Smile! and other practical life lessons your dogs can teach you (while you are training them) by Lynne Swanson DVM - Softcover

Swanson, Lynne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0988746085 ISBN 13: 9780988746084

Publisher: Safe Harbor Farm, 2016

Synopsis

Smile! (and other practical life lessons your dogs can teach you while you are training them) immerses you in canine culture in a manner that provides incredible insight into human behavior. It is about reducing tension, leading the way, communicating clearly and honoring pivotal differences. It is about practicing kindness, dumping bad habits and finding happiness. It is about the energy we share and the state of mind behind that energy. It is about letting go of the stuff that isn't working. And it is about teamwork. If you equate training your dog with special equipment, once-a-week classes, lesson plans, frustration and ultimate surrender, fear not! This book's commonsense, in-the-moment, canine-savvy, smile-based approach will be of great help, and it will bring meaning and enjoyment into your life. After all, if you aren't happy, your dogs can't be their best.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Canine culture values balance. Our lives can only be better when we do the same.

From the Inside Flap

Could your days use a few more smiles? How about some more laughter? More light-hearted dancing, anyone? And what about some good old-fashioned (but never out-of-style) tail-wags and butt-wiggles?
Uh, what was that last line?
You read it right.
If the thought of responding to a dog's happy butt-wiggles with a few of your own doesn't sound bizarre to you, you are going to love this book. If it does, then - dare we suggest it - you might really need this book.
Why is that? Because the average dog has so very much to offer the average person. Not simply in terms of joyful moments and shared adventures, but in terms of life lessons. Have a not-quite-average dog - a canine problem child - at home? Excellent! The more challenging the dog, the more profound the lessons he can offer us.
Hold on! Are we talking about the same species...the one that licks their genitals, takes full-body rolls in mud puddles and sticks their noses into garbage cans?
Absolutely. Because no matter what life throws at a dog, he doesn't booze it up. He doesn't reach for mind-numbing drugs, and he doesn't live for the soaps. He also doesn't hold a grudge. Really. Dogs readily get moving, so they can move on to better things. As a rule, they prefer balance to drama.
Dogs readily live in the moment, and in that moment they are usually willing to give things a chance. And when we come together, dogs only want to know that they are safe with us, something we can convey with the most basic of body language, starting with a simple smile.
Smile! (and other practical life lessons your dogs can teach you while you are training them) discusses body language. It explores canine culture, with the goal of helping you shape the kind of dog you love to be around.
Will it help you to train your dog? Definitely. Will it help you to be a better (and happier) person? Perhaps. Will you be able to view your dog, after reading it, the same way you do now? We doubt it.
A perusal of chapter headings will tell you that this is not your average dog book, nor is it your average self-help tome. It is about the quality and quantity of the energy we share with our dogs, the states of mind behind that energy and how a better understanding of the way dogs think can provide insight into our own lives.
Have you ever gazed at your reflection in a mirror, seeking a glimmer of understanding into life as you know it? Consider your dogs to be that mirror, and let this book be your interpreter. The journey will be a life changer.
Smile! came about after more than a decade living with twenty to forty dogs at a time, three hundred and sixty-five days a year. Big ones; little ones; young ones and old ones. Purebreds and mixes; boy-dogs and girl-dogs. Dogs from good backgrounds and some from hard-life hell-holes. Dogs from sane households, dysfunctional households and shelters both large and small. Many came right off the streets, with no ascertainable history whatsoever. A large percentage of them were temporary residents at Safe Harbor Farm K9 Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in coastal North Carolina, where dogs get to enjoy safety, security and well-thought-out, canine-centric routines - some for the first time in their lives - on their way to finding well-matched new homes.
Add to those dogs several thousand more, encountered at veterinary hospitals where the author was employed. A vet hospital is a lot like a pediatrician's office, except the "kids" have four legs, as opposed to two. Nervous mommies and daddies - check. Youngsters reflecting the energy (for better or worse) of their parents - check. The need for a calm, collected and confident professional to guide everyone through life decisions, both simple and complex - double-check.
Together, the dogs and the author shared learning curves and a few great big un-learning curves. Lynne taught them things that made them better individuals, and it is safe to say: they taught her even more. Life is a bunch of learning curves and un-learning curves. Given both, it is the un-learning curves that are often the most life-changing and life-affirming. They occur when we enter a situation quite confident in our knowledge, only to find that we knew nothing at all. This sounds rough, but these curves can be quite wonderful, especially when the process encourages us to put aside past assumptions and quiet our minds, the better to listen and learn from others.
So is this a book on dog improvement or is it one on life improvement? It is actually a book on both. Reflecting upon what works (and why it works) and what doesn't work (and why not) when observing groups of dogs promotes an awareness unlike anything else. Dogs are very good at teaching us new tricks, even when we strive to teach them what we want. All we need to be is ready to listen.

Edition details

• Publisher: Safe Harbor Farm
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0988746085
• ISBN 13: 9780988746084
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 340