What is energy???

Although a far fetched concept for most of us as humans to grasp, energy is the universal languge that all living things communicate by. Whether you are a dog, human, bird, or plant, everything operates on the concept of energy. To simplify this idea I will first give an overview of what energy is, and then I will continue with an explanation of its relationship and use in how we communicate with our dogs. As stated above, energy is the universal language of all living beings. So how does it work?

At the molecular level everything is made up of free floating energy particles. How this energy comes together is what makes one bundle of energy become a fish, and the other become a human for example. Regardless of its configuration, energy is still the same at its basic level and free floating by nature. What this means is that it can be transferred, shared, and passed on. Of course not on a level we can see with our eyes, but we can definately feel it. For example, have you ever had that feeling that the phone was going to ring or have you ever met a person that gave you a positive/negative vibe? That is energy at work! This isn’t some mystical force, it actually is that “free floating” energy passing through the environment on a subatomic level that we, as its natural “receptor”, pick up as feelings or “sixth senses”. Now we as humans who once operated on these principles, have evolved quite a bit and have developed language as our primary method of communicating. Dogs, who use minimal vocalizations to communicate, utilize their sixth sense abilites first and foremost. This is the means by which our dogs can do amazing things such as telling when their owner is coming home regardless of schedule or time of day (I’ve seen the special on TV too!) or sensing subtle changes in one’s body chemistry to detect disease or seizures before doctors can. Although magical in its concept, it is this “feeling energy” that makes dogs instantly be able to size up another dog without even seeing them. Sure, dogs use body language, scent, and other means to communicate. These things are only secondary and tertiary while energy is number one. All dogs carry an “energy fingerprint” that is constantly being projected into their environment. The body language we see is just the reaction many steps after the actual signal was received by either dog.

What is The Energy of Understanding?

The Energy of Understanding as I call it, is the energy given out by dogs who are the most experienced and best leaders. What this energy says, using literally no words, is “I am soo good at my job as leader, you don’t have to worry about anything. I’ve got everything covered for my pack” This means you are their protector, provider of food & shelter, travel agent, and so on which gives the dog(s) who are under them a strong sense of security by not having to be concerned with all these things. As is the theme of all that I do, this is the energy we are trying to project to our dogs. Especially when dealing with problem behavior or dominant dogs who have all these burdens of life on them which causes an unbalanced energy to occur. This is the root of most problem behaviors we experience with our dogs. The problem behaviors we see are the symptoms of the unbalanced energy associated with too much responsibility for the dogs that try to assume a different role in the pack than they best are suited to. Once we take over that role, we put an Energy of Understanding into our environment we share with our dogs. When I work with my clients I spend a great deal of time doing owner education instead of just dog education. Reason being is that if the owner knows exactly what their dog is thinking and sees their misguided agenda, it is then that they can be one step ahead of their dog, by seeing their every move as having meaning…and actually understanding it! This earns respect rather quickly in the dog world, which is an easy way to create the correct energy in our dog’s environment. The energy of understanding. So without the owner knowing how to work a leash and collar or how to give a dog endless treats, they can learn how to get their dog to listen to them just by understanding the concept of energy.

Colorado Dog Rescue

Perfect Match Dog Rescue is an all-breed dog rescue organization I work with. I have personally rehabilitated many dogs that have been re-homed and have lived full happy lives with their new families because of the great work they do. Their website is:

www.perfectmatchdogrescue.com On their website you will see all their dogs up for adoption here in Colorado. The website gives full descriptions of each dog and works very hard to match dogs up with appropriate families to ensure a long lasting and healthy relationship. Check them out…

