Creating Joy with Dog Training

As a single mom, it is easy for me rush and not be present.  One of my patterns is to rush out the door with my daughter to get Seiki out for an off leash walk.  I notice I feel pressure as the time passes, and I want to be within integrity of my dog’s exercise and obedience needs.  I have a story that Seiki should perform perfect obedience around my daughter.  I want my daughter of 1.5 years old to feel safe.  This subconscious story was not serving myself or my family.  This past weekend I had a profound shift in our experience together.

When we arrive at our destination, stress hit me hard.  I found myself yelling and not even enjoying my time with Seiki.  Exercising my dog had become another item on the to do list.   As Seiki was running around barking, my daughter, Iris began to laugh hysterically.  She was in joyful presence.  In that moment, I realized that I was not practicing what I teach to my salt lake city dog training clients.

Johanna Teresi is enjoying dog training (salt lake city, UT) with her dog Seiki.

Earlier that day I taught a sophomore obedience dog training Salt Lake City course.  I discussed the frustration that most of feel when we walk our dogs and they are pulling on the leash.

Kids and Dogs

I know so many people who have children and dogs.  Sometimes it is a good match and sometimes it can be a mess 🙂 Here are few tips.

1.) Never leave child unsupervised with a dog.  A dog can at anytime bite a child and it doesn’t take too much for the bite to be dangerous with a little child.

2.)  Be ready to do much training with your dog.  A little jump with some full-grown dogs can knock down your child.

3.) Many children play rough with dogs as they want to pull the dogs hair, tail, ears and etc. This can irritate your dog and possibly cause the dog to bite them.  It is best to pair some treats with body handling to help acclimate your dog to this.

4.)  Children love to run and dogs love to chase running people.  Teach your dog to stay on his bed or to stay in these situations.  If your dog will not stay then separate him from the children when they are playing loudly and running.

5.) Children respond best when they are told what to with dogs rather than what not to do. Be positive with your child.  Having a reward-based system set up with your child can be highly beneficial.  You can create a chart with five empty spots for stars.  When your child responds well with the dog give your child a star then after your child gets five stars give him/her a big reward.

6.) Family meetings can be good and ideal.  The entire family needs to be on the same page.

7.)  “Leave it” can be an excellent command to train as your dog may want to grab food out of your child’s hands.

8.)  Keep a clean house.  It is easy for children to get messy.  Teach them to keep food in the cupboards and away from the counter. Also teach them to clean up their toys 🙂  Keeping food off the counter will prevent your dog from wanting to jump onto it.

9.) Expect at some point your dog may grab one of your child’s toy.  Do not yank the toy out of your dog’s mouth, instead show your dog a treat to encourage him to drop it.

10.) Teach your children not to grab toys out of your dog’s mouth and to stay away from your dog while eating.  This will prevent an angry biting dog.

11.) It is highly recommend to work with a trainer if any issues arise as kids and dogs can get sticky at times.  These are just a few tips and many more ideas can be implemented as well.

Happy Training and Much Love!
Johanna Teresi, Professional Trainer of Four Legged Scholars LLC

Setbacks

I know setbacks are something that happens to all of us so lets talk about it.  There are times when we train our dogs and then they have what we could call a “setback.”  What is this all about?

Remember our dogs are no different from us.  They will NEVER do anything perfectly all of the time.  They have good days and bad days just like us.  They have emotions that are affected by our emotions.  They have emotions that are affected by their routine or lack of routine.  Sometimes there are changes in the environment that are different so it appears the dog is having a setback and actually the dog just needs to generalize this behavior to the new circumstances (a new environment, new person, new distraction, etc.).

What is the best thing to do when your dog has a so called “setback”?  The best thing is to feel any emotions and notice the stories that arise.  Recommit to a new story if the story is preventing you from moving forward.  Presence your emotions and sometimes channeling them to an activity such as running, skiing, yoga, etc.  Taking a break is also helpful.  The biggest thing to remember is that no matter what thoughts you have and what feelings come back this is just a circumstance of the moment.  Things change.  Nothing stays the same.  The next day your dog could perform the behavior perfectly.  Sometimes reminding yourself of the good days can be helpful so that you don’t overreact and actually convince yourself to believe that your dog has unlearned everything.

Be in the moment.  Learn from the moment.  Look at what is being communicated to you and be with it 🙂

Remember to allow training to be fun.  It is not a race or competition.  It can take time for a dog to change an ingrained habit!

Much Love!

