Deliveries of oddness

One Halloween stands out in my memory... I had ordered a water bed (the kind that sloshes and has waves) hoping to help my back and hips (it did!). They set up to deliver it on Halloween. They ended up arriving at 9:00 PM! I had moved everything out of my bedroom and was moving things back in when the truck and three young men arrived. I made room again and sat in the dining room... they brought in all kinds of boards and whispered to each other, thoroughly unnerving me! Finally the oldest fellow told me they would have to return in the morning - they had to cut the lumber to fit! Oh, no, I told them - we would cut it in my garage, I had saws and saw horses...

I ended up measuring the boards and cutting them. After an hour and a half, the frame was set up and we brought the water hose through my back door and started filling the "mattress". Another 30 minutes later I was facing a frosty cold bag of water with a pitiful heater just barely starting to take the chill off. It took 2 days to get that water warmed!

So, the guys left by midnight. I slept that night and the next on a weird, short sofa I had in the living room. That night I got maybe 2 hours of sleep - I woke up at every sound outside, totally weirded out by the delivery and wonky set up of my bed. After the water got nice and warm and I got used to the motion every time I moved, that water bed became the best thing I've ever done for my aching body. Alas, it died many years later and I miss it!!

Peanuts

When we had the school and livery in Tucumcari, we would drive a big truck to Amarillo every two weeks to get bagged shavings for the box stalls. We would have the 200 bags loaded onto the truck, then we had to unload and stack them at home. It seemed like a lot of work and money for bedding. The father of a student who would come up from Portales told me all about the massive amounts of peanut hulls that were available free for the taking and that the horse people there used them successfully for bedding. He said that horses did not eat them. It seemed worth a try. So, before we were out of pine shavings (I do think ahead most of the time), Leon, Bill and I took the white truck with the box bed and huge garage type door... plus snow shovels, goggles and bandanas at my friend's suggestion.
In Portales, we found the processing company and backed up to a loading dock area where there were mountains of peanut hulls. We started shovelling them into the truck. We took turns being inside the box to push them to the front... the dust was unfathomable. My thought was that, after all this handling, by the time we put the hulls into the stalls, the dust would be minimal. Besides, I could dampen them down for the horses if need be.
We stopped at a cafe with a truck filled to its limits with the peanut hulls and us looking like we had been mining brown coal. We had white patches where the goggles had been, lips crusted shut with the dust mud of saliva, nostrils caked and clothes that made clouds when we moved. I was beginning to doubt the advantages of this idea... but we ate and felt stronger and drove home to Tucumcari.
The next day we mucked; pushed the saved shavings against the stall walls; filled the stalls with the peanut hulls and pulled the saved shavings over them to make the beds. The wheelbarrowing of hulls from the truck parked just inside the barn aisle raised another massive dust cloud. We sprayed everything lightly with the water hose and filled hay feeders. We brought the horses in from the field. Some just went to their hay. Others pawed the strange, fluffy beds and rolled before eating. A couple of ponies munched some bedding first, then went to their hay.
The next morning I just stood aghast in the aisle when I realized that all the horses had eaten every peanut hull!! I quickly dosed everyone with mineral oil and then fed wet, sloppy bran mashes and that was ALL they got to eat until noon when I fed a small bucket feed. They pooped 4 times as much manure during the night and that morning. We mucked for several hours. The peanut hulls cost us a lot of time and work, they made tons of manure we didn't need, could have coliced all our horses, left them with essentially no bedding in their stalls (we did bed lightly with shavings that night) and left us with a needed trip to Amarillo and the 3 of us with sinus irritation and coughs to deal with. Lesson learned.

