Dogs are great listeners. Whether you are dealing with a hard day at work, a jealous friend, or an over bearing mother, you always their uninterrupted attention.
Dogs are happy to skip the ball game or bar night and stay in and stay “in” and cook. While boyfriends are critical of your culinary skills dogs will lap it up and beg for more.
Dogs like you jus the way you are. You can get a bad haircut, wear your sweats all day, go lip gloss free or gain a few pounds. But to your dog you’re perfect in every way.
You can almost always teach an old dog new tricks. Boyfriends, on the other hand, can take years of coaching and still be unsuitable to take out in public.
Your mother will love your dog. (She might even call them her grandchild). There’s no approval needed when you bring home a new pup, she’ll feed and spoil them even if they cause a stink.
Dogs love your friends and they are always down to hang out with the girls. Bring along some treats and they are happy to join in on the shopping exertions. Especially if they can fit in your purse.
They love to snuggle up any time of day or night. If you’re sick, they’ll cuddle for hours and won’t say anything about your esthetic state or number of Kleenexes on the bed.
Dogs are happy to join in any exercise routine, and unlike a boyfriend, they won’t judge your technique, try to time your reps, or correct your form.
They always let you watch what you want, but you might be sharing the popcorn. Plus they won’t ask you to explain why you like sappy chick-flicks or vampire dramas. The remote is all yours.
You’re never to old for your dog. They’ll never prefer and younger owner, and they’ll love you no matter how many miles on your clock, or wrinkles around your eyes.
*image credit: Honest Kitchen
Jt Clough lives in Maui, Hawaii and practices health, happiness, natural remedies and training for dogs and their people. Her uncanny way of communication with both dogs and people is healing and her training is effective physically and emotionally. Her work at Maui Dog Remedies is for people looking to live healthier and happier lives through their dogs and her passion for it has helped so many to find and do that thing they’ve been talking about or wishing to happen for so long. She is a dog whisperer for our best friendsand studies natural dog remedies, nutrition and communication. Her latest publications are Pumpkin Dog Food + Treats Recipes and 5K Training Guide | Running with Dogs.
Aloha wags and Happy Halloween from Maui Dog Remedies! It’s one of my personal favorite times of the year, mainly because of the colors and the costumes and the fun my dogs and I have around it all.
There are usually treats galore around this holiday. For those of us who are doing our best to keep choosing healthy, those store bought treats can be tempting but really disgusting for our digestive tract and how we feel throughout the day. That certainly goes for our dogs’ as well!
Dogs who love treats have big adoring eyes on the lookout for a little something’ something’ all the time! Halloween can prove to find big scores on the treat acquisitions.
If you’ve looked at a dog treat label lately though, its really hard to find anything super healthy for your dog. In fact it’s hard to find one that doesn’t have some serious toxic stuff in them. Homemade dog treats is the best option and what a better time to try a new dog treat recipe than Halloween!
This Halloween pumpkin dog treat recipe has both pumpkin, which is way awesome for your dog and coconut oil which should be a staple in your dog’s diet as well as yours.
2 cups organic brown rice flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
3 tsp wheat-free baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp powdered or fresh ginger
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup honey (raw is best)
1 1/2 cups organic canned pumpkin (without spice)
1/2 cup water
Combine and mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine all the wet ingredients, except for the water, blending well. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet. The batter should be thick but pourable. Incrementally mix in the water until you have a nice consistency.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Take about 1/2 Tbsp size drops and place them on a well-oiled cookie sheet.
Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes. Cookies should be firm, but still soft and chewy, just like you like your own cookies!
For small dogs make smaller cookies! Just check to make sure they aren’t over baked at 8 minutes!
Have a fabulous Halloween and Keep your Dog Safe
Keep your dog safe this halloween from open door escape due to trick or treaters, odd costumes that flip them out or might accidentally eat, and the consumption of a bunch of really crappy human treats that are bad for them!
Looking for pumpkin coconut oil ideas to add to your dogs diet?
Pumpkin Dog Food + Treats Recipes e-book offers recipes which all include coconut oil. The added bonus in health benefits of pumpkin for a dog in each recipe too.
By the way, if this is resonating with you and your dog – you want some healthy options to increase your dogs’ immune system and provide a healthier lifestyle– I just want you to know that I support you.
Jt Clough of Maui Dog Remedies is a Lifestyle Dog Trainer with online programs, pet industry business coach and marketing strategist, health fanatic, and author. She is a 9 time Ironman finisher, with decades of training dogs and their people to better lifestyles, from behavior modification to fitness and health through natural remedies, mental stimulation and lifestyle choices. She is an emotional healer through dogs. Described as a seeker, Jt has an uncanny ability to teach adaptation to change and to take inspired action.
Buster rocked his Maui Dog Training Retreat. He’s a Jack Russell Silky Terrier mix. And he loves chasing his tail, butterflies, cars, other dogs, cats, basically things that move. He’s got personality. Big time. And I just love him.
