There is much hardship for dogs in this world in our day and age.

• Dogs lose their homes because their humans don’t have enough money to buy food.
• Dogs lose their homes because their people need to move and can’t find a new home where dog keeping is possible or permitted.
• Dogs are put in shelters because their owners need to go to hospital and have no one to look after their friend.
• Dogs are put to sleep because they are not wanted anymore.
• Dogs are being abused because their people don’t know how to control their anger.
• Dogs are being abused because their people think that beating a dog up is a good way of training him.
• Dogs are left alone all day long without any means of exercise or communication because their owners are at work from nine to five.

The list could go on and on and on…

• Dogs are treated with steroids and antibiotics before a proper diagnosis is given.
• Dogs are being stuffed with unsuitable foods which create havoc in their bodies and ruin their health.
• Dogs are being used in all sorts of ways without concern.

Most of the hardship a dog suffers is caused by a human being who dearly loves him. Isn’t that sad?

Can you help a dog in need?

• Could you donate some money or food to some dog owner who without help from friends would have to give his dog away?
• Could you adopt a dog who needs a new and perhaps even better home?
• Or could you give a helping hand to someone who is struggling to find someone who would look after his dog whilst he himself is in hospital?
• Could you teach someone how to properly train a dog? Perhaps run a charity dog training class?
• Could you volunter to take someone elses’ dog for walks when you you take your own pooch out?
• Could you donate some money at a regular basis to an animal shelter?

I think we need to ask ourselves whether we are dog lovers or just in love with our own dogs.

As true dog lovers we could try to do our best every now and then to selflessly help an unfortunate canine – just to shine a little light for those who are less fortunate than our own and our friend’s dogs.

You never know what life holds in store for you – maybe one day it is your own dog who needs someone to protect him from harm and make him feel safe again.

It’s just a though…

A dog in need of a new home usually is a dog who has lost a home. A dog who has been placed in a shelter has been abandoned and usually feels that way.

Many years ago I went to the local animal shelter to donate some dog food. When I asked the lady there if it would be okay to bring any brand she told me this: “The brand of food does not really matter. All dogs that come to us suffer from diarrhea for at least 14 days – no matter what kind of food we give them!”. This sentence stuck with me ever since because it highlights the despair, heartache and stress dogs endure when they are send to a shelter.

Ideally no dog should ever need the help a shelter offers but this is not an ideal world. To make sure that this does not happen to the one you rescued again you should take into account that your dog-to-be has already got habits of his own which may or may not match your own habits. He may have been taught things you would never want a dog to learn and his personality might not be what you would like it to be.

Adopting a dog means making compromises between your own wishes and the reality of a dog who has got a history. He may have learned to fear certain things or to react in an aggressive way towards other things and he may have learned that human beings can not be trusted. he may also have learned that human beings can easily be intimidated by a dog who means business.

It is very important to find out as much as possible about his personality before you take him home. Don’t hesitate to ask the team at the shelter about the place he came from and the circumstances of his life prior to “enshelterment”. Ask them about his behavior towards other dogs. Do they know what he likes and dislikes? What he is afraid of? Has he got a history of abuse? Does he like children?

Since people who work at animal shelters want “their” dogs to find a new and happy home they will be glad to answer all your questions.

Taking time to reach the right decision is in the best interest of yourself and the dog you mean to adopt. After all, you don’t want to have to give him up again and you don’t want to create a difficult situation for both of you.

One thing you may never have thought about are your own thoughts and the influence they may have on your dog’s wellness.

As psychologists inform us, our thoughts and emotions are very powerful. You may have heard about the law of attraction which describes the effects our thoughts and expectations have on the material world.

Goddard Neville was one of the first to tell us that we can influence the course of things by imagining them the way we would like them to be. In his books he teaches the art of deliberate imagination and gives a wealth of examples to prove his case.

Neville points out that we can influence the outcome of a process when we combine our thoughts combined with feelings in deliberate intent. He illustrates this by telling us the success stories of many people who managed to create the reality they wanted by imagining their favorite outcome every night before going to sleep.

Neville’s ideas have now been proven by rock hard science. It has been confirmed that the thoughts we think every day create our reality. Therefore it is of great importance to be in control of our thought patterns.

What has this got to do with your sick dog?