Horse Stories

ONYX:
Onyx was the black and white pinto gelding from the 3 wild 3 year olds we took on at Fox Fire Stable. This was in the early '70's. There were no books or methods available (that I could find) about humane techniques to gentle the horse who had never seen a human being until the age of 2, 3 or 4. I was young but had a lot of experience riding and training horses and ponies who had seen people, so I figured the main task at hand was to get these youngsters accustomed to seeing, hearing, smelling and being touched by people. Then, I could use my skills like usual. (It did work, by the way - but it is much like the instructions for replacing a kitchen faucet, they say, "first - remove old faucet...") The hard work was the first part!
Onyx was lovely. He moved with anti-gravity, had suspension of stride and his own version of airs-above-the-ground. His sensitivity made him reactive to all the normal goings on in a stable yard and I was wondering if we should just turn him out on the forty acres, provide food and water and simply admire him. Leon claimed him and my brother and I supported him in his quest to tame the black and white colt.
He was wearing a halter, was gelded now, had a tolerance of us in his boxstall for mucking or feeding, could be loose in the barn aisle and could be "herded" to the large round pen to have a run.
We had built a stout round pen instinctively after the wild ones arrived. I found that corners in the stalls gave them places to get stuck and panic, so we decided to have a large space without corners. We could gently get hold of the short cotton fob we left on Onyx's halter, then attach a lead or longe line. In the round pen, I started him on the longe without a whip (I do call them wands because it is only a noun and whip can be a verb - that I do not do). I used my body position to explain to him how I wanted him to move. This was instinctive for both of us - I had been around horses all my life and he had, too. I would then leave him in the pen with water and some grass hay and each day I would toss something new in with him. At first it was a feedtub, then a tire, then a stuffed toy dog, then a bright red ball, then a small canvas tarp - and we left each object so they collected in there. A couple of times I fell over things while longeing him, but even that was good for him to experience.
One thing I never did with any horse was to act like a preditor; to sneak up to them or push them aggressively. The only times any of us had to be loud or make ourselves big and forboding were when a horse tested the boundaries by being aggressive with one of us.
Onyx needed slow, consistent, clear experiences with humans. He got plenty of exercise, but was not in race or endurance training, so he received no grain feed. Only grass hay, alfalfa hay, wheat bran mashes a few times a week with herbs and the trace nutrient supplement "Source" that had recently come out. I will be honest with everyone right now - his first and second hoof trimmings were done tranquilized. I fed it to him well before our farrier and friend (Mr. Jim Keith) arrived. I reasoned that, since it HAD to be done, why let it be scary for the colt?
Leon was grooming him finally with no over reactions to being touched. Leon apprenticed with Mr. Keith and eventually was trimming all the wild ones' hooves. They were starting to accept us within their own time frames and that was just fine with me! We were all learning so much.

