It’s always an adventure to eat in foreign countries. Strange smells, curious colours, tantalizing tastes. (And, occasionally, uncomfortable gastronomic conditions which go by many colourful names but my favourite is from Syria, where I got to experience a bathroom-related temporary condition which the locals called “yallah yallah” meaning, literally, “quickly quickly”.) But lately I’ve spent a lot of time in Thailand. There are many pleasant surprises for the foodie in this tropical kingdom.

For starters, I’m very happy to report that the food we get in North American Thai restaurants is indeed authentic and would be familiar at any high street establishment back home. Compare this to the typical “Chinese” food we get at home which, while tasty in a deep-fried kind of way, bears no resemblance whatsoever to actual cuisine found in the world’s most populous nation. Japanese food in North America is more authentic, but our beloved and ubiquitous sushi is a rare delicacy in Japan – usually reserved for wedding feasts – and actually quite difficult to find in a typical Osaka eatery. Not so in Thailand. Phad thais, green curries, kao phads – all were in abundance from Bangkok to Bunyasiriphant’s Roadside Cart.

This concept of humble authenticity really hit me after I’d given a presentation at a government office and our hosts had arranged for lunch with a row of steam trays in the corridor. I joined the line, slopped some rice onto my plate and took a polite sample of the offering in each stainless-steel tray. Typical, institutional food, and it was obvious by their casual behaviour that my hosts didn’t think the meal anything special. But it was! It tasted like the food served at Sabhai Thai, my wife’s favourite restaurant in our local village. So there I was, eating run-of-the-mill, cafeteria food, and feeling like I was dining gourmet. Seriously, folks, they eat like this all the time.

(Full disclosure, I skipped the dessert of what looked like jellied eyeballs.)

But the biggest surprise actually came at one of the hotels I stayed at in Bangkok – Le Meridien, if you’re curious. I ordered breakfast in my room so I could get on the phone to Vancouver while folks in the office were still at work, and a typical selection of scrambled eggs, bacon and pastries arrived. But then, nestled in a pretty, wee basket, were some tater tots. I can take tater tots or leave them, but these were – without question – the finest, most delicious tater tots I have ever had. I seriously wondered if they filtered the oil in which these were fried through virgin, $100-bills. I never would have placed tater tots in the realm of fine dining, but these little golden beauties were like nuggets of sunshine, captured and deep-fried in a land that knows how to make good food.

And I think that’s it. If food is important to a culture, they take every meal seriously. It reminds me of a time I was in Antibes, France, and I ordered the cheese platter because I was hungry and I figured that would be quick. The waiter obviously didn’t hear me properly, and assumed with a sniff that this ill-cultured North American had ordered the cheeseburger, not cheese platter. Can you hear how they sound the same? I’m being charitable too. Anyway, the cheeseburger eventually arrived, and I was so hungry by this time that I wasn’t sending it back and waiting even longer. I am North American, after all, and who amongst us can say no to a cheeseburger when it’s sitting right in front of you? And, mon dieu, was that not – without question – the finest, most delicious cheeseburger I have ever had. It’s like the chef was ordered to put cheeseburgers on the menu because of the international clientele, and with an exasperated sigh he decided that if he was going to be forced to offer the symbol of the nouvelle bourgeouisie americaine, it was going to be the best damn burger this world had ever seen.

But I digress.

Another, shall we say, exciting element of eating in foreign lands is that you are not always sure exactly which animals are considered eligible for the menu. At one beachside café we were enjoying a wide variety of local dishes ordered in Thai by our host, the lovely Akanit. Everything was delicious, but one dish consisted of breaded and lightly-fried packets – perhaps thrice the size of those tasty tater tots – that my colleague Ken and I agreed were fantastic. I was in the middle of chewing my third sampling when Akanit turned to us and said (we both swear we heard the same thing):

“These are made from cat meat.”

I fought down the gag reflex. Hard. “What?”

Ken and I exchanged wide-eyed glances. He nodded in horror.

She repeated herself, speaking very clearly. Thankfully my ear was well tuned to the Thai accent and I understood her properly this time: “These are made from crab meat.”

Phew. Lunch staying down. When we explained the misunderstanding, Akanit laughed out loud and assured us that dogs and cats are considered pets in Thailand, not delicacies. While I’m still not sure about the jellied eyeballs, I feel pretty safe in Thailand eating what’s put in front of me. Even the “hundred-year-old eggs” were quite good.