The Flow of Life for Dogs

As a follow up to my last article on energy, it would deem appropriate to write about the flow of life in which dogs follow. Basically what this means is that dogs, being as in tune with life as they are, pick up on changes in the daily pattern or “flow of life” that occurs in the environment that surrounds them. Whenever something new happens big or subtle, it has great meaning to a dog. Examples are when someone new comes to the house, going from one room to another, going up stairs, or doorways, or even things like getting up off the couch and mealtimes will tap into a dog’s natural tendency to feel life’s energy shift, and be in tune with these changes in the flow of life according to their established roles in the pack. We as dog owners and trainers can tap into these energy flow changes to be one step ahead of our pets to be, as you guessed it, the best leader possible to our dogs. A good place to start can be with greetings. Whether it be at the door or on walks in public, this will apply to any initial greeting scenario you may encounter with your dog. If your dog tends to display innappropriate or hyperactive behaviors (jumping, barking, running around, hyperactivity, btitng, etc.) upon welcoming someone or something new into their lives, then it means they are trying figure out a situation that is too much for them to handle. The ”bad” behaviors we see are just symptoms of their mental discontentment from having more responsibility than they can deal with even though they do not know any better. It is our jobs as their pack leaders to take the high road and take over these types of situations (especially greetings) so they no longer feel the burden which in turn fuels the fire of the problem behaviors we see in dogs.

An example would be giving our dogs a “Place” or “Sit” “Stay” commands at those times when they are trying to figure out what to do. This takes the multitude of thoughts going through their minds and puts them all into one simple task for them to accomplish, the command you give them, focusing everything into one single-pointed mindset. This also “places us in charge” of the new event that just occured in our dog’s lives. So by instinct, the dog will relax because of they sense we now are taking over a situation for them that they couldn’t handle on their own. Now, we must be consistent with this approach, because of the fact that if our dogs feel this way in the first place, they have a strong disposition to be in charge of new situations which arise in their envirionment. If we are not consistent, then the dog will gravitate towards what they feel is most comfortable for them. Even though the result is stressful. They don’t know any other way until we make it a standard for us to be one step ahead of our dogs when it comes to the flow of energy in life. 9 out of 10 doesn’t cut it with a strong willed dog. 10 out of 10 consistency is the only way to go for the re-establishment period it takes to make the more positive and healthy behaviors the norm, placing us in charge of new situations and alleviating the burden of our dogs running the show. For them and us! Although some dogs can be quite stubborn in giving up their top dog status, with some persistence, we can out-lead them and once they are used to it and forget the old ways, we don’t even have to think about it anymore, they just know we are in charge without us having to go through the motions associated with proving it to them. They know we are in tune with the flow of energy as well as any leader they would respect could.

Cesar Milan, The Dog Whisperer and Dog Psychology

A client gave me an article featuring Cesar Milan (a.k.a. The Dog Whisperer) to read. It discusses the criticism Cesar has faced over the past few years and the reason why his approach to dog psychology has been met with such controversy and critics. Because I am Often compared to Cesar Milan and frequently recommend his books and television show to my clients, I feel it would be appropriate to comment on the article and my feelings on Cesar Milan in general.

When people compare me to him, my response is a heartfelt “Thank You!” Nothing could be a greater compliment than being compared to someone who has helped so many dogs and their owners worldwide, and has taken the language of dogs and how we can better communicate with them mainstream. I’ll never forget the time I was working with a client and their dog and we came upon an elderly woman who had to be at least in her 80’s out walking her dog. When the two dogs met, one tried to establish their role as a leader over the other dog by mounting them. Instead of the usual human reaction to curb this type of behavior because it “wouldn’t be appropriate in the human world”, the elderly woman explained, “don’t worry, he is just asserting his dominance over the other dog, it is normal for dogs to do that.” I enthusiastically replied, “you must have been watching the dog whisperer”. Of course she replied with a great big “Yes!”

Now, if it wasn’t for Cesar Milan bringing these concepts that only a small minority of professional dog trainers, handlers, and owners understood previously, to the masses. How else would someone like that understand their dog’s behavior this well or even know where to find out this information? With all the dogs that end up in shelters and get euthanized because of the lack of understanding on the part of humans, (almost all of them!) wouldn’t it seem his message will only benefit dogs as a whole? That is why I never understood those who strongly oppose Cesar Milan and his ways. Well, actually I do understand because I experience this resistance sometimes as well.

People like Cesar, me, and others who are able to see and promote the truth and reality of dogs force people to have to examine who they are as humans to directly understand how it is affecting their dog’s behavior. The reason this is difficult for some is because dogs are part of our lives in modern society because they give us what we can’t get out of humans. Basically they fill a void within our psychology. Plain and simple. That is the reason why dogs are so great and we can bond and connect with them so well and naturally. We have coexisted for so long they have become part of our existence.

