Adopting a Shelter Dog: 6 Ways to Create Faster Bonding

There are many ways animal communication can aid you when you bring a rescued animal into your home, whether you are only fostering them or offering a forever home.

A very ill, abused and neglected young Bichon Frise dog named Rocky was rescued by one of my clients. Bonnie thought that once Rocky was in a new home environment, that all would be well. He just needed lots of love and good food and some vet attention and he would thrive again.

He didn’t. He had a terrible time. His severe illnesses and injuries were ongoing and chronic, to the point the vet was talking to her about putting him down. She was heartbroken.

When I communicated with him, he told us how depressed he was, how lost and confused he felt. He wasn’t sure why he’d been taken from the only ‘family’ he had ever known. His heart was broken and he wasn’t sure he wanted to keep living.

I counseled him, answered his questions, helped him grieve and understand what had happened to him. Then we worked on healing him. At that point, he was ready to bond and connect with his rescuer and we began to talk about his brand new life and his life’s purpose with Bonnie.

Within minutes his eyes began to sparkle and he began to eat for the first time with a willingness and hearty appetite. He began playing and investigating his surroundings, and he went on to be a very happy dog. Once his spirit was willing, he even recovered his health very quickly!

Here are 6 ways animal communication can aid you when you bring a rescued animal into your home. This helps you to smooth the way for an easy transition for everyone in your family.

1) Begin by listening to them, let them tell you their experiences and about any fears first. Remember your job is to receive, observe and witness without judgment. Simply respect exactly where they are. Everything else will follow from there.

2) Let them get to know you. Be calm, assertive, observant, in a quiet state of mind. They’ll decide if they like you – you can’t make them like you if they don’t. And, if you put out strong emotional or mental energy, you’ll increase the likelihood of their reacting negatively or simply mirroring your own imbalanced energy.

3) Animals love a calm, assertive leader. Someone they can respect and feel safe with. They don’t need your affection, especially at the beginning, as much as they need your direction, stability and clarity of purpose.

4) When they have quieted down, and you feel more settled yourself, then you can begin to tell them the story about coming to live with you.

5) Tell them what job or purpose you see them as having in your home or family. Try to find a job that matches with their personality and strengths. This can be a job for you personally. It can also be a job with other animals or humans in their new pack. You can also go over house rules and being negotiating with them about certain routines and needs and wants.

6) Invite them to make a decision as to whether they want to come with you or not. They truly need to decide for themselves. Don’t rush them. Just hold the image and feelings with a welcoming, open heart of invitation, and tell them what you want them to do if they want to come with you. Then wait to see what they choose to do. If they don’t come to you and instead run away from you, then you may not be a good fit for each other, and you may not be their right person. If they do, then you know that you have begun the serious work of creating a foundation of respect, trust and have entered into a relationship agreement.

You’ll be surprised how quickly you will bond if you take these simple steps to connect.

By all means, learn how to talk to your dog. Animal communication is vitally important! You can’t really know what’s going on from their viewpoint until you ask them. And they can participate in resolving things, once you know what they’re thinking.

Get started with the World’s 1st complete Beginning Animal Communication Home Study Course – for Dog Lovers!

Just like humans, animals have their own side of every story to tell! But if we don’t take the time to listen to them, then their life, happiness, health and well-being will suffer…