Walking With Your Dog (or Horse, or Cat, or ...)

Walking With: Choosing Breath

Set your intention.
     What is it you want today?
Check in with your breath.

Connect to your bones
     your deep space of compassion
Exhale, Inhale, Breathe.

Choose how you connect
   How you speak your words
Draw them from your bone-deep well.

Choose how you connect
     how you tether you
with your companion.

Now,
it is time
after these few breaths
Now,
create your connection.

Breathe.
Breathe deep in your bones.

Walk on.

Jenny and Ellie ©2013

Teaching the DhYoga Way

Teaching the DhYoga way means that Ellie sets the course.

It's not about obedience, it's not about commands.

It means that we humans set aside all of our assumptions about our dog. All of them.

We spend some time with other dog/human teams. We practice meditation in movement, we practice coming to that still, quiet place of simple companionship in the company of others.

We practice useful skills for being in public with our canine companions.

If one of our dog companions has something to say, we listen. Instead of commanding our dog to be quiet, we practice skillful listening and skillful response.

Teaching and practicing in the DhYoga Way can be challenging as we set aside long-held habits and beliefs about how dogs are supposed to be. And the practice is so rewarding as explore how our dogs really are.

And we're off.

I'm not a Clicker Trainer ...

Although I do use the clicker as a training tool.

Why am I not a clicker trainer?
Because the clicker is an inanimate object and doesn't need me to train it.

I'm not being obstinate here. Well, maybe I am. Language is important. It is my belief that the language, especially when we are working and playing with other species, needs to be as clear as we can get it.

What I'm trying to do is match my intent to the language that I use. If I'm clear, then there is a better chance that will come across to the animal. And that's one of the main reasons I do use the clicker as a training tool: to establish crystal clear communication.

This congruity of language is also why I don't use the word command when I ask my Ellie for a behavior. I am not interested in an obedient dog. Obedience implies a relationship that isn't very interesting to me. What is much more interesting to me is a happy, socially-skilled canine companion.

Ellie, by the way, does enjoy her practice. That's what we call our training sessions whether it is clicker training or meditation walk or happy-hip vinyasa. "Let's practice!"

STOP telling your dog what to do...

At least for a while, at least sometimes, so you can try practicing some yoga with your dog.

Yes, it's been a little while since Ellie and I blogged. We have been taking a break to explore what it means to practice together, and we've shared a little of what we've learned with others, with our first few DhYogaDog classes offered at Dog Central Station in Tucson and with a few WalkAbouts (taking our yoga off the mat, so to speak).

Ellie doesn't much care about the blogging. As for me, I realized that I was interfering with our practice by my own thoughts about what I would blog about. So much for being in the moment. So, I stepped away from the blogging.

It's been liberating.

So, what have we learned? Actually, it's what I've learned, because our DoGurus already know this stuff: Practicing yoga with your dog means that your dog gets to have the freedom of expressing their own true nature. And part of your practice is to just be in the experience.

The trick is to provide that freedom under the constraints of leash laws and the like and the need for dogs and humans to have good social skills with dogs and humans, and the need for the dog and human to work out the physics of it all. (No, Ellie, you don't get to pull me around because you need to sniff over there - let's work this out.)

And then we've also been indulging in vinyasa yoga play that just happens to have some good physical health outcomes.  Ms. Ellie has been practicing her Happy Hip Vinyasa. We'll get some video of that.

Om shantih
J and E

Cesar Milan we're not.

Grrrrrr. It's hard to find a 'biteable' way to describe the dog yoga that we're practicing. A local television station wants to do a story on dog yoga, and the model for that is 'doga', successfully written about in urban newspapers.

Socks (r.i.p buddy) and Ellie demonstrate good 'yoga off the mat' in this picture. They are working on their relationship, changing their habits, taking some time be fully present. But, exciting television it isn't.

We follow (and teach) a yoga therapeutic model, based on the pancamayas, or five dimensions. Most dogs don't need us humans to tell them or show them how to find their stable and comfortable posture (although, admittedly, some sloppy sits might need a little assistance to keep those hips healthy).

After all, who is the teacher and who is the student for adho mukha svanasana, otherwise known as downward facing dog?