So amongst all the many reasons I’d recommend a trip to Thailand – beautiful beaches, gorgeous weather, ancient temples, friendly people, and good value for money – the food has to top the list. It’s seriously like eating at your favourite Thai restaurant every day, and even the non-Thai food can be spectacular when made in the kitchens of this kingdom. Best of all, because the food is generally very healthy and spicy, you can eat as much as you feel like and maybe even lose weight on your trip.

Sounds like a tasty slice of heaven to me.

 Photo Credits

All photos by Bennett R. Coles – All Rights Reserved

Tastes, Treats and Moments of Terror in Thailand is a post from: LIFE AS A HUMAN

Today let’s talk about being frightened by angry people.

This is a tough one, for sure, but just listen. Have you ever been frightened by an angry person?

I’m sure most of us have at some point. But for me being around anger brought up a deep terror. Because I knew from growing up in an alcoholic household how anger could explode and how dangerous that could be. My Dad would come home angry about the things he had to put up with at work, have a few drinks, and his anger would soon be focused at me. Then I discovered the other side of the coin – anger resonated with the deep anger I was carrying in myself, and that scared me even more than the anger of others. Yet facing my anger has been the single greatest step toward freedom that I have ever taken.

Have you ever felt frightened of anger – yours or someone else’s?

Photo Credit

The Microsoft Office Clip Art Collection

Dan L. Hays offers encouragement for adult children of alcoholics.
The podcasts of these episodes can be found at: Minute to Freedom

Minute to Freedom #29: Frightened by Angry People is a post from: LIFE AS A HUMAN

Last year, I wrote a post about the lawsuits of hot yoga businessman Bikram against other yoga teachers using similar poses/sequences to the ones his studios offer. In that post, I wrote the following:

I find lawsuits of this nature, involving attempts to control the spread of religious/spiritual practices and teachings, quite troubling. Finding the line between an individual or organization’s new and original work, and the historical underpinnings of that work is rarely an easy task. In addition, the whole infusion of monetary settlements, patent rights, and proprietary controls, while seemingly a correct response in a capitalist society, creates a shift away from basic protections of religious/spiritual teachers and institutions, and towards a corporate re-culturing.

The decision by the Indian government to patent yoga poses is a direct response to the actions of people like Bikram. It’s also an intelligent counter-use of a capital tool in my opinion. This isn’t the first time India has gone this route. Some of you might recall that the neem tree was under threat for decades, until multiple court cases led to the revoking of patents in 2005. Biopiracy continues to be a major threat across the globe, however, as are other aspects of the modern colonialism, which is what the actions of folks like Bikram should rightly be called.

Trying to claim ownership over ancient spiritual practices is a pretty sick business. But it’s been a quite popular one.

In the United States alone, the patent authorities have issued more than 130 yoga-related patents, 150 copyrights and 2,300 trademarks related to the ancient practice.

I’ll be honest. The entire patent system is problematic in my view. It assumes a kind of individualism and separated genius I just don’t believe in. And so, I hope actions like this one by Indian leaders might eventually lead to a rethinking of the whole works.

Image Credit

Vrksasana @ Flickr

India Patents Yoga Poses is a post from: LIFE AS A HUMAN

Unless you’ve been living in a yurt overseas you’re probably aware that ebooks are flying off whatever the digital equivalent of shelves are. I bet even people in yurts are aware of this fact. What you may not know is that there is a revolution inside this digital revolution and it has a naughty side. Much the same way personal stereos made it easier to listen to music without judgement, people have figured out that ebook readers are like brown paper wrappers for books — no one need know what you are reading. The result? As most of the major ebook sellers will tell you, barely a week goes by without erotica titles in the top ten.

One of those titles (now a series) has made quite a splash. Fifty Shades of Grey made the leap from online fan-fiction to ebook and print-on-demand title to full-fledged print run. The first book was followed by two more titles, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. The trilogy has sold enough copies to take the three top spots on the New York Times Trade Fiction Bestseller list and several film studios have bid on the rights.

