Dog
Experts Say Failing To Nurture Pet’s Natural Instincts Leads To Problems
POSTED:
Thursday, May 12, 2011
UPDATED:
11:01 pm EDT May 12, 2011
ORLANDO,
Fla. -- Barking,
chewing, nipping; a dog’s bad behavior can quickly take over a family’s life.
But dog behavior experts say faulting Fido may not be fair. Humans may be the
ones who need training.
Peanut is a
tiny dog with a big personality.
“We thought
his tail up and ears up meant he was a happy dog,” said Lisa Gutierrez,
Peanut’s owner. Not at all.
It turns
out that Peanut, a cha-weenie dog, which is a boutique mix of Chihuahua and
Dachshund, is bred to be tiny in stature but have the heart of a warrior.
“What a lot
of people don’t know is that if a Dachshund weighed more than 40 pounds, you’d
never hear of pit bulls. They’re one of the most consistently tenacious and
aggressive dogs I work with,” said Todd Langston, a dog behavior expert who
works with the Center For Animal Therapies in
Longwood.
Langston
has been working with Peanut and his family for more than a month.
“I have to
tell you, I am noticing more of a difference in us than in him because we’re
the ones being trained,” said Gutierrez.
That’s what
Langston says his program is based on, “If you look on my brochure it says, ‘In
Home Human Training For Dogs.’”
Langston said
training your dog is less about commanding them to sit, stay and stop and more
about understanding what their body is telling you from head to tail.
“The dogs
aren’t listening to you; they’re watching you; they’re feeling you,” said
Langston. “What you can tell when a dog is (sticking his tongue out) is that
something has its attention or they’re alert on something. If they’re
aggressive or they’re going to pull, then this is when they’re going to act on
it.”
While
Langston teaches humans how to handle those aggressive situations, he says he’d
much prefer pet owners avoid them all together by first nurturing our pet’s
natural instincts.
“Every
breed had a purpose and you need to fulfill that side,” said Langston.
That wasn’t
happening for 6 year old Domino, a terrier, so all he did, all the time, was
bark.
Domino’s
owner, Linda Reeves, has had to learn to care for what Langston calls Domino’s
“Gladiator Mind.”
“Terrier
breeds were bred to hunt and they’re a favorite dog of people in apartments and
older people, but the problem is just because they’re small dogs doesn’t mean
they have small energy,” said Langston.
So for
Domino and his owner, Langston offered a simple solution. A daily run beside
Linda’s golf cart and the old dog has learned a new trick: serenity.
“It calms
him down terribly,” said Reeves.
“The
exercise fulfills the drive so you don’t get that pacey type behavior,”
explained Langston.
Langston
also points to the importance of fulfilling dogs bred to work, like Great Danes
and Doberman pincers. He suggests turning a walk into work with a doggie
backpack.
“Every
single stick you see, put them in a sit, unzip the pack, put the stick in the
pack, and zip the pack back up and start your walk again. What you’re doing is
teaching your dog to work for sticks,” said Langston.
And now
that Peanut’s family understands that he is a little dog with a big need to
hunt, they let him do just that.
“He’s
better to hang out with once we’ve run him,” said Gutierrez.
Langston
suggests Labradors, pugs, and King Charles spaniels for families with children
as these dogs were bred specifically to be around people.
If you live
without children or work long hours, he suggests an older dog of any breed, as
the dogs require less attention with age. Or better yet, get a cat.
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Bertolucci and Mary Weinaug at Wekiva Island, a CAT Affiliate
Orange Appeal, July/August 2010 1 of 2 pages
Orange Appeal July/August 2010 2 of 2 pages
6/30/2010 THE ARTS Orlando Weekly
Whatcha doing this summer? Here’s a handful of suggestions for some quick class action
The wilds of Wekiva If romping around the great outdoors is your thing, the Wekiva Island tours on the first and second Saturday of the month provide an opportunity to watch – and shoot with your iPhone – all types of Florida fauna “from bears and gators to snakes, birds and bugs – anything that flies, crawls or swims,” promises the website. Wekiva Island (the privately owned and renovated former Wekiva Marina) opened last year and is home to the Centers for Animal Therapies, an educational nonprofit founded by Longwood’s Jo Maldonado. The two groups joined this summer to present tours that benefit both organizations.
