The beauty of starting again!

Try to make your dog smile like this every day. It’s good for both of you!

Welcome! Here is what you can expect to find here!

This is not the first Shiny Healthy Dogs. I first started the SHD blog in 2015, a way to play with my pack of crazy dogs and put a little information out into the world. I was a former vet tech who owned Pawsibilities, my home grooming shop of almost twenty years, and had a pretty varied education as far as pet care, so I covered grooming tips, training tips, some animal communication info, as well as posts showcasing products that we tried and really liked. It was casual and fun. It gave me a reason to take the dogs and my camera everywhere.

In 2018, my beautiful bull mastiff, Muscles, died of cancer. My heart was broken, and I couldn’t continue writing for SHD. It wasn’t the same. I needed to go inward and grieve with my family and the rest of our pack. I wasn’t sure I would ever write about dogs again. Then I closed my grooming shop after twenty years and the pandemic hit. Life kind of went crazy.

Fast forward to today and plenty has changed. The world is slowly opening up again. The kids are older, one graduated, one in high school, so my time is a bit freer. Even my day job is cooperating with a good schedule that gives me plenty of time to write. Bruce the bull mastiff puppy has charged into our midst and healed my broken heart. (Mr. Muscles would approve, I know.) All signs seem to point to go.

So, here we go again.

I plan on writing again about my crazy pack of mutts. And our adventures in grooming, training, animal communication, and I will be adding a new category: Nutrition. I really feel like feeding an all natural and raw food gave Muscles another two years of quality life, and I think it is important to share ways that everyone can add natural, real foods that can help keep your pups healthy.

I hope you will join us on our adventures. You can subscribe to the newsletter to keep in touch with us. I promise not to overwhelm you. But I have some things in mind that might be fun to try with us. I’ll post more about that later. In the mean time, it’s so good to be back. I’m looking forward to what comes next.

Cheers!

Terri and the SHD Pack

Crate Training for success

Bruce loves his crate- unless he thinks something exciting is happening in the kitchen…

This is a list of tips to get your dog crate trained. The most important thing to help you be successful in training your dog to use a crate is PLANNING and MANAGEMENT! Also, don’t expect things to go perfectly.

Make your dog’s crate comfortable for her. Put in a comfy bed or crate pad, a chew bone or toys. Some dogs feel more comfortable feeling enclosed in a safe den, so consider draping a sheet over the top and sides of the crate (leaving the front open.)

Start slow! Don’t just lock your dog in and walk away. At first leave the door open, let her explore. This is a good time to clicker train- click and treat any interaction she offers with the crate. Toss some high value treats inside and praise her for going in to get them. If she goes in by herself, click and treat. If she settles in to chew a bone or take a nap, praise her quietly and leave her to it, leaving the door open.

Give her something to do! A busy dog does not have time to fuss about being in a crate. Giving them a favorite chew bone is great, but especially in the beginning, giving your dog a very high value treat is a great idea. Kong toys or hollow bones stuffed with different mixtures and frozen them and raw marrow bones are great choices. Make sure you only give them to her when she is crated, and it won’t be long before she is racing to get inside when you pull one out.

Closing the door happens gradually. Once she is choosing to go into the crate, you can begin closing the door for a moment. When you open the door again, don’t make a big deal of it- just open the door and walk away, praising her quietly if you like. You don’t want to create any hype around letting her out, otherwise you could create a dog

who gets too excited at the prospect- barking, whining or scratching when it is time to come out. Over time extend the length of time the door is shut.

Pick the right moment to open the door! If your dog begins to whine or fuss when the door closes, wait for five seconds of silence before opening the door. Don’t hover, staring at your dog through the door- this can amp up her anxiety. Stand up, turn around, and walk away. I know it can be frustrating, but honestly- you don’t want your dog thinking that the whining/fussing behavior got you to open that door! If you only ever open the door when they are quiet (and preferably lying down/sitting patiently), then guess what? Your dog will begin offering that behavior to get what she wants! If your dog shows an unreasonable amount of stress/fussing when you close the door, spend time with short sessions where you are rewarding them for being in the crate while you shut the door, click and treat, open the door. Your dog will let you know what she’s comfortable with, and when she is ready, you can move on again.

