Listener
November 4, 2009
News from Tom McMahon of AllVoices.com –
PETTING A DOG is soothing for both giver and receiver. It can lower your heart rate, calm you down, improve your mood and reduce stress. Researchers call it the “pet effect.” It’s no wonder that dogs “volunteer” in assisted living and nursing homes, children’s hospitals, libraries and schools.
The latest is the dog listener. “The philosophy is simple,” says Rachel Rodriguez in a recent CNN article. “Children who are just learning to read often feel judged or intimidated by classmates and adults. But reading to a dog isn’t so scary. It won’t judge, it won’t get impatient, it won’t laugh or correct if the child makes a mistake. In a nutshell, dogs are simply excellent listeners. And for shy kids or slow readers, that can make all the difference.” The dogs also can provide confidence.
Although some dogs are trained as a registered therapy dog, your own dog could become your child’s listener. Help them find a comfortable spot together. Let your child know that some dogs can still hear you when their eyes are closed. Happy reading with Fido! – Tom McMahon
Sleepy
October 21, 2009
Billy has trouble staying awake during a story. So relaxing for little ones …..
Weekend
October 18, 2009
“He had let out the dogs and they were jumping around him frantic with joy, as if they were afraid, every night, there would never be another letting out or another morning.”
- Mary O’Hara
Weekend
October 10, 2009
Ah, so comfy. A quiet rest while at camp. Now, I know gun dogs are extremely adaptable, and flexible too. But how did this guy manage to get himself into a folding camp chair without knocking the whole thing over? I find getting into these things tricky and these chairs are designed for people! Plus, he’s on a leash! This is obviously a well-deserved rest for a very wise dog!
Gift
October 9, 2009
What gift would your dog love? You and your complete attention. You reading them a story written just for them with their name and favorite words. You with them, reading and be-ing.
Just in time for the gift-giving season – a discount on a soulful Christmas gift for your dog (and you) Beef Casserole for the Dog’s Soul.
I don’t know how long this madness will last but I’ve just been to Blurb.com and reduced the cost of Beef Casserole for the Dog’s Soul, a treasury of barkalicious stories to read to your dog from $15.90 to $12.80 plus $6.99 postage for 1 to 5 books. (So the bulk postage charge allows you to get copies for your dog’s buddies even more cheaply!)
I am inspired by the notion that if you want an idea to really take-off – and in this case the idea is for people to read to dogs, especially stories written especially for dogs – then you have to make it real easy for people to be involved in the idea.
I wish I could give Beef Casserole for the Dog’s Soul away for FREE but for now I’m dropping the price to almost cost as a Christmas gift for you and the dog in your life. A great excuse to start reading to you dog during the holidays! Buy this year’s most unique and soulful dog gift while this limited time offer lasts.
Weekend
October 3, 2009
Wow! Is it just me or does woman posing with her handsome Borzoi look like a Thoroughly Modern Millie? Well, wait for it – this picture of human and canine elegance and poise was taken in 1929!
Do you think it’s accidental that the woman’s tensely-drawn bow reflects the coiled spring of energy that is a Borzoi; ready to fly at incredible speed like an arrow? This is a gorgeous visual representation of dog-person simpatico.
(P.S. Remember that snowy scene in the movie Orlando when he/she is out on the ice with a magnificent troop of Borzois?)
Photographer: G.Riebecke
Preview
September 29, 2009
When I’m buying a book I like to flick through the pages. I have no idea why. I just do. So I’m delighted to announce you can now flick through all the pages of Beef Casserole for the Dog’s Soul online.
Thank you to the wonderful people who bought Beef Casserole for the Dog’s Soul on the strength of the first story, Puppy Dog, (which until now was the only part of the book you could see). And thanks for the lovely reviews and gorgeous feedback on how much your dogs love hearing the stories.
I’m so pleased that everyone can see all 19 stories to read to your dog – the entire 182 pages.
I’ve chosen to make our book available only through Blurb.com because it is an independent, eclectic online bookstore and we like that sort of thing round here. Now that the folks there have launched for a full book preview feature it affirms Blurb as a great choice for us, and you.
Check out the new full book preview feature and flick through Beef Casserole for the Dog’s Soul now.
Advocate
September 25, 2009
Hi-paw! The movement of people reading to their dogs is gathering momentum. And now a Celebrity Dog Trainer and Behaviouralist has been talking about some of the benefits of reading to your dog.
Carolyn Menteith (pictured above with her Digby) explains why she thinks reading to dogs in animals shelters is “a really brilliant idea”.
