Cats

Clicker Class Time, Again!

My first round of Clicker Basics for Kids was a grand time for everyone and now I’m ready to do it all over again! 

What do we do in Clicker Basics for Kids?

What the humans will learn: 

  • What clicker training is and the science behind it

  • Good clicker timing and mechanics

  • How to create the behavior you want

  • How to set everyone up for success

  • A fun way to connect with their critter

What the dog or cat will learn:

  • Click means a tasty treat is coming

  • Nose target behavior

  • Tell me a secret trick

  • Posing for pictures

  • Follow a target behavior

  • And more

Who is Clicker Basics for Kids for? For a team made up of a child, adult, and critter (dog or cat), and is open to kids 10 and up.

Whether you are a complete clicker beginner or have a little clicker experience, you’ll learn something new!


HERE you can read why this class is more important than ever right now, and you can register HERE. Any questions? Ask me HERE. Class size is limited, so register now!

Clicker Class Time!

Lilly is having fun!

Lilly is having fun!

I love clicker training. I’m a clicker training, so I’m sure you’d never have guessed. Critters’ responses are fast; and they’re clearly having fun. Humans’ responses are fast; and they’re usually amazed. Clicker training creates enthusiastic learners of all species (humans included of course)!

These are strange times we’re currently experiencing and most of us, humans and dogs, are spending more time at home. Another great aspect of clicker training is that it increases and improves the bond across the species gap. With all this extra time together, this is actually a good time to learn clicker training. I’m starting off my online classes with a class for kids, parents, and their critters: Clicker Basics for Kids! I want to share: the basics of clicker training; a few foundation behaviors; a few tricks; the amazing connection; and the fun! If you’ve got a critter loving kid or know one, please pass along this class information. Register here.

What the humans will learn: 

  • What clicker training is and the science behind it

  • Good clicker timing

  • How to create the behavior you want

  • How to set everyone up for success

  • A fun way to connect with their critter

What the dog or cat will learn:

  • Click means a tasty treat is coming

  • Nose target behavior

  • Tell me a secret trick

  • Mat behavior

  • Posing for pictures

  • Possibly more depending on the speed of training!

Note: this class is for kids ages 10 and up, and is perfect for cats, too.

Solstice Time and Another Announcement!

tricks collage 3.jpg

The summer solstice is Saturday. The earth is still spinning, winds still blowing, plants still growing and yet, so much has changed. Humans are not only remembering that we are part of the whole, but we are joining together in ways that have been a long time coming. The Black Lives Matter movement is a wave that has been building and now has enough power to start pushing away some pieces of the systems that maintain white racism in our country. While many of these changes that are happening are small and slow, there are larger pieces finally being shown in ways that many whites can no longer ignore. We all have biases and prejudices and being anti-racist is not some final resting point. Being anti-racist is an ongoing way of being. If you’re new to these issues or want to explore them farther, start with the New York Times bestseller list which is currently filled with books on racism. I find myself coming back, again and again, to the basic practice of paying attention to who I mean and who I include when I use the word “we” in thoughts and words.

Timing is something that fascinates me. I have a bizarre relationship with time and noticing how intricately things can fit together in time is something I pay attention to. Back in the fall I enrolled in a dog training program ready to up my skill set. All winter my plan was that in June I’d announce my graduation from the program and launch some new aspects of Doggedly Whole. With all the changes brought about by COVID-19 and other events in my life this spring, things have fallen into a different pattern than I expected. So, while I’m thrilled to let you know that I’m now KPA-CTP which means I am a Karen Pryor Academy-Certified Training Partner, I’m also excited to introduce Interspecies Family Balance as the umbrella name for all my work: from dog training to energy work, heart-centered work to help your whole family find balance. I’m in the process of updating my website, but you can still find the basic information here: Doggedly Whole for the dog training, and Intuitive Guide for the energy work.

Why Take Deep Relaxation for You and Your Critters?

Lilly sleeps

Lilly sleeps

This class is for you whether or not you:

  • have worked with me

  • are already aware of your deep connection with your critter(s)

  • have worked with an animal communicator

This class is for you if you are:

  • interested in my cross species work

  • looking for insight on something specific with your critter(s)

What the class talk will cover:

  • the basics of energy

  • how we’re all connected

  • types of communication

  • why relaxation is so important in life

What the class guided meditation will include:

  • an energy level exploration of self, critter(s), and the lines connecting you all

  • basic clearing

  • accessing deep relaxation

The critters already know about this level of connection that I share and use in my work. During or after an initial session, they are often saying some variation of, “I’m so glad you figured this out!” or “Duh, what took you so long?” depending on the individual’s character traits, while the humans are experiencing a different level of connection and communication with the nonhumans.