Before you think society is well on its way down the proverbial slippery slope, it’s not only erotica that is benefiting from the anonymity revolution. More people than ever are reading in public, everything from diet books to business tutorials to well, every shade of fiction and non-fiction you can conjure. When Harry Potter became a hit, adults didn’t want to be seen reading kid-lit so the publishers released the same book in a more adult binding. It sold like hotcakes. Now, I would bet you that many of those same adults would have no problem downloading kid-lit into their e-reader. Or how about a teen boy who doesn’t want to be seen reading Pride and Prejudice? Or the grandmotherly type who always wanted to read American Psycho. The anonymity of the e-reader allows people to transcend what they “should” be reading and just read what they want. Incidentally, Amazon just announced that the Harry Potter series is being released to the Kindle Owner’s Lending Library so J.K. Rowling can expect even more royalties soon!

My brown-wrapper secret is self-help books. Motivational volumes on simplifying life, organizing your home, finding a spiritual centre, starting a new career, shifting gears, and basically moving toward a better life. Self-help is something I’d long scoffed at and still can’t bring myself to browse in public but downloading? I can do that. I have dozens of books that I never would have bought otherwise sitting in my reading applications.

In an ideal world, no one should be judged by their choice in reading materials and I suspect most of the time the harshest judge is ourself. If you’ve hesitated to pick up an e-reader, perhaps this will convince you that it’s time. Free your mind, they say, and the rest will follow. And next time you see someone engrossed in their e-reader, don’t assume you can guess what they’re reading.

Photo Credits

iRiver Story eBook – Creative Commons By Andrew Mason, Flickr

eBook reader – Creative Commons By Aitor Calero, Flickr

Guest Author Bio

Cheryl DeWolfe
Cheryl DeWolfe is a West Coast girl through and through, born and raised in Victoria BC. She has a habit of composing haiku about everything from traditional captured moments in nature to coffee, zombies and even movie reviews. Cheryl works in an academic library but in her spare time pursues many different creative interests from arts and crafts to gardening to photography and writing. Cheryl lives with her equally creative husband, daughter and two cats.

Blog / Website: http://www.cheryl.dewolfe.bc.ca/flotsam/

EBooks Brown Wrapper Revolution is a post from: LIFE AS A HUMAN

My Mother is 78 and very anxious about the possibility of getting Alzheimer’s. Fortunately, touch wood, my mother is very spritely, intelligent and healthy. In my mind I perceive her as being aged in her 50s or 60s, not approaching 80, and I have to remind myself of the reality.

Due to her anxiety she began to read the book by Jean Carper, “100 Simple Things You Can Do To Prevent Alzheimer’s And Age – Related Memory Loss.” I’m in my 40s and I tell you there are times when I feel like I’m having Alzheimer moment myself rather than my mother. I’ll be having a discussion with someone, an idea will pop into my head but I will forget a name, place or event and will be unable to conceptualise my thoughts and argument. It is unbelievably frustrating. So I was just as eager as my mother to read this book and implement some of the ideas.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks neurons in the brain, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and language skills, and behavioural changes as it destroys the cells in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. Regions of the brain affected by the disease become clogged with two abnormal structures called neurofibrillary tangles (tau proteins) and amyloid plagues (insoluble deposits of beta amyloid proteins.) This clogging interferes with normal communications of nerve cells in the brain. Currently there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease and in fact, scientists are still conducting research to discover the causes of the disease.

However, Jean Carper notes that researchers no longer view Alzheimer’s as a sudden brain catastrophe of old age. It is in fact a continuum of disease that spans decades and is influenced by early, midlife and late-life factors such as nutrition, infections, education, diabetes and mental and physical activity. Given this, she concludes that we can lessen our risk of getting AD or defer its onset by being socially, physically and mentally healthy, and she suggests 100 ways to achieve this. I would like to share some of her findings with you.

