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Maureen, Gary and
their experienced team of volunteers, trainers, behaviorists and dog
lovers enjoy studying behavior, training and learning about how evolution
changes (and we believe strengthens) the relationship between human & dog.
We are individuals with common goals and strong connections. We
believe that training is
exciting from the perspective of learning how to
communicate and teach a differenct species. It's not just about
training or the DOG.
Author and co-author of
"Train Your Dog, Change Your Life, Howell Book House, 2001, they
co-founded New England Pet Partners, Inc.,
www.newenglandpetpartners.org, a non-profit dedicated to bringing
people & pets together to enhance well-being and education through
pet-assisted therapy. The same inspiring tone is set through-out all
training & well-being classes at Dog Talk & TheraPet, LLC.
THE
SECRET IS OUT!
There is no guessing about this anymore.
There is no magic potion. Before you can change
anyone’s behavior, you have to change your own. Dogs live with
people because people need & enjoy dogs! They have since the dawn
of creation.
The
relationship we develop with our dogs can have a trickling effect
in our relationships with other humans. There is no mystery to
this! It's happening in our universe. What we do, as humans,
makes a difference. How we treat other species is a direct shadow of
who we are as people.
Dogs live in the present
moment. They do things the way dogs do, as a difference species.
When you accept this, then you begin to create a positive learning
experience that is respectful and sensible.
Dogs live with
people! Positive-family-focused training
provides the
springboard that bounces training, therapy and education from the
office, classroom and facility to realistic situations in the home
environment for the dogs and their families.
Dog Training happens when people
(and dogs) are empowered wiith resources and guidance.
Knowledge and
education opens minds (and doors) that present us with the opportunity to
be the best we can be, not just make it! Our
successful programs are based on the power of relationship.
It is calm, but assertive and individual.
We inspire training with a
wagging tail!
Learning is a process that all species
and dogs do
individually, even within the same breed. If you get to know your
dog, with curiosity, observation and an open-mind, you can learn even more about yourself.
THOUGHTS AS A TEAM:
Our vision is to bring
people and pets together to enhance well-being with awareness and education.
We view ourselves as
coaches and mentors who provide resources
so people can make "informed choices".
Training doesn't happen in a
classroom alone. It happens in your every day life and for a
lifetime. Practice, practice and practice some more.
We embrace focused training and behavioral
shaping. It really does not matter how "positive" training is, if you
are not "focused". The question is: What is
happening in this very moment that is or is not giving you the desired
communication results with your dog?
Like our and our client's
dogs, we fantasize about
a leash-free world,
multiple dog packs that all get along in harmony, and positive learning
experiences for everyone. Realistically, we know that this is a
dream. We live within a food chain environment that we have to
constantly manage. Negatives experiences teach us as much, if not
more, about change.
Striving to be gentle and understanding with our dogs
empowers us as human beings. Holistically
and spiritually, living with dogs relieves stress (most of the time)
leading to what we believe to be healthier minds, bodies and a balanced
sense of well-being.
Children learn how to appreciate a broader
picture of the world by living with dogs. Intuitively, we
educate our dogs by developing a relationship with fairness, calmness,
clarity and assertion; one of
boundaries and limitations, but also of love, compassion and
understanding our differences. We need to train our dogs with
the same patience that we expect and enjoy while learning something new
(like a child)!
Knowledge is
empowering, but we need to be aware that how we learn is different for
all species. Whether
something we have tried works or not really does not matter, as long as
it is pursued with integrity and the dog's well being in mind. No one’s self-esteem or spirit is
damaged (the dogs or ours).
The learning process goes on and on like the
universe. It does not start and stop with a training session.
Like any thing
we learn, dog training is a skill. It requires time, effort and
commitment to a different way of being and seeing.
If you can take
a breath and look at the moment through the dog's eyes, then you will
know what to do next.
Training becomes more of an integrated,
daily part of our life, instead of a 6-week class that starts and stops.
