187: Helping Clients Bond with Their Pets with Cherie Marquez
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Summary:
How do we help deepen the relationship between the client and their pet? With the pet craze in full swing and many owners struggling to connect with their new family member, pet professionals can help guide their clients into a deeper bond with their pets. Cherie Marquez, The Dog Mystic, is passionate about keeping pets in their forever home through education, training, and building trust. Cherie encourages us to set aside the technology and be present in the moment to focus on the pets around us. She also shares some awesome techniques to teach our clients how to deal with separation anxiety.
Topics on this episode:
Happy Dogs = Happy Homes
Bonding and sharing the love
Being present and our energy
Separation anxiety and routine
Main take away: Setting aside stress and technology, to be in the moment and present, is key to setting the stage to better bonding with pets.
About our guest:
My name is Cherie Marquez and I am The Dog Mystic. I am so grateful to be living my dream.
Happy Dogs = Happy Homes!!! My mission is to keep dogs in their forever home. The Dog Mystic instructs dogs of all ages, sizes, and breed, with no breed discrimination. I work on problem solving, commands, and exercises to strengthen your bond with your dog or dogs on the soul level, so they will always be family.
Links:
Email Cherie: dogmysticacademy@gmail.com
Give us a call! (636) 364-8260
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Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, & TuneIn
Email us at: feedback@petsitterconfessional.com
A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
dog, pet, people, clients, separation anxiety, pet sitters, puppy, anxiety, training, owner, medications, animals, calm, energy, big, moment, helping, situation, gift, rescue
SPEAKERS
Cherie, Collin
00:17
Hi, I'm Meghan. I'm Collin. And this is pet sitter confessional, and open and honest discussion about life as a
Collin 00:24
pet sitter brought to you by Time to pet and pet perennials. Building relationships with our pets and helping our clients have a better relationship with their pets is a goal that many of us strive for. And it's something that has grown increasingly important through COVID. As many people brought on COVID puppies in separation anxiety became a very big and very real problem in the industry. So we're really excited to have Sherry Marquez, the dog mystic from dog mystic Academy, on to talk about how to help our clients bond better with their pets, and stuff we can all take to help lessen separation anxiety in our clients. Let's get started.
Cherie 01:04
So my name is Sherry Marquez, I am the dog mystic. And I am living my dream. I've always wanted to do something with animals, and now I'm working with the dogs great, it's rewarding and beautiful. And my mission is just to keep dogs and there forever one dog.
Collin 01:28
Well, that's, that's such a beautiful mission. So tell us a little bit more about that, that mission and the role that that pet sitters can play in that.
Cherie 01:38
Unfortunately, like, you know, I've been dog training for 20 years, and there's just plenty of owners that mean rescuing is beautiful, it's great. Or even if you purchase a dog, if you don't do the research on what is a good fit for your family. Sometimes it can be overwhelming on if you get the wrong breed for your family. So unless you know, if there's been so many times where people have have called me at their wit's end of like, either you're going to help me or I'm going to give this dog away. So I mean, like, that's where that's where I come in. And that's where pet sitters and dog trainers are here to to keep the peace in the home to exercise the dogs. And, you know, just teach the people exactly what to do to gain the control in a loving but firm way. So I'm like, you know, it is it is important just to do a little bit of research on the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of different breeds that there are just to get an idea because I mean, like you know, if you go into a rescue that of course you have there months, they're not designer breeds, they're months and they're extremely intelligent, but you can kind of see like, what kind of what kind of breeds they're mixed with, you know? So I think that's very
Collin 03:37
well and especially in the year 2020 I think many pet sitters are experiencing this boom of COVID puppies and of pandemic puppies and we're owners rushed out adopted dogs cleared out local shelters, which is awesome. And are now sitting there going okay, now what do I do? What What do I do with this dog? What what are some things that that as pet sitters, we can do? Um, if maybe we don't have a specific trainer background, but what are some things that we can do to help those kind of clients who are sitting there maybe a little bit with their head, barely above water with the dog that they have.
