Enlightened By Dogs: Living with Cooperation, Not Obedience

In this week's episode of Enlightened by Dogs, Kathy Kawalec debunks three common myths around dog obedience training and old thinking that keeps us and our dogs stuck in old unwanted behaviors. As a dog mom, you may have fallen for one, two, or even all three of these myths that have been holding you back from creating a brilliant life with your dog.   Kathy shares her experiences from 20+ years...

In this episode, Kathy leads a discussion about your dog's personality traits, how that relates to their behavior, and why this matters. This deeper understanding of your dog's personality will foster a stronger bond and create a more cooperative environment between you and your dog.   By looking into the "shadow traits" that may be the hidden drivers of your dog's more challenging behaviors, dog...

In this episode, Kathy celebrates the connection between women and their dogs as a source of strength, vulnerability, and empathy.    This unique approach draws from the power within, taking the focus away from outdated approaches of power-over and dominance to one of collaboration and connection. By fostering a partnership with our dogs, we are showing them the respect they deserve, and contribut...

Join Kathy Kawalec in a heartfelt discussion on the importance of connection and creating a legacy of kindness and cooperation that will positively affect generations to come.   In this episode of "Enlightened by Dogs," host Kathy Kawalec invites you to explore your legacy as a dog mom and to consider how you can make a positive impact on the world through your relationship with your dogs.    As c...

There are lots of things that can happen outside our home that can set our dogs off on a barking or reactive spiral that disrupts the peace. Landscapers, construction workers, things in the sky, oh my! The good news is that our dogs look to us for clues on how to behave, so when we are a solid role model, it can change everything!   In this episode, Kathy will share some real-life examples with he...

What is the best thing to do when your dog is "protecting" you in an unwanted way that is damaging to you physically and emotionally?   Today Kathy is sharing a segment from a coaching call in from her Brilliant Partners Academy to discuss this exact situation…   This dog mom has a retired service dog who is feeling anxious right now, due to an allergy flareup, a new puppy in the family, and stres...

In this episode Kathy talks about the importance of creating a deeper connection with our dogs as a way to avoid over-arousal. When dogs are keen about animals, she emphasizes that we should stay present, observe, and communicate with our dogs as we guide and support their development.    Kathy is sharing a segment where she is coaching one of her students who has a young border collie who is show...

Join us today as Kathy discusses the impact of reward-based obedience training on the relationship with our dogs. She explains how a transactional approach can damage trust and make cooperation difficult.    The transactional dynamic of reward-based training can lead to power imbalances, erode trust, and cause stress and anxiety for dogs. On the other hand, building a partnership based on trust an...

In this episode, host Kathy Kawalec shares five tips on how you can deepen your love and connection with your dog. Through a story about a dog mom named Sarah and her dog who had a challenging past, listeners will learn how to implement the following tips in their own lives: How to spend quality time with your dog in small ways that matter Building trust with your dog by creating a safe and loving...

"I want my dogs to wait at the gate or doorway and to take turns… Why?  Because I want to minimize chaos. I don't want dogs running into each other, hurting each other, or running into me and hurting me. I want some order, so we are all safe, calm, and happy." This is Kathy's example of a real-life scenario when she's showing the framework for giving her dogs choices.    This episode of Enlightene...

"The more opportunities I give my dogs to say no, the more likely they are to say yes when it's really important." This is Kathy's framework for giving dogs real-life choices in a way that works for everyone.   In this episode of Enlightened by Dogs, Kathy talks about lifestyle choices, agency, responsibility, and freedom. She also shares some real-life examples of how this looks in real-life situ...

Are you a dog mom who struggles with leash reactivity? Kathy knows how stressful it is when you have a dog that pulls hard on the leash. Having a dog that is lunging toward (or away from) other dogs, moving objects, or anything that triggers them is not a pleasant experience for anyone.    In this episode of Enlightened by Dogs, Kathy shares a real-life coaching call with a dog mom who was struggl...

This is something  I always hear from many dog moms a lot of times. They keep on asking why their dogs don't trust them, their dogs don't allow them to support them and show them that everything is okay.    Sometimes, we deal with some behavior challenges in our dogs where they are not calm, they are reactive, hyperactive, and even seem to be so anxious and worried. Then, since we love our furry f...