SAM:
We had neighbors in Tucumcari who raised Appaloosas. Times were tough for them and they talked me into buying 3 horses, one gelding and 2 colts not yet castrated. Now these horses had grown up with people, so they had a different perspective than the 3 wild ones, but they had their own issues as well. They had not received the best of nutrition, but they had been handled a lot. I seemed to be doing things in 3's! Goldie was a lovely 4 year old gelding with only halter training (!) who took to the longe like a gentleman and I was riding him after 3 weeks. Punkin was only 8 months old, Sam was 2 years and cryptorchid (he only had one testicle descended), so I knew I was looking at a more complex surgery to geld him. Punkin was a solid palomino (who later got some mottling and spots) and Sam was huge, totally the look of an old Nez Perce Appy - mostly white/gray with lots of spots and mottling on the face, sclera showing on the eyes and very striped hooves. His tail and mane were sparse, his bone dense and hooves properly large.
Sam became my project because I just really liked his personality, strength and energy. He seemed so focused and kind. I had a veterinarian friend come out and we set up for the surgery in the aisle of the barn. Against my better judgement, the Vet immediately removed the testicle that had dropped (I made major notes on everything which side had been done - how would we know later if the retained one wasn't found?) It must have been my worrying because he could not find the other testicle. Sam had been under long enough, so we sutured him (actually, I did, my hands were so agile back then) and set up a clean stall while he came to.
I don't remember how long we waited, but I took Sam to the clinic of another friend who was a Veterinarian. We worked for an hour and he found the retained one, removed it and I had a gelding. We started Sam's schooling right away as he needed light, supervised exercise.
A few months later, he was wearing a jumping saddle and longeing well. We put the western saddle on him a couple of times (bigger and heavier, preparing for the feel of a rider, too). One afternoon he was in the cross ties groomed and ready; Leon put a different western saddle on him - this one had a rear cinch attached - so Leon just buckled it without thinking. My brother was standing in the aisle 2 stalls down from the cross ties in front of Sam. I had just stepped out of the tackroom with the longe cavesson. Sam took a deep breath. Then came the explosion! Poor Sam reacted as most horses would - he took off to escape the unfamiliar thing grabbing his midsection/flanks. The 6X6 wooden posts that were the cross ties broke right at the ground. Safety snaps failed, no one of us could have grabbed a quick release in the storm that was horse, legs, ropes and posts flying in all directions. Out the aisle door he went onto 40 acres! As he passed my brother, a kicking hindleg punched through the stall door not 12 inches from his waist.
We ran out to see the not tightened up saddle now slide around and rest underneath poor Sam's belly. Still galloping, now bucking, still dragging the wooden posts, one on each side that were crashing against his legs at each stride - Sam looked like a horse doomed for sure. Sweating, gasping with his head now wrenched to the left as he finally stopped, Sam seemed to be ready for help. I caught up with him half way to the back fence. I was sure I would see broken legs, blood, horror. But Sam was standing there. I talked him into calming and allowing me to get close. The first task was to release the damn saddle. The rear cinch had broken (thank goodness, it was probably why he stopped). I got to the main cinch of the upside down saddle and, it being loose, was able to release the buckle on the latigo. The saddle fell to the ground. Sam jumped to the side. Then he stretched up, leaned toward me and let me disconnect the ropes at his halter. There were no wounds. I could tell he was really bruised, but no broken bones... he didn't even limp as we walked him back to the barn! That was one tough horse! And, with no rear cinch, he was fine for the next saddling a week later after lots of cold water therapy. I had to work hard to keep his accident out of my mind when I mounted him for the first time! He was an angel. I had him going well and sold him as a green prospect for a combined training rider in Santa Fe! Sam was a really great horse, bet he made a super eventer!

Mare & Son & TULL:
So much happened during those years in Tucumcari. Before the 3 wild youngsters, I had gone to Albuquerque to look at a mare and gelding who happened to be dam and offspring (I quickly realized that the gelding, at age 8, had never been emotionally weaned!). They were so sweet and just as calm as could be when riding, so I bought the two of them, then started trying to load them into my horse van. The 11 year old mare, Ginger, a small, pretty brown QH type went right up the ramp; turned around and backed into her stall. I put her in the cross ties, fastened her chest bar and hung her hay net. Two hours later, I was still trying to load the gelding, "Gunner". Ginger did not care where he was, but he frantically wanted to be with her yet just could not force himself up that ramp. The sellers had left, but returned to let me know that Gunner had never been off the property or in a trailer... I was starting to think better, knowing this. Poor guy, it was so stressful for him. I decided to push the ramp and sides back in the van, back it up to a hill and get the ramp more level. When he thought that the truck was leaving with "Mom", his eyes got huge (thought he was going to cry!) and as soon as I had things set up again at the hill, he closed his eyes (I'm serious) and just leaped into the van, barely touching the ramp. It was a peaceful trip back home for me with the 2 new horses munching their hay quietly, the headlights of the truck cutting through the dark and the desert air flowing through the tilt cab's vent windows.
Gunner and Ginger turned out to be great school horses and in time, he was able to bond with the other geldings and become an independent, middle aged, bay fellow with the cutest little ears and funny narrow chest!
This experience helped me later when I was in Las Cruces and had taken the horse van to Roswell to buy a gelding for my school. The big, bay Quarter Horse gelding did not want to go up that ramp (and let me say right here that these were the only two horses out of over a hundred that did not like the van - most horses just loved it and walked in and out with confidence). But "Tull" (I named him Jethro Tull) needed to get in - two friends had gone with me, we had mountains to cross to get home and it was getting cold and dark! I had to back the van right up against a steep hill; no ramp or sides, the friends stayed inside the cab as I led Tull up onto the hill, got to the end of the lead with myself in the van and asked the 2 cowboys to be super assertive and just send him forward at me. They didn't want to - I encouraged them... when they got after him, 1,400 pounds of Tull leaped right into the van and stopped 6 inches in front of me. "Good man!" I told him; turned him around, backed him into his stall, etc. and we were on the road!
Tull was a funny horse. He wasn't working out for the school. He was too sensitive to leg aids and needed one, consistent rider. I had sold a "babysitter" horse to a family a couple of years earlier who now wanted something a bit zippier for the father/husband. I needed a horse like "Halftone", the one I had sold them; so we arranged a trade - IF they liked Tull. They came to Briarwood with Halftone in their trailer. The husband led Tull around, tacked him up and I talked to him about how to relate to this new mount. He got on, dug his heels in (my heart jumped into my throat) and Tull literally "blasted off" across the arena and down through the turn out. The guy stayed on, steered him back up to the stable yard, still at a gallop. They slid to a stop and, smiling, he said this was the best horse he had ever known. WHEW!