Cherie 04:15
But the really important thing is to allow some alone time with the dogs because when it's great that that you know if people are home for because of the quarantine in their home with with the dogs, it's good to put that together but they need like two hours of alone time so that dog is not following every person or like one specific person throughout the house throughout the whole entire day. Because that's where the anxiety like like separation anxiety is on the rise. Because everybody like there's so many people that are our home more And the whole her family. And separation anxiety is is the hardest thing to solve. Because with the anxiety when the people leave the house, the dog is just not used to it and especially a puppy. Like all dogs are creatures of habit, but I mean, like when you get a puppy, then that's what they're used to. That's what their, their, their habitual daily routine is always somebody's home, right? So once they leave that house for a couple hours, it's like, oh, my gosh, I'm left alone, what am I gonna do? You know? So consignments are not a bad thing. I mean, if people are only against a crate, then you can use a playpen. So a doggy playpen has, has the bottom and the bottom open. So you can kind of like separate like, you know, if you have a body patch, or give you pens or toys, and no stuffed animals, because the stuffing that's inside the the stuffed animals, they swallow a they can show. So I'm gonna make you know, in a crate, or can confinement is safer for the dog, and it saves your furniture or your shoes, so they're not chewing on everything. And the baseboards too. So I mean, like the the separation anxiety can definitely cause damage to the animal and to the dog's mouth, or caused damage to the to the body. So I mean, like, you know, if, if all pet sitters can tell the owners to allow two hours of alone time, in another room, it all depends on the living situation, if it's just like a studio, condo or apartment, and they put them in a confinement, but like behind a behind the couch, so they can't see kind of like, they can't see everything that's going on, they can hear people like you know, the family is home, but they're separated. And they're not following their every, you know, just to keep them calm and put music on and give them like a contract accounting. So it's a spear shaped toy with a big hole on the on the bottom and a small hole on the top put a peanut butter to lay a bit of peanut butter on the top of the toy. So they smell the peanut butter, but they got to work to get it out. Yeah, so deer antlers are really good too. So anything to keep them busy and just being used to, like separated for a little bit is really, really important. That's always a good start, whether it's with a puppy, or a rescue dog or even an older dog, right? That doesn't matter the age.
Collin 08:21
And I know sometimes it can be hard to convince a client that it's okay to separate the dog that it's okay to put them in some sort of confinement area or separated area because they view that as being you know, quote, cruel or unkind to the dog, but it's not. Right, they're away from the family or whatever it's, it's trying to explain to them like this is this is building these good routines, this good balance in the dog's life so that they can self regulate when you're not there. And that you're you are doing it for their safety, a lot of cases to
Cherie 08:56
write. Definitely. I mean, like, you know, they're there. They have to get used to it because once people are able to go back to work, that is a huge, huge transition. And they don't that the dogs are not going to know what to do because it's like, wait, everybody was with me forever and for hours and hours and hours and then everybody's gone for eight hours or four hours, eight hours however long and that's where that's where the pet setting is perfect or the city dog walking and everything is perfect. Because you know, you're you're helping you're helping the situation. But the it's not a negative thing. It's just like like a naptime for a baby. They need that that time if they don't get it then they're going to be cranky and not pleasant to be around. So the same thing with a dog or a puppy, right?
Collin 10:08
It's a good illustration to remind us, you know, this is useful. You mentioned, you have been a dog in the dog training world for 20 years now. How did you get started?
