Category: Things We Forget To Do

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“Yes” & “No”

Let’s talk about “Yes” And “ No”. We can teach our animals these words just like we teach “sit”, “stay”, Etc.

Most humans use “No” very assertively, loudly, aggressively, with a deep (mean) voice, etc… This is unnecessary and just scares your pet. Your pet doesn’t learn what the word “No” means, they just know in that moment you are upset, angry, frustrated, etc. and they don’t know why!

Instead teach them what “No” actually means. It means to stop doing whatever they are doing. This is done with a REGULAR, calm voice. It becomes a request, not an emotional trigger for your pet. When you teach them use the word “No”, calmly, quietly and in a regular voice and tone. Move them away from whatever they are doing that you disapprove of, and reward them for discontinuing the disapproved behavior. The reward should be fun, happy and upbeat!

You can say “No”, and when your pet stops whatever it’s doing or you move your pet away, then say “Good!” Or “Yes!”, excited, happily and fun! Your pet will soon learn when you say No, a reward /happiness/ APPROVAL comes when they stop!

Then guess what? It’s not an emotional trigger for them. It’s not a reason for them to feel like they let you down. It’s a reason for them to SUCCEED, to get your approval, to FEEL GOOD!

See how that changes the energy? Then, when you catch your pet doing something you don’t want them to do, you can say it calmly, quietly, and regularly, and they will stop and wait for your approval. Just make sure you give it to them if you wan this to keep working.

This is a TOTALLY different spin on the word “No”, compared to what most humans do and use with animals. I promise it will change EVERYTHING. This is what I mean by learning to show up better for your pets and communicate in THEIR way, not yours. Communicate with respect.

Now the word “Yes”. You can teach your animals if they are unsure (because once they truly know the meaning of “No”, they will look at you for approval), you can teach them “ Yes” means they may proceed with their request. They are allowed to ask for things too!

You can teach your animals the MEANING of “Yes” and “No”, and when you do communication starts to go BOTH ways. They will ask you for permission before engaging in activities that are foreign or unknown (with eye contact). And you can tell them, “ Yes” or “No”.

It’s really cool and it really will deepen your relationship and improve communication. Like everything else though it takes time and consistency to teach them what those words mean. But it is worth the time and effort.

And again, when teaching animals EVERYONE that engages with that animal has to be consistent with their requests and method of requests and use of words for animals to learn without confusion.

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Things Animals Don’t Understand

Animals AMAZE me because they are so smart. Think about how much they are asked to adapt to a human world. And they do.  But let me tell you a few things they dont understand, and never will. 

* Jokes. Playing jokes on pets causes distrust and confusion. This applies to every pet in every situation. Social media tries to make us believe otherwise. Their reactions, that humans find funny, are baed in fear, confusion, and anxiety.  Animals have a sense of human, just not like we do! They’d rather make YOU laugh with their silly behaviors. 

* Yelling. Yelling at animals is not discipline, it’s fear provoking. They don’t understand yelling the way humans do. They don’t understand you can yell one minute and then be happy the next. Animals avoid confrontation, ALWAYS. It’s a last resort. Yelling carries a very scary energy for animals, even if they act ok. These animals that act ok are internalizing it. 

By yelling I mean, at the animal or at each other! If you yell out of anger or frustration at a human, but the animal hears it, they panic. 

* Delayed discipline.  If you come home to a mess, it’s too late. You can not discipline your animal. They don’t live in the same “time” we do.  All they know is they are happy to see you when you walk through the door. If that happiness turns to anger or frustration, you will literally break their heart. And they will have NO IDEA why you are mad, even if you think you are being clear. You aren’t. 

It’s only human of us to humanize our animals. But when we do it to the degree that we lose sight of what they actually can and do understand, humanizing them becomes a burden for them instead of a more blessed life. 

If you could truly see into an animals heart the way I do, and the way some others in my life of work do, you would never, and I mean never, ever, EVER get frustrated, angry, or impatient with them no matter WHAT they do. I sincerely mean that. 