The Bodhi Tree Principles

Damaru, a drum with two heads, reminds us to choose our thoughts and our words wisely with kindness and commitment when we speak to our horses. For our horses to trust us, we must be trustworthy.

External Drala is all about recognizing the power and value of everything around us and to find calm, quiet time for "Earthing" - to connect to the presence of Nature and therefor, to the vibrations that our horses are tuned to.

Internal Drala is about recognizing the good in ourselves and cultivating it.

Secret Drala is about seeing ourselves as both a vessel and a conduit to blend the energies from the sky/stars and the vibration of the Earth while holding compassion for all living beings.

TThe Dralas are ENERGY WITHOUT AGGRESSION - Aggression desecrates everything it touches. Just as the Dralas shrink away from aggression, so will the horse try to escape it.

Some Herbs for Horses

§ Arnica (externally only!) for bruises, strains and sprains

§ Bladderwrack (sea vegetable) for arthritis baths, fomentations for joints

§ Borage for fomentations on the chest for congestion

§ Calendula blossom for all skin complaints

§ Chamomile to draw out objects, to calm and reduce fevers

§ Chaparral for arthritis, to kill fungus

§ Comfrey for all injuries, especially bruises, bone trauma, head trauma

§ Eucalyptus for lungs, to move lymph

§ Eyebright for eye problems, sinus trouble

§ Fenugreek to use in poultices or soaks to fight infection

§ Lavender blossoms to calm, relax muscles and is antiseptic

§ Myrrh gum fights infections, irruptions

§ Witchhazel is an astringent

§ Yarrow in soaks and fomentations breaks fevers and cleanses the blood

Healthy Pets

The Methods we use to support and balance the good health of our pets:

Clean, pure water is the most important nutrient an animal receives – in a safe container, available at all times.

Start with a truly healthy pet food made with human grade ingredients and of organic origin when possible. Look at labels – avoid products such as meat meals, meat by-products, chemical preservatives, all artificial colors, fiber products (the word product is used instead of describing the origin such as feathers or sawdust).

Offer only uncooked bones (soak in apple cider vinegar & rinse to kill bacteria) that are large and smooth. Cooked bones will splinter. Instead of bones, we feed raw carrots for chewing fun.