Cherie 10:19
I live in in southeast Florida right now. And I'm originally from New Jersey, but I transferred down to Florida Atlantic University, as a marine biology major. But science courses had nothing to do. I mean, like, all the science courses, it had nothing to do with animal behavior and the psychology and everything. It was all the science courses that had nothing to do with it. And I was in booksmart. And I was like, Oh, my gosh, what do I need Physics and Chemistry and Biochemistry and everything like that. So I switch to elementary education. And then I, when I graduated, I didn't want to be a teacher at that moment. And I went into outside sales commission base only. So it was great. It was a great experience of like, learning sales in that capacity. And then I saw an ad in the newspaper, on the internet, in the newspaper for to be either a dog trainer, or to do this, the sales of the dog training programs. So of course, they wanted to hire me for the sales, but I'm like, No, look at my background, I have an education background. This is this is my dream, this is what I want to do. So I I started working for this company, they trained me. And then I live in hit and people didn't want to splurge on on dog training at that moment. So I got my teaching certification, got all that taken care of. And then I was went into teaching I also got my my Montessori early elementary certification. And I was a teacher for five years. And then, but I was doing the dog training in between, like, On nights and weekends. And then I just wasn't feeling it. I was just like, no, My dream is to work with animals. So I felt the fear, but I did it anyway. And I resigned from teaching. And I, you know, started. I mean, at first I had to do some side jobs and some side hustle mainland stuff. But I am so grateful and blessed that I have not had to work for anybody else since 2007. And living my dream ever since. So now I have my own dog training company. And I want to I want to teach worldwide, virtually online through some virtual online courses. So Oh,
Collin 13:17
that's really awesome. I love I love hearing that and seeing how at each step, it was just a little bit closer, a little bit closer, but ultimately, you had to take that big leap back, you know, back then and go Okay, this is scary. I'm still gonna do it, though. And you haven't regretted it, obviously, because you're still here and you're still you know, you got all these awesome plans to grow forward. And that's really cool here.
Cherie 13:41
The pet industry is is just amazing. First off, it's rewarding, but I mean like people love their animals right so we're we're in the right the right industry because you know that there is plenty of people that will do more for their animals than themselves sometimes. And you know, it's it's important to take care of yourself. And
Collin 14:09
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Collin 14:47
I know one of the things that you work on and you like to talk about is the importance of in your role basically as the trainer is to come in and help pet parents deepen their relationship with their pet. How do you accomplish that? And how do you go about building and deepening that connection between the pet and its owner?
Cherie 15:09
Well, I mean, right now in this in this world that we're living in with all the technology, we need to allow the dogs to bring us back into the present moment, like, our monkey mind, just take over, and we're either worrying about the past or thinking about the future, but the exercises that I give is more or less just to, to deepen that bond. And to bring us into the present moment. best, best and easiest thing to do is shut off the phones sit down on the floor, or on the bed of dogs, dogs are allowed on on the bed. And if you have multiple dogs, then do it one at a time. You know, so, so each dog is getting their own one on one attention, because I know, right now, I have two dogs, and two females. So when they're both by me, then one is pointing at me. The other one is like, magic knees, like, you know, it's a big, they both bought the attention. So you, you separate them and, and one at a time, more or less, just like if, if you're sitting let's just say you're sitting on the floor, sit on the floor, close the door for the all the other animals, and take a few deep breaths, deep breaths just to ground yourself. And really, truly being in that, that that moment, start petting your dog, and watching their their breath, if you're able to just start breathing with them, and like, you know, just kind of like watching they're watching their body. And like, you know, this kind of blending into the relaxation of of each other, you know. And so you're petting and there's proven statistics that it lowers your heart rate, and it lowers the stress just to just to pet your your dog. So, you know, you kind of grounding yourself into into the moment. And then if your dog is not fearful to get a massage, then you know, start massaging the dog. If you rub the ears, there's a lot of nerve endings in the in the ears, and it calms them down. So you can just start from first start from the ear, and then like from town and start massaging the neck. And if your dog is fearful, you know, if a rescue and you're not sure and you know possibly have have been abused in the past, then just keep adding, just keep petting the dog and just enjoy that moment, whether it's five minutes, 10 minutes, you know, it's, it's really being present in that moment. So and then and enjoy it, enjoy it and allow yourself to just deepen that bond. Now one thing, another thing that you can do, just to end ended, and like this, Show the love even more is once you're done, and you feel that it's it's enough time, just give your dog a nice big hug and this
Collin 19:07
and that the first step that you said about that whole process was to come in and take some big deep breaths and make sure that we ourselves are grounded. So how does how does our energy that we bring into those situations through that we carry through our day? How does that impact the pets that were caring for?