The dog yoga we have been working on tends to address more subtle levels than the physical. While I think that television well knows how to play on those emotions, and distract us from our immediate surroundings, dog yoga on the subtle level does not for good television make.

Cesar Milan we aren't.

But, you know what? Today's session was really helpful for me anyway. A little bit of kriya yoga: Isvhara pranidhana, releasing attachment to outcome.

Ellie, the dog who flunked her temperament test...

Ellie's the kind of dog that if you say, "Go get him," she looks at you and runs for a toy.

But, if you say, "Go give him a toy," she's off to share the fun.

And this was a dog who flunked her shelter temperament test.

How do you know if your dog training is working?

From the 'let me at him' to 'teach me more'


You know something is working

• when your husband, as he pets the dog who used to chase his cat up a tree says, "She's so much calmer than she was."
• when the cat who used to hide now ignores
  
• when your son says, "She's kooky, but, she's such a good dog, doesn't really do anything wrong."
• when people at the park remark, "Wow, your dog is well-behaved."
• when the dog who flunked her humane society administered temperament test attends a huge social gathering, (the Muscular Dystrophy Association Christmas party) and socializes with children while refining her dog-assisted pain management technique.
  
• when everyone uses the word 'adorable' to describe your dog.
  

It's helpful to look back a bit, and see how far we've come.

I give Ellie the lion's share of the credit. I've really just tried to stay out of her way and help her learn the ropes of socializing with people and animals. The rest is pure Ellie. Thanks girl, for coming into our lives.

Pet Blogger Challenge

1. When did you begin your blog? October, 2009, after Ellie, our rescue German Shepherd Dog, came to live with us.

2. What was your original purpose for starting a blog? Dhyoga dog is a branched off blog from deserthorseyoga.blogspot.com, which is my more general blog about yoga and how yoga methods are helpful in working and playing with our animal companions. Ellie was teaching me so many different things that I decided to create a separate blog that would appeal to dog people. I wanted to share what I was learning from her as I was 'training' her.

3. Is your current purpose the same? Yes, although I'm rethinking how this blog can better be of service to both dogs and their humans.

4. Do you blog on a schedule or as the spirit moves you? The spirit works in mysterious ways. I have fallen out of the habit of blogging regularly, and am considering how to find that balance between spirit and schedule.

5. Are you generating income from your blog? Not that I know of. hmmm.

6. What do you like most about blogging in general and your blog in particular? I like how blogs express the personality of the blogger and the personality, where relevant, of their dog/pet companions. I like how blogging about pets and reading blogs about pets connects me into the larger community.

What do I like about my own blog? I like the pictures of Ellie, she's so danged cute.

7. What do you like least? The self-induced guilt when I'm not keeping up with the blog. My perfectionista tendency - wanting the words to be perfect, is a habit I am changing. I am. Really.

8. How do you see your blog changing or growing in 2011? My intention is for the blog to share more about how I learn from Ellie and other dogs that I have the privilege of working with, on a more frequent basis. I would like my blog to be a place that people come to and enjoy with a cup of tea with their pooch by their side.

Ellie's public debut for dog-assisted pain management

Ellie, our 'once-was-incorrigible' rescue girl made her public debut at the 2010 Muscular Dystrophy Association Christmas party in Tucson.

She was outstanding.

In this set of pictures, she is responding to my friend, Laura Coursey, of EQuality Dog Training, who is teaching her about how head pressure on hands relieves Laura's neuropathy pain.

You can see that Ellie is intensely focused on Laura, even in the midst of this huge gathering.

She also took some time out to greet children who came to see her, and taught the children how to ask to touch using a different variation of the head rest technique. What a gal.

Do dogs do math?

For a lot of people, at least for many of my statistics students, math proves to be a significant challenge. But then there's Ellie, who today seemed to do the math in order to get to her reward as quickly as possible, by traversing the shortest distance possible, even when the shortest distance isn't a straight line.

This morning, Ellie and I practiced recalls in the back yard. I'm keeping recalls pretty simple for now.

• "Come" means to come to me and sit in front of me.
• "By me" means to come and sit at my left side, facing in the same direction I'm facing.
  

