Volume 10 No. 2, August - Decemeber 2007
. . . Somewhere in time's own space, there must be some sweet
pastured place, where creeks sing on and tall trees grow. Some
paradise where horses go, for by the love that guides my pen,
I know great horses live again.
-- Stanley Harrison
I am a believer in natural, nonviolent training methods. So for
example when dealing with a pushy or aggressive dog, I would recommend
Click to Calm by Emma Parsons, or Suzanne Clothier's
book, Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships with Dogs, over Caesar Romero's physical dominance approach.
Being physically dominant to an animal works and you get obedience,
but you don't get understanding and mutual respect. My horse trainer,
Kelly Michalec, says that the true goal of training should be
to get animals to do something because they want and choose too,
not because we forced them to.
The combination of intuitive communication and nonviolent animal
training programs can be highly effective. You can use intuitive
communication to show as well as tell an animal what you want.
One technique is to take your animal somewhere where he can actually
see another animal doing what you want him to do, such as taking
a dog to watch an agility trial, or a horse to watch a jumping
event. Add another intuitive layer by explaining to your animal,
step by step, out loud or mentally, each aspect of the behavior
you are watching. Tell your animal how he can accomplish the behavior;
explain what he has to do in terms of timing and moving his body.
Then try doing the behavior with him. See if you notice any improvement
in learning habits.
Another way to show your animal how you want him to act is to
close your eyes and imagine him doing exactly what you want. See
and sense this scene as if it were happening and you were in it
with your animal. Then explain to your animal what you want and
why.
 I
did this recently when I introduced a new cat to my other
cats. I told all the cats what was happening, why the new cat
was there, why I had adopted her, and that I wanted them all to
get along. Then I formed a picture mentally of them all tolerating
each other. I had no fights or even verbal arguments when I put
them all together and they are all now peacefully coexisting.
Of course, it might have been the tricks I found by surfing the
net which advised: 1) exchange sleeping blankets and bowls while
the cats are separate to get them used to each others' scent,
2) let them see each other through a screen or glass door first,
and 3) powder each cat with cat nip prior to putting them together.
P.S. When you think of training you usually don't think, cats.
But cats can actually be trained using clicker training to do
tricks, come when called, fetch and other fun things. To find
out more go to http://www.clickertraining.com
A small beagle was hit by a car in front of my house. It was
wearing a collar with only a telephone number on it so I called
the number and asked if they were missing a beagle. We arranged
to meet at a nearby veterinary hospital so I put a makeshift muzzle
on the dog and gently lifted her into my car's backseat where
I sat with her as my husband drove. I felt horrible for the dog
as she was obviously hurt and I tried to think of what I could
do to calm the little dog down. Then I remembered seeing you on
TV suggesting that we all try just talking out loud to our animals
for two weeks, assuming they could understand every word. You
also told people to accept their intuitive impressions without
questioning them. I had been trying that with my own animals,
more for fun than anything else. When it came down to it I really
didn't believe it was real. I thought I was making up things in
my head.
 But
for lack of a better idea I talked to the dog and told her where
we were going. I explained that her human would be meeting us
there and that the doctors would help her and take away her pain.
She looked at me so sweetly that I took off the makeshift muzzle
saying out loud, "I don't think you're going to hurt anybody."
Suddenly I heard the word 'DAISY' in my head so clearly and strongly
that I thought to myself, "Daisy? Where the heck did that come
from?" Then I looked at the dog and the possibility that she might
be telling me her name started to creep into my head. I said,
"Is that your name? Daisy?" thinking that I was going to feel
awfully stupid when we got there and the owner called the dog
by a different name. I thought to myself, "Ok, let's test this
theory! Let's prove it wrong and stop this foolishness right here!"
So I asked Daisy what her owner looked like and how she got lost.
She described a heavy set woman with reddish hair and told me
that she was hunting rabbits when she got lost in the woods. She
couldn't tell which way was home.
By this time we were pulling into the hospital parking lot and
a woman (not the one the dog described) was standing outside the
hospital doors. As soon as the car stopped she opened the car
door and lifted the beagle out saying "It's ok Daisy, it'll be
ok now." I was stunned. I just sat there slack-jawed in the car
unable to move as the truth washed over me: That dog just told
me her name! Still extremely freaked out I collected myself and
walked into the hospital where the woman was sitting with Daisy
in her lap. Then the door to the treatment room opened and a big
girl with auburn hair walked over to the woman holding Daisy.