When we dig deeper under the surface, the REAL stories of reactive dogs are revealed. We too often negatively label dogs as reactive, as if that was a behavior they chose. Maya is a perfect example of a dog labeled as reactive, whose story revealed a much deeper understanding.   Maya's first three families thought she was untrainable ... a hopeless menace.    "How bad could this dog's behavior rea...

When you and your dog get stressed, there are some simple ways to manage this stress response.  For example,  did you know that how we breathe influences our brain in multiple ways?    Our breathing affects our perception, emotion, cognition, and even our mood. And breathing regulates arousal, attention, and stress responses…for both you and your dog.   In this episode of Enlightened by Dogs, Kath...

As dog moms, we are committed to keeping our dogs safe, calm and happy…but what about when someone does something  that  makes that really, really hard for us?   Loose dogs, fence running dogs, over-enthusiastic dogs, dogs that don't give us enough space, and dogs that are allowed to be unruly and disrespectful in a way that challenges our dog … are all experiences that we are likely to encounter....

People need to deal with the feeling in the body for them to experience healing. If we're suppressing things, and distracting ourselves when we have that feeling in our body, then we can't heal. We're just actually running away from it.  This is part 2 of Kathy's interview with Marika, an amazing dog trainer, one of her certified partnership coaches, and who loves to help dog moms in our community...

Stress can influence our experiences and success, and as a dog mom, it can also, in turn, affect our dogs and their behavior.    This episode of Enlightened by Dogs is the first part of the 2-part episode with Marika Bertram, who is an amazing dog trainer, one of my certified partnership coaches, and who loves to help dog moms in our community.    Marika shares her knowledge about stress, how to g...

If you are a dog parent, you may be familiar with various ways to strengthen the bond between you and your dog and to establish a strong connection over time.    In this episode of Enlightened by Dogs, Kathy dives into the value of gratitude and appreciation and shares different research studies that show evidence of the immense benefits of connecting heart-to-heart with your dogs.     Kathy talks...

Kathy has formed connections with many dogs in a variety of ways.    But, in this episode of Enlightened by Dogs, she invites a special guest to explore a way of building bridges with our four-legged friends that you may have overlooked.   This is part 2 of Kathy's interview with the wonderful Marianne Magin, an artist, dog mom and Dancing Hearts partnership coach.   In this part, she discusses ho...

There are many ways to build strong connections with our dogs. Changing our behaviors, trying new experiences together and learning from our interactions with our dogs all help greatly.   But art is another incredible way to build a bridge between us and our dogs. And it can be a beautiful process!   This episode of Enlightened by Dogs is Part 1 of a 2-part episode with Marianne Magin, a wonderful...

Kathy has preached the power of brilliant partnership for many years and practiced it with her dogs. In that time, she's learned how important it is to give dogs room to bloom.   In this episode of Enlightened by Dogs, Beth Williams, licensed physical therapist and certified Dancing Hearts Partnership Coach, joins to discuss why giving dogs room to bloom is crucial to being a great dog mom.   Kath...

A life with dogs isn't always plain sailing. Kathy knows that first-hand. They can challenge your patience with their behaviors time and time again.   But, instead of working to outright fix those behaviors, it's time to connect first.   In this Enlightened by Dogs episode, Kathy explains why connecting with your dogs, before anything else, makes magic happen.    She explores the benefits of diggi...

Dogs behave "badly" all the time…Kathy definitely knows this first-hand.    However, that "badness" doesn't define our dogs. We live in a society where dogs are considered a set of behaviors rather than complex, sentient beings with emotions and social intelligence.    In this episode of Enlightened by Dogs, Kathy explores the idea of "badness". She explains how a brilliant partner mindset can hel...

Kathy has heard so many amazing stories about dog moms' journeys with their dogs. But with any dog comes challenges. Kathy's guests have been no strangers to those!   Whether it's barking at other dogs, going wild around food, pulling on the leash or being incredibly fearful, everyone has experienced setbacks – some common and some not so much.   In this episode of Enlightened by Dogs, Kathy takes...