Just double checking I'm not missing anything obvious, but there isn't any restriction on how often you can change the focus on your animal companion, is there?
Yeah I really dislike that "die" clause. Why die? They could have easily worded it different as that non-pet hunters don't have to off it by raw and if something did happen to it unfortunately the same could apply.
I am wondering the same question.
The feature reads: The companion’s aspect can be the same aspect the hunter has taken on or a different one. The hunter can select or change the animal foci on both herself and her animal companion as part of the same swift action.
One could strictly interpret this to mean, you can only change the focus on your AC when you change it on yourself.
I dont think this is the intent, however. Is there any official clarification on this?
If you can switch both, you can switch the AC and keep yours the same by just switching it to what it already was. It's also a swift action to turn on your special animal focus for however many rounds until you decide to stop renewing/maintaining it, while the AC's is always on. You can change it literally whenever. No need for official clarification.