Maui Dog Training on the Chasing Problem
So, the big question. How does one train a dog to temper the chasing deal?
Simple answer. Recall.
Reward or Reprimand
I know, I know. You’ve tried before and it so seems easier said than done. But a good trainer will create a dog that knows what to do, instead of a dog that is constantly reprimanded for what not to do.
So many things can be used as a reward. Not just a food item, which is the first thing that comes to mind. And many things can be used as a reprimand. The truth of the matter is our attitude, our mindset is the most used reprimand of all.
People tend to take things out on their dogs. Of course without realizing it. We set ourselves up for failure on many levels, whether it be the amount of money we make or the happiness of our relationships or whether our dog’s listen to us or not.
We have been wiring our brains for years to connect with what can’t be done, what isn’t happening, what we don’t have. Media has done a find job of it. Fear not joy is the message. TIME TO RE-WIRE!
Maui Dog Aloha aka Re-wiring the Wag
An open mind to constantly going back to what you want more of changes the whole game. In a dog’s case, the new attitude can be picked up rather quickly actually. They don’t hold grudges and have expectations the way people do!
It’s why showing a dog what to do rather than constantly focusing on what the dog is doing wrong works.
We live on Maui, where there truly is much Aloha if you let it in. I’ve been working my Aloha with dogs for years even while on the mainland. My work here on Maui is to teach how to create a great relationship with your dog by knowing what things to do with your dog and then teaching you how to communicate the reward, the joy, the aloha of good behavior. No bad days and no bad dogs!
Jt Clough of Maui Dog Remedies is a professional dog trainer, pet industry business coach, health fanatic, and author. She is a 9 time Ironman finisher, with decades of training dogs and their people to better lifestyles, from behavior modification to fitness and health through natural remedies, mental stimulation and lifestyle choices. She is an emotional healer through dogs. Described as a seeker, Jt has an uncanny ability to teach adaptation to change and to take inspired action.
I don’t know about you, but I’m really tired of legislation messing with our health. And now they are messing with our dogs’ health. It’s been a tiring month. First the GMO thing, and now listen to this video on how legislature is trying to pass a bill that will basically start the over vaccination process for our puppies and dogs out super early. Waaaay too early.
Risks of Early Vaccinations for Your Puppy or Dog
First, most rabies vaccinations have mercury in them. Bad. Really bad. As you’ll hear in the video, there are veterinarians who say they have never seen a bad reaction. I’ve got one word on that. Bull… you know the second part of that word!
There is actually big reason to believe that early vaccination will leave puppies and dogs open to neutralization so they get the bad effects but aren’t even covered for rabies after all. Read The Alarming Proposed Bill That Could Threaten Your Pet’s Life.
Big Pharmaceuticals Creating Income Through Legislation Using Our Dogs
Ugly. Sad. We are now killing our dogs early over once again pharmaceuticals making more money.
We are filling ourselves and our dogs full of chemicals that we are being force fed through the media are good for us.
In the dog world it’s not only this bill but most other vaccinations and medications too. Take heart worm for example:
We’ve been told we need to make sure and feed the heartworm pill full of chemicals monthly. Read this article Are Drug Companies Honest About Heartworm by Dr. Dobias and you’ll find it’s impossible for a heart worm to even mature in that time. So why monthly? Add it up. That’s why. It’s certainly not for the health and longevity of your beloved best friend.
What You Can Do To Keep Your Dog Healthy
First, don’t sign up for every vaccination suggested for your dog. Do some research before you start shooting your dog or puppy up with unnecessary vaccinations. Find a vet willing to do a titre or look into alternative treatment.
You have to stay informed to know, so do your research. Like our own food and medication these days, just because it’s on the shelf in the local store or health care office does not mean it is safe or good for us. And on the other side of that, there are also a lot of things that are, they are usually just not placed on a shelf that is the easiest to access.
Look up and look down and all around, there are better choices we can all start making. For our dogs and for ourselves.
I post information about dog health, natural remedies as well as training and fitness, which I have a personal passion for my own dogs and for all the dogs I’ve been honored to be a part of their lives in my work. So PLEASE join my INBOX so you don’t miss something important.
Jt Clough lives in Maui, Hawaii and practices health, happiness, natural remedies and training for dogs and their people. Her way of communication with both dogs and people is healing and her training is effective physically and emotionally. Her work at ReVIBE | Dogs + Joy + Vibrance is for people looking to live healthier and happier lives through their dogs and her passion for it has helped so many to find more peace and joy in every day life with dogs. She is a dog whisperer for our best friends, specializing in private training and dog retreats. Her latest publications are Pumpkin Dog Food + Treats Recipes and 5K Training Guide | Running with Dogs.
I just don’t understand, I give my dog a great home, good food, lots of love and the best of everything. Yet the moment we see another dog, it’s on. My dog bullies. A big bully fest breaks out and I don’t know what to do. It’s ugly. It feels awful and I just don’t understand.
