my pelvis. It was a year before my doctor said I should even attempt to start riding again.
"During my convalescence, I discovered TTEAM. I also came to realize how little control I really had of Annie. Just because a horse has been ridden a lot, doesn't mean they are well trained. To make a long story short, I never really did ride Annie again. I tried a few times, but my stomach ended up in my throat. Annie was getting up in age and had some arthritis. I got the impression that she didn't care much for this riding thing herself, so we mutually decided that it wasn't necessary. There were too many other ways to enjoy each other's company on the ground. We both loved taking long walks to go bird watching. She carried my bird books, binoculars, camera, water and lunch for the two of us. We never even needed a lead rope. Once I got off the road the lead rope went. She followed me everywhere and I always communicated with her by hand signals. We truly enjoyed each other's company and friendship. I also devised some games to play with her. She's the only horse I know who could back through a pole maze.
"Some of the things I taught Annie were: halterless leading, free lunging in a pasture, to lower her head on hand cue, to step one foot at a time through tires, hand and voice signals, to ground tie, come when called, to turn and face on cue, to stand for bathing without restraint, to pick up her feet and stand for the farrier, place her head into the bridle and open her mouth for the bit, and to stand for mounting or dismounting from either side.
"Annie taught me the power of love and friendship, that true beauty has nothing to do with exterior appearances (she was not a beautiful horse except to me), and that even a thousand pound horse could be controlled with nothing more than a thought, a hand signal, or the strength in my little finger. There was no domination here - there was no need for it! I lost my beloved Annie suddenly in October 2001 at about the age of about 20."
Your Stories
Willie
Geoffry Levens sent me this story after reading my book...
"Prequil (just so you know we have understood each other) my cat, Willie comes in and rubs my leg obviously wanting food. He always does this. I say, 'Hey, if you want food, why don't you point at your dish instead of at me?' He instantly stops, gives me a long strange look and turns and walks toward his dish. When near it he freezes mid-stride like a pointer dog on a bird. Needles to say, feeding and petting ensued".
"The main event-- I have been trying for several years to get Willie to NOT bring gophers in through the cat door and rip them up on the carpet (thank God for Nature's Miracle). I started by just throwing him back out with the critter. He'd run around and come right back in with it prompting me to lock him out which I hate doing. So then I tried talking with him. I asked. I begged. I pleaded. I issued stern, empty threats. Nada. So the latest experiment is I take the gopher away and don't give it back. At the same time I tell Willie I think he is the greatest hunter and am proud of him but don't want the gophers in the house and if he keeps them outside he can keep them forever and if he brings them in they are gone. Now it seems as though he thinks I want them for myself. He has taken to bringing them in and running to where ever I am in the house and dropping them at my feet instead of taking them to his usual carpeted killing area. ARRRGH... Oh well. As they say, 'Mi casa es su casa.' Dang. Geoffrey"
Amanda
Cathy Isbell sent me this story after she started doing the exercises in my book...
"I had an interesting experience doing the exercises in your book, I thought you might like to hear it!
"Last week, I greeted a friend's Rottweiller, named Amanda, who was tied up to the railing outside the gym. I told Amanda how beautiful she was and what a nice person she had to live with. I then got this message from the dog, 'I know I am really the most beautiful Rottweiller (!), but I am worried about my Mommy. My mommy is so tired, she fell to sleep on MY bed.' As I heard Amanda say this I got a picture in my head of the owner lying asleep across a dark plaid dog bed.
"Of course, I doubted that information, because this woman is so professional, and I couldn't picture her sleeping on her dog's bed. I met the owner inside the gym, and asked her how she was doing. She replied, 'I have been so busy, I am exhausted!' I said, 'You haven't been falling asleep in strange places have you?'
"She looked shocked and said,'Yes, I fell asleep lying across one of Amanda's beds.' I couldn't believe it and asked, 'Beds, you mean she has more than one?' The woman said, 'Yes, she has three different colored ones. I fell to sleep on the plaid one in the living room.'
"That was a classic case of the instruction you gave, to trust the information we are given, even if it sounds unlikely! Thank you so much for the great information and the doors that your book is opening to me.
PS - I saw Amanda and her 'parents' at the gym today. They now call me 'Aunt Cathy' because Amanda makes it quite clear that I am her favorite person. She will break from the leash and run across the parking lot to be at my side, leaning on me! Her parents say I 'speak her language.'
Treacle
While this story is not strictly about animal communication, it was too good to pass up. Debbie Raikes-May told it to me about her cat Treacle who is now gone.
Debbie lives at the edge of a marsh and Treacle loved to catch the mice who ran up and down the fences around the house. Treacle had a very interesting method of catching the mice. She was very large and so she would sit atop a fence post and when a mouse came by she would jump down and land sitting atop the mouse and squash it. Debbie said Treacle would then bring these flattened mice to her as treasures to be admired. One day she brought Debbie a total of eighteen flattened mice - a good mouse day.
There was a herd of cows in the field beyond the fence. One day Debbie spied Treacle out on her fence post watching the cows. One cow in particular was coming closer to the fence and house than the herd normally did. Treacle was watching this cow very intently, for all the world looking as if she were weighing the merits of trying to sit on it and squash it.
Tips
Barefoot Trim for Horses
I am pretty much convinced that going shoeless and doing the barefoot trim is the best course for most horses. But I am also finding there is a lot of variation in skill and technique in this still evolving field of natural horse care. I know it has saved my horse's feet. So I would say study it and proceed with caution, but do check it out. Try the following two websites have information on the barefoot trim for horses:
• www.hopeforsoundness.com
• www.marthaolivo.com
• www.tribeequus.com
Equine Saver
I have been using Figuerola Labs Equine Saver multivitamin/mineral for my horse and really like the results. They also make Lamina Saver, Navicular Saver, and on and on. Their website is figuerola-laboratories.com
Animal Names
If you are having problems coming up with a good name for someone, check out this site:
www.i-love-cats.com/catnames.html
Don't Use Cocoa Mulch Around Animals!
Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman's Garden Supply and other Garden supply stores, contains a lethal ingredient called Theobromine. It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells like chocolate and it really attracts dogs. They will ingest this stuff and die.
Don't Flush That Litter
Don't flush cat litter down the toilet. This practice is being linked to disease and death in coastal marine mammals such as sea otters.
Action for the Animals and the Earth
The petition site is a great resource for making your voice heard on issues affecting nature and animals. Here is the url: www.thepetitionsite.com
Also do not underestimate the effect of letters to the editor. It is a good way to get issues that are being ignored into the public sphere. A handful of people will not be able to save this earth, the time has come for all of us who care to get involved and active.
Good place to start would be to learn why "free" trade and globalization are not good for the earth. Here are some books you can read...
• Cavanaugh, et al 2002. Alternatives to Economic Globalization.
• James Gustave Speth, 2000. World Apart: Globalization and the Environment.
Last Word
This is a poem I wrote for a friend and her black lab Winston who was also my friend.
As He Lay Dying
Sit with him and feel his spirit,
so when he's there, you'll know it's him.
Tell him all the love he brought you,
the laughter and tenderness.
Sit with him and when it's over,
sit some more until he's gone.
Wait until you see his spirit
Travel to another time.
Know that he'll be back again
to lick your face and play the day.
That he will find and be with you
no matter if you go or stay.
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