Firstly, diet. She recommends eating in moderation as being overweight in midlife can lead to brain shrinkage, which increases the risk of AD. High blood pressure and diabetes also hasten brain aging. Eat foods high in antioxidants as they form a defence system against free radicals that can degenerate the brain. The foods highest in antioxidants are berries ( blueberries, raspberries, elderberries, cranberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries) raisins, artichokes, prunes, black currants, plums, garlic, dates, cherries, figs, red cabbage, apples with peel, red lettuce, pears with peel, asparagus, sweet potato, broccoli, oranges, beet greens, avocado, red grapes, radishes and spinach. Stay away from foods with high salt and sugar levels (such as soft drinks) as these can raise your blood pressure levels. Drink juice, especially apple juice. Apple juice boosts the production of acetylcholine. Carper recommends 2 cups a day, though I think my dentist may not be too happy with that. Eat low GI foods like oats, legumes and vegetables. Eat nuts, especially walnuts and almonds. Eat fatty fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines and herring. Tuna and salmon also have the Vitamin Niacin, which is she highly recommends. It is also found in chicken and turkey breast, peanuts and some cereals. Add turmeric, cumin and cinnamon to your food. Use olive oil and vinegar as salad dressings rather than dressing high in Omega 6 fats. Stay away from Omega 6 fats found in corn oil, soya bean oil, and margarine. Saturated fats and Trans fats are brain enemies. So restrict your intake of fast foods. Substitute Omega 3 fish oils or monounsaturated fats. Omega 3 fish oil stimulates neuronal birth. Don’t eat too much red meat or processed or cured meats. Make sure you are not deficient in Vitamin B and D. Eat choline rich food such as eggs, wheat germ, peanuts, pistachios, cashews, almonds, shrimp, fish, spinach, cauliflower and brussels sprouts. Drink alcohol moderately. One glass of red wine a day can be beneficial. There are also benefits to drinking tea, coffee and chocolate high in flavanols. Treat yourself to dark chocolate. It boosts blood circulation in the brain. Control bad cholesterol. Get tested for celiac disease.

Regular aerobic exercise is crucial. A brisk walk every day, especially in nature, stimulates the birth and growth of brain cells. Ensure that you have good balance. When playing contact sports make sure your head is protected from injury. When you are middle aged take the following tests – carotid artery ultrasound, echocardiogram and an ankle-brachial index. These will detect any cardio problems. Meditate to reduce stress. Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins such as pesticides and pollution. Look after your eye,s as the eyes reflect and influence how your brain functions. Take care of your teeth, as infection causing gum disease can give off inflammatory by-products that travel to the brain. Keep copper out of your system. Only take iron supplements if prescribed by your doctor.

Don’t be a recluse. Social interaction stimulates the brain. It is the reason why a good marriage or relationship can help ward off AD. The happier you are, the more optimistic and conscientious your attitude the more resistant you are to AD. Depression is a risk factor for AD as are sleeping disorders.

As the saying goes: “use it, or lose it.” The same goes for brain reserves. Carper recommends continued higher education, learning a language or a new skill or activity, the emphasis being on “new.” Use the internet for brain games and google. Have a stimulating job.

AD is a very sad disease for all involved. I have visited old age care facilities where clients are left sitting in chairs on their own with very little mental stimulation. This book is certainly proof that more needs to be done to improve the care provided to these elderly people. I remember when I was in Brownies and Girl Guides and going to nursing homes to sing Christmas carols. Maybe we should have visited more regularly to play scrabble, chess or to read. I also remember thinking that I hope I don’t become like these elderly people in the future.

Carper’s book is definitely food for thought, though some suggestions are based on preliminary research and further research is needed in many areas. If you know someone suffering from Alzheimer’s you may be disappointed by this book. I also note that there are numerous people who have been active physically and intellectually but have been unfortunate to have contracted AD. My other criticism of the book is that it is repetitive and could be more concise. Some suggestions also need to be considered with reference to other research such as the suggestion to use nicotine patches, drink lots of caffeine and to take supplements. Overall, this book supports healthy eating and regular physical and mental activity and who can argue with that! I for one will take on some of her suggestions.

As a postscript, this month, a team of researchers at the University of Newcastle announced that they believe they have developed a predictive blood test that will detect signs of AD before symptoms appear. Prof Moscato said “If biological markers for Alzheimer’s were detected early it would allow people to make lifestyle changes, such as more exercise”.

Image Credit

Jean Carpenter Book Cover 

Guest Author Bio

Amanda Makrides
Mother of two beautiful sons. Aspiring writer and poet. I like to write provocatively with a tongue in cheek style. Political and human rights activist. Lover of music, the arts and square pegs that don’t fit into round holes.

100 Simple Things You Can Do To Prevent Alzheimer’s is a post from: LIFE AS A HUMAN

Dark chocolate has been shown in studies to help prevent heart disease and some cancers, and is known to enhance moods by boosting the brain chemical serotonin, much in the way that modern anti-depressant drugs work.