Cherie 19:34
Well, all dogs have Sixth Sense. They know exactly what's going on. And I just learned that a dog's senses are 100,000 times stronger than ours. So they know. For example, when someone knocks on you on your door and you open that front door that dog knows whether that person is a good person or a bad person, you know, negative energy, the second that you open up that door. So anything that you're feeling any kind of stress or anxiety, or just not being in the present moment, they know it, they feel it, they know exactly what's going on. So. So that's where it's important to calm yourself down, you know, it's also a good, a good way to, to be stressed. Because you're not thinking about what happened during the day, you're just clicking that time of like, this is our time, right.
Collin 20:49
So that process of going of really taking a moment to step back, it can be, it can be challenging, especially if you're going from drop in to drop in or from walk, to walk, to walk, to walk, to walk throughout the day, to bring your frustrations bring maybe this negative energy in to each subsequent stay, that you're each subsequent walk that you're going to so it's, it's a really good reminder to before you open that door, just or you know, sit in your car for just a few minutes, just to go through a quick breathing routine to leave what happened behind you to leave that there. And then to go in fresh because, you know, whatever happened to at the last minute, don't know, that's not to be brought in to the dog that you're taking care of. Because they're going to feel that and that's going to throw off, you know, that that entire stay possible.
Cherie 21:38
Yeah, I mean, like, you know, we that's our, our mobile office, that's the perfect time to, like, regroup, and do those breathing techniques of just Okay, I'm ready, I'm in another household, another situation, another dog. So you regroup in your mobile office first. And then think of think of that as like a reset. So you're grounding yourself. You're really saying what happened at the last house? And then as soon as you open up that car door, it's just like, Alright,
22:25
you start?
Collin 22:27
Absolutely, do you have a process that you personally like to work through in the in those kind of situations of of acknowledging and then releasing that so that you can be fresh for the for the next visit, or the next client that you're doing a training visit on?
Cherie 22:44
I find this just driving, driving and definitely a good because I'm focused on the road. But it's just taking me away from like, you know, for example, if if I, if I was just working with with an aggressive dog, and there's certain situations where, because I mean, like, you know, working with with aggressive dogs, you have to portray that you're totally calm, even though your heart is racing, and you're like, Oh, my God, like, you know, you have to, you have to just be like, yeah, I'm not fear, I'm afraid of you. Let's go, you know, bring it on. And so, um, so as long as you you take on that calm, assertive energy on the outside once you leave that house, and I'm once I leave that house, and I'm driving, then it's kind of like, Alright, that's done. I saw that situation. Nope, it's a loser gone and you know, get into a different job like, Yeah, all right. Call the appointment and like, or, like, you know, for for the pet sitters. It's more or less, like, right, that's done and over with music on and go to the next. So
Collin 24:13
yeah, no, it is it is it the biggest one of the biggest parts of that is just mentally going, mentally cutting it off and going, Okay, that was that that's over and done with, and I just have to leave it there. Whether you call that compartmentalizing or the You call that leaving and cleaving or, you know, however you want to mentally structure that for you. When you do that, at each time, it's going to make each visit a little bit better, right? And because you're staying in there fresh, you're more mentally present, you're there with that dog, instead of still thinking back to the dog three dogs ago that you were there, you know, and you're more present and you're more attuned with that dog that you're taking care of.