Here are a couple of examples of the shifts this work can support:

"Our rescue pup was having trouble settling during the day. Although we provided chew toys, walks, playtime, and bones for him to chew, he had a strong tendency to gnaw on anything & everything else in the home. After working with Elizabeth, our pup became noticeably calmer and willing to sit with the family instead of heading to other parts of the house to chew on furniture, books, blankets, etc. The shift(s) and clearing of energy that Elizabeth is able to tap into in people & / or their pets really does work and the impact on our family has been quite noticeable. We are now all able to coexist and our family has the benefit of sitting calmly without concern that the pooch will head off to another part of the house to chew a chair leg, etc." --V.W.

“I had two half-sibling indoor cats, each fourteen years old. One was forever gregarious and a darling. The other, a female, was always extremely shy and skittish. She disappeared into the basement whenever a stranger entered the house. She ran when I walked into the room. I wasn’t allowed to touch, so she hadn’t been to the vet in twelve years. I was sad but passive about having no relationship with an animal who shared my home. We were strangers living side by side.

I learned of Elizabeth’s services and called. I know it sounds like an evangelical miracle but the morning after our single telephone session I was lying on the floor rubbing Alice’s tummy. Thereafter she was happier, I was happier. I don’t know if Elizabeth’s skills worked on the cat or on me, but the result was real. If you have an animal or a relationship that needs improvement, I recommend Elizabeth without reservation.” --J.C.

You will receive a recording of the call, so you’ll have access whether you can make it live or not. Interested? Have questions, ask! You can REGISTER HERE.

~Bringing Light to Death~Transitions~

Dixie

There is an aspect of my work that is harder to share because death is a topic we often shy away from talking about. But, today I want to bring light to this area of my work because it is important, and I want you to know about it. Back when the only work I did with companion animals was massage, I started noticing that people specifically called on me for hands on work with their dying dogs. After a few times, I sat with this and explored what this meant for me. I realized that I could offer both the humans and the 4-legged making the transition something different. And the first experience I was honored to have supporting a dog during his transition, was so powerful and felt so right, that I knew this was something to follow. The first dog I supported at his actual passing was Gunnar, a much loved and kind fellow. I will never forget that his first response to me checking in with him was to make sure I helped his people since they needed me more than he did. Love at the core and love in its core.

When I’m working with extremely ill or dying animals, I’m there as support for the energetic structure of their beings during the transition out of this physical plane. What does this look like? Each session is unique because each being is unique, but the general outline of the session looks like this. I announce myself and ask permission to be present. I ask if there’s anything specific she or he wants or needs from me. I ask if there is anything she or he wants or needs to share with her or his human(s). As you can see these are pretty open questions and thus, the difference in the sessions has to do with the responses. Afterwards, I write up notes of the dog or cat’s response to me and what images or messages or other beings showed up during the session and email this all to the human(s). I strive to always be open to magic, yet I continue to be amazed by the power of these experiences and the bright lights that shine at the inner core of our companion animals no matter their presence in the physical plane or not.

With the terminally ill companion animals, the work is often more supportive of clearing any stuck connections allowing the critter and the human to have clarity around the actual transition, and there is often work to relieve any pain during this time, too.

It’s almost been a year since I said good-bye to Dixie, my Australian Shepherd. And while I miss her presence by my side, the experience I had as she breathed her last breath at the vet’s office was so profound and powerful that it is what I am aware of more than missing her. She was my sister and teacher, and my work with the heart to heart connections between beings might not even be my work if not for her. As I sat with her head in one hand, the other hand resting on her side, I felt her fill my heart. She left her old, falling apart physical body behind, and once freed from it her energetic self was stronger and I could feel our connection, our merging, from and within the heart space. This is one of those times when words are too limiting to convey the experience, but in the simplest of terms, I felt her move, from a separate being connected to my heart, straight into my heart as her full residence fully as one with me.

While I love words, I also love the aspect of my work that is beyond words. Part of the experience on my end working with both humans and their companion animals that is so rewarding and amazing, is creating and holding the space for the awareness of this communication beyond words and allowing it to occur and be received. This piece of supporting beings in their transition out of the physical plane is closely related to this powerful space of that which is beyond words. I find that the humans who request this work from me feel the power, too. I am the conduit of the information and the human who reads it finds resonance.

Don’t forget it’s not too late to sign up for Bridge the Gap. We just started yesterday. Please sign up HERE.

A big thank you for your continued support: reading these newsletters, working with me, and sharing the newsletters and your experiences working with me with other people. I always love to hear from you, whether it’s your response to a newsletter or what’s going on in your world. Thanks for staying in touch!

Know you are light, and shine!

~Namaste

~ Research Time & Card for the Week ~

I don’t know about you, but that solar eclipse on February 26th was intense for me. I am still feeling the echoes. There’s been so much going on in my inner being that I feel like the processing, adjusting, re-centering, and re-balancing may never end. For now, I’m focusing on being here, breathing, and being me.

