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September 19, 2007

In July
2006, about 6 months into Lilly’s agility meltdown, I sought help from an
animal communicator. Essentially, I asked her to find out what’s causing Lilly
concern at agility classes and what she needed me to do to help. I did not give
the communicator any details on what the problems looked like. I simply gave
her a list of pretty vague questions and a photo of Lilly. She did not meet
Lilly, nor did she know much about agility as a sport. Here are the results of
their first communication session together.


Think of the process like Lilly
showing the communicator little video clips from her life. She jumps around
some from image to image. So, sometimes, it’s just a description of the images.
Other times, the communicator is explaining what she believes they mean. (I
copied and pasted this from an email, so I’m sorry if some of the punctuation
gets screwy in the blog translation.)


I begin
to settle in and quiet my mind for an open channel to communicate with Lilly. I
feel that she is full of energy, eager and keen. She likes interaction and is
very present to what you are looking for and wanting. She approaches with a
keen eye, with a sense of presence and a likeability factor. A girl that is
forward, friendly and has a heart as large as Texas. So fun, that I am keen to meet her
upon my return!  She puts a smile on my face just thinking about her. She
has an energy that one would feel needs to be channeled and if she spins it’s
to the right.

She is
on the go and she shows me a picture of her playing tug of war, pulling on an
old rope type thing. She puts her nose to the ground and likes to seek out
smells, as though to hunt or follow a track. She uses her nose to bury. She has
a good sense of smell. She wants to share that.

Your
energy is good for her. She feels as though she has found her place. Your
husband has a calmer energy, quieter, and the interaction is quite different for
her between the 2 of you. It appears that you have the sense to want to do
specific things, tasks with Lilly, whereas his is more of a presence. This
doesn’t make her feel as though she belongs to one and not the other, she
appreciates the role she has and how it changes. She respects both of you, just
in different ways. I would say that he is more serious and yet don’t get me
wrong, for she will bring out play in the both of you.

Lilly
brings light to people’s lives. She shows loyalty, friendship and the art of
play. She really knows her role and embraces it fully. She feels that it will
lead to greater messages for others along the way. Do not be surprised when she
brings new things your way.

I share
with her that you have some questions and that we would like to improve some
areas of her life. I let her explore what she would like to offer, and we begin
with the agility. This is her take on the agility course.

She
shows me a picture of the weaving. She seems to be okay with this (poles
weaving in and out). She is close to you here, your excitement is apparent. You
use your hands to cue, like a clapping or holding them together.

She
watches on …
{I removed details
here, with a very accurate description of one of our early trainers.}
She is
not sure about this woman. It’s her tone and the way she carries herself.

It
looks as though Lilly will stop sometimes during the course. She will stop and
look at you, as though to ask “What is this about?”  Food will not always
motivate her either; it’s the point of the activity. She is very smart and
needs to understand why she is doing this. It occupies her mind for a while, and
then she gets distracted and wonders why you are so enthusiastic.

There
are other dogs looking on. Its not that she even wants to go over to them. She
is not worried or concerned with them. You may think it’s a blank stare, but in
fact, it’s more of a questioning.

When I
ask her if she is concerned, I get no response. She doesn’t appear worried at
all, even though she may hesitate at times.

I begin
to explain the point of the agility, the relationship building, trust,
obedience, friendship and of course the fun aspect. I see a tunnel and am not
sure if this is the exercise or a way for her to express that she hesitates.
She won’t always go through, but would if someone led the way – it’s a sign of
being unsure. If we can marry the point with some confidence, it will come.

I believe
that she likes time-out from the individual exercises. She loves being around
you. She shows me a couple of obstacles, not all together. Kind of one or 2 at
a time. I take it that she means to break up the session and then do something
else, that way you can build on each piece. It’s as though she likes to have
time-out and then begin once again.

Do you
have a favorite toy for her, could you take that with you?  I can see a
soft toy, like a teddy or something. If you think she will chew the toy, don’t
worry, as it will be one for the agility course that she gets for a certain
period of time. She will appreciate the connection to the toy – you can
incorporate it into the exercise and also as a reward.

She
seems to really enjoy certain aspects of the agility and likes the idea to
learn, be connected. The focus will come over time. She likes variety and wants
the opportunity to do many other things – its possible that her enthusiasm will
either grow this way or diminish completely as she learns about new adventures
and opportunities. Her desires will clearly be displayed – she will show you
for sure.

When I
ask her what makes her happiest, she goes to your front door and sits down – I
do see a lead. However, it’s not so much the walk, it’s the inclusion, she
likes to go places, wherever they may be!  She may wait underneath the
table, but she is alert and is ready to go. She likes the ride in the car.

Lilly
is pretty upbeat. Many dogs will take on their persons illnesses, or hold
images and feelings from the past. Lilly moves on through it. She shows me a
scene from the past, she’s friendly and is liked by the staff at the shelter.
She sees herself as being liked. People stop by and say Hi, they chat to her
and play with her. She gets to go out and play, and she stays happy through it
all. She had some aches in her left shoulder, it ran down her arm.

As I
try to delve deeper to show me the life before the shelter I see a little boy
cuddling her. I cannot help but wonder if she was in that home for a while, as
though she was a gift for someone. She has little to share in this area and
does not show hunger or fear. Maybe it’s a guarded response, or maybe she was
always safe and yet not wanted.

Either
way Lilly has found her home and rather than looking back, she looks to the
future. She holds no grudge, no bad feelings, and it appears that she was happy
in the shelter (to a point) and always knew that you would pick her up!

Here are some ideas to improve upon the agility:

  • Split up the lessons, to allow for down time
    throughout
  • Take a toy that is familiar to her, to engage &
    reward
  • Build confidence through actions
  • She loves going on rides in the vehicle
  • She appreciates new learning experiences &
    enjoys rewarding tasks

It’s
been a pleasure to communicate with Lilly and share her feelings and emotions
as well as ideas and aspirations. I trust that these suggestions will give you
ideas to build upon for the agility course and if you need me to look at
specific areas not covered let me know.

Lilly
is a true gift and I know that she will bring you all much joy. Communicating
with animals is something that we can all do, we just need to quiet our minds
to be able to listen. Trust your own instincts too!

>>>>>>>>>>
Just a couple comments from me, post-script:

Many of the suggestions made were things I was already doing with Lilly. The tunnel image made me laugh because Lilly will go into tunnels and not come out when she’s shutting down at agility class.

Lilly had another session in early 2007 right after the snarking started. I’ll post that one tomorrow.

About the Author Roxanne Hawn

Trained as a traditional journalist and based in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA, I'm a full-time freelance writer for magazines, websites, and private clients. My areas of specialty include everything in the lifestyles arena, including health and home, personal finance and other consumer interests, relationships and trends, people and business profiles ... and, of course, all things pet related.

I don't just love dogs. I need them in my life. Seriously.

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