Cherie 24:53
It's important because, you know, another good example is the dog dogs that are like, when you're observing dogs in a dog park, there can be that energy and in the dog park, it can be nice and calm. And then all of a sudden, I'm really hyper puppy or hyper dog gets to the fence. And then it just sets off the whole entire calmness. So it's the same exact thing. I mean, like, you got to, like, you know, but I mean, like, you know, the main thing that everybody should really realize is a dog's mind. And a child's mind or a person's mind, romancing exactly the same, they can pick up on on the energies, but if they know they can get away with something, they're gonna push it for everything that they can no matter what. So if a person is showing any fear, and you're dealing with the dominant dog, then it's more or less that dominant dog is going to be like, Yeah, right, cool. You're fearful. So let me just keep on picking things up again. And you're like, you know, play by eating or, you know, just instigating the situation, because they know, they feel the other person's energies. So it's important just to stay as calm as possible,
Collin 26:26
which can be hard. And sometimes when you have those more aggressive, or those more hyper dogs, right, it is hard to remind yourself or to be present in the moment and and to remain calm. And that just kind of takes practice. And that takes presence of mind. And in the moment processing of what's happening before you and it just does take some time to get to that point, you know, 20 years in the in the training industry and working with dogs, how would you describe yourself as a dog trainer, a particular philosophy or mentality or structure of training,
Cherie 27:00
my training is I don't train with treats. Because if you give the dog treat for every single thing that they do, they're going to expect it. And then if you don't have a treat, you're going to look into like, Yeah, right, am I gonna do that? I'm extremely fearful dog treats are okay, in the beginning, because then, you know, you're, you're showing that dog that they're, that you're not going to hurt them. Right. So that's okay, for fearful dogs, but I mean, like, you know, on a, on a regular training aspect, it's not giving them treats. And I mean, like, you know, especially with, with the bigger dogs, you're going to be walking around with a bag full of treats, and, you know, handing them treats for every single thing that they do. So then, you know, it's just being firm, and then being loving, like giving them lots of love. And once once they accomplish whatever you want them to do.
Collin 28:11
Right? Right. And it really sounds to me just listening to how you're describing the paying attention to the energies and observing the dog, like the real importance there of really working on that communication. But both ways, both work both ways, with them really being attuned with them being present with them. And sounds like something that you work hard on to work on energy levels into to really be reading the dog and it's in his body language. What are some basics of dog body language, then that we can all or should all know, when we're working with them?
Cherie 28:49
Well, the everybody thinks that when a dog is just wagging their tail that they're, they're happy and excited to see you, but you can't go by only the tail wagging. If the tail is wagging and the mouth is relaxed, and like open and the tongue is out and like like almost a smiling look. Yeah, that's that's relaxed. But when the tail is wagging and the body is firm, then like a firm body with the muscles tense, and the ears kind of back. That's not that's not like a calm, a calm way, like, you know, come demeanor of the dog. So, if there's any tension, then you have to look at the body and like the muscles of the body of how the dog is standing. Whether it's standing with dominance, or like, like we're the big robot And then it's also tension in the body. But then it's also the way that they're looking. So mean like, you know, if, if they have a look of like grilling your leg, like what are you doing, you know, then you're like, it's kind of unsure of what that dog is thinking, right. And then of course, fearful is like so, and, and the, so you go with the body language, but then you also the way that you greet the dogs are extremely important because people automatically there's, there's so many people that want to just walk up to the dog and start patting them on the head and like, Hey, guys, but it doesn't matter the size of the dog, it's intimidating, even even a child's little hand going on top of the head is intimidating. And it's almost like an automatic response that people's people just respond to head. But the safest way. So your your hand and your arm is not going to get fit here, because of the age, especially if you don't know, if you don't know a dog. And don't go and pet the dog on the head. Because you don't know if that dog is has been rescued and abused, or you don't know what the background is, so they can bite you in a split second. So you put your hand out for them to smell. And most of the time, if they like you and they feel your energy, then they'll smile, your hand give you a lick like alright, you go, and then pet from under just like a cat, you pet from under and then you can kind of like from here and then go like
31:58
excited
32:01
to just like a cat,
Collin 32:02
those first impressions and those first few moments of interactions, first few split seconds of interaction that you have, with a new dog can really make or break the rest of that relationship, it can be hard to recover from a bad introduction sometimes. And it is right it is first instinct to come up. And I mean, still, after nine years of doing this, it's still I have to almost remind myself every time it's like, don't get on top of the head. Just Just relax, just breathe a little bit, let them approach you and like coach myself through that process because it is it's just like a puppy pet all over the place. But knowing like, not every dog is okay with that. And that needs to be okay. And kind of raining yourself back in and going okay, we're going to treat every dog the same initially. And and just you know, again, because it's a safety thing. It's also building that relationship and and meeting them where they are. Because then you know how to work with them. If you assume you know every dog is is big boisterous gonna, you can bear hug him from the very beginning, that's gonna put you in a bad position. And
Cherie 33:04
sometimes it's extremely hard because these dogs are absolutely beautiful and absolutely adorable. It's like to not overreact.