She is nearly 100% reliable with both behaviors in the house so we are adding distance and distraction by practicing outside.

Given that we live in Arizona, our back yard is pretty much a old (yet functional) pool The pool is pretty useful for creating angles and distance for the recalls. Cats, birds, dragonflies and bees do a pretty good job of providing the distraction element.

Cueing Ellie into a "Sit or Down-Stay", I take up various positions around the pool and give her recall cues. Typically, if I'm facing her, I give the "Come" and if I'm facing any other direction, I'll give her the "By me" but I do mix it up to keep it interesting.

Ellie decided to keep it interesting by choosing her own direction, for approach - the shortest distance on the ground.

So, for example, I might give her a "Come", and instead of just running towards me (around the pool), she opted to turn around, come up from behind, and face me for her reward. She also opted to run towards me and change her position for the "By Me". The maneuvers are more complicated for her, but the time is shorter.

Next up is to see how often she does and to research to see what other information there might be out there on dogs determining distance and time. Doe she just mix it up to keep it interesting for her? Is it all random (I think not.) Is it an innate instinct? And maybe I need to brush up on my trigonometry.

What do you think?

No braggin', just sayin' - She's the cutest dog

She hikes, and carries her own water, she swims, she leaps over park water fountains, she meditates, and she just keeps smilin'.

Dog parks, longe lines, and dogs making choices

It's Sunday morning, and Ellie and I go for our Meditation Walk. She settles in quickly, curious about her world of walkers, runners, birds, and the sounds of barking at the dog park that lies to west, beyond the ball field and tennis courts.

She's happy, tongue lolling, eye soft. She stops to let people by, with a doggie smile and containing her exuberance to her wagging tail.

Today I've brought my longe line, which we use for horses. My plan is to give her plenty of line, so she can more freely pursue her interests, and I can reward her for attention to me, and we can practice her recall away from home, working on distance. Her recall, offline and in the house and yard, is nearly 100%. I've got a few kinks to work out here, as she took off after some birds, and got too hard of a jerk back to the ground, but in general I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. Time for the dog park.

As we got closer to the park, I saw there were about 7 dogs. Some she knows, some I had not seen before. She was her usual excited self as we made our way to the gates. I let her in to the ante-area, took off the leash, and the dogs rushed up to greet her through the fence. Two of the dogs were quite assertive, and then the other dogs arrived. Rather than just take her in, I decided to wait this out, to see what Ellie's choice would be. We've noticed that she gets overwhelmed with more than a few dogs, and we've noticed that she is uncomfortable around very assertive dogs.

After sniffing fence, sniffing noses, and making eye contact, she went to the gate - the gate to the outside, and waited. Pretty clear. I snapped on her leash, and we walked quietly home.

Yoga Dog: It's a good job if you can get it

Ellie and I are exploring how yoga as a model for dog training works. The definition of yoga, from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1.2: Yogas citta vritti nirodha, interpreted as : Yoga is the ability to focus the mind on one thing without distraction. (Desikachar, Heart of Yoga).

In clicker training, we teach a dog a new behavior, and then work towards the dog being able to accomplish that behavior for duration, distance, and under distraction. So, it seems as if clicker training and the definition of yoga would work quite well together. (They do.)

But here's the thing, we humans are the ones who are always deciding what the distraction is. What if we question that assumption - that its all about us?

Today Ellie and I went out for our Meditation Walk. In Meditation Walk, I put away the clicker, I put away the treats, and I announce, "time for meditation". I hold the leash loosely (say that quickly 3 times) and in both hands, the leash in front of my body, balancing my hands to the leash. I take a long exhale, and we walk our variable pattern at the ball field, around the bleacher, around the bench for the disabled, changing direction periodically.

People come and go, we might stop, wait, and then start again. If she gets so interested in that dog, that runner, then I just stop and count my exhales. When she turns her attention back towards me, we begin our walk again. We do our meditation for about 15 minutes today, then I tell her, "Good dog." and I take her to the grass for some doggie sniff time.