Johanna Teresi, Professional Trainer of Four Legged Scholars LLC

Stories Are They Really True?

Remember 100% of our reality is created through our thoughts (beliefs) and our emotions.  It is no different with your dog.  What stories are you still holding onto?  How are they effecting your lives beyond your dogs?

I talked to a client today and she stated that she wanted to work more with me because she felt it would change her relationship with her husband.  Now that is what I am talking about!  Some deep deep stuff!!  WOW!

When we choose to create our reality it shows up not only in our relationships with our dogs but also in our relationships in everyday life.

I see visions of my clients having trouble getting their dogs to listen to a command and believing that their dog is stubborn, not paying attention, won’t listen, etc.  These are all stories.  We can recommit to something different.  When we choose to do this our energy, thoughts, and actions are different.  Our dogs choose to feel and acknowledge this.  Are you listening to what your dog is telling you about your stories?

If not no worries there is always now. I hope you choose to open your eyes and see what your best friend is wanting you so dearly to understand.

Much Much Love!

Johanna Teresi with Four Legged Scholars LLC

Camping Tips with Your Dog (April 29th)

Yes it is snowing lately and yet it is that time of year to begin camping and to think about camping.  Last weekend, I went to Escalante and it was wonderful experience.  My boyfriend and I both brought our dogs and it was a great learning experience for me!

Here are some great tips for you:

It is more distracting so be prepared to bring extra and possibly more powerful treats.  Bringing a cooler to keep the treats fresh is great if possible.  Know that what your dog knows in his home environment will change in this new and fun environment.  If you like to hike you may see a drastic difference in leash walking.  Remember to re-train.

Take your dog on hikes and in nature when you are not camping to prep him and get him acclimated to new environments.

If your dog likes to bark often.   I would recommend primitive camping or at least camp during a time at a campground when no one is around or when the volume is low.  “Look at That!” is a great command to teach your dog before you are camping and use it while you are camping (When your dog barks call him to you. Then have him look at the stimulus that he wants to bark at. As soon as he alerts and is quiet say “Look At That” and C/T (click and treat). Do not C/T if your dog is barking this will reward the barking.  Eventually he will start to look at you rather than barking at the stimulus.)

If your dog barks in the car putting him in a crate and cover it with a blanket.  Click and treat when your dog is quiet.  Listening to relaxing music in the car if you wish.  Also giving your dog a kong full of almond butter and kibble can work for part of the driving trip!

Remember the unknown can happen so be ready for that!

Keep your dog on leash unless you are confident that your dog has an excellent recall in new and distracting territory. Remember to use extra special treats (cheese, turkey hot dogs, freeze dried salmon ) for “come” when calling your dog.

Sleeping with your dog in the tent of course can be wonderful and fun. Be ready to wake up early!

Best Camping Wishes this Spring and Summer!

Johanna Teresi, Professional Trainer and Owner of Four Legged Scholars LLC

The Emotional Roller Coaster (Oct 28th)

We have two choices with emotions in our lives.  Choice one is to feel our feelings.  Choice two is to repress our feelings.  Today I had an amazing session with Megan Sillito. The anger I felt today was so intense.  She allowed me to fully feel my emotions with happiness and peace.  It was an amazing reminder that I can choose to feel my emotions without a negative connotation behind them.

I notice I do this more and more.  The more I fully embrace how I feel the more open space is created.  The more authentic relationships I create with my clients and the more present I am in my relationships.

Getting out of my head and into my body can be conflicting at times.  Last week I created a conflict with a close friend of mine as my mind got wrapped around stories and what I wanted to say.  When I chose to really “feel  my feelings” the conflict resolved itself and my friend chose to feel as well.  It was amazing.  I felt more love for her than I ever have.  The connection was one of the soul and was about ultimate truth.

So today I have felt much anger and sadness.  I have chosen to play with it.  As a result, I was so present with my dog client this afternoon it was amazing.  I arrived at my clients house feeling angry.  I chose to breath.  Then when I entered into the house instead of ignoring the anger I chose to be crazy.  I told the dog I felt angry.  I said it multiple times until it past and sadness came. The anger was covering up the sadness.  So I cried and the dog came and laid with me.  It was beautiful.  I realized in that moment that I had chosen so many times to repress my emotions when working with this dog.  I would choose to put on a mask that I was feeling fine on days that I really wasn’t.

