Dog Training with Zak -- fun and effective

Puppy training ... 101 - how to start laying the ground rules.



Superfetch - Dog tricks for busy parents.

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Season's Greetings!

~ Tis the season to be jolly ... and so we are! Thank you for reading and sharing the posts on this site. May you have lots of fun stuff to share and even more to cheer about in the coming year. ;)

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Conscious Connections with Animals

~ It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem.  For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much - the wheel, New York, wars and so on - whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time.  But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man - for precisely the same reasons.  ~ Douglas Adams, The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy ~


Heads up on Conscious Living for those who work with or would like to develop their intuitive connections with pets and other animals. Coming in the few weeks, several interviews focusing on our animal connections ...


Madeleine Walker will share her insights in working with Dolphins and Whales - the photos are beautiful. Author of An Exchange of Love, her connections are amazing. 






~ One ability animals can help us to expand is our ability to listen intuitively. Madeleine shares her insight. She talks about an interaction with a housefly. After reading the book Kinship with all Life several years ago, I too realized we can communicate with any life form when we open our mind and heart to that connection. I was absolutely astounded when the first fly I consciously tried to connect with responded in a dramatic fashion.

Buzzing around the house, it seemed to be the right time to ask if he wanted out. I offered to hold my finger up and show him to the door if he indeed wanted to go out. I assured him I had no intent to harm him. And my offer was not a demand; it was an invitation.

Sure enough, that fly landed on my index finger. I wasn't sure he would stay but he perched there and sat still. He stayed put as I went to the door and opened it. For a brief moment he paused, I heard a small voice say "Thank you." - he then flew off.

When I interview others who are doing animal communication work it's because I believe very strongly in what they are doing and in the need to share it so that we can all learn how to incorporate, in some fashion, that awareness into our own way of seeing and believing.

For me, that focus connects us to insight into our greater purpose in being on the planet at this time.


More information and related programs -
Supreme Master TV

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Animal Insight with Animal Communicator Nancy Kaiser

Sixty-Three and Holding

For the past fourteen-plus months, I’ve been pleased and honored to write my weekly column, Animal Insights, for Wendy Garrett’s “PetSense.com.” The last couple of months I’ve struggled to provide you with quality columns, although each week my muse has come through. Out of respect for my followers, I have decided to stop Animal Insights with this column; at least, for now.

The call to get started on the first of my animal books has gotten stronger and stronger. I had planned on starting two winters ago and have yet to write one word. Time has once again become my enemy like my days back on Fair Chance Farm. Being older and hopefully wiser, I listen better and make choices that honor my inner voice.

Writing a weekly column with limited space has taught me to be a better writer; a more concise writer. This will be a significant asset for my future projects. I’ll miss all the wonderful comments from my followers, but I don’t want to “stay too long at the dance” and compromise what has been a fabulous experience.

I cannot thank Wendy enough for allowing me to share my life with you each and every week. My animal partners have taught so much that needs to be shared, and Wendy gave me the opportunity to chronicle their stories and lessons each week.

I’ve been struggling with change and surrender in other facets of my life as well. It seems like change, flexibility, surrender, acceptance, etc. have become recurrent themes for me these past several months. I, much like the animals, don’t like change; although change remains the only constant in life. I found a plaque that helps me accept changes that I’d like to share with you.

Change ~ If nothing changed, there’d be no butterflies…

I thank you all for joining me on the segment of my journey that has been Animal Insights. I have learned never to say never, so Animal Insights is just at 63 and holding….

Maui sunset - Remember always, you're truly loved & never alone!

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a 2011 filled with

joy & understanding for you and your animal family!

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Tis the Season for enchantment... and sleighrides - a poem

Mary Benson and her horse Apache, at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in 1980.

 

 

Apache was the inspiration for the poem Winter Magic and the book Blue Mountain Rider.

 

 

 

 Winter Magic

 

by Mary Benson

Except from the poetry collection

Blue Mountain Rider by Mary Benson and Hedy Strauss

 

Come fly away!

On an enchanted sleigh.

Lost and laughing,

In swirling, whirling, winter white.

Merry bells

Ringing,

Singing.

Majestic Morgans

Flashing,

Dashing.

Flowing manes

Unfurling,

Curling.

Puffs of snow

Sifting,

Drifting.

Silent runners

Sliding,

Gliding.

Snowflakes clinging, harnesses jingling.

What joy to be

Running so free

On a magic carpet…are we.

Combining their love of horses and the outdoors, Mary Benson and Hedy Strauss immigrated to the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York where they met. Whether it is preserving wild mustang heritage or saving horses from slaughter, both women are passionate advocates for animal welfare. 

Visit Mary and Hedy at www.bluemountainrider.com

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Animal Insight with Animal Communicator Nancy Kaiser

Squiggles with her last 2 foals; Stormy (far left) & Randy (middle)

Like Mother, Like Son

This past week I’ve been hand-grazing Stormy since he’s still on restricted turn-out. Listening to the rhythm of his chewing reminded me of years earlier when I spent multiple hours a day immersed in this state of meditative observation with his mother, Squiggles.

