Enlightened By Dogs: Living with Cooperation, Not Obedience

Did you know that both you and your dog are wired for connection? It's almost as though your relationship with your dog was written in the stars! However, you might not realize that there are things you could be doing that consciously or unconsciously disconnect you from your dog. The things that weaken your connection with your dog can lead to your dog becoming over-aroused, anxious, or even reac...

What should you do if your family isn't on board with your goal of creating a partnership lifestyle with your dog? Many people assume that if the whole family isn't on board, it's impossible to create a partnership lifestyle. While it can make it slightly more challenging for some, not everyone in the family has to follow "the rules" for you to develop a loving connection with your dog. Of course,...

What should you do when your dog refuses to listen? You tell them to come to you, they run in the opposite direction. You ask them to stop barking, and they bark louder. You ask them to get off the couch, and they snuggle into it some more. You get the idea. Sometimes, it feels like our dogs are rebellious on purpose. They flat out refuse to listen, and you're left wondering if they go out of thei...

When faced with difficult times, it can be hard to pull yourself out of it. Thankfully, there are things you can do to get through the hard days and emerge out on the other side, ready to live your best life with your dog. Even without words, it can often seem like your dog understands you better than most people. They're with you for all of life's ups and downs, always ready to lend a helping paw...

Are you and your dog resilient? Building resilience is so important to create a strong partnership with your dog. Yet, not many people talk about the power of resilience within the dog community. It's time to change that! Being resilient gives you the ability to adapt quickly and bounce back stronger when things don't go as planned. However, it's important that both you and your dog are resilient,...

Don't you hate it when other people get involved with you and your dog's way of life? Or worse, when disrespectful dog people don't follow the rules and cause a dramatic event to happen with your dog? It's so frustrating when things happen that are out of your control. But, the one thing that you can control when the unexpected happens are your thoughts. Your thoughts can bring you (and your dog)...

Do you want to start banking trust with your dog? The more trust your dog has in you, the better prepared you will both be when confronted with an unexpected or traumatic event. If your dog has experienced a traumatic event or has PTSD from such an event, supporting and making your dog feel safe is so important. As dog moms (and human beings), we hate to see a dog in any pain or emotional distress...

Are you an advocate for your puppy or young dog? When dogs are young, they are very impressionable. An unfortunate event or situation has the potential to impact the rest of their lives. Exposure to an aggressive dog can make a young puppy nervous around other dogs as they get older. A bad experience with a vehicle can make a dog fearful around traffic. The list goes on and on! As dog moms, it is...

Bettina's life was turned upside down when they decided to adopt Murphy, a deaf dog with OCD, after seeing his handsome face on a rescue website. It quickly became apparent that Murphy had a LOT more going on than a hearing impairment... In this episode: How Bettina adopted Murphy and gave him a loving home How Murphy's behavior suddenly changed after a swim in the lake Murphy's OCD diagnosis and...

Stella's wild child Henna was a special puppy who endured serious illness, affecting her brain and their relationship. Henna's lunging and barking at everything embarrassed Stella, who became stressed about the effect this out of control dog was having on the family. Resonating with the BPA focus on heart, connection and understanding, Stella joined the BPA and soon began to really 'hear' Henna. S...

Ros adapted to life with her two beautiful but reactive Vizsla girls by avoiding encounters with other dogs and becoming hyper-vigilant. But this was not a sustainable way to live and Ros soon found herself filled with anxiety about the possibility that anything would suddenly appear. People, dogs, cyclists, joggers, wildlife all caused panic, and the treat training around triggers did little to c...

Can you imagine being a first-time dog mom with a reactive dog that just won't listen to you? This is the situation that first-time dog mom, Paulina, found herself in after adopting a reactive dog named Badi. Paulina struggled to understand Badi and couldn't figure out why he always barked at other dogs and things outside the window. This caused Paulina to judge herself and to compare her dog with...