Fred Bohler, a “bear response agent” with Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission serves as the expert tour guide. “A lot of people don’t know what the heck this stuff is,” he says. “So we’re trying to educate them.” The walkabouts include using dip nets along the Wekiva River and its tributaries to learn about crayfish and other aquatic species. Additionally, Bohler has specimens of various water invertebrates on display, as well as alligator skulls and teeth for examination.
“In Florida, you have to look before you leap into water,” he explains. “Knowledge conquers fear of the unknown.” (walking tours 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 3, July 10, Aug. 7, Aug. 14, $15; add all-day kayak or canoe rental for $25; Wekiva Island, 1014 Miami Springs Drive, Longwood; 407-862-1500; www.wekivaisland.com)
Central Florida Tails Magazine June Issue, 2010 It
seems that everyone in the animal world can tell a story of how they
loved animals and lived with them since they were very young. At first
blush, the story of Jo Maldonado is not much different.
As a young girl, she would try to save the fish her father caught. In
her teens, she took dog-training classes and won ribbons with her
devoted companion Rex. In her 20s, she rode horses, and in her 30’s and
40’s, she volunteered with the German Shepherd Rescue in Pennsylvania
doing canine assessment and fostering. And, for almost 30 years, she
led a successful career as a publicist, owning her PR agency.
But it wasn’t until she and her husband moved to Florida after her
children had moved on with their lives that a continuous series of
events made Maldonado consider changing her life’s path. While others
might have seen these as unconnected circumstances, Maldonado saw them
as a wake-up call. That coupled with volunteering at local shelters,
seeing the infinite line of discarded animals, and almost losing one of
her dogs due to the indifference of a vet, forced Maldonado to realize
that it was time to follow her passion for animals and give back to the
community.
“Three years ago, a series of events made me stop and listen long and
hard enough to realize that I was not following my soul's purpose,”
Maldonado says.
Maldonado had never really been a book reader, but under doctors'
orders to not move for a minimum of eight weeks, she poured through
every intuitive, animal communication book she could find. It proved
cathartic, and once she was able to walk, she started taking classes on
the same subjects. Maldonado had found her path.
“I realized I needed to work with my first love—animals and nature—and
offer an educational resource that would teach people how to understand
them better, using intuition and learning in combination,” she says.
So, she formed an educational program that through experiential
coursework would lead people to a better understanding of animals and
their environment. Called the Centers for Animal Therapies or CAT.
CAT is based on the theory that both sides of the brain are necessary
to truly communicate with our animal world: the left brain—the fact
based, scientific side, and the right brain—the intuitive, innate, and
natural side.
CAT offers classes on animal topics to the general public so they can
develop both sides of the brain. Maldonado explains, “The program is
slightly over a year old. This spring we taught in 12 locations,
offering 38 classes, and working with 18 different instructors. I have
found my soul's purpose. I am blessed to be able to do this work, and
offer insight into the lives of animals for those who share their lives
with them.”
Education is a true source of enlightenment. “With the huge number of
animal rescues and shelters, I was determined to be able to help in
some manner,” says Moldonado. CAT offers support to rescues and
shelters in Central Florida in a few ways:
• Free classes are available to any animal rescue or shelter volunteer
or staff member. “It is our contribution for the countless number of
hours that are donated by these folks,” Maldonado says. This spring,
Pet First Aid & CPR and Canine Behavior were offered to the
Seminole County Animal Control staff and volunteers. “It is our
intention to offer more classes on one date. Our instructors are most
eager to share their knowledge.” Anticipated attendance is 100+.
• Classes are offered at non-profit locations to help bring income to the hosting organization.
• CAT has formed an educational alliance with The C.A.R.E. Foundation,
a non-profit 501(c)3 that provides permanent sanctuary primarily for
non-releasable wildlife. Classes on various aspects of the animals,
environment, behavior, physical and alternative therapies, animal
communication, and healing give the participants added insight into the
lives of wild animals, simultaneously assisting the organization by
raising funds.
