If you’ve ever watched a toddler walk up to a dog they’ve never met and somehow know exactly how to approach them… or seen a child whisper to a cat and then announce with total confidence what the cat “said back”… you’ve witnessed something real.
Children naturally communicate with animals telepathically. Not because they’ve learned how, not because they’ve been trained… but because they were born with this ability. Every single one of them. It’s as natural to a young child as laughing or crying or reaching for something they want.
The thing is, most adults were once those children. You were once that child. Somewhere along the way, that intuitive connection got shut down. Not because you lost it, but because you were taught to stop trusting it.
The good news? It’s still there. And it can be reopened.
As an animal communicator with over 25 years of experience, I’ve worked with thousands of people who are rediscovering this exact ability. And one of the most powerful parts of that process is understanding that you’re not learning something new… you’re remembering something you already knew how to do.
Examples of Intuitive Abilities of Young Children
Children display natural telepathy with animals all the time. They do it without conscious effort, without questioning it, and without any idea that what they’re doing is supposed to be “unusual.” To them, it’s just… how things are.
A child might tell you their dog is sad today… and then later you find out the dog isn’t feeling well. Or a little kid might refuse to go near a particular animal that everyone else thinks is friendly… and it turns out that animal has a history of snapping. Children pick up on the emotional and energetic state of animals instantly because their intuitive channel is wide open.
I experienced this myself growing up. I always knew when my dog wanted something. Always. Not because of body language cues or routine… I just knew. I could also feel how my parakeets felt about each different type of food I gave them. Some foods made them genuinely happy. Others? Not so much. And I could tell the difference clearly.
None of this seemed weird to me. It was just how I experienced the world. I didn’t think twice about it… until I was told it was weird.
And that’s the part of this story that matters most. Because what happened to me is what happens to almost every one of us.
When and Why the Skill Gets Shut Down
Here’s what typically happens. A child shares what they’re picking up from an animal… maybe they announce that the cat is angry, or that the dog is worried about something, or that the bird doesn’t like being in that cage. And probably after thinking it was cute the first few times, the adults around them eventually respond with some version of: “You can’t possibly know that.” Or: “Stop being so dramatic.” Or: “You’re too sensitive.”
It doesn’t usually happen in one big moment. It’s a slow, steady drip of messages from parents, teachers, siblings, friends… all communicating the same thing: what you’re experiencing isn’t real. Stop being so tuned in. Be more normal.
For me, it was being told I couldn’t possibly know what my caterpillars were thinking. Being labeled “too sensitive.” Being pushed to try to be more “regular” and somewhat shunned for the emotional connection I had to both myself and to the animals around me. My experience was constantly dismissed.
And so, like most children in this situation, I adapted. I unconsciously tried to shut it down. To stop talking about it. To stop trusting what I was picking up.
By the time most people are around five or six years old, they’ve absorbed enough of these messages that they’ve successfully shut down their intuition… not because there’s anything wrong with them, but because they needed to blend in. They needed to feel accepted. And the world around them was making it very clear that being intuitive wasn’t acceptable.
Luckily, the intuitive ability doesn’t actually go away. It just goes underground. It gets buried under layers of self-doubt and social conditioning. But it’s still there, waiting.
Signs You Did This as a Child
Most people who are drawn to animal communication as adults had a strong intuitive connection to animals when they were young… even if they didn’t have the language for it at the time.
Here are some signs that this might be your story:
You were told you were “too sensitive.” This is probably the most common one. If the adults in your life regularly told you that you felt too much, reacted too strongly, or needed to toughen up… there’s a good chance you were picking up on intuitive information that they couldn’t see or understand.
You felt safest around animals. Maybe animals were your closest friends growing up. Maybe they were the only ones who seemed to truly get you. A lot of intuitive children gravitate toward animals because animals don’t judge them for being sensitive. Animals don’t tell them they’re being dramatic. Animals just… accept them.
You didn’t feel like you fit in. If you spent much of your childhood feeling like you were different from the people around you… like you experienced the world in a way that others didn’t seem to… that sense of not fitting in is often tied to intuitive sensitivity. You were experiencing the world differently, picking up on things that others weren’t.
