Too Many Cooks

Toby and Bear respectfully waiting outside the kitchen after being told there were “too many cooks in the kitchen”

“There’s too many cooks in the kitchen!” The dogs scrambled back into the living room, achieving my goal, much to my surprise.
It was out of exasperation, and desperation, that I had yelled the above phrase. Not one of my proudest moments, and yet at the same time a stroke of genius, or luck. What’s the difference at that point?

The trouble was that the back door of the house was through the kitchen. The very tiny galley style kitchen, where there was no room for dogs underfoot, let alone, two people trying to make dinner. So “out” didn’t work, that was the signal to go to the back door. I didn’t want them at the back door, I wanted them out of the kitchen.

Still stunned at the effectiveness of ‘too many cooks,’ I continued working on the meal. From that point forward, “Too many cooks” became the request to the dogs to remove themselves from the kitchen, and “out” could still remain the clear cue to go outside.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Sometimes solutions are partly a stroke of luck, and partly some inner genius that makes itself known at just the right time. Building a relationship, language and cooperation with our pets is no different.

And here’s the painful truth. As an animal communicator, I can’t tell your pet what to do. Animal communicators can’t provide a guarantee that your pet will do anything differently to “fix” whatever problem that’s brought you to us in the first place.

Your pet has their own thoughts, ideas, goals, and desires and is a free thinking being.

Here’s the other truth that I also know: you haven’t yet tried everything. It might feel like it, but I can assure you that there is another tid bit of information, or piece of the puzzle that will solve the issue you’re having with your pet.

I get it, being in the middle of a frustrating behavior can feel like nothing is ever going to make. it. stop.

Sometimes you have to get exasperated enough to utter the perfect combination of words that will get the right message across, like too many cooks in the kitchen.

I promise you, there’s an answer out there for you and your pet that will set you on a better course.

Google (judiciously - there’s a lot of bad advice out there!) for other people that have had the same problem.

Find a trainer

Talk with your vet.

Find a holistic practitioner to work with.

Work with a therapist for yourself.

Getting creative to find solutions to your problem is sometimes the best way to work around it. Your relationship with your pet is individual and unique, and both of you have past histories and experiences you are drawing on. It will sometimes take the two of you searching and seeking to find the answer to the problem that you share.

But I promise you, the answer is out there, you’ve just got to keep searching.