If you’re at a loss with a behaviour your animal companion is showing, if you’ve tried different things, worried about it, maybe blamed yourself a little, you’re not alone.
Living closely with another species is one of the most beautiful things we can do. It’s also, at times, genuinely puzzling and sometimes stressful! When a behaviour shows up that we don’t understand and maybe don’t like, it’s natural to want to change it, to find the ‘right answer’ and to try to ‘get it right’ for them.
But what I’d offer is maybe their behaviour isn’t a problem to be solved, maybe it’s an invitation to listen differently. What we call a behavioural issue is, above everything else, communication.
Animals are always authentically expressing how they feel in the moment, honestly, presently and without agenda. They’re not plotting a take-over or dwelling on the past or worrying about the future like we might. They are simply here, simply communicating and present with what is in the moment.
When we create the space to really hear what they’re expressing, that’s where we start to really SEE and understand them. And our relationship deepens.
Animal communication isn’t a behaviour modification tool. I’m not going to “fix” anything. What I am going to do is create the space for them to be genuinely heard and translate what they share into something you can take in and work with.
Think about it this way. Imagine you’ve had a really tough day, your shoulders are tight, you’ve got a headache, you’re wound up and all you want is to talk to someone. But every time you try, they tell you what to do or shut you down. That creates more tension. Argh!!!
Now imagine the opposite…..someone who simply listens. No fixing, no solutions, no agenda, just honest, open presence. Stress and tension release when we feel truly heard. It feels good. That’s what animal communication offers.
What Lays Beneath Behaviour Is Always Layered
In all my years of communicating with animals, I have never found a single, simple explanation underneath a behaviour. It is never just one thing.
Sometimes it’s pain, sometimes diet, a change in the household that the animal is sensing and reflecting back. Sometimes it’s the season, or the fact that they’re ageing and their needs are evolving. Sometimes it’s all of these things woven together.
Every animal, every dynamic is entirely individual.
People often come to me after they’ve already tried training, visited the vet, worked with a behaviourist and still feel something is missing and that there’s more going on beneath the surface.
And there almost always is.
Animal communication doesn’t replace any of those other forms of support, it works beautifully alongside them. In fact, animals will often share during a session how they feel at the vet, what kind of training approach feels right for them, what they’d like to explore. They become active participants in their own care.
Behaviour Is Feedback
A dog named Devon who had always been beautifully connected to his person on walks suddenly started running off. His mum was confused and upset about it. When I tuned in, Devon shared that his mum had started bringing her phone on walks and spending much of the time scrolling. Every time the phone came out, the dog read the shift in energy and attention and went off to entertain herself.
This wasn’t a behaviour problem, it was honest, loving feedback from her dog. Once his mum understood this, they started playing together, connecting differently on walks and the running off stopped.
I want to be clear here, because this can sound like animals are pointing the finger at their person.
They never are. There is no blame in what they share, only honesty. It’s simply that they live in a shared field with us, and they are exquisitely sensitive to what’s happening within it.
It’s not uncommon for an animal to reflect back something true that we haven’t yet given ourselves permission to feel or notice. Our animals are always offering us honest, loving feedback. The question is whether we’re ready to receive it.
Sidney
Sidney’s family came to me having tried everything, holistic vets, different diets, various approaches, all from a place of deep love. He’d become less affectionate, less playful, disinterested in food, and unsettled when they returned from being away. They wondered if something was physically wrong or if the bond had simply changed.
What came through in the session was not just one thing, but five.
Pressure made him withdraw.
Food needed to be a conversation, not a rigid routine.
His post-holiday distance was simply an introvert resetting after the equivalent of what felt like a summer boot camp.
He wanted honesty when they left, not cheerful cover-ups.
And the affection they missed, for him, it was never about physical contact, it was about the quality of presence and connection between them all.
None of this was a behaviour problem. Every single thing Sidney was doing made complete, coherent sense once someone listened.
This Isn’t Something To Carry Alone
You haven’t failed. And the fact that you’re still here, still looking, still trying to understand, that is love. Messy and beautiful.
And chances are your animal companion has been nudging you towards this for a while. Things often have to get louder before we try something different and that’s okay. We’re human!
As much as we want to have all the answers, to fix things, to get it right for them, our animals aren’t waiting for us to be perfect. They’re simply saying: “talk to me. I can help. We’re in this together. This isn’t something you have to carry alone.”
I do empathise deeply as I’ve been there myself. Sophie, my three-legged Weimaraner, was my first real teacher and I missed so many of her whispers simply because I didn’t yet know how to listen in this way.
That experience changed everything about how I work and how I show up. There is no judgement in this space, only curiosity, warmth, and a genuine wish to understand for you both.
Sessions are held remotely – wherever you are in the world. Your animal doesn’t need to be present. All you need to bring is an open heart and your questions.