Does your dog compulsively chase little animals (and leaves blowing in the wind)? Perhaps your dog is frightened of traffic and is a nightmare to walk down the street? Well, what if you heard a story about a dog mom (and member of my Brilliant Partners Academy) whose dog had both issues? That's right, this stressed dog mom was struggling with a rescue dog named Charlie who became very reactive aro...

In its purest form, unconditional love is not contingent upon your dog's behavior. Yes, you might get frustrated or even angry when your dog misbehaves, but you don't stop loving them because of it. There's a reason why Kathy refers to members of the Brilliant Partners Academy as 'dog moms.' It's because you are, in a sense, your dog's mom. When you love a dog, you love them like a mother. Their b...

Do you ever feel like your dog "forgets" their training as soon as you leave the house? Walking your dog around the house or garden is one thing. Transitioning those skills to places outside of those areas is an entirely different story and often, the perfect recipe for disaster. After weeks or even months of practicing walking in harmony with your dog, it can be really disappointing when everythi...

Are you having a hard time walking your dog? Do you find yourself dreaming of an alternate universe where your dog walks by your side and doesn't pull on the leash or lunge towards other people (and their dogs)? If you're nodding yes, this is the episode of Enlightened By Dogs you've been waiting for. The truth is that walking your dog can be really challenging sometimes, which is why Kathy is doi...

Do you want to leverage your best self and become the person you always wanted to be? Not only that, but become the person that your dog needs you to be? Kathy believes that you can work on yourself while simultaneously building your partnership with your dog. To help you achieve that level of brilliant partnership, Kathy is sharing a series of fun exercises to help you improve your partnership wi...

How can you tell what your dog is feeling? And, how do know if your dog is truly happy? These are BIG questions. We all want to make sure that our dogs are happy and they're enjoying their live to the fullest. Nobody wants their dog to feel sad, frightened, over-aroused, or distressed. But, understanding how your dog really feels takes time. It's easy to misinterpret your dog's emotions and feelin...

Do you have a dog who just won't listen to you? Maybe your dog barks in the yard, pulls on the leash, or lunges towards everything (and everyone) they see. The bottom line is that whenever you need your dog to do something, they don't. It's frustrating when your dog won't listen to you but…have you considered why that might be? In this episode of Enlightened By Dogs, Kathy talks about the importan...

Is traditional training really the best solution for a misbehaving dog? Or, is it only making the problems you're having with your dog worse? Many people assume that training is the answer to all of the problems they're having with their dogs. However, traditional training can often place a wedge between you and your dog, dismantling your relationship and making original behavioral issues even wor...

Do you believe that your dog is perfect? Does a 'perfect dog' even exist? It's surprisingly easy to slip down the rabbit hole of thinking that your dog is less than perfect. One minute you could be telling everyone you meet about your perfect dog and the next minute, your dog is the reason you want to scream out loud at the top of your lungs. The problem is that focusing on everything you perceive...

Are you getting in the way of building the future of your dreams with your dog? When we welcome a dog into our lives, we usually dream of living in perfect harmony together with (preferably) no 'unwanted behavior' exhibited by our dogs. This pretty much sums up the common 'vision' that many dog moms have before they bring a dog into their lives. However, many dog moms soon realize that achieving t...

How do socially intelligent animals use emotion? And, what are the steps you need to take to achieve emotional balance? Dogs are socially intelligent animals. We know this to be true because we share our lives with our dogs. They've seen us at our best, and they've been there for us during our worst. It's clear that, like us, dogs are socially intelligent beings, which is just one of the reasons w...

What should you do when your dog won't listen to a word you say? It can be really frustrating when your dog seems to have developed selective hearing, but (believe it or not) your dog isn't ignoring you on purpose! That's one of the great things about dogs. They aren't spiteful or vengeful beings. They don't go out of their way to ignore you. So, what should you do when your dog won't listen? On t...

Walking your dog is meant to be an enjoyable experience for both of you. You should walk side by side, facing the same direction, with the same destination in mind. Of course, this is easier said than done. For many dog moms, walking their dogs can be a stressful and frustrating experience, rather than a fantastic bonding opportunity. But, what if walking with your dog was easy ? What if you didn'...