Jon even attempted to form a weaker version of the link he had with the dragons, to expand the range, but no matter what he tried, no connection would begin forming with any other animals. He would have completely abandoned this ability if it didn't strengthen his mind. And no matter how he tried, he still couldn't split his mind to control both his body and an animal at the same time, despite being able to slip into the mind of all three of his dragons simultaneously. Thus, the ability would be mostly useful for scouting and spying if he managed to develop it. For combat, his own body and magic were his greatest weapon.