In the midst of all this, I have been feeling a strong push to focus more on my work with companion animals. So, I am doing some research on families that include critter pals. If this is you and you are will to have a conversation with me about your whole family, I would love to hear from you. This is in no way a sales pitch. This is just me delving into the multispecies family. My goal is to talk to 100 people, so if you know others you think might be willing to talk with me, please pass the information along. These conversations will be no more 30 minutes, and recorded so that I can sift through the words and find the nuggets that are repeated and those that shine the brightest. Details and scheduling can be found here.                                               

~ Card for the Week ~

Our internal clocks are about to get upset with the arrival of Daylight Savings Time this weekend. I have found that just like with leaping time zones in air travel, getting yourself outside in the sun each day, preferably moving, really helps the physical body adjust. In addition I’ve drawn a card for us from the Liquid Crystal Oracle deck: Imperial Topaz with the key words Confident Manifestation. This stone is “the voice of the universal Sun” and its main color rays are gold which feels so supportive with this shift in time and daylight. Also, “In times of depletion, Topaz can restore the self, acting like a battery, providing a backup energy reserve.” The animal totem for Topaz is the cheetah. With these winds still blowing strong and the golden yellow light of late winter shining brightly, the cheetah, who runs with the wind and is golden, feels very appropriate. While it might be easy to feel bowled over by the cheetah, instead think of riding or becoming the cheetah for those short bursts when things are moving fast and you need some help. Topaz is always a positive presence and the affirmation feels important: “I confidently create my World.”

As you adjust to Daylight Savings Time and everything else that is going on around you and even inside of you, remember I am here to support you. I often see the same issues presenting from many clients. This week I’m seeing breathing, upper heart/chest/back as a repeating theme. Does this resonate with you? Or are you noticing something different? Hands-on energy work is available in person and by phone, in addition to my work via guided meditation. Email me at elizabeth@elizabethbain.net to schedule an appointment.

Namaste

Messages from Laurens

I said goodbye to my dumpster Maine Coon cat, Laurens, at the start of the week, and I’m very aware of his final messages. One thing he really wants me to pay attention to is the connecting point that love of our 4-leggeds creates among us humans. Even in the vet’s office after his transition from the physical plane, I was hyper-aware of knowing the other people around me have had these same connections with 4-leggeds. As someone who connects much more easily with other species than humans, knowing the power of this connecting point is important for me to remember. As the illusion of separation is such a deep part of the human experience, connecting points can be very helpful navigation tools. Are you aware of this connecting point? If so, how?

 

 

 

Laurens on mantel

My Multispecies Family Part II

Because for some reason in this life of mine companion animals find me before I necessarily even know I am looking for one, Lilly, dog, appeared a week after I said good-bye to Dixie, and moved in less than a week after that. Lilly and I are well connected at this point, and from the beginning it has been clear to me that she is here to raise my frequency. Lilly’s world view is still growing by leaps and bounds since joining us. But at base I’d say she’s full of joy that she’s got her own human, and she’s still a little confused as to why there’s a cat. (We’re working on the occasional jealousy she shows when I’m doing something with Laurens.) I’m extremely grateful that Laurens is a large cat in a domesticated cat’s body because he doesn’t put up with Lilly if she’s being pushy, and she does respect him when he tells her off. (His dagger clawed swipes are well placed and his hisses mean business.) So these days Laurens still knows I am his loving mama, but that other end of the triangle is someone who needs to be taught how to love a cat. So he rubs up against her every few days or so and she continues to be baffled by this. These days work on the balance of our triangle is an every single day practice. We might have started in different places, but we are all growing together. Please share below where you multispecies family is in its growth cycle.

My Multispecies Family Part I

Laurens, cat, and Dixie, dog, grew up together. Laurens found me at a dumpster when he was 6 months old, and we’d only been together for 4 or 5 months when Dixie arrived. Laurens is a large cat (think lion or tiger) in a domesticated cat’s body. Dixie was a sweet, joyful Australian Shepherd (with a tail) who came to us at 4 months old with hip dysplasia so bad in both hips that her hind legs were crossed when she stood and her spine was one big arch. She got around with most her weight on her front legs, peeing was like a yoga balance pose where her hind legs just hovered off the ground while her front legs did all the work. The world view Laurens had for a long time was that I was his loving mama and Dixie was his dog who was nice and fun. The world view Dixie had was that I was her sister, she was here to teach me from her place by my side, and that Laurens was her friend and a cat. The triangle we three made up wasn’t exactly an equilateral one, but we maintained a comfortable balance for almost 14 years together. These days our triangle is very different…tune in tomorrow for the changes since losing one point of our triangle back in May. Please share below what your multispecies family is like.