• Moldonado leads instructors and students on routine visits to animal
organizations in need, offering their services free of charge. Reiki,
Shamanic healing, animal communication, biofeedback, oil and flower
essence therapy, massage, and acupressure are offered intermittently.
They have worked with Pet Rescue by Judy, Seminole County Animal
Control, Wild Horse Rescue, The Care Foundation, Panther Ridge, and
Freedom Ride.
Orlando Sentinel November 24, 2009 Pet owners turn to massage, yoga to help furry friends By Rachael Jackson Orlando Sentinel 8:40 a.m. EST, November 24, 2009
The massage students worked diligently, following the instructor's cues to use compression, percussion and finger-walking techniques as their subjects lay relaxed throughout the room.
Suddenly, one of the clients leaped up with a great sense of urgency. She trotted away from her masseuse and sniffed her neighbor.
So it goes when you're teaching a room of pet owners the proper ways to rub and sooth their furry companions.
The group — eight women, five dogs and a few stand-in stuffed animals — assembled at a massage center off State Road 434 in Longwood. The class was organized by the Center for Animal Therapies, a new nonprofit that instructs pet owners how to communicate with and care for their animals.
Students came from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from a hospice nurse to a woman hoping to start a pet-sitting service.
Keri Block, a proposal analyst, brought Bailey, a formerly abused dog whose nervous energy had started affecting the other dogs in her house. Bailey wasn't an eager participant at first. While the humans got started with a deep breathing exercise, she walked in circles and wiggled her ears.
But after lots of stylized stroking, she lay silently on her side, and Block could feel the calm.
"Wow," Block whispered as she rubbed and the dog didn't flinch.
A few weeks after the class, she said massage has become a routine for all the dogs at her house.
"Bailey will try to mooch and get some more," Block said.
Central Florida practitioners of alternative treatments for pets say interest in their services has surged in recent years. So much so that Jo Maldonado, who founded the Longwood-based center this spring, has had to turn people away from classes on topics such as animal communication and using psychology and energy to train dogs.
"I think the pet owners' level of consciousness is actually changing where they're more aware of their animals' needs now than they were years ago," Maldonado said.
Sherri Cappabianca, a former software engineer who lives in Winter Park, said that several years ago, people didn't take her pet massage, acupressure and aromatherapy business seriously.
"People would walk by me and snicker," she said, recalling an event she did about three years ago. "Now, it's becoming, 'Oh yes, I guess that would work.' There is some mindset change that I am seeing."
Cappabianca, who does house calls, just started her own publishing company, Off the Leash Press, and released Healthy Dogs, Your Loving Touch: Acupressure Massage for Your Dog in October.
Cat Bruce, owner of PetsFirst, a Windermere pet-sitting company that offers holistic therapies, said pet care is simply catching up with evolving human lifestyles.
"Everybody's turning to a holistic, cleaner lifestyle, so of course the pets are going to come the same way with us," said Bruce, who also offers belly-dancing classes and psychic readings — for people.
Maldonado said animal-communication classes are among the most popular at her center. But she's not the only one in town offering to help people peer into the minds of their animal companions.
Joan Ranquet, a Seattle-based animal communicator, recently started Communication with all Life University to offer certification in animal communication. She holds two weekend sessions a year at a farm in Osteen.
At Maldonado's center, teachers have included a veterinarian, a medium, a canine-behavior expert and even a bear-response agent from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, who instructs on pet safety and wildlife. Classes are offered throughout Central Florida — at animal shelters, clinics, studios. Eventually Maldonado hopes to have a permanent location that could double as an animal sanctuary and classroom space. She would like to incorporate more classes inspired by Native American shamanism.
The fall class session ended Sunday with a class on natural herbs, remedies and flower essences for animals. The next session starts in January, when Maldonado also plans to set up free mini-classes at the farmers market along Lake Eola in downtown Orlando.
Rachael Jackson can be reached at rjackson@orlandosentinel.com or 407-540-4358.
Keri Block and her dog Bailey take part in a class at the City Arts Factory in Orlando. She credits massage and other holistic therapies with calming Bailey's nervous energy.
TV Media WKMG/CBS/Orlando
Click the arrow below to see our own Candice Mitchell as speak about our "Doga" class on WKMG/TV 6
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