Collin 33:16
It is it is and so, you know, part of that part of that training and part of that behavior modification, you know, well, we have to apply to ourselves first and a lot of instances, and, which is why that importance of being grounded and and re centering ourselves and monitoring our energy levels is so important. Because if we are unchecked, when we go to do that meet and greet, we may miss a few of those signs or we may miss read something the dog is trying to tell us
Cherie 33:43
what happens. So I mean, like, you know, there's there's gonna be crazy days where leaving one house and you get into an argument with your significant other today. And so you're arguing the whole entire time on the way to another appointment, and you get to that appointment and you're like, ah, like, you're just so frustrated. That's where like you don't want to be like great, like I have fallen in run into like one there's that like there's no way of of regrouping so it's more or less just like you're you're on the way in or like you know you're you're in that zone and I do that to another point that I gotta go and like get whatever phone version of me like you know, I'm in my situation for the for the dog training, you know, then is calling the person up for the petting it kind of like I guess it alters the the time frame of everything. But still still take that two to three minutes of just like regrouping, regrouping, breathing and just like right it's done. drama's over, we regroup, go see some cute little puppies. And that's the beautiful thing about animals. I mean, like, they will show you as much love as possible. And even if they talk back because they're, they're barking or they bark back at you, I mean, they're just there to show love. They're angels on this earth just to give you as much love as possible. So enjoy that moment. Enjoy that the beauty that they show us every day.
Collin 35:33
It is it is a reminder to just get to really enjoy those moments of no matter how stressed or how busy you are, or how angry you are about something else, like those moments are so precious and aren't to be taken for granted. Because a lot of people don't get to have that and you could have it multiple times a day with the pets that you're carrying. Pet perennials makes it easy as 123 to send the heartfelt condolence gift directly to someone with a broken heart. They have this awesome director client service that takes the effort off of us and ensures a thoughtful, personalized, simply gift reaches our client for employee. All gift packages include a handwritten card, colorful gift wrapping and shipping fees across the US and Canada throughout the rest of 2021. They'll be releasing an array of milestone gifts and greeting cards that can be sent to celebrate birthdays, extend get well wishes and to welcome new and even rescued pets. They also have a few gift options in case you need to send a sympathy gift and a memory of a special human client. If you're interested register for a free account to receive discounted package pricing rather than paying consumer prices. Since the service is leveraged on an as needed basis, there is no monthly or annual obligation for minimum purchase price. Learn more registered using perennials comm slash pages slash GMP s, and enter the referral code p SC at registration to be given a unique coupon code to save $2 off any package that you said in your first 90 days. We've mentioned a couple times about dealing with high energy dogs or more aggressive dogs. And then we even talked a little bit about separation anxiety. And so I know a big topic in the pet care world is is how you handle medications with with the dogs and and at what stage medications would be necessary or required for especially dealing with separation anxiety was wanting to know kind of your view or view on the use of medications for handling things like separation anxiety, or for behavioral purposes,
Cherie 37:35
this training is more important than the medication. For example, in one of the one of the programs that I have, and the one that I suggest for like severe separation anxiety is a boot camp, where I actually take the dog to the dog stays at the facility for two weeks. So you're actually taking the dog out of the environment, putting them into you know, into it, like it's a boarding daycare training facilities. So they're socializing with other dogs. Some dogs are learning to be dogs, especially like you know, the pocket of puppies that are being held at all times, and not allowed to be a dog and walk around. Yeah, so um, so it's allowing them to be a dog and playing with other dogs and socializing and desensitizing them from noises and you know, just the fear of whatever happened or the anxiety of not being with the owner. I'm in severe separation or severe anxiety cases or fearful cases, um, the CBD oil has really been helping a lot of my clients, um, you know, instead of the puppies antics or you know, any of the medication that that is, is given, I agree with, and I have seen really positive effects with the, with the CBD. So, that's the safer route, it's grown and in the earth, and it's natural. So it's a, it's a good route to go as well as the training,
Collin 39:44
it's these first steps that you want to try and steer towards instead of going immediately to the puppies and x are some of these heavy, heavy medications that can have some pretty serious side effects and consequences on the dog's body and liver as it's processing those and so it's a reminder, tick Have a stairstep yourself in what work with your client into those kinds of solutions?
