Written by Julie Murray, Staff Writer

How many times have you said to yourself “I wish I knew what my dog was thinking.”  I will admit, most of the time I’m glad that I don’t know what’s going through Zelda’s mind when she sees me go for that 4th slice of pizza or when I’m singing her a random song I just made up.  There have been times where she just didn’t seem like herself though, and I wish I could have just a little peek into her doggie brain to know what’s going on. If you find yourself wondering about this often, read on to find out if visiting a Pet Psychic is in your future.  (see what I did there?)

Pet Psychics, more accurately named “animal communicators” or “animal intuitives” (mostly) don’t claim to have any actual psychic powers.  Instead they are able to build a relationship with an animal and read their energy using intuition. I can definitely believe that some people are able to connect better with animals.  We’ve all met those people with whom our dog seems to just take to immediately even if they tend to shy away from new people. I’ve also met people who are very sensitive to the moods of those around them.  I’m actually one of those people; if someone around me is negative, upset or sad, I tend to suck all of that up and let it affect me. But how do these qualities allow us to communicate with animals?

One of the scenarios I read about during my research for this article presented a pretty common situation.  A family with an older dog adopted a new dog and everything was going well until they sent the new dog to a board-and-train program.  The new dog was gone for a month and had a wonderful time learning and playing but upon her return, she began to act tense around the older dog and would attack him for no reason.  The family took both dogs to a trainer for a follow up session but nothing seemed to be working and they eventually had to keep the dogs separated. They were absolutely committed to keeping the new dog (amazing) but didn’t want the older dog to feel threatened and uncomfortable so they decided to consult a pet psychic.  This communicator used meditation and intuition to gain an insight into the new dog’s behavior. The family was understandably skeptical at first, but when they heard the findings of the communicator and tried them out, they were happily surprised with the results. They learned that the new dog was insecure, thought that the older dog was getting too much attention and had some undiagnosed health issues that could be helped with massage and essential fatty acid supplements.  Of course, all of their problems were not magically solved but the family learned that the emotional tension they had around the dogs, waiting and worrying for them to fight, was creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. They learned to change their behavior, observe and listen, relax more and the dogs sensed that and reacted accordingly. When you think about it, those are all things we should do anyways!

As you can imagine, I also came across some information about pet psychics that was a little harder to swallow, like the one who said she could talk to your pet over the phone and read its mind.  I also tended to drift when they started talking about special electromagnetic energy detection and pets visiting them from “the beyond”. Science has not found any conclusive evidence of that type of energy or any other special sensory organs that allow this type of communication.   But do I believe that our pets can pick up on our silent communications and react to our stress? Absolutely. And if a visit with a pet psychic teaches more about this phenomenon and how to interact with my dog in a way that helps her, I would definitely give it a try!

If your dog is acting in a way that may pose a threat to his health or the health of others, it’s best to consult a veterinarian or a certified animal behaviorist.  However, if you are just stumped as to why your buddy seems a little blue or is acting out in a certain way, a pet psychic might be able to give you a glimpse into that mysterious doggie brain.  If this article inspires you to give it a try, let us know about your experiences! Send your stories to me at julie@lowcountrydog.com.