Kristin
Animal Communicator
I will have to check out the book.
Echo loves when I massage his shoulders. Once in a while he'll actually purr, not something he does very often. Well, not that I know of because you can't hear when he purrs but can feel it. He makes up for it in talking. He is really really vocal, and loud. We hold conversations and I swear he knows what I'm saying.
Sending telepathic messages is easy. Animals naturally communicate telepathically, so pick up on more than we do. When we talk we naturally put our thoughts into pictures, which is what animals understand. When I was learning to be an animal communicator I noticed that my messages were getting through loud and clear, I was just not "hearing" what they were saying back. A good tip is to think positively. For instance, paws on the floor instead of don't jump up.
Maybe for petting and stuff try visualizing you petting Echo, and him enjoying it, so he gets the idea that it is a good thing.