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Loss of Control

Old 08-15-2014, 03:29 PM
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I give her a full body massage just before I put her into the crate for bed. She really enjoys it
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Old 08-19-2014, 02:44 PM
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Originally Posted by freshstart57 View Post
SoberJennie, see if you can find the book called, 'Guardians of Being', by Tolle and McDonell. MocDonell is the illustrator who does the Mutts cartoons, and Tolle is Eckhart. It is all about how we can learn to be mindful and live in the moment along with our pets.
I read it today. It's great It's aptly written, I think. Captures perfectly the essence of "being" and how animals are so great at being.
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Old 08-19-2014, 02:47 PM
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The Serenity Prayer was said a few times this week... lol. The dog has kept me on my toes. It's a study in patience, planning ahead, and acceptance of reality. My new reality now involves a bundle of incredible energy that seems inexhaustible at times.

She is so happy and joyful, and it makes it worthwhile.
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Old 08-19-2014, 07:43 PM
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Hey Jennie. I'm late to the thread but thought I'd throw in a few things...which I'll try to keep brief.

I think for those of us who get pets, there's probably some a reason behind it we're not aware of. And, it's turned out for me, I've ended up with dogs that I absolutely needed at the time though they weren't always the dog I necessarily wanted. Needed in the sense of, I needed them to help me grow in certain areas that I was unaware of or unsure how to. Like a sponsor, I think we get the pet we need. Being a believer that God is everything, why couldn't God come to me through a dog? ......God can (I believe).

One thing that continually blows my mind is that at any given period of time my dog's exhibited patterns of behavior that drive me nuts - but they're patterns I TOO was acting out in other areas of my life. As a puppy, it was being extremely needy on one hand, and very destructive on the other. I got him when I was new to recovery, getting better, but still full of a LOT of "old behaviors" that were very destructive to ppl around me........and on the other hand I was VERY needy when it came to recovery. Even now that he's 7, the behaviors have changed and my frustrations have changed......but they still tend to mirror where I'M at in my life. I usually don't think so at the time.....but it's been pretty consistently on point when I look back with the clarity of hindsight.

Practice your program and the principles with your dog. Sometimes it's a great test-bed before you put something to use with real live ppl. For anyone mature enough to handle a pet......I think they're great---- but I ESPECIALLY think they're great for ppl in recovery. I've learned sooooooo much from my dog that it's crazy. If only I could put it into practice as well as my Zen Master - Ramsay.
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Old 08-19-2014, 08:57 PM
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Being a believer that God is everything, why couldn't God come to me through a dog?
Well we all know what dog is spelled backwards.

Glad to hear things are going well with the puppy Jennie!
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Old 08-19-2014, 09:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Grungehead View Post

Well we all know what dog is spelled backwards.

Glad to hear things are going well with the puppy Jennie!
God seems to have quite a sense of humor... gnawing on my bookshelves and coffee table, and occasionally peeing on my floor!
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Old 09-02-2014, 11:34 AM
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Update:

Lucy is doing better with some training. I'm not feeling quite so frazzled and out of control! I've been listening to Cesar Millan audio books & cd's for a couple of weeks now, and doing some of the suggestions. It's a lot of info, so I'm trying not to get overwhelmed. I've signed up for his newsletter online too.

We decided to go ahead and get Lucy a sister! We adopted an 8 year old Beagle named Katie Her owners are having to relocate and can't take her with them, unfortunately. She is a tricolor instead of a black and tan, like Lucy. She has a lot more white on her, and so it balances out Lucy's colors. They look cute together. They aren't best friends yet though. In fact, Lucy is dominating her. And I figured that would happen. So we are feeding them apart until we can get Lucy better trained. She is much more mellow than Lucy, and mature, so I can actually leave her alone in the house on the couch just fine. She knows her name, and comes when called, is house broken, and seems to be a sweet mannered, very intelligent dog.

I've been working with Lucy, using treats, on sit, stay, and come. She does REALLY well when there are treats involved. Not so well outside yet. BUT... since the arrival of Katie, I've noticed Lucy is watching my face more, listening more, and is actually better behaved! Since I read up on Beagles and found they are definitely "pack" dogs, the advice is to pair a Beagle with another dog and it behaves better... this seems to be true!! Aside from the feeding issue (growling, lunging, baring of teeth), they do pretty well together, and walk great together! I have just ordered a leash coupler to pair them so the leashes don't tangle so much and I'll walk them one-handed. I have watched Lucy the past couple of nights as she tries to get Katie away from the food bowl... I have corrected her as Cesar suggests... she is very stubborn. We had to tear her away from Katie at one point. My husband yelled sooooooo loudly that Lucy was scrambling low to the ground to get away. I told him not to yell anymore, that I'd use Cesar's techniques. I've gotten her away from chewing household things by making the "tssssssttt" sound along with a poke in the side with my finger (not too hard). I repeat this over and over and now is seems to be working some.

I was fairly amazed at Lucy's ability to quickly learn sit, stay, and come by using the treats. She has apparently been holding out on me... Lol!
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Old 09-02-2014, 12:57 PM
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Calm assertive energy.

BTW because of this thread I started watching past seasons of "Dog Whisperer" so thanks for that. I love Daddy.
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Old 09-02-2014, 01:05 PM
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I am amazed (and admittedly, discouraged!) watching the interactions he has with his dogs! Looks so natural, and I realize he did it with the calm, assertive demeanor coupled with lots of patience and repetition... but dang!!! Those dogs are so well behaved it's hard to believe!
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Old 09-02-2014, 01:07 PM
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I convinced my husband to stop baby talking them in a high voice... lol. He is watching videos of Cesar now, and he sees that we were babying the puppy.

It was funny... we went to the dog park this weekend... there was a bulldog there who was wearing a pin that said "Birthday Boy" and all his dog friends were there for his birthday party!! Lmao! This looked so silly to me after watching Cesar's videos. How we humanize the dogs. I know it's for the humans and all, and as long as we honor the dog's natures, I guess a birthday party is ok, but it looked so ridiculous to me
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