Here are a few things I wish every animal-owner knew.

Animal body language: licking, yawning, blinking the eyes, sitting down, lying down, stretching, fake sniffing, fake grooming, coming to your at an arc, turning away – all of these mean your animal is calming themself in a healthy manner. They are either nervous, or they want you or another animal to be less intense.

Closing the mouth (for dogs), widening the eyes, stiffening the body, and leaning on the front paws means your animal is very nervous and may go into extreme fear or aggression. Teach them to look away and praise them for doing the calming signals.

Laura Stinchfield

Watch your eye contact. Does your eye contact send an animal away or bring them closer to you? Long-term eye contact scolds an animal. Soft eye contact is inviting.

Bending your torso towards an animal while looking them in the eye will send a fearful animal away. Bend with your knees with your shoulder facing them. Look at their chest or away from them.

Pay close attention to how you touch an animal. Are you being too rough? If a cat bites or scratches you for “no reason” you probably touched a painful spot. Be aware.

Animals thrive on routine. Keep to it. Be flexible within an hour on either side, so if you are later or early your animal won’t be stressed.

Healthy animals eat high-quality food. Stay away from grains (white rice, wheat, corn), byproducts (the bad parts of inhumanly raised and killed animals), and “animal digest.” Buy foods that have real “meat” not “meat meal.” It is worth the price and the time it takes to transition an animal to raw food or high quality kibble. They will live longer and be healthier. Supplement with real meat and vegetables. Be open to food supplements. Believe the right supplements will be known to you.

Educate yourself on vaccines. (Google Dr. Jean Dodds). Vaccines cause more cancer, sickness, and aggression than the average person knows. Vet schools are teaching that vaccines last seven years to a lifetime; be wary of veterinarians that tell you that every year is necessary. If you are concerned, your animal can take a blood test (titer) to see if they need a vaccine.

Whether you are conscious of it or not, your mind creates a picture of everything you think, and a feeling in your body of that thought. “My animal is sick” creates sickness and worry. “My animal is healthy” creates hope and health. “My dog barks at everyone that goes by” and “Stop barking” create a reactive barker. “My dog is really good at paying attention and being quiet when others walk by,” and “Be quiet” create a quiet, smart, and attentive animal.

Our animals do understand us so take the time to explain things to them. Talk in positives. Take a breath between concepts.

Be present with your animals and engage them. Many behavior problems come from lack of exercise, lack of mental stimulation, lack of socialization, and low-quality foods that contain a lot of sugar. Sending animals the feeling of love does help. Envision a greater future for animals that are suffering or animals in shelters. They often do not know what a “good life” looks like. Telling them what it is may let them start to manifest it.

Defy the vets’ prognosis of how long your animals have to live. Get a second opinion and look towards alternative methods to take the place of traditional medicine or to complement traditional medicine. Maia, my wolf dog, lived six years after she had “days” to live, and my cat Joey lived two years after he had “two weeks.” Believe.

If your animal is dying, tell them to fly high and that they will leave their pain body, but that they will still be able to feel you in heaven (or whatever you want to call where they go).Our animals do watch over us after they die. Look for signals. Believe them when they appear.

There is an overwhelming amount of animal cruelty in the world. If it is hard for your soul to know about it, pick one organization that makes you feel good about helping animals. Focus on the good things and send those animals/that organization love and money. Spread the world about their message. You may not be able to bear hearing about all that the suffering animals endure, but it helps if you educated others on one issue.

Your animals will try to tell you things. Pay attention to your thoughts, the images in your mind, and feelings in your body. Sometimes this may hit your consciousness hours later. So pay attention.

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