Since our dogs are so close to us they read our minds and feelings as we all know. Your dog reacts to your emotions and fulfills your subconscious wishes. That is why he hates the same people as you and loves those that you love.

Communication with a dog is guided by thoughts and feelings which are expressed via the energy system and the expression in your eyes.

So when your dog is sick you are naturally in a state of worry. This state you communicate to your sick friend and by doing this he shares your worry and anxiety. His system is put under stress just like yours and his healing is compromised.

Confirming his sickness with your words, thoughts and emotions tends to keep his sickness in place. This is no different to you confirming your own sickness when you are ill.

Seeing him healthy and happy again in your mind strengthens  his own belief that things can indeed improve and show him a way out of his suffering.

When you as the owner can not see your dog healthy again his health is in serious danger. This I have seen in countless cases.

The worst case was that of the owner who saw his dog as already dead and talked about euthanizing him to spare him further suffering. In short, the owner had given up all hope and projected this via his emotions, looks and words unto his beloved friend.

When the owner is without hope the dogs health follows suit.

I am not saying that your hope and vision will make your dog healthy and strong again, no matter what. But I am saying that your hopelessness and pessimism does have a negative influence on his struggle for health.

Here is what you do:

Sit down in a quiet place next to your dog and tap:

Karate Chop Point:

Even so I am afraid my dog will never recover from this I completely love and accept myself.

Even so I can’t stop worrying about his condition I completely love and accept myself.

Even so I am worried sick that his condition is here to stay I still love and accept myself.

Eyebrow Point: I am so afraid he will not become better.

Under The Eye Point: I am so afraid he will not become better.

Side Of Eye  Point: I am so afraid his illness is here to stay.

Under Nose Point: I am so afraid he will not heal.

Under Lip Point: I can not see him healthy again.

Collarbone: I can not see him healthy again.

Under Arm Point: I just can not see him healthy again.

On Top of Head: But I am open to the possibility that there is another way of seeing this.

Tap along those lines for at least ten consecutive rounds. Be prepared that you may feel a surge of fear or worry. If that happens, you need to carry on tapping until you feel better and your worry has subsided. Then carry on with this:

Karate Chop Point:

Even so I am so negative about this health issue I completely love and accept myself.

Even so I can’t see him healthy again I completely love and accept myself.

Even so I am worried sick that his condition is here to stay I am open to the possibility that there is another way of seeing this.

Eyebrow Point: What if he is stronger than I expect?

Under The Eye Point: What if his immune system is picking up?

Side Of Eye  Point: What if his body had the ability to recover?

Under Nose Point: I am so afraid he will not heal.

Under Lip Point: I can not see him healthy again.

Collarbone: I can not see him healthy again.

Under Arm Point: I just can not see him healthy again.

On Top of Head: But I am open to the possibility that there is another way of seeing this.

Tap along these lines six rounds and then finish off by tapping:

Karate Chop Point:

Even so I still feel some remaining negativity about this health issue I completely love and accept myself.

Even so I still feel some remaining “can’t see him healthy again” I completely love and accept myself.

Even so I still feel some remaining “I am worried sick that his condition is here to stay” I am open to the possibility that there is another way of seeing this.

Eyebrow Point: This remaining doubt about his ability to heal

Under The Eye Point: This remaining doubt about his immune system’s power

Side Of Eye  Point: What if his body had the ability to recover?

Under Nose Point: This remaining fear that he will not heal.

Under Lip Point: This remaining disability to see him healthy again.

Collarbone: This remaining “I can not see him healthy again”

Under Arm Point: This remaining pessimism.

On Top of Head: But I am open to the possibility that there is another way of seeing this and that his self healing powers are stronger than I expect.

Tap along these lines for another five rounds.

It is really important not to stop tapping until you feel good. Never stop when there still is some upset because by doing this you will only make matters worse for yourself.

The goal is to change your attitude towards your dog’s problems so that you project less stress on his body and soul.

Remember that Rome Was Not Built In A Day and keep on tapping on a daily basis until your negativity has completely subsided and you can feel hope again.

If you feel that you need some help with this, I am here to support you and your dog. Just send me an email or call me for a session.

If it was your choice to spare him further suffering you torture yourself with the question whether this was right or wrong.

If he has died due to an illness or accident you ask yourself whether it was your fault or if you could have done anything to prevent what happened.

