It's interesting to look back at my life and see where the paths of knowledge or interests I've followed began. When I was in high school, back in the seventies, I was having a tough time getting myself to classes despite the fact that I was capable of getting good grades. A creative guidance counselor arranged for me to volunteer, in lieu of [...]
When speaking recently with a trainer/friend who I helped out with a shy dog class, she told me that one of the participants, a skilled dog handler who had worked for years with rescue dogs, mentioned that she learned two important concepts in the class. 1. You do not reinforce fear in a dog; by being kind to them, moving them away from something that [...]
There are probably as many reasons as there are relationships addressing why people feel as strongly as they do about their dogs. I have my own theory about it (though will readily acknowledge that I am probably not the first to come up with it) and it goes along with the 'mindfulness' theme I touched on in my last post. Throughout most of my adult [...]
As a kid did you ever have an older relative that sort of creeped you out? Maybe they smelled funny, looked weird to you, liked to grab you, pinch your cheeks and leave wet spots where they kissed you? Your parents encouraged you to go 'say hello' and gave you warning stares as you scrunched up your face with disgust at the prospect. When you [...]
“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.” Jon Kabat-Zinn One of the most important things I think we can do with our dogs is attend to them. Our shy dogs who, without words to tell us what they are feeling and what their next move might be, are showing us with every blink, turn of the [...]