You wanted to protect animals more than anything. That deep, almost fierce desire to keep animals safe? It often comes from actually feeling what the animals around you were feeling. You weren’t just sympathizing… you were connected to them on an energetic level.
You liked animals more than people. And you probably felt a little guilty about it. But the truth is, animals were easier to be around because the connection was pure and uncomplicated. No pretending. No filtering. Just mutual understanding.
If you’re nodding along to several of these, it’s worth considering that you didn’t just “love animals” as a kid. You were connecting with them. And that ability is still inside you.
How to Reopen Your Intuitive Channel
Reopening your intuition isn’t about learning a brand-new skill from scratch. It’s about gently reconnecting with something that’s been dormant for a long time. And the starting point might surprise you… because it’s not a technique. It’s a memory.
Start by thinking about how you were with animals when you were little. What was the relationship like? What did it feel like to be around them? Often, simply recalling that emotional connection can help remind you that there was actually more going on than you realized at the time. Something deeper. Something real.
Then, start building your awareness. Find a spot outside… your backyard, a park, a quiet place by a tree. Sit there for 15-20 minutes with a notebook. Just notice what you see, hear, and feel. Come back to that same spot the next day, same time. Do it again the third day. You’ll notice that even though the spot hasn’t changed, you’re picking up on more each day. A cool tree you missed before. A shift in the atmosphere you can’t quite explain but definitely felt. That growing awareness is your intuition waking up.
Surround yourself with people whose intuitive channel is already open. This one is more important than most people realize. When you’re around others who believe in this work… who are exploring their own intuition and talking openly about their experiences… it becomes so much easier to believe in your own ability. Skepticism is contagious, but so is openness. Finding a community of like-minded people can make the difference between staying stuck in self-doubt and actually moving forward.
Exercises to Reclaim Your Childlike Intuition
Here are two exercises you can try this week to start strengthening that intuitive muscle. They’re simple, but don’t let that fool you… simple is where the real shifts happen.
Exercise 1: Feel the Energy
Start by sitting in a space without your pet present. Settle in, and try to “feel” the air around you. Not with your hands… with your awareness. How does the energy of the space feel? Try to describe it to yourself. Warm? Still? Neutral?
Now, bring your pet into the space with you. Sit again. Feel the air again. What’s different? Does it feel warmer, heavier, lighter, more alive? Can you sense a shift now that your animal is near?
This skill… noticing the energetic difference between “just you” and “you plus your animal”… is the beginning of opening up your intuition to connect with animals. It’s subtle at first, but the more you practice, the more distinct it becomes.
Exercise 2: Send Love
Sit with your animal, calm yourself, and then try to send a psychic message of pure love to your pet. Maybe they’re across the room. Let yourself really feel the love you have for them… let it build and expand. Maybe you can even visualize it. But don’t move. Don’t call them over. Don’t do anything physical.
As you experience more and more love for them… watch. What happens? How do they react?
Even the smallest response counts. The twitch of an ear. A head turn in your direction. A deep sigh. A tail wag out of nowhere. These aren’t coincidences. Your animal is receiving what you’re sending.
The more you practice this, the more you’ll start to trust that the connection is real… because you’ll see the evidence right in front of you.
Why Learning to Communicate With Animals Matters
When you start reopening that intuitive channel, something shifts in your relationship with your pet. You move from guessing about what they need to actually understanding them. The worry about whether you’re doing the relationship well enough starts to ease, because you’re no longer on the outside looking in… you’re in a genuine two-way connection.
And it goes beyond your pet. Reopening your intuition changes how you move through the world. Decisions get clearer. You trust yourself more. That old feeling of being “too sensitive” transforms from something you were ashamed of into something you recognize as a strength… maybe even your greatest one.
This is the kind of work I’ve been helping people with for over 25 years through my Soul Level Animal Communication® courses. And inside The Be Open Community, you’ll find exactly the kind of supportive, like-minded people who make this journey easier and more fun.
Because that intuitive child you used to be? They didn’t go anywhere. They’ve just been waiting for you to come back.
