I don't think there is a communication barrier. I can understand dogs just fine and so do many other people. We do know when they are hungry, itchy, in pain, need walkies, want to play etc.. we do speak to them and them to us. Same with horses, goats, sheep.. just many species. We are already talking with them.
We need to stop humoring this "animals can't consent" shit straight-up. They can, they do and we understand them!
What we need to break out of is the infantilization of all animal life.
People keep companion animals a lot because they want something that is like a baby. Animals have trough out the whole history been thinked as "lesser". Humans even thought at one point that animals don't have feelings at all or even feel pain! They were thought of as stupid husks which only respond robotically to their environment.
Thank god we are already past that, but we still need to get past the idea that animals are "like a three year old child intelligent-wise" and other crap. We need to stop measuring them by human standards, waiting for them to jump on two legs and utter the clear words "I consent to this sexual act, yesssire I dooo!" and understand them as they are.