How to use visualization to communicate better with your pets.

how to use visualization to communicate with your pet

Our pets are excellent communicators.

I’ve always admired how our pets are able to communicate with us with such ease. They don’t need words to tell us when they’re hungry, when they need to go out, or when it’s time for cuddles. They know when it’s dinner time, they usually know when their favourite person is coming home and they certainly know when we’re about to take them to the vets or when we’re getting ready to bring them out for a walk.

However, sometimes we’re not quite as smart at communicating with them. There are many times when we get into trouble with this, especially when we’re dealing with specific issues. So, today I’m going to share some tips on how we can communicate our needs to them (next time, I’ll look at how we can better understand what they’re trying to tell us, which is equally important).

Firstly, we need to understand how our pets communicate with us. Our pets learn to respond to our words, but they don’t understand our language, instead they are mainly picking up on our body language and tonality. They also, very importantly pick up on our thoughts and feelings. The very fact that they do pick up on what we think and feel can lead to confusion on their part when we’re not clear in our communications with them. Let me give you a couple of examples.

They don’t understand the words ‘no’ or ‘don’t’

Lets take an example of a barking dog, which I also use in this week’s video. If we say ‘no’ or ‘don’t’ bark, they just hear ‘bark’. They can sense that we’re angry, but they’re not sure what’s wrong, or, maybe more importantly, they don’t know what we’d prefer them to do. So, we need to find a way to show them what we do want them to do.

We often send them mixed messages.

How often do you find yourself saying one thing, but thinking another? I see this a lot with my clients when their pets are ill. They try to soothe the pet while they, the person, is really upset or anxious. The pet picks up both the empathy and the upset and this can be confusing to them. They aren’t ‘fooled’ by the soothing words if the energy behind the words doesn’t match. They’re too smart for that.

Also, with behavioural issues, different people in the same family can set different rules e.g. some don’t allow the dog to beg at the table, but others may secretly feed it from the table. Such inconsistency can lead to confusion.

Why visualization helps.

If we want our pets to follow a certain behaviour, or we want to achieve a certain outcome with them e.g. calmness when people come to the door, visualization is a great tool. This is because our pets understand what we mean when we send them pictures from our minds, or even mind movies, so when we visualise a desired scenario e.g. the dogs staying calm when we return home, they pick up on that.

We also tend to be clear in our communication when we send images, after all, a picture paints a thousand words. When we visualize we also tend to tune into the associated emotions. e.g. calmness. We can even actively accentuate those emotions, so it’s easy for the pet to pick up on them too.

 

Try it for yourself.

Visualizing is easy. Just paint a picture in your mind, or image a scenario unfolding. There, you’ve just been visualizing, congratulations.

I give an example of using visualization, for the issue of the barking dog, in this week’s video. Click here or on the image below to watch it.

Final thoughts

Of course communication is a two way street, so next time I’ll look at ways you can better understand what your pet is trying to communicate to you!

Also, regarding undesired behavioural issues, such as your dog barking or your cat spraying, there may be some behavioural patterns that have become established and that might require a variety of techniques and approaches to unravel. Yet, the visualization is a good foundation from which to start.

If you’ve been inspired to try the visualization exercise, do it consistently for a week (once or twice a day) and then let me know how you got on in the comments section below.

As ever, please share this post with those who can benefit from it.

Thank you.

 

9 Responses to How to use visualization to communicate better with your pets.

  1. Wow, this is so cool, I had never heard of visualizing for one’s pet to communicate and affect desired behaviour. This was a very informative and fascinating post. I can tell how much of an animal lover you are, and how much you help people with pets. I love animals, and do not have a pet currently, though I grew up with them. I have many clients with pets, though, and will have to let them know about you!

    • I’m glad you enjoyed the post Jul’s. Thank you for your kind words. It’s useful to know this stuff, even if you aren’t a pet owner. For example, if i see a dog at the side of the road when I’m driving by I make sure to visualize them staying safely at the roadside (instead of worrying that the might jump out onto the road). That way I’m improving the odds of them (and me) staying safe.

  2. I don’t have any pets at the moment but I grew up with them. Beyond knowing when they were hungry I wasn’t really clued into much else. These visualization techniques are interesting and I had never heard of doing this before. But it’s certainly giving me a better idea of how animals interpret the words you’re saying.

    • Thanks for reading the post Shae. It is fascinating when we stop to think about how animals interpret what we are saying. Knowing how to get our ideas across to them effectively is really useful, even when we meet and interact with other people’s pets.

  3. how cool, ferris! you’re so right – our pets definitely pick up on (and often assume) our nonverbal behavior (such as signs of anxiety). thank you for this enlightening article.

    • Hi April, thanks for your comment. Yes, our pets are masters at picking up our nonverbal signals. I’m glad you liked the article.

  4. WOW Ferris! This makes so much sense the way you explain it. Thank you for this insight. I’m certain this will help me better communicate with my furry family members!

    • Hi April, I’m glad you found the article insightful. Have fun trying some visualisation when you’re interacting with your pets.