A lot of people seem to think that if you can talk to an animal then you can make it do anything you want — kind of like a puppet on a string. They want us animal communicators to talk their dog out of eating the cat’s food, or their horse out of being jumpy on the trail, or their cat who loves to hunt out of killing birds — mice are okay, but no birds.
Stuff like that. Excuse me?
Just because it someone’s intention that their animal’s every move and behavior accommodate their desires and lifestyle 24/7 doesn’t mean that’s gonna happen. Having animals in your household (or barn, or fishbowl, or aviary) is just as untidy at times as having your 2-year-old come blundering into your bedroom just as you and your mate are getting it on. Ouch. (Hope that’s okay to talk about here.)
But really, that’s about how unnerving and messy family life can be at times, be the members 4-footed or 2, right?
So it always beats me when I hear a client express not just a desire, but a directive, to instruct his or her animal to behave in a way that anybody in his right mind would know boils down to overriding an instinctive behavior.
Can’t be done. Well, hardly ever.
I won’t say it might not help. Explaining to the horse that his person is committed to riding only on safe trails and to keeping him safe no matter what MIGHT have some effect — that is, if the horse cares about his human in the first place, or trusts him, or is by nature a fairly calm, thinking horse anyway. There are many horses who, no matter how much they trust and love their human, and how much training they’ve had, are so flighty by nature that they will never lose that reactive tendency when out in, what to them is, “the wild.” After all, a horse is a prey animal, designed to perceive dangers we cannot even imagine, and their instinct to jump to the side or flee from danger is about their only guarantee of continued life.
The cat? Well, we all know how, if you have a cat who is a dedicated hunter, there is little you can do to direct their activities or prevail upon them to limit their victims to this, that, or the other species. A cat is a cat is a cat, and cats have their own mind so will do whatever they darn well please.
So please. Honor your animals by not expecting them to override their basic instincts just because it is your intention that they “shape up.” And please make life easier for us animal communicators by not asking us to either.
Now that I’ve stated my case I must tell you a story about Lily, one of my cats. Lily did in fact quit killing birds when I asked her to. I don’t remember the exact rationale I presented with this particular request, or how I presented it, and I did sanction her continuing with the mice if they came inside the house, and, amazingly, it worked! Lily hasn’t touched a bird since that time, well over a year ago, even though she can sit and watch them eat and play at the birdfeeder all day long if she so chooses. The downside is that she usually finds her “house mice” victims at night and proudly brings them into my bedroom to announce her mighty feat, awakening everyone in the household. Groan…… I guess everything is a trade-off.
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