My dogs could rip my cough apart (they wouldn’t, LOL, but could because they are dogs!), and if I came home to that I would be discouraged, but I would greet them with love, smiles, and hugs like I always do. I would ignore the couch. I would be upset with myself for missing a cue, that led them to that behavior. I would NOT be upset with them. Not even upset with them. Not even 1%. Why? Because I know how they think, I know what timeline they live in, and I know what their hearts are made of. 

Now if I caught them doing it, I would take them away from the couch, tell them NO, softly and quietly, ask them to sit while I pick it up. Not let them be involved in picking it up (because I don’t want them to thinking its a fun activity WITH me!). LOL. And then move on with my day never to mention it again. 

I wasn’t always that way. I used to get frustrated with animals at times, just like everyone else. I made plenty of mistakes, like everyone does. But when I started developing this gift years ago, I changed. And if you need to, you can change too. We can only change when we learn. But you are all here to learn, and through this, you will change and show up more fairly for your animals too. 

My current pets have the best version of me and yours can too. We can’t change the mistakes we have made in the past because we didn’t know any better, or we let emotion get the best of us, but we can choose to learn as much as we can so we can show up for our pets in a way they understand and in a way that is fair. 

And remember our pets from the past knew exactly what they were choosing and they still chose us, even if we were not our best. They helped us get to where we are NOW for our current pets. How much more does that make you love them now? 

Tomorrow I want to talk about the word “No” and the word “Yes”.  A very important part of our communication with animals. 

If you want to know how to show up better for your animals, I promise a reading will help you do just that. 1.207.849.0096 Text. AngieAngieMorin.com

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Training is FUN!

The foundation of a well behaved animal is not obedience. It’s not even training. It’s your relationship with that animal.

If your pet (any species) thinks good things happen WITH YOU, they will be super eager to do what you ask.

What does it mean when I say good things happen WITH you?

Rewards – Lots and lots of rewards

Praise – always telling your animal how wonderful they are, how smart they are, how proud you are of them. They understand ALL our words because words carry energy!

FUN – If what you are doing is FUN, they will want to do it over and over and over. Training is SO easy, when it is FUN

Feel Good Energy – If your pet feels GOOD when around you, guess what? They want to be around you. They want to do the things you want them to do because they feel GOOD!

If you are disappointed in your pet, always criticizing your pet, always pointing out what your pet does wrong and rarely rewarding what is correct, your pet will not feel good.

Your pet should feel that everything wonderful in their life happens around YOU, because of YOU, and with YOU. And if you choose to create that energy, your pet will do anything you ask, happily, willingly, and without resistance.

It is a choice. You choose how to teach (train) your pet. You can make it fun. You can focus only on the good and ignore the bad, or you can be authoritative, demanding, and rigid. I promise you the first approach works better and quicker. The first approach creates happier and more relaxed and adaptable animals. The first approach is what they deserve.

Animals have free will, like we do. Their free will should be honored. They should never be forced into anything (unless it is truly for their safety). Make it fun, make them feel good about themselves, and they will thrive. I promise!

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New Animals In the Home/Barn

When you bring a new pet into your home or barn they will be living in a state of stress for the first week or more.

To them, its like being dropped into a foreign country without notice. A place where you don’t know anyone and no one speaks your language. A place where you don’t understand the language.

Their cortisol is going to be HIGH from this stress even when you have “saved” them. They are too stressed to know they’ve been saved.

They are going to be overwhelmed, make mistakes, and have accidents.

They are going to lack sleep, be confused, and try to protect themselves.

They are going to be living in survival mode.

If more people understood this and had the patience these animals deserve during this stressful time, more animals would stay in their homes (and not be returned). And more animals will settle in SOONER because instead of adding to their stress, your understanding and patience can minimize their stress.

Trying to be too friendly too quick, causes stress. Smothering them or introducing them to lots of new people, new animals or new places can cause stress.

Any animal moving to a new home (or barn) is going to feel ENORMOUS stress no matter how “good” the home is.

