Talking with Dogs and Cats: Joining the Conversation to Improve Behavior and Bond with Your Animals

Lovely book - really made me think about how I communicate with the dogs I spend time with and, although I have always talked to them, it did make me consider how this can help in the behaviour work I do.

It sounds crazy to think that you can talk to your pets. But think about it: animals communicate with each other without talking. This is a great book if you believe that you can communicate with your pets. I know I can, so this helped me to be able to accept that what I thought were answers from my cat really were answers.Did you ever have something just pop into your mind? Like, "oh, I've got to clean the litter box"? The idea of this book is that that is probably your cat telling you that the litter box needs cleaning. Think about it. It never happens when it doesn't need cleaning. :-) Basically, you picture something in your mind, a food dish, etc. and the animal responds if he wants it. You don't have to stare deeply into their eyes or say it out loud. Don't try, just do it.Anyhow, Tim Link has a great way of explaining how and why you can really communicate with your pets. This is a great book.

If I had read this book before I bought it, I never would've bought it.Expecting the book to develop some regimen of gestures, simple & consistent commands, tone of voice, etc, I bought this as a gift for my daughter to explore interacting with our anxiety-ridden rescue beagle.Instead, I find Mr Link instructs the reader to interact with pets thusly:> "Now, Bowser, I'm going out to the store for a little while. While I'm gone, I want you to relax & chew on your rawhide. I'll be back soon."What kind of crackpot nonsense is this?!!?!!Well, experience now tells me that it's the kind of crackpot nonsense that works. I'm finding when I address the dog this was as I'm preparing to leave the house, he gets in his bed (cage) on his own, if I tell him early enough, he'll tell me he needs to go out first, then he'll come right back in and get in his bed, perhaps stopping by his water bowl for a couple laps first, and he's generally -- not always -- more relaxed when I get home.I never would have believed it, had I not seen it myself with my very own eyes.Next up for me: To buy into Mr Link's advice to telepathically communicate with the animals.Call me reluctant; call me resistant; call me skittish.... regardless, I'm giving his book 4* until I can see evidence of this telepathy thing working.In the meantime, I'm with Vizzini: "Inconceivable!"

ok