Our message is
to invite you to
learn something new every day
(from all species and
nature). Channel energy in a positive way to reduce stress and create
new learning experiences.
Believe this:
everything is a learning
experience depending on how you perceive it! It is what you do
with it that counts! Conflict, stress, problems and making
mistakes are a part of living. What we do with them makes the
difference. Develop a sense of humor. It prevents hardening
of the attitudes and puts even the toughest hurdles into perspective.
Moreover,
remember, what we focus on is usually what we become. If we can
learn to let-go and take a moment to decide what we want from our dogs,
they will give it to us. What happens in every aspect of our
lives, all of the consequences we encounter, do so because of choices
that we make at any given moment!
Therefore, we invite you to
pause and breathe between that stimulus and response.
You cannot control
every nuance of life’s unpredictable happenings, but you can take a
moment to catch your breath.
Quality breathing simple means you
are conscious of the sustaining oxygen that flows in and out of you
everyday. You are alive and breathing. You are aware of being in the
present moment, the now!
Learn by heart. It is never just
about the dog. It is about the way we communicate and nurture our
relationships on a daily basis.
Take-a-deep-breath,
treasure life and hug your dogs; it is healthy and therapeutic! As our
friend and mentor, Dr. Ian Dunbar, would say: "Warm Woofs".
As our mentor Dr. Jane Goodall says, "together we can make a
difference."
WELL-BEING and TRAINING
IS A LIFELONG, LIFESTYLE CHOICE
EDUCATE YOURSELF &
CHOOSE WISELY!
As a Team, we LIVE
WITH DOGS!
We are currently owned by a Newf, a
hearing challenged American Bulldog, a Greyhound, a Leonberger, a tenacious
Border Terrier, two cats and two parrots. We grieve many who have left indelible paw prints on
our
hearts including delightful mixed, shelter & rescue dogs.
GARY other KUDOS:
Gary has a Masters Degree
from Cornell University. He is an engineering manager for Raytheon
Corporation:
"Dog Talk gives me the opportunity to combine canine and human
management experience by assisting in creative training programs for Dog Talk
& TheraPet. When time allows, I enjoy joining Moe and the
team. I find what I learn working with dogs, I can bring to
Raytheon. I coach dog sports, sub for group classes, and offer a a
team practicum for Delta. It keeps me involved in something
different from Raytheon, which can be toxic."
MAUREEN other KUDOS:
Maureen has a Masters in counseling psychology from Antioch in Keene, NH and a
BS in
organizational management from Lesley in Cambridge, MA. Scroll down to
read more about the PASSSION BEHIND THE BUSINESS!
Maureen:
on a personal note
~
My Passion ~
Dogs! The Picture-Airbrushed!
I
have loved and shared my life with dogs and nature always. I used to study dog breeds in
the back of Spiegel catalogs and threaten my mother that "when I grew up, I’d
get a big dog". Well, I have: big, small, pedigreed and whatever's. I
am forever grateful for their presence in my life.
Living in a small, cramped, but
affordable apartment in Lowell, MA, my parent’s choice of dog for me was small
(Chihuahuas, Spitz or little mutts). I had a menagerie of birds, gerbils,
turtles and fish. Our family knew next to nothing about dog
behavior, aside from what one generation passed on to the next. There were
voids and misunderstandings, that even as a child, I knew were not okay.
Dogs would poo under the bed because no-one let them out, then they were
reprimanded for it! Somehow, these dogs (and me) managed to
blend in and survive the chaos, making my life more meaningful and safer.
I was given a special gift of being given time to learn with dogs!
To condense for the
reader, I know that many of you will relate
to the reality of the "imperfect" family, not that
there really are any perfect ones! All families have skeletons and
secrets, just choose to process them differently. This is colored
with
pride, beliefs and values passed from generation to generation.
Without going into detail, let’s
say that certain members of my family suffered from demons. It was a
mixture of patterns and behaviors that could create calm or conflict.
