Enlightened By Dogs: Living with Cooperation, Not Obedience - TopPodcast.com

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

Enlightened By Dogs: Living with Cooperation, Not Obedience — Kids & Family
Enlightened By Dogs: Living with Cooperation, Not Obedience

Welcome to our podcast where we dog moms discuss modern, enlightened dog parenting! Each week, we’ll take a dive deep into the human-dog connection and explore strategies that will inspire you to create connection and cooperation with your dog…no obedience training needed!

We meet up at the intersection where training and behavior meet Heart and Soul…and where we leave behind the ‘power over’ obedience training paradigm we inherited and lead the way to an enlightened ‘power with’ approach. Join us for an inspirational and educational journey as we explore what living in cooperative partnership with our beautiful dogs looks like in real life.

Brilliant Partners are kind, loving, calm, clear, confident, and cooperative … and when WE learn how to be a Brilliant Partner, our dogs do too.

Kathy Kawalec is an author, writer, the founder of Dancing Hearts Dog Academy and creator of the Brilliant Partners Academy, The Foundation Formula, Herding Partners Academy, and Creative Alchemy Passion Plan.

Latest Episodes:

EBD058 Your Rebellious Dog Jun 24, 2019

Show notes

Why can't my dog walk on leash? How can I keep my dog off of the furniture? Why doesn't my dog listen to me? Does any of this sound familiar? A lot of dog lovers go through these moments! you're not alone, and you might be a little surprised at Kathy's solutions to these common issues! Behaviour is communication, and these rebellious actions are no different! Your dog is trying very hard to tell you something, and you may not be getting it! Join Kathy as she pulls back the curtain and welcomes you to listen in on a coaching call where she answers some Brilliant Partner's questions about rebellion on this week's episode of Enlightened By Dogs!

In This Episode

Why is your dog rebelling in the first place?
Does your dog dislike the leash, or do you dislike the leash?
Reframing the problem can bring new solutions to the problem.
Are you choosing to be confused?

"My dog is not giving me a hard time. My dog is having a hard time"

"This is what you've been practicing for"

"The leash is what you make it to mean"

"A leash is just a safety net. That's all it is"

"The more we choose to be confused, the more confusing things get"

"We get better and better at being brilliant partners as we go"

Want More of Kathy and her Partnership method?

VIP subscribers to the Brilliant Partners waitlist get first notification when Kathy open enrollment to her invitation-only partnership community.

Get on the list today! dancinghearts.link/bpawaitlist

EBD057 Bad Advice from Your Brain Jun 17, 2019

Show notes

The safe, calm and happy storm continues on this week's episode of Enlightened By Dogs! Kathy is loving the topic, and has decided to go deeper into the way we think about it and how badly we resist when we're first exposed to new things! Why do we automatically dismiss things that could be so helpful to us? Why do we find reasons to keep doing the same thing instead of making a change? She explores those questions and more as she unfolds the roles of the primitive mind, as well as the executive brain, and how they coexist to help us through the big decisions. Tune in to find out why it's important to both you and your dog to figure out how to make them feel safer, more calm, and happier.

You are the observer and thinker of your thoughts
What are your safe, calm and happy activities? Which are not?
What happens when your primitive brain takes over.
Which brain are you going to employ to change your life?
The lengths that Brilliant Partners go to make their dogs feel safe, calm and happy.

"The more impatient you are to fix your dog's unwanted behaviour, the longer it's going to take"

"Understanding how this works is how we evolve"

"Your thoughts and your feelings are two completely different things"

"What is the point of having a dog if you don't take your dog for a walk"

"All your primitive brain cares about is keeping everything the same, even if the same completely sucks"

Want More of Kathy?

EBD056 The Arousal Protocol for Dogs Jun 10, 2019

Show notes

Safe, calm and happy. Last week's talk with Sue Mimm brought up the idea that the more time we spend safe, calm and happy, the safer, calmer and happier we'll be! It sounds simple and logical enough, so why are we in a constant battle with ourselves and our dogs to be happy? Kathy takes us deeper into the topic this week, and sheds light on a few key elements we might be missing, as well as what safe, calm and happy actually means to our dogs. What makes them feel safe? What calms them? What makes them happy? There are so many exciting things happening when it comes to spreading the message of brilliant partnership with our dogs, and this week's episode of Enlightened By Dogs is no exception!

How the partnership ripples are spreading throughout the world
Circling back to the safe, calm and happy talk with Sue Mimm
The key quadrants of the trust accelerator
What does calm actually mean from one dog to another?

"Brilliant partners think a lot about building and protecting trust and confidence ... ours and our dogs."