Ancient Aztec Indians believed that eating the fruit from the cacao tree brought wisdom and power. The legend, still alive today, if you ask any chocolate lover, was that cacao seeds had been brought from Paradise.

Revered the world over for its sweet taste and creamy texture, chocolate is also considered by many to be an aphrodisiac – and a perfect dessert or gift for loved ones on Valentine’s Day or a birthday or as a delicious accompaniment to any special occasion feast.

With over a hundred medicinal uses for cocoa and chocolate, and the mysteries and legends that surround it, it’s no wonder we go crazy for cocoa in the dead of winter when we most need a jolt of antioxidants and some feel-good brain chemicals to get us through to spring!

These dairy-free chocolate truffles will cure what ails you – and bring you and your guests rapturous delight!

Truffles for Angels

• 1 ½ cups raw cashews
• 3 dozen organic dates
• ½ an organic lemon
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• Half a pound of high quality organic fair trade dark chocolate. (Or 1 package of dark chocolate vegan baking chips.)

Place dates in a small saucepan and add enough spring water to cover bottom of pan. Bring to a boil and simmer while stirring until dates soften and a thick “date jam” is formed.

Turn off heat and allow to cool.

In a powerful blender or cuisinart, blend cashews, juice of lemon, dates and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.

Place in a bowl in the freezer and allow to harden for an hour or overnight.

In a double boiler, melt the dark chocolate to liquid. Keep the heat on minimum once it’s melted, and work quickly.

Using a melon-baller or a small round spoon, scoop out the cashew-date mixture and drop into a larger round spoon. Ladle melted chocolate over the ball, covering it entirely. Set truffle on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and dusted with organic cocoa powder. (For Valentine’s Day, use a heart-shaped candy mould.)

When you’re finished, there should be about 3 dozen Truffles for Angels. Put the cookie sheet in the fridge to allow the chocolate to set. Once they’ve set, you can take them out and store them in a cool place.

Arrange beautifully on a plate and sprinkle with organic cocoa powder.

Photo Credits

Photo By Moira Nordholt – All Rights Reserved

First Published At Feel Good Guru

Truffles for Angels is a post from: LIFE AS A HUMAN

Anyone who knows me knows that I comfortably watch no less than two hours of Grey’s Anatomy daily. Not everyone completely understands my obsession; but there are the few and far in between who completely understand and would do the same if given the chance. Prior to taking a gap year, I never really had much time to follow TV shows but this didn’t matter as I was never a television lover. However, I now have an insane amount of free time and I happily spend a large part of it in my room watching this amazing show that never ceases to amaze me. No, this is not an article dedicated to my Grey’s obsession; please don’t stop reading. Nonetheless, the obsession did indeed spark the idea for this article as it got me to thinking; why exactly do I spend so much time watching this show? After some serious self- reflection amidst the concerns of worried friends I figured it out. Grey’s Anatomy is my escape.

Famous American poet, Robert Frost (if you aren’t familiar with him, stop reading and go Google his poetry) wrote ‘Birches’ in 1915; a poem that deeply touched me when I studied it some years ago. Frost says:

‘So was I once myself a swinger of birches.
And so I dream of going back to be.
It’s when I’m weary of considerations,
And life is too much like a pathless wood…
I’d like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.’

In these few lines he likens a ‘swinger of birches’ to someone who likes to escape to Neverland for a while when life gets a bit too difficult. We usually hear that escape is for the weak. We liken it to running away, rather than solving the problem. However, I beg to differ. I am in no way supporting the idea of permanently escaping by leaving your life in shambles and ignoring reality while living in Neverland, but I do think temporary escape is sometimes completely necessary. Let’s face it, life is not easy, and as we get older more problems arise. Like Frost says, sometimes life seems like a ‘pathless wood’. We’re faced with difficult situations, forced to make important decisions, people hurt us, loved ones die, school sucks and the list continues.

If we insist on facing these issues head on every single day, without any possible means of escape, life will be sure to serve us a complete nervous breakdown. In this way, temporary escape is a good idea and something which may be quite necessary for most of us.

Escaping sometimes helps you to calm down and clear your head in the midst of anger, helps you make rational decisions or just gives you the ability to deal with reality when you have to come back from your temporary stay in Neverland. Sometimes, after your trip you are able to look at something that was a huge problem before you departed, and see it differently, which in turn leads to you dealing with it in a more positive way. Escaping can also make you a happier, saner person, as a little escape from reality never hurt anyone; we all need a break at times.

