Animals Are Smarter Than You Think

Last week I read this on Facebook “The real reason animals don't talk, is because they understand so much.” The quote really resonated for me because during the wonderful years we had Toby, our Chesapeake Bay retriever we learned so much from him.  We learned early on that this dog was a lot smarter than we gave him credit for, and once we figured that out, life got a little easier. Toby’s ability to “read” his environment was uncanny, this became particularly evident during his hospital visits, he visited as a pet assisted therapy dog with Chimo - http://www.chimoproject.ca/chimo/ and was placed at Alberta Hospital Edmonton. He seemed to know exactly what the patients needed from him and acted in such a way that built trust with them.

In a recent discussion with Susan Sutcliffe (K9 Body Worker and expert dog behaviourist) on my PAWsitive Radio with Charmaine, we discussed the ways in which animals communicate (non verbally, through their behaviours, routines and so forth). Susan provided some incredible tips to increase our ability to communicate with and understand our pets. You can listen to the show here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chammond/2012/03/10/guest-susan-sutcliffe

Georgina Bradley also shared some helpful perspectives about how smart animals really are. Georgina trained dogs for Hollywood movies, the Olympics, and for families and pet owners, like you and I. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chammond/2012/02/25/guest-georgina-bradley

How fun it would have been to have Susan and Georgina meet Toby, I would have loved to hear what they thought he was saying.  J

Until next time… remember, our pets understand a lot more than we think they do! 

Are Dogs Healers?

I believe that many are!  Our dog Toby was a pet assisted therapy dog through a local organization, http://www.chimoproject.ca/chimo/, for over four years. He volunteered every Wednesday with patients at Alberta Hospital Edmonton. Wednesdays were clearly the highlight of Toby’s week, and also for many of the patients he worked with.

Some of the impacts we observed with patients included:

• Increased desire and willingness to socialize with other patients and staff, and of course Toby and I
• A general improvement in the mood of the patients
• Patients overcoming their fear of dogs through building a relationship and trust with Toby 
• An increase in physical activity as patients would go for walks because Toby needed a walk or outdoor break
•  An interest in caring for Toby (made him dog treats, helped with brushing him on visits, and made him birthday and anniversary cards.
•  Reduction in stress and anxiety

Toby in many ways was a stress relief and a healer for those he met.

There are also dogs (and other animals) that volunteer in reading and literacy programs, group homes, counseling programs, seniors’ facilities to name a few. Animals have the ability to provide love, comfort, joy and unconditional love which can deeply impact a person’s healing and wellness.

To hear me talk about this, listen to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions/2012/04/08/dog-rescue-therapy-dogs

And

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thebodymindandspiritnetwork/2012/03/23/living-with-hope

and watch Toby at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0eEpYp0UjE&feature=g-all-u&context=G234743dFAAAAAAAASAA    as CHIMO staff Danielle talks about Toby and his job.

Good books are for sharing- you can read about Toby’s pet assisted therapy in his books:  To buy a copy of On Toby’s Terms, visit

Rescues are PAWsome!

Toby was a rescue dog, from NASAP http://www.nasap.ca/, and was five years old when we adopted him. We have enjoyed being able to support rescues through hosting book and speaking events and joint fundraisers, drawing awareness to their cause, and sharing Toby’s phenomenal story. He is a great example of a rescue success!  Here is one of the first photos of Toby when he joined our family. He was a dog who lived life big…. And of course On Toby’s Terms.

This weekend I had a fun interview with Eileen Proctor, The Top Dog, about rescue dogs, then spoke with Lillian Brummet on her radio show about how you can help your local rescue origination this spring.  Here’s what we came up with:

•        Stop by and have a visit, meet the staff and volunteers and the animals
•        Volunteer as a pet walker at a rescue, this can be a family affair
•        When you are spring cleaning, check with your local rescue organization to see if they are in need of old towels, blankets and cleaning supplies
•        Next time you are grocery shopping, pick up a few extra cans of food
•        Collect your change and every month drop it by the shelter
•        Help spread the word about animals in need of adoption
•        Donate your garage sale proceeds to a rescue organization

You can enjoy the interview I did with Eileen Proctor, the top dog here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chammond/2012/04/07/guest-eileen-proctor

Here is the interview about rescue dogs and how we can support rescues in our communities:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions/2012/04/08/dog-rescue-therapy-dogs

Dogs Can Improve Your Health!

Dogs truly are man’s best friend! According to Dr. Dawn Marcus, a neurologist and professor at the University of Pittsburgh, spending time with our pets, and pet therapy dogs can have a significant positive impact on our health.

Dawn was a guest on my March 30/12 PAWsitive Radio Show, and shared that therapy dogs are often placed in schools, reading programs, older people, in hospitals and group homes. One of Dawn’s dogs volunteers as a pet therapy dog in a children’s reading program, and her other dog volunteers doing hospital visits. Like our dog Toby, her dog benefitted from the variety of visiting with people, moving about the unit, and having different activities. Therapy dogs can have a significant impact on the people they visit; Dawn shared a beautiful example of a child in the reading program who demonstrated huge improvements after reading to Dawn’s therapy dog.