People around you don’t seem to be supportive and often can not understand your grief and suffering. So loneliness and the feeling of being misunderstood adds to your unhappiness.

Grief is a very lonely place to be but grieving for a dog can be even lonelier.

Hardly anyone is prepeared for the loss of a loved one and more often than not the grieving process is being curtailed because of social pressure to “get over it” quick. If and when the grieving process has been compromised it may result in some form of depression.

Since society at large does not understand the deep connection between a person and his or her dog the process of grieving  for a dog is suppressed as much as possible. But suppressing grief does not mean that you have come to terms with the loss.

Many people feel  worried about their deceased dog, they wonder if he or she is alright.

Over the years I have developed a method of After Death Communication with dogs and other animals. To me death does not exist, it is  the physical body which leaves us and the communications I have had with dogs after their so called death supports my opinion.

Inducing After Death Communication with a dog which has transformed is very rewarding to do since grieving owners often experience great peace and support through this process. It is the owner himself who communicates at deep soul level with his friend with me there as a facilitator or door opener.

This can be done via telephone and from all corners of the planet since it is the connection between dog and owner which makes this possible.

If you feel that you need to talk to your friend I am here to help you do it.

Just send me an email so we can arrange a session!

With Love and Blessings

Annelie

The danger comes with small members of the spider group: Tics.

Why is this danger emerging on the British Isles now?

Strict legislation on the import of dogs, cats and other pets made sure that people did not bring their animals into the country. British citizens did not take their pets abroad when going on holiday. The need to put a beloved animal through quarantine for six moth stopped pet traffic to and from Great Britain. As a result only minor numbers of tics were brought in as well.

With the country opening itself to pets people from the continent bring their dogs to shows and take them on holiday to and from Britain. Thus the likelihood of infected tics being brought in increases dramatically. As the tics in Britain feed on the infected dogs and cats more infected tics will finally appear, spreading the infections amongst tic populations.

Due to global warming more of these tics get to the ports which means they can get carried across the channel by rats and birds as well so traveling pets are not the only source.

Tics live on blood and they are hardy little creatures which can go without food literally for years. You may know them as sheep tics and occasionally have found one on your dog after a run in the forest or field.

Tics are vectors (carriers) of several life threatening diseases caused by bacteria. In the past they transmitted mainly the lyme disease which affects dogs, horses and humans alike, causing symptoms in the nervous system.

With global warming tics from southern Europe started to spread all over the continent and also into Great Britain. These tics need warmer temperatures to survive hence they were mainly found in warmer countries. As the temperatures rise the tics find it easy to survive in other countries as well and they are making their way across Europe.

These tics may carry with them several strains of bacteria which are extremely dangerous to dogs and impossible to treat with the “normal” kind of antibiotics.

I am talking about

• Anaplasmosis
• Ehrlichosis

• Lyme Disease

Pathogens causing Anaplasmosis and Ehrlichosis intrude cells of the immune system and so they can get anywhere in the body where the immune cells they affect go. This means that what was meant as the bodies’ defense system becomes a mayor threat once those pathogens have entered the body!

The affected dog may show strange combinations of symptoms which seem to be unrelated but are indicative of the infection taking place.

Who would have thought that an infected eye and severe diarrhea, one following the other may point to a life threatening infection?

Who would suspect that an infected eye and lameness are connected?

If the dog goes of his food for a while and then starts to go lame and maybe a little off color most people would be sure that one has nothing to do with the other.

Dog owners and vets need to become aware of the fact that uncommon and formerly unknown pathogens cause unusual symptom combinations which warrant a blood test for possible tic transmitted diseases.

It is absolutely necessary that your vet considers the new pathogens brought in by tics and does blood tests early on if and when your dog shows unusual symptom combinations.

Please make sure to educate yourself and your friends about this subject. Don’t hesitate to ask your vet for an annual blood test screening for these pathogens – even if you have not spotted a tic on your friend. You may save his life.

No dog is born to be aggressive but many dogs are taught to become aggressive by their human families or by adverse life events.

A dog’s default setting is that of a sociable, friendly pack animal who will show some form of aggressive behavior, if and when circumstance demands it.

Nevertheless a dog who finds that reaching his goals is greatly aided by displays of aggressiveness may become more likely to display more and more of such behavior.