As an adult, I've learned that all families do the best they can with
the skill they have. It is how we process, use and choose to learn
from the information we are given that makes the difference. I am
fortunate. I process well and was given the gift of perception,
excellent bounce back (resilience) and dogs!
Survival
techniques were learned at an early age as it is by every species.
Early on, I learned
how to read expressions and find rocks to skip on to the other side of the stream
before the impending storm. Intuitively, who I am becoming as a person, is an
accumulation of all I
learned while growing up and what I continue to discover with wide
opened eyes and curiosity. Dogs play a huge part in this, as do my
mentors and role models, those few who find "awe" in being alive, nature
and learning ... everyday.
As a child, I found
comfort in knowing that I was never alone! I woke up grateful to
have my dog by my side. I still am to this day, only there is
several dogs by my side. I consider dogs to be my unconditional companions,
teachers, and therapists (in their own way of course). They connect me
to people and pathways that I otherwise never would have found, or at
least that is what I choose to believe.
Through thick and thin, a few panic attacks, depression,
death, divorce, transition and trauma, stuff that life presents to all
of us, dogs will continue to hold a soft place in my
heart. They create learning experiences and connections for me with some
very precious people. Being with them is where I have found my
chose friends, family, peace and, oftentimes balance into unbalance,
back to harmony again.
They say lessons
are repeated until they are learned from generation to generation.
Dogs keep teaching me to never give-up, to love many, trust few and try
to harm none! For humans, this isn't as simple!
I consider myself
grateful and privileged to be invited and accepted in the
presence of dogs and their ancestors the wolf. They inspire me to
let go and simply be present.
Suddenly, I can view the world through another specie's
perspective without judgment.
I am in awe, honored and
more content when I am
in the company of others who intuitively sense the
same intrigue with dogs, nature and something that is bigger than all of
us! Sometimes, not a word has to be
spoken between two living beings that share this with dogs. It is a
gift, an understanding between human and human, or dog and human.
As my
friend Stella (93), who passed, taught me, "it is a "knowing" that
needs no words. As Dr. Jane Goodall shares, "if I had one
wish it would be to see through their eyes (her beloved chimpanzees) if only for a moment." [Reason
for Hope by Dr. Jane Goodall]
This connection with
dogs is
giving me the opportunity to share my experiences with others, to make
even a small difference, to leave a legacy or message if you will that I
am passionate about life and learning with dogs by my side. I have
no idea why. Most times, I can't explain it. That's
the beauty of it. It just is.
For this, I
am forever grateful. For dogs, I will do whatever I can to lessen
their burden through awareness, education, relationship and well-being.
~
Gary on a personal note ~
"
I
grew up in a middle class neighborhood one of six kids. We didn’t have a dog,
but we had several cats (less maintenance for my Mom I suppose). There were dogs
all over the neighborhood, some nice ones and some not so nice ones. While
delivering papers for 8 years, I was able to develop a ‘special’ bond
with some of them. Like I said before, there were some good dogs and some not so
good dogs.
It wasn’t until I met Maureen that dogs truly became an integral
part of my life. I quickly found out what others have known for millenniums. Dogs are really something else. I wouldn’t change a minute. The dogs have
shown me such grace, compassion and unconditional love, helping me through my
good times and bad.
The dogs have also afforded me
the opportunity to meet people who I never would have met otherwise. You guys
know who you are. We’ve traveled all over the world, and you always meet
people who care about dogs.
I remember walking outside the London Zoo, and
asking a gentleman exercising his Terrier if he had ever watched "Dogs with
Dunbar". Needless to say he had, and he never missed a broadcast.
Dog people are really
interesting (I think there’s a book in there somewhere). Like our dogs, we
come in all shapes, sizes and colors. We don’t always agree (and some of those
disagreements are legendary), but if we’d only take the time to step back, we’d
realize that we all want the same thing … what’s best for our dogs and
our well being!"
               
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A Training Sanctuary for Dogs and
Their Humans! 