"Every successful dog enthusiast has one thing in common, and that is the mindset of building trust and confidence with our dogs, no matter what."

"When there is trust, uou and your dog are able to handle anything life throws at you."

"We don't want our dogs to be overly stressed"

"Safe, calm and happy is what helps us to enjoy life today, instead of waiting until someday when our behavior issues are fixed."

"Tell your dog how perfect he or she is, every single day."

Want More of Kathy?

EBD055 The Science of Safety with Sue Mimm Jun 03, 2019

Show notes

Have you ever wondered about the science behind what we do as brilliant partners? We strive to live in harmony with our dogs, and do our best to create an environment that's safe, calm and happy for them! Today Kathy welcomes Sue Mimm to Enlightened By Dogs to discuss the intriguing Polyvagal Theory. Introduced by Dr. Stephen Porges in 1994, the Polyvagal Theory surrounds the school of thought that we have different pathways through the brain which determines our response stress, anxiety and fearful situations. Since dogs and humans are both highly socially intelligent, it makes a lot of sense that our dogs would experience the same kinds of things we do! They get anxious, nervous and fearful too, and their responses aren't as obvious to us sometimes. In this episode, Sue clues us in to some of the things we miss as dog lovers, and how the brain actually creates these responses in the first place! Tune in to find out if your dog is actually a pain, or if they're just scared!

Digging for new ways to help dogs deal with trauma.
The science of safety and the social engagement system
The three pathways of response, and how they show up in our dogs.
How to do the safe, calm and happy protocol, in order to strengthen neural and emotional responses.

"There's a lot of research done into human behaviour as far as trauma and anxiety, etc. but obviously very little in the animal kingdom"

"We miss the smaller signals that they're sending us that they aren't feeling safe."

"Just because we might perceive it as not being dangerous doesn't necessarily mean that they don't perceive it as being dangerous"

"You are actually doing something by being safe, calm and happy"

Get in touch with Sue at https://heartconnectiondogs.com

Want More of Kathy?

EBD054 Rescue Rehab - Maya's Story May 27, 2019

Show notes

When Kathy heard about Maya, she felt compelled to see what this little Border Collie was all about. Maya needed a home to call her own with someone who could communicate on her level. She found that home, and that person with Kathy. She also found a bunch of other dog friends, and some interesting reactions to them! Maya's story is one filled with excitement, a willingness to learn and an eagerness to work. But it wasn't without challenges. Tune in to this episode of Enlightened By Dogs to hear all about her rescue rehab story!

How hard can it be to train a border collie?
The longest leashing in history and emergency dental surgery.
Building a foundation with a wild and compulsive herding dog.
How past punishment impacted Maya's personality.
How Kathy nurtured a brilliant partnership with Maya.

"Shaking my head at the failure of her 3 previous owners to train her, I pondered: How hard can it be to train a 6 month old Border Collie?"

"Maya's rehab focused on my number one rule: Don't ask your dog to do a thing unless you're 95% or more certain that your dog can do the thing."

"I heard her needs and I worked on our partnership foundation at her pace."

Want More of Kathy?

EBD053 Relationships Fail Without These 3 Social Needs! May 20, 2019

Show notes

What does your dog want more than anything else in the world? Even though we're completely different species, there are some core things we have in common with our dogs. While we want the same things out of life for the most part, the trick lies in being able to communicate those things to one another. Often, we see our dogs effort to communicate as misbehaving or acting out, when really, they are just trying desperately to be heard. Are you recognizing your dog's signs? Are you respecting their communication? Dogs have 3 major social needs that need to be fulfilled, similar to humans. In this episode of Enlightened By Dogs, Kathy gives us insight into what to look for when trying to listen to your dog, and how to strengthen the bond between you both by being present, connected and open to feedback from your best friend!

In This Episode

Did you know that dogs and humans share a similar social intelligence?

How dogs help us belong, and how we help them do the same.

Meeting your dogs needs goes deeper than praising them or playing with them.

What is your dog supposed to do when their human just isn't getting it?

The value of a feedback loop between you and your dog.

Quotes

"As socially intelligent animals, both humans and dogs need to be appreciated and loved. We both need to feel like we belong."

"Behavior is Communication. Respect your dog's communication as a valuable contribution to the relationship"

Want More of Kathy?

EBD052 Plan to Be Successful at Dog Trials and Competitions May 13, 2019

Show notes

Trials and competitions with our dogs can be really exhilarating and exciting events! But, a great many of us make big mistakes while preparing for the big day! With so much pressure mounting as the trial approaches, we as dog lovers tend to take an ambitious approach to the whole process, but what if that's putting a strain on the relationship you've formed with your dog? How good can competing be if all of the fun gets sucked out of it? It's very possible to have a blast while prepping for competition day, and still get brilliant results!