You won’t see the animal you truly have in your family for weeks. What they show you will be cortisol driven, survival driven.

Let them settle at their own pace without any expectations at all.

Allow them grace during their mistakes. Ignore the mistakes. I can promise you they are already worried. Knowing they “messed up” makes everything even harder for them.

Most importantly put yourself in their shoes, see the word from their perspective.

If you had no idea you were moving, but suddenly got dropped off in a foreign country where no one speaks your language and where you can’t understand the language. How would YOU feel?

Then imagine feeling the energy of those around you being impatient, knowing you made mistakes, but you don’t understand what those mistakes where. How would YOU feel?

Imagine trying to communicate and no one understanding. How would YOU feel?

Imagine living under expectations that you have never heard of? Not being taught with patience and kindness, just expected to know. How would YOU feel?

That’s how our animals feel.

But you can make their “move” safe and comfortable just by giving them time, patience and love. Releasing ALL expectations. And letting them show you when they are ready to open up, meet others, and go new places.

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Blind Love

Angie Morin:
Our pets follow us blindly. They are the most loyal being you will EVER have in your life. Their love and their loyalty is a GIFT that should be protected, treasured, and honored.

  • We put them in cars and trailers to bring them places. They have no idea if these places will be safe or if they will stay with us. They just trust us and go, often willingly.

Unfortunately when animals are rehomed, these “rides” aren’t what they had hoped.

  • We bring them to new places all the time which they often enjoy! But they trust us, that the location is safe for them.
  • We bring them to the vet, it can hurt. They may be afraid or nervous, but they still go because we asked them to.
  • We ask them to meet new people, new animals. They try, and they trust those new faces will be friendly and kind.
  • We often ask others to watch them when we cant (travel, work, etc.). Sometimes we even leave them in places other than home. They go. They stay. Sometimes they are scared or nervous. They wait endlessly for our return, no matter how long that may be. They trust that we will come back.

We owe it to them to keep them safe, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

What does this mean?

  • Managing YOUR energy because they will absorb it. If you hold anger, frustration, annoyance, or worse, even if the emotion is NOT directed at your pet, your pet WILL feel it is, and will absorb that energy.
  • Never put them in a situation that will be too overwhelming for them. And if you do accidentally, remove them immediately. Your animal doesn’t have to tolerate every human or animal. It’s ok to tell someone to step away from your pet or to get off your horse. You are their voice. They trust YOU.
  • If you have someone watching them, always be vigilant. Always check up on them. Always! You would not leave your kid for a week or even days, without checking in and talking to your kid.
  • Advocate for your animal. If something isn’t ok with your animal, say so. You are trusted to enforce your animals boundaries. They need you too.
  • Give them space. Sometimes animals just need space, like people. They need to be alone.

They will follow you loyally, blindly, every single day of their life. Even when you make a mistake. Even the undeserving humans that neglect or hurt their animals intentionally, even those humans have animals that will follow the blindly and be loyally devoted for their entire life.

They give you their whole heart, they trust you with their life, wrap your head around how deep that loyalty and love is. Wrap your head around how valuable that gift is. When you really think about how valuable and precious that gift is, do you see why you carry such a big responsibility now? The responsibility to protect them, love them and care for them equally as much as they do you, every single day, for the rest of that animals life.

Angie Morin:
Our pets follow us blindly. They are the most loyal being you will EVER have in your life. Their love and their loyalty is a GIFT that should be protected, treasured, and honored.

  • We put them in cars and trailers to bring them places. They have no idea if these places will be safe or if they will stay with us. They just trust us and go, often willingly.

Unfortunately when animals are rehomed, these “rides” aren’t what they had hoped.

  • We bring them to new places all the time which they often enjoy! But they trust us, that the location is safe for them.
  • We bring them to the vet, it can hurt. They may be afraid or nervous, but they still go because we asked them to.
  • We ask them to meet new people, new animals. They try, and they trust those new faces will be friendly and kind.
  • We often ask others to watch them when we cant (travel, work, etc.). Sometimes we even leave them in places other than home. They go. They stay. Sometimes they are scared or nervous. They wait endlessly for our return, no matter how long that may be. They trust that we will come back.