Provide daily exercise. Avoid chemical cleansers (especially on floor and carpets!) – instead, use vinegar, Dr. Bronners liquid soap, baking soda, salt water, etc. to clean surfaces. AVOID flea collars, spot on insecticides, tick dips and the like – use powdered rosemary/thyme/sage combination as a flea and tick repellent for dogs (sage and lavender powder for cats to avoid the phenol that is toxic to cats). Around the house, avoid pesticides! Use natural pyrethrin compounds for insect problems (still be cautious with its application), neem oil mixed with water as an ant/insect repellent (it is safe enough to brush your teeth with!), instead of moth balls use cedar pieces, rosemary and lavender to repel moths, scrub stains with lemon juice, remove blood with hydrogen peroxide, make safe and inexpensive air freshener with 40 drops of essential oil of lavender in 4 ounces of water to shake well and spray into the air (it will also calm everyone!).

Support a healthy immune system with supplementation of Colostrum, Co-enzymeQ 10 (ubiquinone, a Bcomplex that also supports heart health on a cellular level). Feed dogs a pinch of powdered Thyme daily to aid digestion and discourage worms (it contains Thymol which is anti-heartworm).

Never, ever feed animals artificial sweeteners – Aspartame will poison the muscles and harm the eyes; Sucralose damages the renal system; Xylatol is toxic to animals (but not to humans) – foods like yogurt (plain, real yogurt is super healthy) that have hidden chemicals are quite dangerous. Labels can be sneaky, read them carefully. Artificial colors are dangerous – they compromise the nervous system and brain function. Chemical preservatives have a cumulative effect and can be deadly (especially ethoxyquin).

We use Colloidal Silver as an antibiotic substitute orally and on wounds, etc. Then, if an infection strikes that needs an antibiotic, resistance is less likely.

We keep activated charcoal tablets handy for any digestive disturbances and possible poisoning (call the Veterinarian immediately if poisons are suspected – and she may tell you to dose charcoal).

We feed dogs Dolomite daily to support the bones and heart with calcium and magnesium in proper ratios. Brewer’s yeast provides B complex vitamins and, with garlic, repels fleas from the inside. Garlic should be fed in moderation and for 4 weeks on, 2 weeks off, etc. because it can be a liver stimulant/toxin in excess.

Anything in excess can be detrimental. Always use the herbalist’s wisdom ways by giving a new product in a small amount and watch for reactions. All animals are unique and can have individual sensitivities to foods, herbs, scents or chemicals.

Toxic foods to dogs are: Chocolate (can cause seizures and death), Onions (can cause liver damage), Grapes/raisins (can damage kidneys), Black licorice (causes blood sugar, pressure imbalances). Aspirin and all phenol containing products are toxic to cats. Acetaminophen is poisonous to all animals.

Use stainless steel containers for food and water – pottery must be lead free if used, plastics can have chemical structures and out gasses – soft, rubbery containers may have ethoxyquin in them to stabilize the rubber!

Some Herbs we use for pets as infusions (teas that are brewed) or decoctions (simmered):

Hawthorn berry for heart health – is an adaptogenic herb that balances heart functions

Red clover blossoms – are anti-cancer

Burdock root – is a liver cleanser and blood tonic (detoxes)

Dandelion leaf and root – support liver function

Fennel seed – aids digestion and relieves gassiness

Mullein – (well strained through muslin) for coughs orally as tea; infused in warm oil with garlic as an ear oil

Asparagus – steamed and fed to support and cleanse the renal system

Goldenseal leaf (root is too strong) and rose petals – as an infusion strained through muslin as an eye wash for irritation/infection

THE VIEW FROM ABOVE

Large Animal Perspectives

By Katharine Lark Chrisley, NHC, RMT

Your horse is a prey animal. His eyes are set on the sides of his head to allow peripheral vision and depth perception – in front vision. This is how his ancestors detected the movement of predators even while grazing with heads down at ground level. To focus his eyes, the horse raises his head for distance and lowers his head for near objects. This explains why a Jumper needs to look straight at an obstacle with both eyes (depth perception) and without the head held high (looking past the jump). Because it takes time to focus (and that could turn him into a meal), the horse reacts to movement and checks out what was moving from a “safe” distance.