In societies aggressiveness is a tool to gain power over other individuals and easier access to the available resources.

By threatening others with violence the person in question finds that his wishes are followed and access to resources is granted whilst at the same time he finds that he can make more personal choices, i.e. have more freedom.

This is true for any social group – be it animal or human and it is also true for mixed groups in which animals and humans live together.

As humans we expect our animal family members to naturally respect our position as the head of the family, follow our wishes and adjust their behaviors to our interests.

If and when your dog is biddable, has a great will to please you, likes to learn how to make you happy all is well.

The train- ability of a young dog greatly depends on the teaching style of his mother: a canine mother who teaches her pups to respect her boundaries and behave well will produce offspring who are less likely to question their later owner’s authority.

As a rule a strict canine mother will give you a dog who is more biddable than a mother who allows her offspring to get away with aggressive and dis-respectful behavior.

Use the behavior of a strict canine mother as your role model and you will have no problem teaching your dog the rules of the house.

• Never ever give your dog what he wants when he shows any sign of threatening behavior!

If you do, you will be teaching your dog that being aggressive is a way to be successful.

• Don’t mistake a growl for a compliment – when your dog growls at you he does not mean to please you, he is trying to get you to please him.
• When you need to take something away from your dog make sure you do take it, don’t let him keep an object because he stared at you or put his mouth over it in the attempt to guard it.
• Don’t get off the couch because your dog wants to sit on it – if your couch is to small for the two of you it is your dog who has to go and sit somewhere else.

Much bothersome canine behavior started off as naughtiness and grew into nastiness because the owners of the dog misunderstood the behavior as being funny or playful thus leaving it unchecked.

A strict canine mother or father will never be growled at or bullied by their offspring because they know that in order to “create” sociable pack members they need to teach their kids to respect them.

Canine parents know the difference between play – aggression and real aggression and they know that one is okay whilst the other must be checked immediately.

Q: Why not, Annelie? Surely my dog needs to learn what he must and what he must not do!

A: Yes, sure. A dog needs to know how to behave well and be a good dog citizen.

Q: So, why do you say never to punish a pooch?

A: Dogs do not understand punishment and because of this punishing him for something he has done is not only useless but also unkind.

Q: How do you mean dogs don’t understand punishment?

A: The concept of punishment does not exist in nature. It is man made and has nothing to do with nature’s ways of teaching.

Q: So how does mother nature teach?

A: Animals teach their young by being a model. They simply show their offspring how to behave and the kids follow mother’s example.

This is why young dogs learn so much from oder dogs. When you have a dog who behaves well, comes when called, sits and stays your young dog will soon catch the idea.

Q: Blah Blah, Annelie! Not everyone can or should afford a canine teacher for his dog!

A: You are absolutely right.

When a young dog does something  his parents don’t want him to do he is stopped right away. They just don’t let him get on with it and punish him afterwards, they just make sure he stops doing whatever he is up to.

That way the dog elders make sure that the youngsters don’t form a habit and don’t receive any benefits from unwanted behavior.

As the youngster does not get a chance to misbehave he does not create the neuronal pathways for that unwanted behavior and the tendency to perform naturally falls away.

Most unwanted behaviors in our dogs start off as something a dog does randomly when playing about OR in his search for the solution to a  problem he is facing.

He then finds the behavior rewarding, thus repeating it. Over time he creates neuronal pathways which means he starts to create an auto pilot for this particular behavior.

Punishing him does nothing to dis-create that auto pilot because punishment has no influence on those particular neuronal pathways and links.

The only thing punishment does is this:

• It teaches your dog that you are potentially dangerous
• It causes your dog to go into semi- protection mode when you are around
• It creates an internal conflict between love and fear in the soul of your pooch

In short:

Punishing your dog destroys his trust in you by bringing fear into the equation.

If that is what you want, then punishing your dog would be your choice. If, on the other hand, you wanted your dog to trust you unconditionally, you  would find ways of educating him without using punishment.

When you own an aggressive dog you wonder constantly what you could do to make things better for yourself and your pooch and sometimes you may even minimize the extend of the problem or put the blame on your dog’s victims.

Like my friend Sue who owns an aggressive bitch of the size of a German shepherd. Her canine friend Sandy scares the life out of men by running up to them and attacking them by grabbing their knees.