What we need to ensure however is that our means of escape is not unhealthy or detrimental in any way. There is no clear definition of what an escape should be; it can range from reading, sports or television to singing, liming with friends or some special time with your significant other. It is basically anything that you enjoy doing that isn’t going to make the problem worse. For some, drugs, sex or alcohol may be their escape as it helps them escape reality in a very real sense for some time. While this may help persons cope with their issues, it can also create other issues so we have to be careful about what exactly we use as a means of escape.

Also important is knowing when to snap back into reality and deal with the problems that you temporarily escaped. Overdoing a temporary escape is never good as while we ride ponies and dance on rainbows in Neverland, back in reality all our issues remain and sometimes even worsen. There is no standard period of time that one should stay in Neverland and I do believe that most of us know when it’s time to pack up and come back to reality, refreshed and ready to deal with our issues.

Regardless of who we are or where we come from, life is not an easy journey. However, there are certain concepts that can facilitate the journey and escape is just one of these. Temporary escape is quite important and should be a personal thing, as whichever way in which we choose to escape, should be done with our best interest at heart, while being something we genuinely enjoy. Once we are able to find our escape and use it when we need to, while also knowing when to come back to reality, we find that being a swinger of birches and vacationing in Neverland every now and again makes life a bit more enjoyable.

Photo Credit

Birch Tree – Creative Commons by Roger Kidd

Guest Author Bio

Paige-Jennan Andrew
I’m way too excited about life … I can’t exist without paper, pen and God. Writing is my passion … changing my world one day at a time

I believe in making a difference and leaving your mark everywhere you go!

Don’t Complain … Don’t Compare … Don’t Worry
Live! Love!

Blog / Website: http://pgsoflife.blogspot.com/

Escape is a post from: LIFE AS A HUMAN

Today let’s talk about helping others.

 Have you ever felt like you just weren’t being useful?

That your problems were so overwhelming that they became your whole world? I have felt like that. Yet there’s a great deal of truth in that old saying, “you don’t get it until you give it away.” There’s a lot of validity in helping others. Not by neglecting myself in the process, but in helping me get the lesson. I listened to a man who was working on job sabotage issues, and as I shared with him my similar experiences, I better understood what I had been doing. When I help someone else work through an issue, maybe just by listening, I seem to understand that issue better, and get closer to solving it for myself. And sometimes my problems don’t seem so bad when I’ve heard about what someone else is going through.

Have you ever found perspective for your problems by helping others?

Photo Credit

“It’s about time to help others” by theleticiabertin @ flickr.com – Creative Commons – Some rights reserved.

Dan L. Hays offers encouragement for adult children of alcoholics.
The podcasts of these episodes can be found at: Minute to Freedom

Minute to Freedom #28: Helping Others is a post from: LIFE AS A HUMAN

We have a saying in our home, “Train it or manage it.”  When it comes to dealing with our dog’s behaviour, it seems there are really only two choices.  We can either train our dogs to do things in a way that we like or we can manage their situation so that they don’t have the opportunity to do things we don’t.  It’s a practical decision.  If the training necessary to control a certain behaviour in our dogs is more work than changing the situation, we just arrange things differently.  Sometimes it even becomes a combination of both approaches – manage the situation until we can get the training in place.

Many times dog owners will wait until they take their dog to obedience classes or “doggy manners” classes to begin teaching their dogs “Sit” and “Come” and “Stay.”  Obedience and group classes are great for teaching your dog how to work with you in highly distracting environments.  Instructors can help you refine your training skills so you can be a better communicator with your dog.  But there is a lot of learning that can go on at home if you take a little time to plan.  We start with a lot of little things very early on with our new dogs.

Lifelong Tools

Our dogs will  need to get used to the accessories we will use to manage them throughout their lives.  For some, this will be a collar and clip on leash and for others it may be a head-halter style collar.  Others may use a harness with their dog.  The important thing is to make that piece of equipment something the dog is eager to get into and makes them comfortable.  A little time spent rewarding them can make all the difference.

We reward our dogs with a treat each time we put on or take off their collar or leash.  In the beginning, we do no more than that – put it on, reward, take it off, reward.  We do this 4 or 5 times twice each day and in a few days, just the sight of the collar or leash will bring our puppy running to get into it.  But the work doesn’t stop there.