We owe it to them to keep them safe, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

What does this mean?

  • Managing YOUR energy because they will absorb it. If you hold anger, frustration, annoyance, or worse, even if the emotion is NOT directed at your pet, your pet WILL feel it is, and will absorb that energy.
  • Never put them in a situation that will be too overwhelming for them. And if you do accidentally, remove them immediately. Your animal doesn’t have to tolerate every human or animal. It’s ok to tell someone to step away from your pet or to get off your horse. You are their voice. They trust YOU.
  • If you have someone watching them, always be vigilant. Always check up on them. Always! You would not leave your kid for a week or even days, without checking in and talking to your kid.
  • Advocate for your animal. If something isn’t ok with your animal, say so. You are trusted to enforce your animals boundaries. They need you too.
  • Give them space. Sometimes animals just need space, like people. They need to be alone.

They will follow you loyally, blindly, every single day of their life. Even when you make a mistake. Even the undeserving humans that neglect or hurt their animals intentionally, even those humans have animals that will follow the blindly and be loyally devoted for their entire life.

They give you their whole heart, they trust you with their life, wrap your head around how deep that loyalty and love is. Wrap your head around how valuable that gift is. When you really think about how valuable and precious that gift is, do you see why you carry such a big responsibility now? The responsibility to protect them, love them and care for them equally as much as they do you, every single day, for the rest of that animals life.

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Don’t Rush Your Pets

There are so many things our animals don’t understand about our human world. Yes, we ask them to understand. In fact, many humans just expect and assume they understand.

We live in a world of instant gratification. Animals don’t work that way. They don’t show up knowing how to be a well-mannered, human world adapted being. They need to be taught with kindness, love, patience and TIME.

Animals can’t be rushed. They don’t understand “hurry”. It’s very confusing to them. They aren’t on a time schedule like we are. They live in the present and the celebrate every small thing that happens in their day. They don’t have any desire to rush through their day, like humans do.

When humans try to rush animals it can scare them or frustrate them. It can cause stress and anxiety because they feel YOUR rushed energy. That feels chaotic to them. At the LEAST it will confuse them.

Don’t rush them! Just because you’re in a hurry, don’t assume they are. I can guarantee they aren’t. In fact, maybe they are here to teach us that taking our time to notice and celebrate all the little things in our daily life is the best way to be happy.

Maybe they’re here to slow you down. To make you notice the things in life that really matter. Like the extra time you took to play with your cat. Or the walks you took with your dog. Or maybe that trail ride you took your horse on. Or just not rushing your pet out the door when it’s time to leave because youre running late for their vet appt.

Animals do not understand rushing or hurrying or “being late” and that will never change. Those are human problems not animal problems. So if you want to be the best guardian you can be for your pets, don’t rush them, don’t hurry them. Let them move at their pace. Because I can tell you their pace allows for a fuller and more beautiful life with less stress.

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Difficult Animals

Animals that bite, growl, scratch, buck, rear, kick or bolt are often labeled as dangerous or difficult.

These animals are NOT that at all. They are usually the most sensitive animals.

These animals resort to these behaviors, which are forms of communication, because their more subtle, polite ways of communicating to tell you something is wrong, have been ignored.

They have run out of ways to communicate gently so they are using the only form of communication they have left. It’s always a last resort for these animals. By the time they get to that point they have been pushed so far there is no other option.

These animals need patience, understanding, and most importantly someone that is willing to observe and listen to the whispers.

These animals are loving, sensitive sentient beings that have had their voices ignored too many times. They are not dangerous or difficult. Starting listening to them and theyll show you who they truly are.

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Your Pet’s Favorite Things

Here is a very simple way to add to your pets day!

Make a list of pet favorite things to do that they do not already do on a daily basis.

Examples:

Interactive play with you

Go for a walk (cats can do this too!)