Cherie 40:04
Definitely, definitely. And I'm in like, you know, there's, there's, there's those Thunder jackets, the music and energy healing as well. I also do some, some some energy healing, and like some chakra clearing some energy, any energy work if if people are open to that lessen anxiety, it helps with weight, it lessens pain. So it has lots of beneficial positive things. For sure.
Collin 40:39
Yeah. Well, I know many people may be more familiar with that in, in people and in humans. So to walk us through what that looks like chakra clearing, in that kind of process in dogs, when you go and visit them for energy healing,
Cherie 40:55
it's more or less, the way that I do is either in person, or like I do, I can do distance feelings, as well. So the distance can be like all around the world, and it doesn't matter. So if I'm doing with the owner, and, and the dog, then I tell the owner to put put the dog on the leash. And I just tend to know that I'm starting. So they can just observe the observe the dog, and most of the time, at first, you know, the dog is gonna look around, and then eventually, eventually, they get tired, and they, they can actually see the relaxation in the body. And the the healing that goes on is, is most of the time when when we're born, we're born in alignment, everything is in alignment. And as the dogs are growing up, things get get out of whack. And, you know, whether there's any traumas or anything that's going on, just like you know, just like life happens, that trauma has happened with us as well as as the dogs. So it realigns the body into its perfect form. And then lessons anxiety relaxes the body and and it's good for the overall well being of the body.
Collin 42:36
Now, is that something that you found you have a natural ability for? Or is that something you went for and got more and more training and had to learn more about?
Cherie 42:45
I got training through? My teacher was in Arizona, so I it was a podcast the great because I mean, like I was listening to a podcast. And I heard you know, the my teacher is Renee Colston. And she lives in Arizona, as soon as I heard that and listened to her podcast, I think it was like two o'clock in the morning. I'm like, Oh my gosh, you gotta find her. And then I sent her an email and and who out? I mean, that was in November, when I heard the podcast, and I flew out to do my certification in I think it was like February. I was like, I have to do it. absolutely have to do it. It was great. So it was since 2015, I guess it was it was more or less just finding different ways of calming, calming the dogs without medication, and helping as many animals and people as possible. That's my mission.
Collin 43:51
No, it's like one of the you know, if you're, you're always looking for for new and better ways, right? And you've talked about a lot of them, you've talked about the importance of, of, of the training, right? And of these supplements instead of the heavy medications of the the healings that you can do and, and even I know another thing that you talk about, or the the importance of things like routines and habits and structures in the dog's life. So how can pet sitters be involved in that part, as well?
Cherie 44:23
Well, it's telling telling the owners because, you know, we're set in our ways, and we have our own habits and then the dogs are the dogs are creatures of habit, right? So if the person if the owner is is seeing that the anxiety is on the rise, then you can tell you can tell the owner to take care of the dog first. So before they start getting ready, let's say like you know a morning routine and they know that Have to go out, you wake up, do your thing, and then get the dog ready. So take the dog for, for a walk, and make sure that they go to the bathroom and do you know just exercise and do some training or like, whatever, whatever they do to get the dog, dog or dogs mentally stimulated because the mental stimulation gets them more tired than just running around and playing and going out in the backyard. So, um, take care of them first. And then before you start getting ready, then give the dogs something to, to chew on either the common toy or a deer antler, put them in, in their confinement or put them in in another room. And when you start getting ready, then totally separate yourself from the dog. So you don't want to put them in, in the crate, or confinement, you know, while you're getting ready, then close, close the bedroom door, get ready. And then they're not at the at the bathroom door and watching your every move. When they're watching your every move. That's when the anxiety is building and building and building and building. So by the time that the person puts their shoes on, grabs the keys and walks out the door, their anxiety is through the roof, and they're like, Oh my gosh, they're really leaving now. So and another thing is, is don't make a big deal when you're leaving the house. The bigger goodbye that you make when you're walking out of buy I love your curly go, boy Oh, you know, the more of a big deal that you've made, then that anxiety is building or this is like get ready, get your stuff, put your shoes on, walk out, walk out the door. Yeah, because even like you know, your, your your greeting and the excitement is for when you get home instead of when you're leaving the house.
