5 questions to ask to better understand your rescue dog’s emotional needs
Every rescued dog carries a unique emotional story.
Here are 5 questions to ask your new rescue dog to understand their emotional needs, triggers, and glimmers to help them emotionally and intuitively open up and settle in to their new life with you.
Dear Intuitive One,
There is something profoundly tender about welcoming a rescue dog into your heart and life. Yet along with the opportunity to give them a second (or 3rd or 4th) chance at happiness comes a heavy responsibility, because knowing they have had their hearts broken before, doing right by them isn’t optional.
It’s a given that you want them to feel loved and happy. And your curiosity about their past, what they feel, and what they need from you to feel safe going forward is such a profound act of love.
Helping rescue dogs who have faced adversity and hardship tell their stories to their new people is one of my favorite parts of offering animal communication sessions. It gives rescued dogs the chance to share their fears, feelings, and needs and be heard. It also helps their new family understand their new friends’ unique coping patterns and hopes and wishes for their new life, which takes the guesswork and trial and error out of the equation.
Image: Our most recent rescued dogs, Whiskey and Raspberry. Talking with these two about their hopes and fears and what they needed helped them settle in with our family, unpack their baggage, heal their grief and trauma, and feel safe and at home with us.
Giving rescue dogs the chance to finally be heard
Many of the rescued dogs I have worked with over the past two decades have shared that these conversations were the first time they had ever been asked what they feel and want, and given the chance to safely express themselves and truly feel heard.
In these first conversations, some dogs jump right into the intuitive conversation process without hesitation, as if it is the most natural thing in the world for them.
I’ve also connected with many rescue dogs who arrived in their new homes carrying substantial trauma and were intuitively shut down as a result, often still experiencing varying degrees of flight, fight, freeze, fawn, or flop. These dogs… tend to share very carefully, relaying only the bare bones of what is necessary to start, until they know for certain they are safe with their new family. And when I’m lucky enough to work with these dogs over the course of several months, like in my animal communication package for rescued dogs, it is so heartwarming to watch these dogs open up. And when they do, they start talking about their wishes for future adventures, and what food and activities they are curious to try, and even more soulful things, like what they feel their purpose is in this life.
Here are five questions I recommend asking your newly rescued dog in your first animal communication session to get to know them better and to help them know they are physically, emotionally, and intuitively safe with you.
5 Questions to help your rescue dog feel safe, seen, and understood
1. What kind of things help you feel safe?
I’ve heard such a beautiful array of answers to this question from rescued dogs, which has taught me that every dog (and their needs) is truly unique. Some dogs have shared that they need quiet or stillness for a while to feel safe, and on the other side of the spectrum, some have shared that they need more play, silliness, or walks to help them integrate their past experiences and land in their new home. One dog even asked for a DQ vanilla cone because in their last home, that was something that always got when everything was alright. :)
2. What aspects of your new routine help you feel secure?
This is such a cool question to ask animals because it helps you start to see the world through their eyes, which is profoundly bonding. It also helps you build a life with your new dog friend that works for both of you.
3. What do you need from me when you feel afraid, unsure, or shut down?
I love this question so much because it helps us shift from assuming to asking. And from personal experience, everything changed for the better when I asked one of my rescued dogs this question. Her response helped me know exactly what she wanted in tough situations, so I was able to help guide her out of shutting down when she felt afraid by drawing out her sillybilly superpowers. I was able to follow her lead, which helped her feel safe and that she could trust me.
4. What do you consider to be your triggers?
Asking this gives your new dog friend the chance to share what kind of situations, fragrances, postures, or ways people use their presence that trigger bad memories from their past, which gives you a much better chance of helping them to feel safe going forward.
5. What are your glimmers?
Glimmers are the opposite of a trigger and invoke positive, joyful, loving feelings. This question can help you know what kinds of things feel familiar and good to your dog friend. Perhaps it’s a good thing from their previous home that you can try to recreate (even for a little while) to help them feel safe with you and in your home.
Every rescue dog carries a unique emotional story
Animal communication can help you understand your dog’s fears, preferences, emotional needs, and personality in a deeper, more compassionate way.
Let’s connect and give your new dog the chance to share what they need from you to feel safe and know they have found their person.
"I just had my first session with Joanna for my dog Lina. A rescue from Mexico. I learned so much about my dog and what I could do for her to help her be strong and grow into the best dog ever.
This session has helped me and my new dog move forward into the future together."
-Jayme - via Google reviews
