Chinook feels very happy, approachable, and fun-loving, but also vigilant and focused. She doesn't scoot away when I sit down with her. I don't feel any fear or apprehension. She feels open and accepting. But she is very focused on things happening beyond where we are sitting. She can't seem to pull her eyes away. "What are you looking at, Chinook?" I wondered. "Those birds over there. They're fascinating," she responded, still with her eyes locked on them. "Is this something unusual to see?" I asked. She was treating the situation like it was a rare sighting and she didn't want to miss it. "Not unusual," she replied. "But there's something going on (they're frolicking) and I HAVE to watch." "Should I come back another time?" I asked. "I came here to visit with you, but if you're busy…" With effort, she pulled herself back to just us and looked at me. "Hi, Chinook. Do you know who I am?" "Yes! You talked with my sister." This is true. I talked with her a couple of years ago. Chinook's energy feels playful, young, exuberant. At the same time that she is able to focus so dedicatedly on something like birds, she is also easily distracted and it may be difficult to get her to pay attention to what you might need or want her to do. Food/treats feel like the proper motivator for her. When I try to picture which treats she might get, it looks like some kind of all natural jerky or dried meat, like bison. Other than a tendency to be a little high-strung, Chinook feels very gentle, loving, and good-natured. This is all dependent on her focus, as it feels like a very short distance to getting distracted and caught-up in something where she may not be using her head, losing her true self in those moments and even departing from her gentle, loving nature — all in the name of fun and curiosity. I don't feel any mean streak or rough side to her. Even when I think of a stranger coming to the house, she will be right there, very focused, barking, and intimidating. But the feeling inside is not of "I must protect at all costs or I must scare this person away." It's more of fun and curiosity — a new person is here, let's check him out. But even in his distracted state, she has full use of all her senses. She doesn't get "out of her head" and unaware. She is using her great sense of hearing, smell, taste, and seeing to fully hone in on her current focus. It all happens instinctively and at once. As I write these descriptions, she is staring at me, very focused and curious. She sees every little movement, almost like she is watching a fly buzz around a room. "I'm still listening to you, I'm just watching everything very carefully," said Chinook. "But are you able to act on that listening when you need to?" I asked. "Sometimes I get so caught up in what I see and hear and smell, that I can't pull myself away. It's mesmerizing." she said. "Are you okay with that?" I asked. "Well, I know I don't listen too well sometimes (to my people), but I can't help it! Sometimes there are fun things to see and do and I can't just stop in the middle!" She said this like that's just an unreasonable thing to even think of doing. "I can tell it's all in the name of fun," I commented. "What else?" she said. To her, life is fun. She enjoys it all. She's very happy. She also feels much younger in maturity than her sister. It creates some friction sometimes, as her sister doesn't appreciate some of this rambunctious, troublesome behavior. That description felt like is was coming from her sister and I also heard, "She's a hoodlum." As I took a moment to focus on their relationship, I do feel a lot of love, but their personalities are different and I hear her sister say, "She just needs to chill out." I didn't want this whole conversation to be simply about me describing her, as I didn't think that would be too fun for her. So I asked her, "Chinook, can you show me what it feels or looks like when you are very focused on something?" The scene with the birds at the beginning of our talk came immediately to mind. From an outsider's point of view, it would look like she is just focused on the birds, plain and simple. But from her point of view, she is taking in the entire scene at once: the birds and what they are doing, the noises they are making, their interactions, what they are saying and eating and doing. But the birds are basing some of their actions on other elements, like the trees, the insects, the wind. Chinook is aware of all of that, too. It's a very interactive, complex scene and she is able to take it all in down to the last detail. It fascinates her. It also feels like it stimulates or exercises her brain in a good and healthy way. "Watching things seems like it is one of your favorite things to do," I commented to her. I get an affirmative energy, but she shows me its not just watching things. In her way, because she is throwing all her senses into it, it's more like she is participating. It's the difference between someone listening to the radio and someone watching something on a home theater system with surround sound and motion sensors. It's a full experience for her and is enthralling. I asked her what else she likes to do and she shows me lots of activity… loves walks, playing with the ball or frisbee, running, exploring the outdoors. In all of these images, I still see her getting momentarily sidetracked with things that catch her attention and "mesmerize" her. She has lots of energy. She also seems very happy so far with all of these descriptions. She's proud of who she is! "Anything else you want to say or add, Chinook?" I wanted to give her a chance to speak about anything. "I like who I am. I'm happy doing what I do. I love my family and my life. I don't need any changes. But I am open to hearing your preferences and suggestions (said to her family). I'm not closed to change, even if it might look or feel like that sometimes. I have a brain and I'm smart and I do get caught up in life very easily. But I do want peace in the home; to help make it better, not more difficult. Just talk to me. I'm all ears." She said the last part about "all ears" with a grin as she shows me again the full experience she gets by using all her senses, not just one. "I think they might take you up on that offer, Chinook," I told her, envisioning her family using animal communication and other ways to strengthen their bond with her. She sincerely and gently said, "I'm open." Feedback:Easily distracted — yes, it is almost like a kid with attention deficit disorder. She is very easily distracted and loses focus. Jerky — Yes she gets duck jerky as a training treat or to reinforce some behavior like her coming back to me when we scare up a deer instead of chasing it. Sense of smell: Yes I can see her sniffing the air and listening when this is going on. It is quite interesting to watch as I have never had a dog do this. Gets caught up and is mesmerized: So true! Can't stop in the middle of something: And that is exactly what I get when she does not listen or come-there is something much more important to do. "She's a hoodlum": We laughed at this as we could definitely picture her sister saying this about Chinook. A lot of love for her sister: I definitely think there is a lot of love there, Lakota just has a hard time showing it. We keep telling her that she needs to chill out (and not Chinook) and not be so serious in life sometimes. Analyzing complex scenes: After we read this, I watched her a few times and I could see how she was doing more than just watching things. Watching is a full experience for her: Especially at night time in the dark, it is like she is watching and waiting for something or someone to make a move so she can go join them. Proud of who she is: Yes we will be playing ball or Frisbee and it keeps her attention for a bit and then she is like "I see something I need to go check out" and she trots off. I am proud of who she is too.
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AuthorMy name is Josh and I'm a learning animal communicator, hoping that sharing my journey will help others. Categories
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February 2020
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