There are health benefits that can result from relationships and visitation with dogs. Dawn’s research in outpatient clinics (with patients and staff) involved having outpatients visiting during the wait time with a therapy dog. The research indicated that attitudes improved; there was less stress during the waiting times (for staff, patients and those travelling with the patient).  

Dawn’s research also demonstrates that interactions and visits with therapy dogs can positively impact patients dealing with chronic pain. For example, ¼ of patients had a clinically meaningful drop in pain as a result of spending a short time visiting with the therapy dog.  The study also showed a 40% anxiety drop, and a significant drop in fatigue and stress. Dawn provides the science behind the terrific stories about pet therapy dogs.

Also important to note is the significant drop in stress hormones, the increase in the body’s natural pain killer endorphins, and improvements in your immune system --- all from petting  a therapy dog. It truly is a therapeutic intervention.  The work of therapy dogs and their owners and handlers is making a difference!

Pets are great connectors. You would not believe the people we have met because of our dog Toby. Dawn talked about the same experience with her dogs. Pets help us create routines, consistency and get us up, out and moving about.

You can listen to the great conversation with Dawn Marcus at:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chammond/2012/03/31/guest-dr-dawn-marcus

You can follow her work with therapy dogs at her blog, www.FitAsFido.com

Check out Dawn’s fabulous book Fit As Fido:

 Dr

Toby’s (our dog) pet therapy experience is chronicled in his book On Toby’s Terms:

Learn more about our legacy project, A Million Acts of Kindness – Toby’s Global Mission at www.ontobysterms.com

The Mighty Playful Kong

Toby’s favorite toy was The KONG. Just hearing the word would set Toby into high gear running around the house or yard searching for one of his Kongs. His favorite was the bright orange floating Kong (which we loved too, because we never had to run into the lake and retrieve it after it sank). Watching Toby with his Kong was a great reminder for me about the importance of focus on goals. When Toby was focused on his Kong, nothing around him seemed to be as important. He was able to maintain focus and ignore the distractions, something that is important for us, especially those of us distracted by BSI’s (bright shiny objects).

Here are a few lessons I learned from Toby about Focus and Goals

1.          Chase your dreams, not your tail
2.      Keep your eyes on the Kong (the goal)
3.      When you reach your goal bark a bit, share the news with others
4.           Celebrate!

To find out more about Kong, you can follow this link:

Therapy for the Therapy Dog

Animals have a way of connecting people and touching people on an emotional level. It is always so interesting to learn what people enjoy and appreciate about our book On Toby's Terms and Toby the Pet Therapy Dog. In the 51/2 years that we were fortunate and blessed to have Toby with us, he impacted many lives. His job as a pet therapy dog impacted people in the hospital, their families and caregivers, and even people around the world who have read his books. Kate, in her book review, stated that, "One of the ways Toby uses his skills to help people is as a pet therapy dog, and I find it fitting that some of the patients he helps have mental health issues just like he does. It's seems he is helping himself by helping others, which is a good message for us all."

On Wednesdays, Toby's hospital volunteer day, we would often smile and say these days were therapy for the therapy dog. You see, Toby stepped into his purpose and helped others, and in doing so, this became therapy for him too.

Read more about what Kate has to say about Toby, his books and pet assisted therapy at:

http://bookscraftsprettythings.blogspot.ca/2012/03/on-toby's-terms-charmaine-hammond.html

PAWsitive PAWspective

It seems strange to me that people are always so interested in how they are different from their FURiends. We hear differently, smell differently and see differently too. I don't know why that is so interesting, don't people see differently from one another too?

In On Toby's Terms Charmaine tells a story about seeing things differently. She was feeling tired and frustrated because she and Chris couldn't figure out why I was becoming such a handful for them. I didn't mean to cause them troubles and tried to tell her that by squeezing in beside her while she looked out the window in thought. As I looked out the window I suddenly saw what Charmaine was looking at...a big black bird that needed to be greeted! Of course, that isn't really what she was looking at, it just seemed like it to me. Has that ever happened to you?

We all see things and situations in different ways. We also see different things in each situation. Charmaine saw the outdoors, the other side of the nose printed window. I saw the bird and barked at it thinking it would reconnect Charmaine and I and alleviate an awkward situation. It's a really good thing that Charmaine is the person she is. At that moment, when she was already feeling discouraged, she could have gotten upset with me for barking. Instead, she said, "...might as well look at what's really out there" and she laughed. Rather than focus on her disappointment and frustration she chose to adjust her focus and align her vision with mine. That made for a very PAWsitive outcome. I also changed my focus. I realized that the bird was not what she was focusing on. We both realigned our vision to focus on what was really there, each other.

The next time you find yourself in a difficult situation stop for a second and try to see what the other person is seeing. You'd be PAWmazed at what you will see and the PAWsitive results you will achieve!