Feeding time in the crate. Feeding your dog in her crate is a great way to create a positive vibe around being crated. My dogs book it for their crates the first moment they hear me getting out the dinner dishes! Hopefully you have specified meal times for your dog instead of leaving the bowl down all day. (This is n, ot a good idea, but that is another blog post!) If not, this is a good reason to change to specified meal times!

Don’t leave them all day! Crating your dog is great for keeping them safe when you are not able to be there, but remember, your dog is a living creature who needs activity and the opportunity to go out to potty! Once your dog is a pro at being crated, remember that an adult dog should not be crated for more than four hours at a time without a play/potty break. Puppies need to get out more often- if you have a puppy, using a crate to house train is a wonderful idea, even if you don’t plan on crating them once they are grown.

Is Spontaneous animal communication possible?

Bean the Iggy, one of my heart dogs

And how to try for yourself

One question I am asked a lot as an animal communicator is, how does communication happen? Is it something you need to prepare for? Or is it something that happens naturally?

The answer is: Both!

I do certain things to prepare for a client session or an intentional conversation with one of my own animals and make the connection easier. I clear my energy with smudging or visualizing white light, meditate and invite my angels and guides to help me hear clearly, and I try to connect with the animal in a very respectful and intentional way.

But, talking to animals is a natural occurrence, too, and can happen spontaneously with no preparation at all, just like talking with a friend.

You communicate with your own animals every day, even if you are unaware. Think of the look your dog gives you while you are sitting on the couch, and suddenly you ‘just know’ she wants to go for a walk, or when your cat stares at you with his tail twitching and you realize without looking that the food dish is dangerously empty. These little things that you ‘just know’ are communications on a very basic level, and it goes both ways. Have you ever set up a vet appointment for your cat only to have her disappear a half hour before you even need to leave and stay gone until you call the vet to cancel? As a former vet tech, I can tell that this happens more often than you think. But, how did the cat know? It’s almost like he read your mind.

If you start to pay attention to these little communications they can blossom into something unexpected. The key is to be open to the possibility.

One of my most profound spontaneous communications came from Bean, my dearly departed Italian greyhound. He gave me some very sage advice towards the end of his life that floored me during a simple walk to get the mail.

A message of mindfulness

As we walked down the long dirt driveway that day, I was remembering Bean as a younger dog. He used to dash back and forth, looking and sniffing at everything. I would have to call him back repeatedly to check in so he didn’t roam too far ahead.

These days, Bean was frail, and rather blind and deaf. I had to slow my steps so he could keep up, and instead of looking around, he was focused mainly on the ground ahead of him while he plodded along. I felt sad for him, that he had lost his ability to take in the wide world around him. Bean heard my thoughts, and answered me with what seemed like a gentle download of information.

“When we come into the world, everything is new, everything is exciting. Our focus is extended outwards. We are learning about our world every day, growing and expanding to take everything in. New sights! New sounds! New smells! New people! It can be overwhelming at times. I was scared to look, but you helped me be brave and rejoiced in my successes in learning about the world around me. (Bean was a very scared dog when we met, and much of my time with him in the beginning centered around teaching him that he didn’t have to fear everything around him.)

But as time passes, we grow, and we age. There comes a time when the expansion of spirit slows, and then begins to contract. I am at a point now where I am content to notice the small things around me. The road right here in front of me. A leaf full of good smells, the warmth of a friend. There isn’t a reason to be sad- I haven’t lost anything. It’s just a different kind of focus. Soon my spirit will be free and I will start to expand again.”

I had never looked at life this way, it made so much sense. Gratitude for the wisdom of my friend filled my heart.

How to start communicating with your pet

Have you ever had a spontaneous communication with your animals, or even with wildlife around you? Have you ever tried? It’s easier than you might think. As easy as clearing your mind and being present with your animal friend. I invite you to try it. Just casually speakto your pet as you move through your day together, either out loud or in your mind. Be open to the small thoughts that float into your mind as answers, usually the very first one, and especially the ones that surprise you. You might find you have a closer connection than you thought with the animals around you.

And if you try it and have great results, or if you have any questions, I’d love to hear from you! Let me know in the comments below, or email me at terri@shinyhealthydogs.com. Cheers!

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