A few years before I discovered my communication and healing talents, Squiggles underwent surgery to correct an impaction in her large colon. Shortly after surgery, she developed a salmonella infection. Because it’s highly contagious, Squiggles wasn’t allowed in the pastures until she stopped shedding the organism, which took many weeks.

Unless you’ve hand-grazed a horse very much, you can’t imagine how time slows down, or so it seems. Intuitively, I knew how crucial grass was to Squiggles’ recovery. I stole multiple portions from my out-of-control days to assure that Squiggles had as much grass as possible.

The need to stay in the moment while handling horses combined with the rhythm of her grazing allowed my mind to relax during those hectic days. Little did I know how much I’d learn from simply observing Squiggles do what horses do naturally; graze.

Wanting Squiggles to eat what I considered the choicest grass, I led her to areas where the young, luscious grass grew. Squiggles drug me to the coarsest, oldest grass. I’d lead her back towards my choice, but she’d walk right past it. This went on for a couple of days until I finally gave up the struggle.

As the weeks passed and Squiggles’ body healed, her preferences changed. She left the “old” grass that she’d been eating exclusively and began searching out the younger, richer grasses, which made me smile. Squiggles taught me a powerful lesson during those countless hours of simple observation.

Squiggles listened to her body; something humans hardly ever do. She knew what her supposedly more intelligent person didn’t. The grass I’d chosen no doubt would’ve made her sick initially. Her digestive system needed to heal, hence her attraction to the more appropriate coarse grass.

Observation is a powerful tool, but only if we use it. You don’t have to be an animal communicator to learn from your animal(s), only an astute observer. So, keep watching!

Intuitive Listening

Max, Magic and Chloe. Companions and teachers.

~ A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same. - Elbert Hubbard 


We are so fortunate to have animals in our lives. Quietly, and without judgment, they offer little insights and life lessons simply by living them for us.

Sometimes, we understand their messages to us. Other times, we make ongoing adjustments in hopes of creating a better environment without awareness of what we have done or their role in that shift. And it all works. 

In offering my intuitive assistance, it can be frustrating to learn that there are only certain outcomes that will be accepted as helpful. Suggestions to visit a vet are not always welcome. And there is a reason.

I can offer my insight but I cannot judge. The information will go where it is needed and the result will be as it should. My role is only to provide a clue into what might be creating the problem. The pet and their person are charged with creating their solutions. If I can heal it in any way, that healing comes from another source. 

I was asked to check in with a very special dog to see why she was so cranky and frequently snapping at and biting those who loved her. She greeted me with great enthusiasm the moment I entered the door. She knew I had come to try to help her.

What I felt in the physical contact with the dog was pain. Recently diagnosed as diabetic, no matter how delicate or gently one had to administer a daily shot, the pain it caused, given her reaction, also seemed to be more intense for her. I noticed swelling in the lower back area and some puffiness  around her kidneys. Contrary to what I sensed, I was told a check up with the vet had shown no trouble other than the diagnosis of Diabetes.

Unfortunately, the more I sensed, the more I realized this was a downward trend. I suggested giving the recently diagnosed dog a breather to ask when she would accept a shot and then to think about the quality of life versus the quantity. It might be better to focus for a bit on comfort.

My person was interested in trying to listen to her pet and she did. They spent some TLC time without shot administration that helped improve the quality of their connection. However, that shot thing did not get any easier and the possibility her pet was in failing health was hard for her to hear.

A trip to the behaviorist produced a routine to give the dog a shot while she was eating at her food dish. After that, she was given a treat. The dog loved her "treat". The routine continued until the dog died - three months later.

Revelation:  right and wrong is not part of this. We are charged with honoring our own guidance in how we care for our pets. The outcomes of our actions are how we learn. My frustration comes in knowing there are some areas that are simply too painful to access.

In that case, the person told me ... don't give me any information that requires another trip to the vet. "I can't afford it right now."

When she finally made another trip to the vet, the diagnosis included kidney failure. Not wanting to go may have seemed like a reluctance to provide quality care. That wasn't the case. The quality of her care during that transition time increased. The flip side of her avoidance was that a more thorough health examination may have given her a terminal diagnosis that she wasn't prepared to handle at the moment.

The diagnosis came when she and her pet had bonded more intensely as a result of the ups and downs of the health crisis. They were taking the steps at the right time for them.

Our intuited answers remind us, while we are not in control here, we are not alone. We take on the challenge of relationships with pets (and people) in order to grow, to learn how to go with the flow and simply appreciate the beauty of life in the moment as a demonstration of how things are supposed to work out on a grander scale no matter how hard we try to assign a perfect ending in one note.

Any ending will be perfect in its own special way. It can even include surprises.