Animals are communicating with humans and other animals all the time. People often think the only ways animals can communicate are by vocal, animal sounds or body language. There is, however, another communication method used by animals that is powerful and that we can understand - it can be described as the sharing of feelings and emotions. Sound strange? Well, have you ever been in a situation where:

  • You were upset and your pet came to comfort you?
  • You intend to take your pet to the vet and suddenly they are nowhere to be found, or they seem anxious?
  • Your pet seems to know you are going away long before the bags come out to be packed?
  • Your dog is ready to go for a walk as soon as you think about it but before you move or say anything?
As humans, we have geared our lives around the use of words, they have helped us develop and get through the complexities of everyday life. We often forget about how our thoughts instil feelings and emotions within us, some of which we may feel VERY clearly - nervousness and anger for instance. As humans, we are able to pick up on other people's moods without entering verbal discussions - we do this by sharing feelings and emotions. The emotions and feelings we share with our animals can instantly affect their behaviour. One of the clearest examples of this can be seen when watching people horse riding - you have clear exchanges of feelings (energy) working from the horse to the human and the human to the horse. A rider who is nervous and on edge will usually cause a horse to be nervous and spooky. A calm, centred person riding the same horse would find it to be calm and not nervous at all. Equally, if a horse suddenly becomes nervous, often the rider takes this on as well - or they acknowledge the feeling but calmly address the situation to help the horse through it. Really we all have the natural ability to share emotions and feelings, we just have to develop our awareness of when it is happening. Often we have shared feelings even though we hadn't realised it. Science is opening up to explore some of these situations where animals are picking up on our thoughts or feelings, even if we cannot fully explain it through our current understanding of scientific law. My job as an animal communication practitioner is to help humans understand the animal's perspective (by acting as an interpreter of feelings and emotions) as well as helping them realise what they are sharing with their animals.

All text and images property of Faye Stacey - © 2009