Hand Graze

Their favorite snack (not something they get all the time)

Visit the pet store

Get a pup cup

An hour of extra turnout

Extra long grooming/massage

A formal massage

An alternative therapy treatment (reiki, magna wave, etc.)

A hike

Getting a new gift (toy, bed, treat)

A hack ride (for show horses)

A trip to the beach or a lake

Take a nap together (our animals LOVE to sleep with us)

Eat together and share your food

Go somewhere new

The list is ENDLESS. The key is pick things your pets don’t do daily. Then commit to doing one of these things for them every single day. Don’t skip out on their daily walk though! The list is meant to be in addition to their already established routine.

This will add variety to their days. This will add enrichment. This will give them something to look forward to! This will be fun for both of you. Most importantly, it will give you and your animals more quality time together, deepening your bond.

And you can make it a celebration. You can pick the activity out of a jar if you have a lot of time. If you are short on time, pick something quick, but still commit to doing something for them each day.

If every day is too much, then commit to one day a week. One day a week to do something from the list you make.

The key is consistency. It’s easy to do it for a week or a month. But can you commit to giving your pet a lifetime of 30 minutes or an hour a day that is all about them? We have 24 hours a day to work with, giving them a small portion that is focused on them and all about them, will be relationship changing in the best way. They deserve it.

Want to know what your pets favorite things to do are?

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A Powerful Quote From A Dog

“Things can get better but I will never be perfect. “

It is important we always remember this.

Our animals can be easy to live with, they can learn our expectations, routines, and way of communicating. They can learn appropriate behaviors. They can learn how to adapt to this human world.

But they can never be perfect. They will make mistakes. They will have accidents in the house. They will make messes.

I know most of us don’t expect them to be perfect. But do we expect them not to make mistakes at all?

They will still make messes. They might have an odd day. They might accidentally break something. They may have an accident in the house.

Sometimes we get the urge to need the bathroom quickly or unexpectedly but we can just go. It happens to them to. If no one is home, or they don’t have time to ask, or aren’t noticed when they do ask… they’ll have an accident. Even the best, cleanest animal.

And even more simple, humans make mistakes ALL the time. Animals will too.

So remember though you may not expect them to be perfect, do you expect them not to make mistakes in certain areas? I think some of us do.

But I do promise you, they don’t do it intentionally. They try their hardest NOT to make mistakes, even when they don’t fully know what we want.

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Can You “UnChain” Your Dog (or other pet)?

Did you know that January is National Unchain A Dog Month 

While most of us would never physically chain our dogs, I’m reminded restrictions don’t just come from chains. 

Psychologically, yes chaining dogs is very harmful to them. It’s restricting. It usually  leads to aggression, insecurity, frustration, anxiety, fear, and mental decline. Chained dogs feel restricted physically and emotionally. But not all “chains” are metal. 

Though I know you all get it and don’t actually chain your dogs, lets think about how we “unchain” the non-metal chains for our loved pets. 

* We can “unchain” our expectations of our dogs. Let them be who they are and not label them as “stubborn” or “reactive”. Those labels limit a dogs expression and tell the dog thats who we want them to be! They feel our energy when we use those terms. 

* “The invisible chain” Sometimes even our loved house dogs feel restricted emotionally, mentally or energetically when their voices, requests, needs, and emotions aren’t heard or correctly understood. 

* We can give them “freedom”. Let them choose where to walk, when to leave the house with use and when not to. We can honor their preferences to food, space, routines, and touch.   Communication is the bridge that allows choice.  And we need to be willing to listen. 

When we communicate with our dogs and open ourselves up to what they are trying to communicate with us, we “unchain” their voices. When that happens something 

Shifts for them and for us. 

I am so grateful so many of you already live understand the value is keeping our dogs off physical chains. Our dogs deserve more than a life tied to a chain, physically or metaphorically. 

If possible, please help an organization that unchain dogs. There are many. They provide large kennels and doghouses  for the dogs. You can help through your time, a donation, or by spreading awareness. So many dogs ARE truly chained and even just doing one thing, one time, may help a chained dog become “unchained” and live a life that is more free. 

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