This pattern applies to most large prey animals – cattle, llamas, goats, sheep, etc. They may be totally safe in your barn, field or paddock, but their genetically coded responses can override their own life experiences. There is a common goal to NOT become a meal, even if it is totally not a possibility in this lifetime for that horse. Nature holds a power over all animals.

Your horse is a total herbivore. He should not be fed products that contain ingredients from animal sources. I am a vegetarian. I have total understanding of how ingestion of an unfamiliar animal flesh product can upset the digestive tract from one end to the other. Because I am a mammal and so is your horse, we can ingest things like yogurt without ill effect (of course, yogurt is very nourishing and health enhancing!) as long as it is free of things like artificial sweeteners, colors and the like.

Your horse cannot vomit, so everything he eats has to make it through a long and winding series of tubes that comprise the digestive tract. It really pays to be careful with everything that is fed to your horse.

The horse’s perspective is quite different than ours. We have eyes set at the front of our heads like predators and we do tend to move like predators. It can be unnerving to horses. To help him understand your intentions, move with steady, relaxed grace around your horse. Do not come up on him suddenly, unannounced (especially from behind!). Do not move crouched, slowly, stiffly as if you are “sneaking” up on him! Approach him as you do an old friend and talk to him.

The safest place for you to be positioned around a horse is at his shoulder (for your safety and his). He can see you (he has a blind spot directly in front of and below his nose and right behind his bottom) and he cannot strike, bite or kick you. Now, horses do not want to strike, bite or kick us unless they feel defensive and vulnerable (like when surprised from behind – for all they know, a tiger is about to leap onto them).

A horse can feel defensive because of past experiences (they have amazing memories) and you might trigger a response without realizing it. If you are having problems with your horse, try to figure out his perspective: does he feel confident that you are a kind and consistent leader? Horses look for a herd leader (or try to become one). Provide that leadership for him by CLEAR, CONSISTENT schooling. Make it easy for him to do the “right” things and difficult for him to do the “wrong” things. And be sure to consistently consider the same things “right” or “wrong”. You can drive a horse insane by rewarding him for doing something one day and punishing him for it the next.

You can develop your schooling program for your horse with a reward based system or a punishment based system. Either one will work. If you base your system on punishing each infraction, your horse will work to avoid punishment. He will only participate with you to keep from being corrected. If you use the reward based system, encouraging and praising and marking every “good” behavior, your horse will strive to find MORE good things to do for you and a RELATIONSHIP will form! It’s your choice.

Horses are mirrors for us. They truly do reflect our attitudes and emotions back to us. This is why they are such great teachers of patience, courage, compassion and self discipline. Horses excel in psychotherapy programs because of their pure, honest reactions to us. We cannot lie to horse, he will see right through us. A horse perceives much more than just the surface.

And horses are at our mercy. In the wild, without fences, a horse can find food and water. In the back paddock, he is totally dependent upon a human being for every life sustaining need. If you have the honor and responsibility of caring for a horse, always consider his viewpoint. His life is in your hands.

Your horse only knows what he is allowed or not allowed to do. He has no perception of Right or Wrong. If he comes from a life with other humans, he will have the imprint of their values in his data base. If you need to change him, do it GRADUALLY. You have to do things the way he knows at first, and then slowly teach him YOUR ways. I met a lady who came to this stable where I was training a stallion. She was to turn out and bring in the mares and foals. The horses were used to having their gates opened and they just ran out to the pasture! (This was not my barn, just a client’s) The lady, on her first day, decided she would catch each mare and lead her out. She nearly got killed … NOT because these were bad mares! It was because she tried to change their routine dramatically without any prior conditioning or interaction with the horses.

Read The Natural Horse Care Guide for more insight.

Be smart with horses. Think ahead. Be kind.

THE VIEW FROM BELOW

Small Animal Perspectives

Your dogs and cats (and ferrets and iguanas and hamsters, etc.!) have a totally different view of the world around them than you and I do. We will concentrate on dogs here with most of our information also being applicable to cats.