So today I chose differently.  The bond I created with the dog was so amazing.  When we left for our walk anger arose again so I chose to run and run.  It was so fun to feel my anger while running.  The dog ran with me and enjoyed it so much.  She was so happy.  I was laughing and felt so open.  I shifted to happiness and presence.  We worked on recalls and leash walking.  The session was amazing.  I also noticed the more I allowed myself to be who I was the more I was giving permission to this gorgeous dog to be who she is.

I noticed after I left I felt more sadness. I chose to go home and turn on some sad music and dance.  Seiki, my dog was so happy to dance with me.  We had fun with my sadness.  He loved it and I enjoyed it as well.

So the moral of the story is to feel your feelings.  It does great things to your body.  Most of all it allows you to create open space so that you can create wonderful space for your dog….amazing presence, a soul connection, easeful training, etc.  When you repress emotions training becomes so very very hard.  Create it be easeful.  Use any of the tools I have stated above and most of all have FUN doing it!

Happy Training!

Johanna Teresi, Professional Owner and Trainer of Four Legged Scholars LLC

Weekly Tip: Gratitude (Oct 14)

I have a dream.  My dream is a ranch that I own where disabled come to experience love through dance, hypnosis, life coaching, etc.  There are also rescue dogs on this ranch that are yearning for love as well.  The children coming to the ranch experience unconditional love through obedience training and bonding with the dogs.

My life coach, Megan Sillito with Lifeworks Strategies, lead me through an amazing experience last week.  I am in the process of manifesting this ranch.  What I have learned is gratitude for what is now.  As I carry the vibration of love and light that I feel when I am on the ranch right now then the ranch comes easefully.

I want to walk you through a process where you can do the same with your dogs.  It is very powerful in creating the behavior you want and desire.

1.) Think of what you want to create with your dog: walking on a loose leash, sit stay, calm behavior, quiet behavior, relaxed behavior, etc.  whatever it may be.

2.) Pick an object in your house that resembles this goal.  For me I used a mirror which resembled the ranch.

3.) Place the object on the floor.  Walk away from the object so that you are creating a path toward the object.

4.) Take one step forward focusing on your goal and check into your body.  Notice what you feel and what thoughts come up.  Remain at this step until you are feeling in the moment and present with this step.

5.) Repeat step 4 over and over again until you reach your goal.  Remember to fully settle into each step so that you are not rushing.  Checking in with your body to discover what you might be learning from your body.

6.) Once you reach your goal pick up the object.  Check in with your body and notice what you feel.  Take the feeling into your body fully.

7.) Go back to the beginning of the path and take this body feeling with you.

Remember whatever you are training your dog to do it is learning journey that you have the chose to love or not.  Loving is the fastest way to shift into open space and leaves room for the behavior you want to train to develop faster.

Also notice a feeling of longing, hope and desperation while you are training your dog training creates the process to be hard.  Carry the vibration in your body as if you have reached the dog training goal now:)  This shows much gratitude and appreciation for what you have now.  How fun!

I hope you find this exercise very helpful.  The more I shift into love the more I manifest and create.  I hope you find the same with your dog training.

Best Training Wishes!

Johanna Teresi, Professional Trainer and Owner of Four Legged Scholars LLC

Weekly Dog Training Tip: A Story of Love and Positive Reinforcement Dog Training (Aug 8th)

This week I felt like being more personable with my training tip.  When I was a little girl I began training my dog with a choke chain.  I yelled at my dog and used methods that were motivated through pain to get my dog to do what I wanted.  I was in Elementary School and Middle School.  My 4-H advisor encouraged me to be firm and not use many treats.

I remember feeling frustrated and I noticed that my dog, Heather, a Shetland Sheepdog, didn’t even want to “come” to me.  She was scared of being yelled at for having a slow recall. In her mind she was getting yelled at for “coming” period.  I had much fun with her and in obedience she did great and won ribbons.  Emotional wise we were not as connected as we could have been.

When she past away I felt an emptiness and felt I could have trained her in a more happy and loving way.  I was only in middle school.  She got hit by a car and the sadness that filled through my body was intense.  Subconsciously I felt so guilty for the inhumane methods I used in training her.  When I got my next dog I promised to learn more about training with love.

Commitment comes first and then the how shows up. My how showed up when I was at a ” show and go” (you practice for shows in a ring and have a judge).  My judge was an awesome man and he trained dolphins for Sea World.  He changed my life.  I was jerking my border collie, Shadow, on the leash every time she pulled.  I remember my face lightening up and I felt immense excitement.

I committed to learn about this other method, positive reinforcement. At a young age in early high school I began to study clicker training and training with love.  I read and read and attended seminars with many famous dog trainers including Jean Donaldson, Terry Ryan, etc.  The first positive reinforcement book I read was Don’t Shoot the Dog By Karen Pryor.