Ellie actually seems to like Meditation Walk. The idea of the walk, for me, is to be out in the world, being in the world, at the same time that I am mindful of my breathing, the pressure of my feet against the ground, the balance of lightness and firmness in my connection to Ellie. I am aware of her actions, and part of Meditation Walk is to help her be as aware of my actions, without my having to tell her. Maybe she's more aware of me than I can tell, I suspect sometimes yes, sometimes not, her attention, like my own, drifting around at times, at other times, focusing, focused.

Today, she sniffed a single piece of grass for the space of 4 long breaths (mine) - which is just under a minute (when I'm deliberately breathing long). The definition of yoga, in the sniff of a single blade of grass. Who is teaching who?

Do dogs have expectations?

When I brush my teeth in the morning, Ellie goes to her kennel. She's done that since day 1 of bringing her home from Central Arizona Animal Rescue. Somewhere along the way, in the language of dog training, she associated the cue of 'human brushes teeth' to her behavior of going into the kennel.

Is that an expectation?

Once we break out the Camelbaks, Ellie goes into a flurry of activity, back and forth to the door, whining. There's a whole slew of activity that takes place before we get to wherever we are going.

I pick up my keys to drive to teach my next yoga class. Ellie takes herself off to her kennel for a biscuit, some fresh water.

I pick up my keys to run some errands, and Ellie runs to the door. Open the door, she runs to the gate. If she gets to go for a ride, the excited whining starts.

Expectation. Or simple association? Is there a difference?

What do you think, and what actions of your dog drive how you think about it?

Losing ground, gaining perspective. Click!

Today was one of those days, one of those days where you wonder why in the world you ever thought you were a dog trainer. Then, realizing that the pain from this healing sprained ankle is useful in this work of working with dogs in a yogic way.

Ellie's training over the last three weeks has been more sporadic, and more focused on running through the basics in the house and the back yard. With no distraction other than the occasional cat-in-the-way, she cruises through her come, sit, down, by me, close and off-leash cues. She's had a few dog park visits and some swims in the pool and some toy-tossing and has been learning her jump-on-cue to work off some of her energy.

Today we went back to our walking meditation, which had been coming along so beautifully before my ankle injury. At least, that was the intention.

Alas, Ellie was distracted by everything, all of the park walkers, dogs, the two guys practicing martial arts way off in the distance, the bird overhead. It took us about 10 minutes to make our way to the park, which is about 1 minute away from the house. I had to break out the clicker just to reward her for a semblance of attention.

I don't usually click during walking meditation. It's a common misconception among people who are unfamiliar with clicker training that you forever click for simple behaviors. Once the dog or horse understands the behavior, you don't need to always click and reward for that same behavior. It's useful, though, to occasionally do so, just as a little reminder.

But, several minutes into what is usually a rhythmic breathing and walking at a comfortable pace in a familiar pattern, I realized I needed to make a change. Ellie was back at her old lunging, leaping, and one dog-walker asked me, "Is your dog under control?" She was, but.

That mental state of wanting 'my dog to behave so I don't look like a fool' came up loud and messy. My breathing became shallower. I realized that my ankle was throbbing with pain and my stance was out of balance.

This agitated and unbalanced state is one I'm well acquainted with, although usually I'm seeing it in clients. It isn't that I don't fall into agitated and unbalanced states, it's just that it happens less and less the longer and more attentively I practice my yoga.

Now, it was me. Instead of serving my dog by breathing more rhythmically, exhaling longer, and being aware of my feet, legs, hips and connection to the earth, I was contributing to her agitation and lack of attention. When this happens with a client, I'm able to assist the client to stop and breathe and take a few moments to collect. With a client or student, we might spend a little time addressing what they are experiencing, and perhaps make some changes to help the person and the dog to be more comfortable and / or present.

So, I had this little observation conversation with myself. I just stopped, took 5 long exhales. When Ellie looked at me, I clicked and rewarded her. When she came to my side, I clicked and rewarded her. With her at my side, I evaluated the state of my ankle and thus my posture. I made a conscious choice to switch to the the Gentle Leader, which has the effect of reducing her pulling behavior.

We went back to our walking meditation, but this time I clicked and rewarded her for staying close. We walked in our pattern for about 5 minutes, then I let her do her sniff-walk as her big reward.