Your dog is looking up most of the time when relating to you and other people. With his/her eyes set in the front of the face in predator position, it makes it possible to do this comfortably. A prey animal (like a horse or llama) would have to tilt its head to focus both eyes on us if looking up all the time (their eyes are set on the sides of their heads).

The dog is close to the Earth outdoors and uses information that comes to his nose (scent lingers near the ground and drops with cool air) to learn about a new place, to know who has been there and to make decisions moment by moment. If your dog has long floppy ears and big folds of skin around his face, he will gather scent more effectively than a smooth, short eared dog.

Indoors, he gets the same connection to smells from your floor/carpet. If you use strongly scented cleaning products, his senses can be overwhelmed. If he is the reason you use strongly scented cleaning products, try washing floors with vinegar instead; dusting carpets with baking soda before vacuuming; dusting his body with powdered lavender blossoms, parsley leaf powder or activated charcoal then brush him.

Your dog has acute hearing. He can detect a siren on the highway miles in the distance. He can hear a gopher deep underground (again, the long, floppy ears can channel sound, too) or the rustle of a bug in the closet. He may or may not appreciate Opera or Reggae or Rap.

You need to become aware of how your lifestyle can impact your pets’ lives. They certainly learn to adapt to us, but that can sometimes mean that they acquire strange (to us) behaviors as coping skills.

If your dog runs to the closet at 3:00 AM and starts digging in the corner (don’t yell “bad dog!” – I always say, “Good dog doing a bad thing”, really), try to understand why this is happening and give him something else to do.

Most predators re-act to stimulus. Their instincts are intact, even if the most hunting action they get is trying to locate the piece of popcorn that shot under the refrigerator last week. So the best trained dog and the sweetest cat in the world will both re-act without thinking when a bird flops down from the rafters to grab a grasshopper.

As you become aware of the instincts and qualities that your dog shares with his species, you can prepare his surroundings to enhance the things you want and to discourage the things you don’t want from him. Socializing him to people and other animals is of supreme importance because those very instincts that ensured his species’ survival in the past are the deep seated stimulus that could spark an attack under certain circumstances. Your dog will feel protective, even jealous of you to one degree or another. If you are unsure how to help him learn the important things, find a KIND, WISE, NON-AGGRESSIVE trainer to help you.

In the Natural Dog Care Guide you will find a list of things your dog needs to live a healthy life. An important ingredient is a “place of his own”. This just means that he needs a “den”, a bed in a corner of a room, a dog house, a whole room or a shed where he can be alone (or with his pack if he has other dog companions). To be blunt, he needs to be able to get away from people sometimes (know the feeling? I feel that way sometimes).

Because he is looking up at us most of the time, he will want to get on sofas and beds and chairs to be closer to our perspective. This may or may not agree with your desires, but if it is not acceptable, at least try to understand why he does it.

I have a friend whose dog was raised at a boarding and grooming facility where he was taught to jump up on the grooming table. He doesn’t understand the difference between a grooming table and my friend’s dining room table. She is patiently explaining to the good dog that this is a bad thing.

It goes without saying that a compassionate provider does not chain a dog to a tiny dog house out in the elements with not enough food and filthy water; with no companionship, no grooming and no love. This is not a life; this is Hell for a dog. If this is the only option, do not have a dog.

Your dog only knows what he is allowed to do. He does not innately know what is “right” or “wrong”. You have to teach him, because all people have their own sets of “rights” and “wrongs” for their animals.

Consider his viewpoint. Consider, ahead of time, what you want him to do and not to do and be CLEAR and CONSISTENT and especially COMPASSIONATE.

Consider his perspective. Try to not offend his highly developed senses and give him lots of attention (focused just on him) at least once a day.

Be Kind.

Need information on other animal species? “The Well-Being of Pets and Companions” is a book full of health care and communication techniques for most animal species. Go to Rose Dog Books and click on non-fiction, science and medicine, The Well-Being of Pets and Companions. For free articles on all kinds of animal subjects go to www.dharmahorse.org and click the articles page.