I remember struggling with clicker training and nothing working.  My dog’s attention was everywhere but on me…lol.  I read more and learn how to motivate my dog and give her what she wanted for what I wanted her do.  Our bond increased and she learned at great speeds.  She changed from freezing every time she went into crowds and biting people that came into her territory to loving people.  She even got to go to State Fair for obedience showing.

My present dog, Seiki, a dog with a heart so huge that resemembles my love for dogs and their owners learns with leaps and bounds with positive reinforcement.

What is the moral of this story?  Love is the answer to everything.

Can you train with shock collars, choke collars, prong collars, Tabasco sauce, yelling, hitting, etc.?  The answer is “yes” you can.  My response to this is why would you want to? What bond are you creating with your dog when you use these methods?  What emotions are giving you off toward your dog?  What type of trust bond our creating with your dog by using these methods? Looking from your own perspective would you rather be motivated through fear or love?  What are you doing to your dog’s health?

Still confused? Think of a fight.  Two people are fighting.  It does NOT take two to fight.  One person shifts the fight and decides to come from a place a of love.  They might say “I hear you are saying….  “I imagine you feel…  This is my story…and this is what I feel…  I want…. I imagine you want… Let’s co-create.  I wonder how we can meet both of our wants?”  This person who is shifting the fight is going deep.  He/She is looking at the soul.  What does his/her opponent feel?  Now we have a connection.  An understanding.

The other side of the story.  Two people are fighting. One person yells and the others yells back.   The fight continues.

Positive reinforcement with dogs is the same thing. Take the time to understand where your dog is coming from….listen.  You are coming from a place of wonder.  Now you can reward your dog for what you want him to do instead.  As a result, you have formed a huge trust bond.  You are connecting to your dog on a soul level.  You are understanding that his emotions effect his health and immune system.  You understand that your actions give off good energy and balance.  Your dog wants to listen to you because he trusts you.   He is having fun and so are you!

Why would you ever want to train any other way?  The connections we formulate through trust and love are the strongest connections we make in our life whether it be with our spouse, our  friends,  or our family.  Include your dog in this picture as well.  Positive reinforcement is the way to go!

Happy Training!

Johanna Teresi, Professional Owner and Trainer of Four Legged Scholars LLC

Your Dog is a Journey. You Might As Well Love It All!

As I remember life is journey and that everything that happens is suppose to happen.  I shift back and forth from many emotions as we all do….anger, sadness, fear, joy, sexual, and love.  As a person who has been through much…..depression, chronic illnesses, insomnia, excessive tiredness, I am learning that all of this has a purpose.  I remember going through these times and wondering “why me?,” being irritable and just hating it.

 

Shadow took me on a journey from aggression to friendliness to heaven and I loved it all! I wouldn't change any of it for the world.

I have a new light.  I developed a chronic condition of warts and just came down with another sinus infection (my doctor in the past has diagnosed me with chronic sinusitis and I have had sinus surgery).  I had done much to prevent another infection.  I became vegan realizing that dairy was a huge trigger for me.  I also made sure I got plenty of sleep, worked on positive thinking, and always getting plenty of sleep.  I made it through depression, insomnia, etc with flying colors as I learned that everything was in my control….or is it really?

Focusing on my with my efforts, I allowed myself to again develop anger and frustration about my health.  “Why again?  What was I doing wrong?.”   I talked to some people and a person who shed the most light was Annabeth Christie, my life coach with Lifeworks and one of my beautiful friends who is always very loving.  I remembered that everything is not always in our control. Carol Tuttle discusses that there is a higher power, God or a divine being that has our whole life path in his/her hands.  We don’t always know what will happen or why.  What we do know is that everything that happens is suppose to happen.

I went to an amazing doctor in Sugarhouse, Dr. Cameron.  He helped me realize more than I already knew that the multitude of antibiotics that I have been on had weakened my immune system.  With a weak immune system who wouldn’t come down with another sinus infection and even warts?   As I begin to remember to love what is I realize that at this time in my life something that appears to prevent me from accomplishing what I want is actually good.  Due to this condition my body is able to restore its immune system to ultimate health and balance.  As I do this more energy and vitality occurs. Remembering to love this time in my life and not resist it is the most precious gift I can give myself.