We walked home, and it only took us 1 minute.

Dog Yoga according to Ellie

When I first started trying to practice yoga, Ellie would get so excited with me being on the floor, that I put her outside to play in the yard. The other day, she lay down with me as I did a relaxation with legs up the wall.

Today, I decided I would just do my practice, and see where she was. As I started to do standing poses, she jumped up on me, so I removed her from the room. I decided to open the room when I began pranayama, breathing regulation practice, just as an experiment.

I can only imagine how cute she must have looked, as she rested her paw in my open palm, then rested her head on her own paw. I kept my eyes closed and kept breathing, and she stayed right with me, for about 10 minutes. She withdrew for awhile and I settled into a meditation.

Then, I felt her gently place one of her tattered rope chewies across my arm and quietly leave the room.

Dog does yoga - what do you think? I'd like to read your comments.
Namaste.

Ellie finds relaxation through yoga

Ellie isn't known to be the most relaxed dog. She is happiest, it seems, in the midst of movement. Always, before today, when I went to do my yoga practice, I would need to have her go outside, or hang out in her kennel, or behind a cross pen. She would mouth at me, get excited when I got on the floor, and run for her toys.

Today was different. Taking my own advice, I decided to take a break from doing taxes and lay down with my legs up the wall. She followed me into the yoga space (some cleared out floor in my 8 x 10 office/bead studio/yoga studio) and when my legs went up the wall, she lay calmly down at my head and gave me a few licks on the palm of my hand. She stayed with me for about 5 minutes, then quietly left. I found her laying belly up in her kennel in a perfect doggie svasana.

Maybe it doesn't seem like much, but it sure made me happy, and ready and refreshed to hit those tax records again. And Ellie's relaxing by my side.

Which is the happiest dog?

Take a look at these pictures of Ellie, and then vote (using the poll at the righ) for which picture (blue scarf or not blue scarf) shows the happy dog.

I would love it if you would use the comment section to let me know what helps you to your conclusion.

Vegan Dog Biscuit Recipe

Recipe ingredients:
Applesauce, pureed carrots, blackstrap molasses, oat bran, rolled oats, wheat germ, flour, coarse ground cornmeal, flaxseeds that come mixed with little dried blueberries, and anise seed.

Mix up the applesauce, carrot puree, and molasses. Add in the dry ingredients, saving the flour for last. You just want to incorporate the flour (whole wheat or even rice flour is just fine) just enough so the dough is rollable. Roll out on a mixture of the corn meal and flour. Cut with biscuit cutter, or do what I do for clicker-trainer sized treats. Roll out your sheet, placed on buttered pan, and cut with a dough cutter into tiny bite-sizes. (Great for little dogs). Bake at 325 until firm. (20-30 minutes) I like really small treats, because I do clicker train. I also like to use a small dog bone cutter and make thin little crackers, easy to break into pieces, 1 or 2 just perfect for a little clicker session.

Nope, no measurements.

No measurements, because if you are going to go to the trouble to make homemade nutritious treats for your dog, I think you have to make them by smell and texture, because that's what is fun for your dog.

And, it's a time honored tradition that dogs get leftovers, so you use what you have. Pears getting too soft? Mush 'em, use them instead of the applesauce, you get the idea. Use whole foods to start with, shun the onions and garlic (although I might add garlic powder) and see what you can come up with. Peanut butter is good (I prefer smooth, no anything added, because chunky gets in the way of the cutters).

I'm not a vegan, so why do I make vegan dog treats? I have different recipes for dog treats, and most are not vegan, or even vegetarian. I do have friends who are vegan, and although most of my vegan friends do not expect their dogs to also be vegan, I think it's good to have options. The dogs just like what smells, feels, and tastes good, and Ellie approves of her vegan treats.

Dog vs Cat, the saga continues

Bring it...........................It's a draw.

In the ongoing saga of helping our high energy young play-with-me-all-the-time Ellie and our please-leave-me-the-@#$%!-alone older cats, we make progress; two steps forward, and only one step back.

Some mornings are pretty quiet, each in their own corner. Some mornings, not so much, and one or the other might have to retire elsewhere. But, progress gets made.