Is your pet psychic?

Is your pet psychic?

Discover what your much-loved animal is trying to tell you

Do you ever wonder what your pet is really thinking? What message are those big brown eyes and adorably twitching ears trying to convey to you?

Canada is a nation of animal lovers. More than half of all Canadian homes have a pet snoozing in front of the fire - that's more than 7 million households. Cats are the most popular pets, closely followed by dogs, while other families favour birds, reptiles or small mammals, like mice. So it's no surprise that you want to be sure your beloved pet is feeling happy and healthy.

You don't need to be psychic to know when your dog wants to go for a walk or whether your cat is enjoying its food, but subtler changes in behaviour or emotion can be more difficult to decipher.

While many scientists maintain animals can only experience few basic emotions - any pet owner with empathy knows differently. Living with animals means you will witness a wide variety of emotion from the pets who share your home and life, including empathy, happiness, fear, curiosity and stress. From a spiritual perspective, all life is sacred and is equally valuable. It's a typically human, egotistical attitude that considers its own species to be the most important on the planet. Just because you can't communicate with animals in the same way you communicate with other humans does not make our four-legged companions less sentient than us.

Its obvious pets probably have a much richer emotional life than is currently proven. The question is: how do you work out exactly what Spot the dog or Kitty the cat wants?

Communicate with your pet

Pet psychics or animal communicators say they can tap into your animal's mind to unravel its behaviour. This is apparently done through extra-sensory perception, using mental images or sensing energy.

...Try it yourself!

1) Send a picture

Not talking about a digital image, here, but a mental image, instead. Animals may communicate through images as well as sounds. So, visualise in your mind's eye, the message you want to convey to your pet. Think in simple terms - so if they are scratching the sofa and you want them to stop, try imagining them sitting quietly on or beside the perfect, unscratched sofa. This shows the animal how you want him/her to behave. So when you're telling them to something, e.g. stop or sit, make sure you match the command with a calm feeling and a visual image.

2) Feelings first

Animals are very sensitive to emotions. You might be surprised to find that they can easily pick up on the feelings you are experiencing and energy you are giving off.

They know exactly how you feel about them, so try not to get too mad if they do something you don't like. If your pet begins to act strangely, you should consider whether they are picking up on a human problem at home. If you are arguing with your partner or cross with your children, a pet can pick up on these bad vibes and feel scared or upset, too. Or if you are feeling sad or unwell, it's likely that your animal knows exactly how you're feeling. So if a cat starts going outside its litterbox or a dog suddenly starts tearing up your clothes - when they didn't do this in the past - don't be too quick to chastise them. First, you should think if there are any emotions flying around at home which may be stressing them out. Once everything is calm again at home, you may find your pet's problem behaviour evaporates, too.

3) Unwelcome changes?

Have you made any recent changes around the home that may be putting your furry friend on edge? Perhaps you've brought a new partner home, or thrown out the animal's old bedding, or changed his/her food? All these things can set your pet on edge, leading him to feel frustration - which he will probably take out on your favourite sneakers! Your pet is an important member of your household so if you make changes, make them slowly and gently so he/she has time to adjust. Remember if another animal in your household passes away, your pet will mourn for its companion as much as you do. It may be that your pet can still sense its former animal companion in spirit.

4) Heal your Pet

If you animal is unwell, you can try to calm him/her with energy healing. Choose a moment when your pet is in a fairly comfortable and relaxed state. Pet your animal as you normally would to help it relax. Then raise your hand an inch or two above its body. Slowly move your hand over the animal's body, try to feel the flow of energy between you. The energy should feel warm. Cold spots are a symptom of where healing is needed. If you find a cold spot, allow your hand to hover over this point and concentrate on sending healing energy to this spot. Imagine pink light flowing from your hand into the animal's body. Visualise this energy as warming and healing your pet.