We teach our dogs the “collar grab” game.  It’s simple.  We just grab the puppy gently by the collar, reward with a treat, and release.  There are going to be times when I will need to get hold of my dog’s collar to control her.  Wouldn’t it be useful if I made that into something she enjoys?  After a week or so of being rewarded for having her collar grabbed, my dog won’t flinch or duck away when I reach for her collar.  And that makes life a lot easier and safer.  Rewarding your dog for being picked up or being held by you is also very useful.  It’s never too late to start training these useful behaviours even if your dog is a rescue or older dog!

On The Move

We enjoy getting out for walks and outings with friends.  There’s more good stuff to train for when we are out and about.  Many owners teach “heel” position so that their dog walks beside them but it’s not something we focus on.  Instead, we frequently call our dog’s name or using the cue “Look!” to get eye contact and reward them for that.  It’s a way of building in a mechanism for getting our dog’s attention.

Being out on walks is an excellent place to practice our “Come” behaviour as well.  My dog doesn’t need to be 40 or 50 feet away to practice this behaviour.  I can call her to me from the end of her 8 foot leash, it’s the same concept.  Practicing this way gives me complete control of my dog and I have literally dozens of opportunities to call her back safely on every walk.

We teach our dogs two other verbal cues for walking with us.  While on a walk, I will periodically slow my pace and say “Easy.”  I will then reward my dog when they slow down and tune into me to see what’s happening next.  This provides a good intermediate step between “Come” and letting my dog walk freely.  The other cue we teach is “Let’s go.”  Dogs like to sniff and this is a way to let my dog know I’m moving on.  When I’m ready to go, I simply say “Let’s go” and start to walk.  If my dog chooses not to come with me, she will get a gentle tug from the leash as I walk away.  It doesn’t take many occurrences of this before my dog learns that “Let’s go” means “time ot move or you’re gonna get dragged!”  It’s not punishment, it’s infomation.  I don’t yank on my dog, I just start moving away at an easy pace without stopping.  Once we teach it, we always use “Let’s Go” so our dogs are never surprised or dragged along with us when we move on.

Here, There, and Everywhere

There are lots of things to teach our dogs inside the house too.  We have found that teaching our dogs a few useful behaviours can save a lot of fuss when we need to move them around the house.  One of the simplest tricks we teach involves placing some bells on the door to the backyard.  While house training our puppies, we ring the bells each time we go out.  In a very short time my puppy learns to ring them herself if she needs to be let out.  We reward the dog for ringing the bells and then let them out.  This makes the job of knowing when to let our dogs out much easier!

Frequently we have our dogs hop up on a chair or the bed or the picnic table out back to brush them or cut their nails.  It makes grooming a heck of a lot easier when you don’t have to get on the floor with them.  So we teach them “Up!” to get up onto something (including getting into the car!) and “Off!” when we want them to get down from something.  Again, they are rewarded for complying  when we are first teaching the behaviours.  Getting on or off is never a punishment.  This makes moving dogs on or off the couch or bed or even the back seat of the car much easier.

For moving our dogs from place to place, we teach our dogs with a combination of hand signals and verbal cues.  Something we do from when our puppies are quite young it each them to enter doorways and rooms ahead of us.  We simply wave a hand toward the entrance and say “In” and reward them once through the doorway.  This is a very useful behaviour to teach when our dogs are young.  No one wants to be jumped on or blocked while carrying a snack or drink from one room to another!

One of the most useful things we teach our dogs is to backup, literally walk backwards away from us.  This comes in handy in lots of different situations.  If I’m carrying something from one room to another, I can just say “back!” and my dog will take a few steps back out of my way.  It’s also useful in keeping curious noses away from plates of food.  It has even come in handy at dog agility trials where I have left my dog at the start line only to see that she has crept forward a few feet.  A simple “back” command and I can reposition her without having to go back to her!

Building Blocks And Better Times

All of these basic behaviours for moving around and working with our dogs form a foundation for helping us communicate.  We use these behaviours in combinations to help us in our everyday activities with our dogs.  It’s a stream of communication that helps them feel comfortable about what’s happening.  What is important  is that we teach the dog and reward them for their cooperation before we find ourselves in hard to manage situations.  

