EBD290 De-stressing: Working Together with Our Dogs for a Happier Life
Enlightened By Dogs: Living with Cooperation, Not Obedience
Release Date: 12/04/2023
Enlightened By Dogs: Living with Cooperation, Not Obedience
Adopting a partnership approach can dramatically enhance your life and your relationship with your dog. This approach fosters a harmonious and respectful relationship, where both you and your dog actively contribute to enhancing the quality of your life together. Here are some key aspects of the partnership approach: Heart and Connection: We focus on building a foundation of heart connection, and trust, supporting our dogs’ development. Emotionally Intelligent Choices: By engaging with our dogs through emotionally intelligent choices, we lead to a more harmonious home. Shared...
info_outlineEnlightened By Dogs: Living with Cooperation, Not Obedience
Have you ever wondered how a simple laugh can change the entire dynamic between you and your dog? Laughter is known for its stress-relieving qualities among humans, but its effects are just as impactful on our dogs. When you laugh, you emit signals of safety and joy that can help calm and reassure your dog. Laughter acts like a reset button during stressful situations. It helps to reassure your dog that there's nothing to worry about, calming their nerves and transforming a potentially tense situation into a moment of bonding. In this episode, we explore how laughter can not only diffuse tense...
info_outlineEnlightened By Dogs: Living with Cooperation, Not Obedience
As devoted dog moms, we often focus on training and caring for our dogs in ways that involve doing things "to" or “for” them. But what if I told you that shifting from "doing to" to "doing with" could revolutionize your relationship with your dog? This simple change moves us from a dynamic of control to one of collaboration, which not only strengthens our bond but transforms everyday caregiving into moments of shared joy. For more insights and practical advice on how to deepen your relationship with your dog through playfulness and collaborative practices, tune in to the full...
info_outlineEnlightened By Dogs: Living with Cooperation, Not Obedience
Our dog’s personality traits offer a roadmap to their heart and mind, allowing us to work with their nature for deeper connection, smoother communication, and better cooperation. Every dog is an individual, and knowing what makes your dog tick can be the key to unlocking a harmonious relationship. 🗝️💖 Understand their personality traits, and you'll understand how to communicate effectively and cooperate joyfully. 🐕💬 Dive deeper into how to connect with your dog on a whole new level by tuning into this episode with Kathy. Tune in to explore: The Importance of Understanding...
info_outlineEnlightened By Dogs: Living with Cooperation, Not Obedience
In this episode of Enlightened by Dogs, we explore the topic of understanding and navigating the sensitivities, preferences and quirks that affect our daily lives with our dogs. Here’s what we unpack in today’s episode: Understanding Mindset: We begin by exploring what a mindset is and how it influences our interactions with the world and our dogs. Your beliefs and perspectives can significantly impact the success of your relationship with your dog. Exploring Our Sensitivities: I invite you to think about your own sensitivities. Whether it's loud noises or crowded spaces,...
info_outlineEnlightened By Dogs: Living with Cooperation, Not Obedience
In this episode, we journeyed further into the heart of understanding the unintended consequences of avoiding triggers and how such actions can inadvertently escalate reactivity in our dogs. Be sure to listen to part 1: EBD301 “Shrinking Worlds, Growing Reactivity: Why Avoiding Triggers Backfires.” One of the insights from this discussion is that trust is not transactional, and we can’t buy trust from our dogs at any price. Instead, trust is earned through consistent, reliable actions that demonstrate to our dogs that they are safe with us and can rely on us to...
info_outlineEnlightened By Dogs: Living with Cooperation, Not Obedience
Recently, I've had the joy of exploring the often challenging terrain of reactivity in dogs, peeling back the layers to understand the underlying causes that sweep us and our canine companions into this whirlwind. It's been an enlightening journey, especially during my "Growing Together from Reactive to Remarkable" workshop, where we shared breakthroughs as dedicated dog moms. In our latest episode, we've ventured into a topic that's both pivotal and potentially mind-bending: the counterintuitive truth about avoiding triggers. Yes, you've heard me champion the cause of green zone...
info_outlineEnlightened By Dogs: Living with Cooperation, Not Obedience
This episode unfolds a compassionate and insightful exploration into what reactivity in dogs truly means, advocating for a profound shift in our understanding and response to it. Kathy introduces listeners to a reimagined definition of reactivity, rooted in the complexities of canine communication and the frequent misunderstandings that arise when these communications go unheard or unheeded. It challenges the common definition of reactivity—behavior that is inappropriately out of proportion to a situation—by suggesting that what is often seen as reactive behavior...
info_outlineEnlightened By Dogs: Living with Cooperation, Not Obedience
In this episode Kathy explores the nuanced communication between dog moms and their dogs, emphasizing the importance of understanding and reframing our perceptions of our dogs' behaviors. Kathy shares the idea that behaviors we often interpret as disobedience or refusal are actually our dogs communicating their unmet needs. She advocates for a shift from correction to connection, suggesting that listening and engaging in a dialogue with our dogs can lead to a deeper understanding and a more harmonious relationship. Kathy offers practical advice on becoming a guide for our dogs by...
info_outlineEnlightened By Dogs: Living with Cooperation, Not Obedience
In this inspiring podcast replay, Kathy interviews Ros about her transformative experience with her two Hungarian Vizslas, Phoebe and Myrtle. Ros discusses the initial challenges of their reactivity and her subsequent journey to understanding and connecting with them in a way that led to an enjoyable life together. The episode highlights the pivotal role of a dog mom’s mindset in influencing dog behavior, the importance of addressing the underlying causes of reactivity, and the effectiveness of the 'Safe, Calm, and Happy' approach. It showcases the significant behavioral...
info_outlineInspired by a Business Insider article on meditation's impact on the human brain, Kathy ponders whether our stressful lives might be affecting our dogs more than we realize in this replayed episode. This leads her to question if our hectic lifestyles might also be changing our dogs' brains, possibly increasing their stress and anxiety.
The strong bond we share with our dogs has been shaped by years of living together, and while our furry friends help reduce our stress, we might unknowingly be causing them stress. Kathy observes that many modern dogs seem over-aroused, anxious, and stressed, and seem to be mirroring our own overwhelming lives.
By supporting our dogs' natural way of living in the moment, and doing what they do best, we can enhance both their lives and ours. This heartwarming episode is a call to be more mindful of our impact on our canine companions and to embrace a lifestyle that benefits both humans and dogs.
Key Takeaways:
-
Mutual Influence: Our stress and lifestyle choices can significantly impact our dogs' mental and emotional health.
-
Balanced Dog Activities: Dogs benefit from a mix of activities, with half being calming and relaxing to counteract stress.
-
Mindful Companionship: By allowing dogs to live in the moment and engage in natural behaviors, we can create a healthier, more fulfilling life for both ourselves and our furry friends.
LOVE TO LEARN MORE?
Become a calm and confident Dog Mom with a cooperative, happy dog ... without obedience training, or relying on treats or arousing games, or corrections of any type.
Here are some next steps:
SUBSCRIBE to Kathy’s YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DancingHeartsDogAcademy/videos
LISTEN or READ Kathy’s Podcast and Blog on her Website:
https://dancingheartsdogacademy.com/
GET STARTED work with Kathy:
https://dancinghearts.link/foundation
LET’S CONNECT on the socials for more partnership tips and advice:
-Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dancinghearts/
-Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathykawalec/
LISTEN TO PODCASTS:
Subscribe to the Enlightened By Dogs podcast in your favorite app! Don’t forget to leave us a rating and review – it would make Kathy very happy!
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify
Connect on Facebook: facebook.com/dancinghearts/