Ask Your Pet

Dear Jennifer,

My Maltese mix, Rose, is my best friend, and my companion in retirement. She’s usually very well-behaved. However, we live on a street with a lot of traffic, both pedestrians and cars. I like to sit out on my front lawn with Rose weather permitting. But, she tends to bark aggressively at people. She seems especially bothered by a little boy who walks by daily, even though he just walks past and doesn’t even look at her as she barks at him. Why does Rose do this? How can I help her?

Thank you,

Madeline

Dear Madeline,

When I connect with Rose, I immediately feel immense love directed right at you, like you’re the center of her world. She also feels very protective of you. She says sometimes you’re sad and lonely, and she just wants to make everything okay for you, and never let anything hurt you. She also has some concerns about your health, and wants you to make sure you’re taking good care of yourself. She’s very nervous about something happening to you.

When I ask Rose about her barking at passers-by, I’m getting two issues from her. First, it’s just her protectiveness of you, coupled with the busyness of your location. She wants to make sure that she knows anyone approaching you is a “safe” person, and it’s really hard to do with so many cars and walkers going by. So, it leaves her in a bit of a state of hypervigilance, which makes her more prone to overreact and bark at people.

When I ask Rose specifically about the little boy, guarding you doesn’t seem to be the issue. She knows that he’s safe and won’t hurt you. What really drives her nuts about him is that he doesn’t look at her or pay attention to her. She really likes being the center of attention, and isn’t used to someone walking right by her and not acknowledging her or commenting on how adorable she is. The next time the little boy walks by, you might want to try picking Rose up, so he doesn’t feel threatened by her, and just say hello to him and ask if he’d like to meet Rose. Radiate feelings of love and calm to Rose, so she’s less likely to bark at him. While you of course can’t force the boy to acknowledge her, especially if he’s been frightened by her barking, I think if he just says hello to her and is friendly, it will likely fix the problem.

I’ve told Rose that you’re safe, and the people going by aren’t a threat to you. But, you can reinforce that by radiating safety and love when you’re outside with her. Always picture in your mind how you want her to act, not how you’re afraid she’ll act. Animals respond mainly to the feelings we’re emitting, and the images in our minds. So, awareness of our feelings and mental images is very important.

Many Blessings,

Jennifer Dickman

Jennifer Dickman is an Animal Communicator, Intuitive Coach, Reiki Master-Teacher, and

Animal Reiki Specialist. She conducts sessions worldwide via phone and email. Please contact

her at jennifer_dickman@ymail.com, www.JenniferDickman.com, and follow her on Instagram

@JenniferDickmanOne, and on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/AnimalCommunicatior,

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