The whole thing makes me feel really bad and I’m really mad at my dog for it. Yet I love her dearly. What can I do?
As a professional dog trainer living on Maui, I see the imbalance behind the very basis of bullying in fear, in anger, in miscommunication or simple non communication, come out in dogs all the time. It is a sure sign of our society. When dogs are having problems, I get the call and it usually starts with the concept, “I wanted this dog to be different than he or she is,” even as we live here in our Hawaiian paradise.
Understanding the Development of Dog Bullies
We tend to be a society that wants to be something we aren’t, and we are taught this from the time we are young. Just the idea that you must have more, be better, and live up to something is a basis of instability. We tend to pick our dogs to match that behavior. Either we bring them to us in that state, or we create it all because it has become more comfortable to have discourse in our lives than it is to have peace.
We don’t even know what it is anymore to live a day without stress, anxiety, uneasiness. Is it any wonder our dogs’ are acting out in the same way?
Where to Start to Train the Bullying Dog Behavior Away
We need to start with a place of acceptance and move forward to be honest with ourselves about our true needs and who we are, rather than what every one else thinks we should be. We need to do that for our dogs as well. No need to make excuses, just start taking different actions.
When we don’t feel okay about who we are behaviors like fear aggression appear. It can show up with actions towards someone else or actions towards ourselves, but when the underlying feeling is “I need to be someone else”, fear is part of it.
Dogs are the same. They don’t know how to act in an urban society and studies have shown that they learn best by mimicking. The number of dogs bullies or who have bad behavior based on fear is rising. Doesn’t that speak loudly about how many people are acting out of fear and how we are teaching our dogs to be the same?
It’s really okay to calm down for ourselves. It will help our dogs tremendously.
Your Dog Needs to be Led by Example
It’s easy to look at bullies and point the finger. It’s really easy to do when people see big dog bullies acting out. The truth of the matter is that “bullying” is many times about fear and missing the chance to feel good about ourselves, someone else, our dog, or our relationships and it comes out with blame or ugly behavior.
If your dog is bullying, first slow down and take some time to accept that you may be feeling fear, anger, or discouraged because of the situation. Then realize you CAN do something about it.
STOP focusing on what your dog does bad and start encouraging the things your dog does well.
True, you may not be able to get through the “bad” behavior with your dog because there is in fact a communication disadvantage. Dogs don’t necessarily understand the English language. But they do understand your own sense of calm in that you have decided to stop blaming your dog’s bad behavior and seek help.
Get a professional dog trainer to help you learn how your dog does think and learn. Hint: It’s in pictures, not in a long drawn out explanation!! Re-wiring comes from repetition. I teach dogs a new way, than I teach you how to follow up with it. Quite gratifying I must say for everyone.
Practice Calm Courage
Stop being hard on yourself, or your dog and start to take steps to accept who you are and how you can make life feel more balanced. Dogs can reflect our behavior in such a huge way. Your dog’s behavior may be telling you that it’s time to stop and take a look at yourself. Slow down. Feel okay to be who are and to make choices that are good for you.
Know That Its Never to Late to Be the Change
It really is about taking small steps everyday using the things you CAN do while leaving thoughts of what you can’t do behind.
How Our Dog Reflect Good Behavior Too
I work with dogs all the time that have fear of other dogs, certain places, or people. I get to watch how a personality can come out with just a little encouragement on how much is already right and creating more of those feelings by actions based on what you CAN do.
Do This For Your Dog Right Now!
It’s a concept for everyone. Write down three things you CAN do to feel better about yourself and be who you are today and do one of them. Do the same for your dog! Take a walk, chase a ball, go for a run, and spend some time playing. Concentrate on spending more of your moments doing things you CAN do.
Please take action today and write at least one thing you plan to do for your dog’s well being in the comments below. Love, love, love Retweets on Twitter and know I answer any e-mails I get personally about what you can do to help your dog today!
Jt Clough lives in Maui, Hawaii and practices health, happiness, natural remedies and training for dogs and their people. Her way of communication with both dogs and people is healing and her training is effective physically and emotionally. Her work at ReVIBE | Dogs + Joy + Vibrance is for people looking to live healthier and happier lives through their dogs and her passion for it has helped so many to find more peace and joy in every day life with dogs. She is a dog whisperer for our best friends, specializing in private training and dog retreats. Her latest publications are Pumpkin Dog Food + Treats Recipes and 5K Training Guide | Running with Dogs.
Jt Clough lives in Maui, Hawaii and practices health, happiness, natural remedies and training for dogs and their people. Her uncanny way of communication with both dogs and people is healing and her training is effective physically and emotionally. Her work at Maui Dog Remedies is for people looking to live healthier and happier lives through their dogs and her passion for it has helped so many to find and do that thing they’ve been talking about or wishing to happen for so long. She is a dog whisperer for our best friendsand studies natural dog remedies, nutrition and communication. Her latest publications are Pumpkin Dog Food + Treats Recipes and 5K Training Guide | Running with Dogs.