Sue maintains that Sandy does not mean to hurt them but just does not like men and wants to warn them not to come any closer. She feels victimized by people who reported her dog to the local authorities as well as by those authorities because she now has to prove via temperament test that her dog is non-aggressive towards humans.

Over the years Sue has employed several dog trainers and dog psychologists without success – non of them managed to change her attitude nor her dog’s behavior.

Sandie’s story is a sad one. Her first owners wanted her to become a police dog thus treating her in a way they thought fit for such a purpose. Sandy failed her tests and was sold to someone as a guard dog where she was discarded again after having been more abused in order to make her “sharp”. Being “sharp” is their equivalent to being an aggressive dog.

In that period of her life Sandy was confronted with much human cruelty which taught her to fear and hate men.

My friend Sue somehow got in touch with this highly traumatized dog, giving her all her heart as well as a new and safe home.

You can imagine how unhappy Sue was when she first encountered her new dog’s behavioral pattern. She immediately understood the cause of the problem, emphasizing with Sandy at deep soul level.

Identifying herself too much with her dog’s problems became Sue’s and Sandie’s problem because Sue lost the perspective of a responsible dog owner.

She knows the reasons which caused her dog’s aggressiveness and hate for men in the first place but never managed to emphasize with the victims of her dog thus feeling like a victim herself.

All she needed to do after the first attack was to put a muzzle over her dog’s mouth when out of the garden as well as walking her on a leash.

Sue found this solution unbearable, continued her story of “Lizzy does not mean any harm” thus allowing her to grab hold of the next male human being.

Now Sandie is in serious trouble because she is known by the authorities for bad behavior. Her life is in danger because she will be taken away from her loving owner if she continues to misbehave.

It is not her fault, it is her owner’s responsibility but the poor dog must bear the consequences and possibly pay the price.

Her present problem was caused by the fact that her owner minimized her misbehavior, expecting her fellow human beings to tolerate being seriously mobbed by her 80 pound bitch.

The lesson to be learned from her story is this:

If you own a dog who displays any kind of ugly dog behavior by attacking or frightening humans or other canines, never take a stance of “oh, he does not mean it”.

• Take your pooches behavior seriously and make sure he can not harm others.

• Walk him on a leash and put a muzzle on him if necessary.

Those two measures may save your friends life in the long run!

You are told that you need to dominate your dog so that he can feel happy and secure or you are told that you must punish/ reward him in order to make him do what you want him to do.

Dominating your dog means that he must never be allowed to sit on the sofa with you, let alone sleep in your bed. He must never sleep in front of the door or in doorways and if he does he must get up as soon as you walk by.

You need to eat before you feed your dog, you must not greet him when you come home and ignore him when he comes for a cuddle. You are told to stand on your dog’s bed because that shows him, who is boss.

Most important of all, you must be the one to walk through doors and doorways first and always walk in front.

They say that this is how dogs behave amonst each other because that is the way that wolves behaved all those thousands of years ago. That is, the leader of the pack always displays his rank and the others must display their submission all the time.

Have you ever asked yourself  how they know all this?

Who knows how wolves used to behave some thousands of years ago?

The wolve is a highly endangered specimen because he used to be killed for his fur and hated as a predator. Do you think that many people cared to watch wolf behavior under natural conditions, i.e. in the wild?

How many dog training opinion leaders share their lives with a family of dogs?

Over the years I have had the pleasure to watch how dogs behave towards each other and I noticed that:

A dog who returns home is always greeted by the others.

The leaders of the pack do not always go through the door first, nor do they lead the way most of the time.

The leaders of the family group allow others to lay in close contact to them and they do  share  bones with the younger ones.

They do all that because they know that the others respect them without constant display of their might.

But there is no mistake: They do get out of the way when the bosses want them to and they make room for him/her should this be called for.

Top dogs are  the ones who decide how the cooky crumbles but they do not dominate their  family members in the way that clever people tell you to dominate your dog.

Canine family groups have a senior bitch and dog as their leading couple, hence my choice to use the plural.

The soul of the dog is that of a highly sociable animal who cares for his family and has awesome powers to communicate the things which need to be said. Dogs decided to share their lives with us as friends, not as servants or toys.

Each dog is an individual with his own personality and unique traits, a living, loving, feeling and very dedicated creature. If we treat him with respect and love he will reward us by sharing his very soul.