Interestingly, it isn’t that we have different expectations for our current dogs. We expected just as much of dogs we had before we used positive training.   It’s just that now we are being proactive and teaching them useful behaviours that we will use for a lifetime.  Believe me when I tell you that it works out much better than the frustration we used to experience trying to wrangle our mostly confused and sometimes apprehensive dogs from one situation to another.

Take a look at your life with your dogs.  I’m sure you’ve already trained them to work with you in a number of interesting ways but are there other things you could work at?  Are there simple behaviours, like holding still for putting leashes on, that you could reinforce more regularly?  A little time teaching has made our life with our dogs so much easier.  We have found that life provides lots of opportunities for training practical behaviours we use every day!

Until next time, have fun with your dogs!

Photo credits -

Kitchen - pkingDesign 2010  from Flickr
Biking – nimeus 2011 from Flickr
Black Dogs – DonkerDink 2008 from Flickr

Practical Everyday Dog Training is a post from: LIFE AS A HUMAN

‘Sometimes in the winds of change, we find direction’ -Anonymous

Imagine that we are all ships, sailing on the high seas. We aren’t sure exactly where we are going, but every once in a while we make decisions that help make our course a bit clearer. For the most part our sailing is pretty smooth, despite the random pirate attacks, a few mutinies and the rare thunder storm. The storms especially, though rare, are dreaded because they blow the ship completely off course. Try as you might to keep your ship on course, the storm battles against you. It’s naturally stronger and you can’t win.

Thing is, you know that there is a possibility that surrendering to the winds of the storm may be better for your journey; it may help your ship avoid future difficulty and may help your crew develop. But you resist the winds anyway. You resist the winds because giving into them and allowing your ship to be steered off your original plan of direction is downright scary. By doing this you’re putting your entire ship, its crew and its battle system in jeopardy and making it vulnerable. You are scared but you have little choice but to give into the stormy winds. Battling them only makes you weaker, and chances are the new course that you are now being forced to take is much better for your sailing than your old course.

Regardless of if we like it or not, life changes drastically at times. Not all of us are open to change because too often we don’t see the need for it. Change presents itself in different ways in our lives. Sometimes it’s completely drastic to the point where you go to bed in comfort one night and wake up the next morning, look around and you feel completely and totally lost. Other times, change eases in on us and little by little, situations change and we look around us some months down the road and are surprised at how much has changed over time. We have heard it time and time again, the only thing constant in life is change. Though we can do very little about it, we still insist on resisting change.

Now, resisting change is in no way a completely foolish idea. For the most part change is scary, especially when it is drastic, as it seems like succumbing to change would mean shedding everything we knew and diving head first into a deep pool of muddy, murky water. We cannot see the bottom of the pool and though there is a possibility that we can grow and learn from diving in, it is still completely foreign, unknown territory. And so we resist and try everything in our power to stick to our original course of direction. At times, we even opt to exist in denial, somewhere between our old course (which we cannot get back) and our new course (which we are not ready to embrace). The thing is, pretty soon we realize that we have to let go of what was and move into what is.

Embracing change is extremely difficult because with it comes letting go of the old and allowing yourself to feel lost for a while. Most of us like to be in complete control of our lives. We like to know who we are, where we are and where we are going. Therefore, the idea of being lost does not sit very well with us. However, feeling  - and genuinely being – lost is not always a bad thing. Once we are completely honest with ourselves, this period of time can be one of growth. In other words, we can allow ourselves to change with the change.

While we feel lost and confused, as if we are in the middle of the Northern Range, caught between fig trees and a herd of iguanas, some serious self-reflection, discipline and serious attitude alteration can help us embrace the change and be better for it. So while it’s not easy to go with the flow of life and just change with the change that attempts to change us, battling against life’s only constant isn’t wise and it doesn’t exactly help us to grow and mature. Despite the fact that sometimes letting go of the old and embracing change makes us feel lost, at times being lost is just what we need in order to move one step closer to finding our true direction in life.

Photo Credit

Picton Castle Under Full Sail – Wikimedia Creative Commons

Guest Author Bio

Paige-Jennan Andrew
I’m way too excited about life … I can’t exist without paper, pen and God. Writing is my passion … changing my world one day at a time

I believe in making a difference and leaving your mark everywhere you go!

Don’t Complain … Don’t Compare … Don’t Worry
Live! Love!

Blog / Website: http://pgsoflife.blogspot.com/

The Winds of Change is a post from: LIFE AS A HUMAN