When local media asked for her opinion about reading to dogs in shelters she said, “A lot of volunteers can be quite full-on when they go in to kennels. They think they should be stroking and hugging the dogs and making a big fuss of them, but for a lot of dogs in rescue, that’s really quite scary.
“Suddenly, there will be this person they have never seen before trying to touch and hug them, so just having someone come in to the kennel to sit and read is a really good idea. It gets them used to people coming in and out.”
(I love the point Carolyn makes about tone of voice while reading. In Beef Casserole for the Dog’s Soul I’ve made it easier to read with emphasis in particular places to keep your dog’s interest by italicising and making some words and phrases LARGER and occasionally bold. And lots of space between the lines so you can spend more time looking at your dog than at the story.)
Dog magazine features writer and TV and radio dog trainer personality Carolyn continues, “The only thing I would say is that dogs respond to your tone of voice far more than what you say, so I think the choice of book could be quite significant”
She completely gets just how fun reading to your dog can be, “People will probably want to steer away from scary, racy or tense books for something a bit more happy. I would say Mills and Boon would be good but The Bourne Supremacy would be bad! People should stay away from books that are really exciting and stick to something a bit more gentle.
I have never heard of this kind of reading to rescue dogs scheme before and I think it’s fantastic.”
Puppy
September 23, 2009
A friend of mine was telling me she met a little puppy the other day. I asked her did it have puppy smell? Yes! This was followed by giggly coo-ing noises as we both remembered our dogs, both now seniors, when they were puppies.
Here’s a little of my Puppy Zen, passed to me years ago by wise dog guru, Vanda:
Whatever you put in for the first three years’ of your dog’s life is what you will get back for the rest of the dog’s life.
The power of this statement for me was that it instilled a high level of patience over puppy antics. (Yeah, that’s a euphemism for chewed furniture, stains on the carpet, a room smelling of dog pee, emergency calls to the vet, humiliation at dog obedience training, you get the idea ….) Why? As Dr. Phil would say there is a pay-off for you for all your good work. In this case the pay-off is huge: a good dog citizen and companion for the long term. Oh, and unconditional love.
This idea of getting back what you put in didn’t just help me through the puppy years, it had me reveling in them. Em, well, the second time at least! It’s the idea that your dog will only be a puppy for a short time so make the most of it and enjoy it.
Use this precious time to build a strong foundation for a fulfilling relationship between you and your dog.
Ideally, when you realize one day that your puppy is now a dog, the puppy smell has wafted away in the night, you can look back on the puppy years and pat yourself, as well as your good dog, on the back.
Telepathy
September 17, 2009
Dog trainers emphasise how important our attitude is when ‘training’ our puppies. Being confident, assertive and calm, visualizing a positive response from the dog. Yes. Dogs pick up on that, of course.
And if dogs are able to ‘receive’ these energetic signals, natural law dictates that they are also able to ‘send’. Animal communicators are skilled in tuning in to the frequency of signals dogs send out, sometimes in spectacular and surprising ways.
I find myself ‘tuning in’ to dogs much more mindfully nowadays. Of course, there are times we do this more intensely – when our dog is unwell, for example. I think as loving dog people we do this most of the time without even realising we’re doing it.
Right now at our house we are experiencing serious psychic phenomena twice a day! Maybe you’ve experienced the same thing. The exact same thing.
Here’s how it goes. I am doing something, I’m quite involved with it; folding towels, cutting up vegetables, writing an email. Suddenly, completely out of nowhere, I have the strong, alien idea of “lollipop”. “Bubba wants a lollipop”.
I look round and there is Bubba Dog staring at me. Then he tilts his head as in “Yes? that OK? Lollipop?” and begins heading for the kichen.
It’s freaking me out!
These doggy treat ‘lollipops’ were a gift from a cousin. There is a gigantic bag of them in the kitchen. Bubba has decided that he wants one twice a day – once in the morning and then after dinner. He lets me know when by politely asking using telepathy rather than paw at me or whine quietly. I oblige.
What else am I doing that Bubba has telepathically programmed me to do? Buy mince? Cook it with olive oil? Get canon bones – today?
I think children are particularly excellent at ‘hearing’ dogs and having a sense of what they want and getting it for them or giving it to them. In the photo above, who is to say what telepathic communication is going on there between the toddler and dog? Many people would apply a very simple rationale to this scenario like the child just enjoys seeing the dog drinking and so turns the water on. And, yeah, I am sure that is true. But what about what’s underneath the obvious? We don’t really know what’s going on energetically between this dog and child. I’d like to think they are in pure communion with each other.
Have you experienced telepathic connection with your dog? Leave a comment.