I realized I can fight or I can choose to love it.  I can allow my body to communicate what it wants to say to me and say “thank you body.”  Through this I am learning to be more friendly with my emotions.  To listen to my body when I feel a feeling and discover how I can just allow myself to feel the feeling in a healthy manner and shift to ultimate joy and happiness.  

As I go through this transition, I remember so many dog owners and people go through this same scenario over and over again.  We get a puppy and the puppy takes longer to be housebroken or cries throughout the night way longer than most other puppies do.  Our dog grows up and he begins to bite people, bark excessively, not come when called, attacks other dogs, etc.

The first thing, I see most clients do is resist.  They resist what is occurring right in front of them.  Sometimes they go through denial.  They wait to call a trainer until years after the behavior started.  As I was in denial about my immune system.  I had numerous blood work done and my white blood cell count was always low.  I heard the reports and subconsciously chose to just ignore this.  Then I realized the truth and I wanted to fix it. I wanted my immune system better now because it shouldn’t be down it should be up and healthy.  This is the same with my clients….they want to fix their dogs.  They want the problems to go away now.  An immediate fix.

The most important step is forgotten…to love what is occurring in this moment.  To realize that everything is perfect.  Sure, it is okay to take action to create a different result.  I can take Vit B supplements, colloidal silver, etc to create an awesome immune system.  My clients can participate in an amazing training program with Four Legged Scholars to create a dog that is more emotionally balanced and happy.  If the loving step is forgotten many emotions of frustration, anger, and resistance are constantly felt.  Instead, welcome these emotions.  Fully feel them and shift into love.  Welcome the present moment and the shifts that are occurring to create a different result.

Happiness is not on the other side.  The grass is green right now.  Look at what is right in front of you right now and love it.  It is much easier than saying when my dog knows this (is quiet at night, sits instead of jumps, is friendly with strangers, etc.) then I will be happy. Be happy right now. Embrace how your dog is right now and embrace the journey and the learning process that is created as a result of wanting to create a different behavior. Make a list of everything that you can appreciate from the current condition your dog is creating.

As I remember to love my body.  I love my warts.  I love my sinus infection.  I love the way my immune system is at this moment…weaker than the average person.  I am not resisting.  Then I shift into what I can do to create a different result and I enjoy the journey as I go to the doctor and learn what supplements and foods I can choose to consume to create a healthy and strong immune system now.

I am much happier than if I wake up in resistance to what is going on with my body.  You will be much happier if you will allow your dog to be what he is right now and enjoy the journey together as you change.  Love it ALL!!

Happy Training!

Johanna Teresi Owner and Professional Dog Trainer of Four Legged Scholars LLC

Dogs and Humans are Connected If We Allow It

Yesterday I had a session with my life coach, Annabeth with Lifeworks.  She talked about inner and outer looping.  Inner looping is when we pay attention to our body sensations and what our body is telling us.  Outer looping is when we pay attention to what other people are communicating to us through their body language.  A great communicator connects the loops and does both inner and outer looping at the same time.

 

Today, I realized, after a doing a session with my client and their dog, the importance for our dogs to inner and outer loop as well. I see many people who walk their dogs that are totally inner looping or outer looping to their outside environment.  Very rarely do I see the dogs outer looping by connecting to their owners.  It is important for  dogs to pay attention to their owners and wonder what their owner might be communicating to them.

Also aggressive dogs are excellent inner loopers.  They are paying attention to their body and their emotions.  They are not paying attention to what their owner and their environment is communicating to them.  This is especially noticeable when the owner and the environment is communicating safety and the dog is still reacting.  Outer looping is important for aggressive dogs to learn.

As I am learning to inner and outer loop at the same time.  I realize it takes practice.,  I am naturally good at inner looping.

Dogs also must be taught to outer loop with their owner.  When the dog is connected with his owner during a walk, he checks in with his owner by occasionally looking at his owner.  He switches back and forth between outer looping with his owner and the environment.  He also allows inner loops within himself.  If you teach your dog to do this he will then walk loosely on his leash and be responsive to commands.

Basically train your dog during leash walks.  Train him to walk on a nice loose leash and request him to perform commands.  This teaches him to outer loop with you.  Make sure he still has time to inner loop with himself and outer loop with his environment.  A dog that only outer loops only with his owner is out of balance as well.

It takes practice.  As your dog becomes more balanced you will feel it.  Just last night I did outer and inner looping at m y friend’s.  He said I was more balanced.  Balance feels loving and peaceful.  Create that with your dog and your relationships and watch it transform your life!

-Johanna Teresi Profession Dog Trainer and Owner of Four Legged Scholars LLC