As she passed me I thought to myself, "Well that lady has red
hair." The woman holding Daisy looked up at me and pointed to
the redhead and said, "She's the owner. I'm just a friend of theirs."
I just about lost it. I grabbed my husband by the arm and dragged
him outside. "That dog just told me her name!" I said. "What?"
he said, not surprisingly. I explained the whole story and then
asked him if he thought I was nuts. His answer, bless his heart,
was that he believes there is a lot we still don't know about
our world and there are many things that can't be explained so
if I said the dog talked to me then he believed me. I, unfortunately,
still felt like I was nuts but I had to find out the rest of the
story. I went back inside and asked the friend of Daisy's owner,
who was alone in the waiting room, how the dog got lost. She said,
"Oh, her husband was out hunting with Daisy a few days ago and
the dog didn't come back when he called her.
Jeanne Joslyn
 Something
clearly demonstrating communication happened to me. I volunteer
at a hippotherapy program for handicapped children and adults
in Cotati. I love taking care of Buddy the miniature horse. I
always take him for a walk around the rural neighborhood and let
him delight in eating the grass. We walk by several small horse
farm and other properties. At least three of these properties
have dogs that love to race around behind the fencing and bark
to protect their property. I usually talk with some of them but
don't get many calming responses. One day when I went Buddy and
I went out walking, only one property had their dog standing guard.
A yellow lab was racing the length of the white fence along the
road. I let Buddy graze a little near this dog's yard, while we
watched a mare and her new foal across the street. This dog was
going crazy. Then I said to him, "You are racing so fast and far
you can't even bark." All of a sudden the dog pulled up and began
running much slower just in front of us, not the whole length
of the fence line. I was shocked. Then I told him that he could
relax because Buddy and I were not interested in his property
and were just there a little while to have some grass and look
at the new foal. To my amazement, the dog abruptly stopped barking
and running, looked at me directly, turned around, and walked
to the back of his yard! He didn't come back before when Buddy
and I left either.
Karen Berke
Read
a great whale rescue story
See
a human hummingbird feeder
Read
about the Goose Whisperer
FYI
- Busting Common Myths About Pet Food
Now is the time to come to aid of your government…. Help them
get their… together. Call them, join groups, put the pressure
on now! Call your senators and representatives. Every day if you
can. Tell them to impeach Gonzales, Cheney, Bush, Rove … the whole
lot of them. Say we want paper ballots now. And tell them to get
us out of Iraq!
Here is the capital switchboard number 202 224 3121
Here is the link to Thom Hartmann's site: http://www.thomhartmann.com/newagelinks.shtml
See
the new movie, The 11th Hour - more info
This book has very simple humane suggestions for establishing
yourself as a friendly leader around a dog, even if you have more
than one!
Bekoff is an animal behavior expert who has written a comprehensive
book on the question of whether animals feel secondary emotions
like grief, compassion and jealousy. Great stories and a good
scientific analysis of a question most animal lovers already have
figured out, while science lags behind
McTaggartt recounts the relevant scientific experiments and theories
regarding intention and manifesting - the science behind The Secret.
She offers guidance in using your intentions to change your life
and change your world.
This is the problem with our world in a nutshell. A must-see.
You can rent it.
Find out about all the holes in the 911 story - big enough to
fly a couple of planes through! Go to http://www.loose-change-911.com/
So things aren't looking too bright just now are they? For some
reason I feel that the fact that everything all over the earth
has to change somehow makes it more hopeful. Like if people can
just wake up to what is happening, then we will see we have to
RADICALLY change everything we are doing. Then if we actually,
all over the world, do that… well then. That would be something
wouldn't it? Won't happen unless we make it happen. Get out there
and do something to make the change you want to see.
 For
those of you who knew Hazel and had her help in learning to communicate,
she died last month at the age of 24. She went through about a
week of illness before I made the decision to put her down. As
those who knew her know, she was one of the most amazing cats
ever on the planet. She had a wonderful long life and an easy
death. What more could one ask for. And she is still hanging around
helping me finish my third book. FYI Hazel was on a mostly real
food diet (cooked and raw) and some canned. I took care of her
holistically so she was not exposed to chemicals or drugs. I believe
that is why she lived so long, that and the fact that she loved
life and was dearly loved.
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