If you do herding, agility, obedience or rally, nose work, tracking, disc, conformation, freestyle ... any dog sport trials or competitions ... this episode is for you!

Why do mistakes and failures happen so close to trial day?
It's possible to avoid regrets!
There's a better way to attain competition success!
Setting and revising and modifying your goals
The biggest mistake people make when training for a trial or competition

"Most of us will rely on some intense training sessions the week or two or three before the trial. And that, my friends, is where it falls apart."

"Knowing the reason you are entering a herding competition will either make this a successful adventure for you and your dog…or leave you miserable and frustrated."

"The pressure starts long before we arrive at a trial"

"Whenever I put too much pressure on her before a trial, she would basically stop working"

"We don't want to plan for failure. We want to plan for dog trial success"

"Oftentimes, you're not going for the win. You're going for having a successful outing...for staying connected with your dog under dog trial pressure"

"Once you've got your road map for success, just work it!"

Want More of Kathy?

EBD051 Are We Causing Our Dogs Stress, Anxiety and Reactivity? May 06, 2019

Show notes

Are we forcing our dogs into our crazy, overwhelmed, stressed out lifestyle instead of letting them do what they do best? Dogs are in our lives for a very important reason: They're our friends. They're here to enjoy our company and share precious moments with us. They're great at having fun, relaxing, and adventuring, and they love to include us in it! But what if our rat race lifestyle is keeping our dogs away from the activities they enjoy? Are we really doing them a favor by being so frantic and busy?

Can meditation really change your brain?
How does a human's attitude and lifestyle impact their dog?
How we can ensure our dog isn't carrying a bucket of stress and cortisol
The things that dogs do best

"Are we pulling our dogs into our crazy, stresses out, overwhelmed life?"

"Humans had a remarkable effect on their dogs"

"We use our dogs themselves as the yardstick for what is no or low arousing to them"

"Are we literally preventing that synergistic, symbiotic lifestyle from happening"

"Jump off that rat race treadmill for a little while every single day with your dog"

Want More of Kathy?

EBD050 Who is responsible for this? Apr 29, 2019

Show notes

Ever wondered who is responsible for your partnership? What does a brilliant partnership look like? That's exactly what Kathy discusses in this episode of Enlightened by Dogs. Habits can be hard to break and our host recommends we break them fast as to not allow unwanted behavior or habits to continue. We have to stop putting our dogs in the position to behave "badly" and stop our reactions to it. If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got.

Listen for:

How do we go about escalating an ask?
- Using the 95% rule
Responsibility as Kathy and her dogs have come to understand it!
- Accusations
- Irresponsibility
- Saying aloud, "Who is responsible for this?"
- Emotions trigger a pivot to a new thought process
- The process will unfold and you will find the answer
- With practice, the process goes faster and the situation changes in mere seconds
- Empowering yourself and your dogs

"I'm not perfect and my dogs aren't perfect…and that's ok!"

"No matter what, I can get to this: what got us here are all 100% my choices."

"What did I learn from this and what am I going to do differently next time?"

"I laugh out loud and that will typically instantly defuse my frustration, and give me a fresh perspective."

"I am better prepared to learn how to be different."

"It's all about learning to be the kind of benevolent, loving, clear, and congruent leader that our dogs love to follow."

Want More of Kathy?

EBD049 Faster and Easier Partnership with Baby Steps Apr 22, 2019

Show notes

Did you know the smaller baby steps you take the quicker you are to attain your goals? In this episode Kathy discusses the comfort zone that exists for us and our dogs. We can learn how to be good role models, loving leaders who are able to set appropriate boundaries. When we do this our dogs are much happier and blossom.

When we take huge steps toward our goal, which is outside of our comfort zone, often we backslide and diminish confidence for both ourselves and our dogs
- Setting ourselves up for failure
- Diminishes trust between us and our dogs
Taking teeny-tiny baby steps expands our relationship and our understanding
Kathy shares a story about Hailey and her anxious/over aroused dog
- Worried about environment, scanning, barking, leash-pulling
- The amazing breakthrough that brightened their partnership relationship

"We keep measuring where we are by where we want to be."

"You're here because you want to do right by your dog."

"It's almost like it seems too simple to work."

"We insist on plans even if it might be too much for us or our dogs."

Want More of Kathy?

Brilliant Partners Academy

Enlightened by Dogs Website

Facebook Community

Would you like to know Kathy's three secret formulas for having a happy relationship with your dog? Attentiveness? Responsiveness? You can! Kathy is offering them a big "thank you" for rating and reviewing the show on iTunes!

Related Podcasts