(Maddie with Team TAPS)
I've written about it a lot since 2008 and it's true, dogs have a place in ghost hunting. I talked about it in my book, "Was That a Ghost?" about how no matter what equipment we get, that equipment doesn't seem to capture as well as the human body in seeing, feeling, smelling, and hearing ghostly activity. The same goes for dogs on an even more sensitive scale.
When I was growing up at Aspen Grove, our dog, King (German Shepherd/Collie mix) was an excellent receiver of all things ghostly. His hair down the center of his back would raise, his tail would point down, and he would growl and bite at something that wasn't there. Upon occasion, he would let out a yelp as if kicked and rush under the house and hide in the crawlspace, refusing to come out for days at a time.
If he lifted his head from where he was resting and noticed something in the room and tracked it with his eyes and you saw no light bouncing off the chandelier or any other thing to explain what he was following, you knew something was about to happen. Like the dogs in California always forewarned of earthquakes to the point that I knew their howls and knew where to hide when it happened, our dog King was a great early warning device.
As a psychic, I admit to having a hand up when it comes to knowing where energy is concentrated in a building. I'm very spatially oriented and can stand in the entry way and immediately plot out the entire building's activity without setting foot on the other floors. It is interesting to me to have a dog along to see if he, when let go, will rush to the spots I already know are active. In fact, I'm hoping to do an experiment utilizing a dog in the near future and map out the energy spots in a place before the dog enters, then have the dog enter and see if he finds the same spots. I've done a similar test with dowsing rods and found that the average person could find energy spots 100% of the places I found them with just my psychic feelers.
As much as I'd like to say, take your own dog with you on a hunt, I think it'd be better to take a friend's dog. The reason is that the dog's prime directive when with his owner is to guard him. That sounds advantageous, but it's not particularly on a ghost hunt. We want the dog to go forward into a building without feeling he must be mired by his owner's side. We want him to just run freely and investigate without looking back, seeking approval, and waiting for the next order.
Eventually, it's best to settle the dog down in a quiet area and sit back and let him lay down and get comfy. It's when there is nothing happening in the room that the dog will react to tiny changes. It's ideal not to speak during that time. Dogs often react to the tone of our voices and even if we're doing an EVP session, the dog is likely to lift his head and look around if we talk. That will make it harder to tell when he is noticing a subtle change in the room's mood. If you have an audio recorder running during this time, if the dog changes behavior, note it out loud. "Barney lifted his head and looked to the door." Now, depending on where your recording units are in the room, you can listen later and see if there was any voice picked up that the dog might have reacted to.
If you have a unit that measures barometric pressure, EMF, temperature--use it. If the dog shows a reaction, see if there are any correlations to be made. Dogs are even better sensors of paranormal activity and if we can find out what activates them to lift their head and stare into space, we can learn a great deal about how to be forewarned when they are not there.
So, take your dog to work and report back. When I get a chance to take a pup on a hunt, I will definitely keep you updated on the results. They might just be the best hunting partner for the woods as well as for the abandoned asylums.
**Check out our funny post on our kickin site about the mischief we get into on road trips**
