This is Maggie Mae. She is helping me to realize fully just how much animal communication has changed how I relate to and work with animals.

I have been fortunate to have grown up around animals, and have been surrounded by animals all of my adult life. I even smuggled a dog, and later some hamsters, into my dorm room in college because I literally could not stand to be without an animal of some sort in my living space! In particular, I have always felt a kinship with dogs and horses. I was able to take riding lessons as a child, and as an adult, have had a couple of horses. As an adult, I have always had at least one dog living with me, sometimes two or three. In short, like many people, I grew up loving and feeling connected with animals. I also learned how to work with them through my riding lessons and by observing how my parents trained our pet dog. I observed that the human/animal relationship was a heirarchical one, with humans providing and enforcing the rules. Both my riding teacher and my parents did this in a very humane and kind way, but it was still based on the animal being in the subordinate role.

Once I began learning how to communicate with animals, the whole paradigm of the human/animal relationship shifted for me. I could no longer view animals as subordinate to humans. Instead, I began to look upon my relationship with the dogs and cats I live with as an equal, mutually respectful partnership. When I decided to start taking riding lessons again a couple of years ago, I realized that my relationship with horses had changed as well. They too were partners to be respected and listened to. I feel in many ways that I have had to begin all over with respect to training dogs and riding horses. Fortunately, there are many excellent trainers and books on positive training techniques. When I go to take a riding lesson now, I ask the horse to communicate with me, so that I will understand how to work with her/him in the lesson so that it is a positive experience for both of us. I have had to move from a "you must do as I ask you or I will make you do it" to "I will ask you to do this, and you may choose to do it." I am by no means perfect at this yet. It took me a very long time to learn the to work with animals using the old paradigm. My automatic responses still come from that model if I am in a hurry or being impatient. It will take time to retrain me! Fortunately, the right animal teachers appear at the right times along the way to take me to the next level.

The hardest part in this new relationship with animals is relinquishing the illusion of control. Rather, the goal is for the animal to do what I wish because they choose to do so. How does this work? Are my dogs running amuck in my house? Does the lesson horse I ride do what he/she pleases for that hour? Of course not! There are rules, there are goals. The key is that instead of forcing the animal to do it, you set things up so that they want to do it. For example, Maggie comes in from outside and wants her treat for going outside to go potty. The rule is she has to first sit and have her collar taken off. She's a very happy and enthusiastic girl, and she loves her treats! Sometimes, I must stand patiently until she finally remembers that she won't get a treat until she comes to me and sits still long enough for me to take the collar off. Sometimes she only makes a couple of circles before she remembers, sometimes she goes back and forth for a minute or two. It requires great patience to wait for her to decide to come and sit. When I'm in a hurry, sometimes I get impatient and go and get her. Not good - I have a lot of retraining of me still to do. When I ride, my instructor asks myself and my horse to do certain things at certain times. What I am learning is how to work with different horses to accomplish that - each has a very unique set of preferences with respect to their rider's hands and legs. If the horse does not want to canter on cue, and if I am applying the cue clearly and correctly for that horse, then I will increase the intensity of the cue until the horse does what I am asking. The key here is that I first ensure that I am giving the cue clearly and correctly before I increase the intensity of the cue.

In summary, animal communication has changed my view of the human/animal relationship. It has forced me to learn a whole new way of working with the animals I live with, as well as other animals I interact with. It even extends to wildlife - insects, birds, mice, rabbits, deer, etc. They are all our partners and are here to perform a role. I am respectful of them, of their role on this earth. It is a much more conscious, and much more complex and difficult way to live. My experience so far has been that the relationships I have with animals now are so much more complete and mutually satisfying. Like healthy human/human relationships, I have come to believe that healthy animal/human relationships are based on respect and clear communication.