Dogs are the only animal whos natural habitat is exactly the same as humans…Think about that. The hard part in all this is being able to recognize what we are trying to compensate for, and differenciating what is actually the dog’s problems and what is actually our psychology getting in the way of our dog’s understanding of the role we need to play as understanding and balanced leaders in their lives. Unless you have gone through many years of psychotherapy or are naturally born to see yourself at face value (not an easy task) this can be an uncomfortable process. I should know because as a human I had to go through the process myself with my own dogs and continue to grow with each new dog I meet.

We as humans are programmed to have a strong sense of self. We are consatantly protecting this sense of self. It doesn’t matter how many issues we may have, to our “self”, we are who we are and there is nothing wrong with us in our eyes despite what everyone around us may observe and see. If we were to think we needed improvement, then our whole concept of who we are will fall apart. The problem with this idea is that everyone, no matter who they are, can improve on themselves in some aspect of their psychology by recognizing who they really are and pinpointing their deficiencies. So why isn’t everyone in therapy and running around happy and free like the Zen masters? Because by recognizing our flaws, we have to undo the false sense of who we are to do this.

Who likes criticism? Not many people do. So we remain “who we are” and find people to surround us who fit into our “way of being” that is most comfortable despite how it may or may not work for us. This is how we make friends, find lovers, and choose how we live. In the human world this suits us well and works perfectly fine for many. In the dog world however, there is no lying or what we call in the psychology field masking. Everything is at face value within the pack, dogs cannot lie to themselves, trick one another, or pretend to be something they are not. They are who they are. Because we cannot project human psychological values on our dogs (even though we try our hardest), when communicating with dogs we have to operate on the level of honesty very few humans feel comfortable conducting themselves on. Not only do I use my degree in human psychology daily, but I have actually helped clients discover things within themselves unrelated to their dogs which have helped them in their personal, non-dog lives! Not to get terribly Freudian here but it has been my experience that those who understand themselves and human nature the most, tend to have an easier time in understanding how they are contibuting to their pet’s issues and how to change this to help their dog problems.

I find it of great importance to add; No one is ever a bad person or dog owner for not understanding their dogs. I will be the first to tell you that most people who have dogs think more on an anthropomorphic level (placing human characteristics on animals) than on a level of reality based on a dogs natural instincts and psychology. Anthropomorphic thinking stems from a wanting to love, relate, and bond with our animals not because we don’t care. What happens with some dogs is this energy is misinterpreted as a weak energy or lack of understanding because certain dogs don’t sense we know who they are as they know a real dog would. By seeing ourselves and our dogs for things truly are, we are creating the energy of understanding I frequently speak of. We now come across as a self-aware and confident leader with an energy to be respected, not taken advantage of. This is what The Dog Whisperer, myself, actual dogs, and others utilize and promote. Those who disagree the most with these ideas seem to be unsuccesful trainers who are jealous our threatened by our abilities and people who can’t stop treating their dogs like children no matter what you tell them. Who’s issues are those???

Basic Dog Training Commands

Here is a list of the most common basic/practical training commands and how to use them to train your dog:

Basic Commands

HEEL: This command is used to teach our dogs how to walk on a loose leash. It is performed by having the dog walk on our left hand side. This simulates the way in which a dog who is a natural pack Leader would lead the other dogs in their pack by going in their direction on their command. Whenever we stop our movement with this command, our dog should automatically sit without telling them to do so.

SIT: The sit command is used to get our dogs to stay in one place. It is especially useful in situations when a dog needs to remain calm and focused.

STAY: Stay is used to keep a dog in whatever position they happen to be in. (ex: sit/stay, down/stay, etc.)

COME: This command is used to get our dog’s attention and have them come to us when called.

DOWN: Used to get our dog to lay down and go into a relaxed and submissive position. Best used when you want your dog to stay for long periods of time and at times you need your dog to relax or respect you.

Practical Commands

NO: The meaning of the word No is used to teach dogs certain behaviors are not acceptable. No is also used a follow through for a dog not listening to our commands.

OFF: Off is used to get our dogs to get off furniture, beds,or surfaces. It is also used to discourage jumping on people.

DROP IT: Drop it is used to get our dogs to relinquish whatever is in their mouths or possession and leave it alone until otherwise instructed.

KENNEL: Use this word to have your dog go into their kennel.

Automatic Sit: Used when going in and out of doorways, stairs, and whenever there is an environment change.