Collin 47:20
It is working with the clients to remind them of that process, right to remind them of that, give them some tips, give them some pointers, have them talk to you about their morning routine or what they're doing that could be a problem in that could be triggering the dog in these instances and and say, Hey, you know, maybe not spend 25 minutes saying goodbye and writing a love ballad to them and performing it and then doing the light show and then coming back in the house for an encore right? Maybe don't do that. Maybe just leave and say bye and be done with but as you also mentioned, of the importance of treating it holistically for the dog, it's not just this physical need. It's this emotional need. It's also this, this mental stimulation that they're needing and making sure that all of those needs are met by the dog to help alleviate the stress that anxiety and the separation anxiety that they're going through.
Cherie 48:13
You know, and that's where the breed researching the breeds, you know, because it's like, you know, with the terrier or herding breed Border Collie or Australian Shepherd or rat terrier, I mean jack Russell Terrier, they're high energy dogs, so they need extra stimulation, you know, because because they're not getting stimulated enough, then they're gonna get bored. And boredom can cause anxiety just as much as as as separation anxiety. So you know, they definitely need that mental stimulation. You know,
Collin 48:56
listeners are listening to this and they're going there's sounds like there's a lot of information here and and I want to learn more I want to learn more about about you know energy healings I want to learn more about the proper way to help my client walk them through separation anxiety and in dealing with that and their pets. I was curious what kind of resources or recommendations you would give for people to check out if they're wanting to learn more
Cherie 49:22
they can check out my my website which is the dog mystic calm. I'm phone call away I have blogs, lots of different topics. Dog wise, calm has some good good tips as well. But on on my my blogs page, I definitely have a lot of blogs with like, you know, moving to a new home, don't get a dog too young, like less than eight weeks old, stressful on on the dog. I mean, like you know, there's there's definitely I definitely have a lot of a lot of information and then some more information on the courses that I do. Then I have already
Collin 50:01
very good. And I'll have links to that. And a few more things that we've talked about today in the show notes and on our website, as well, so people can reach out to you sharing and get in contact. So thank you so much for coming on the show today and sharing with us about the importance of dealing with and tackling separation anxiety in dogs from a holistic approach and from and for the myriad of resources that are out there to accomplish that. It's been a it's been a real pleasure, Sherry, thank you so much.
Cherie 50:28
Thank you so much for having me. And it was great and happy dogs equal happy owners, and I'm very grateful. Thank you.
Collin 50:37
In my conversation with Sherry, it was a reminder that bonding with pets is an action that we do, not just as pet sitters, but also as pet owners, and that we can come alongside the pet owners and equip them with knowledge with tools with routines with instruction, to help them bond better and more securely, to have a lifetime relationship with their pet. Too often, many of us just assume that the relationship will come that it will happen over time. But through Sherry's approach of problem solving, exercises, dealing with commands, all of those go into strengthen the bond that our clients have with their pets, and we get to be a part of that. And through that process of building the relationship and setting that strong foundation that is the key to help dealing with separation anxiety in pets moving forward, having a strong healthy, not codependent bond between owner and pet. And for rn. That means communicating with clients opening up and helping them be receptive to some correction or pointing out things that they could be doing to help alleviate some of those concerns that they have. And that when they do start on that journey, knowing that it is a stair stepped approach, we don't immediately just jump to something. We work our way up in through little steps to see what's going to help and build from there. We'd like to thank our sponsors time to pet and pet perennials for bringing today's show to you. We want to thank you so much for listening for supporting us for sharing episodes and forgiving feedback. You have no idea just how much all of that means to us. We hope you have a wonderful rest of the week. You can check us out on Facebook or Instagram that petsitter confessional and at any time you can go back and listen to our back catalogue by going to pet sitter confessional comm forward slash episodes. Have a wonderful weekend and we'll be back again soon.
