>From: Phyl Spy <[log in to unmask]> > >Well, the other day I took Duchess, first and alpha ferret, and held >her close to me and asked her to keep an eye on Molly. I told her that >Molly isn't feeling well these days and she needs a best ferret friend to >snuggle with and to keep her company. So, I asked her to spend more time >with Molly and let her know that she is very much loved and that we are >doing all we can to give her the right treatment for her illness. > >Now, you would think that this is silly and, of course, we all know that >animals don't know what we are saying to them. They just know by the >tone of our voice when we are happy, angry or sad... good for you. Anyone who knows me, knows I have crossed into the realm of the animal wacko, because I firmly become to believe that by talking to our pets as if they were human and making reasonable requests of them, they will listen to us. Because they have free will and choice, they may or may not decide to listen to us. If they do listen, we are good communicators, if they don't listen, we're just engaging in wishful thinking. LOL! I have abandoned some of the traditional methods of animal training in favor of newer reward based training techniques that work with and the animal's natural behavior. I have incorporated animal communictation techniques into them. Since it is almost impossible to do an objective double blind study to verify the results of the addition of animal communicator techniques my opinions can't be validated scientifically. Subjectivelly I think my results I have been tremendous. From a scientific point of view that is easily chalked up to the change of training technques and more time with the animals. I will push talking to your animals, studying their behavior, working with their natural behavior. When you make a request that is scientifically impossible and your pet complies, then like me you've crossed into the world of the animal wacko and have your subjective verification that it works. Anyone interested, can find a some wonderful books on the subjective at Amazon, the library, or any number of online second hand books stores. KG [Posted in FML issue 3760]