My Miniature Schnauzer Einstein and I had a daily ritual that was so much fun, I have to tell you about it.
In the morning I would prepare his food. Then we had a fabulous Puppy Parade through the house eventually winding up outside on our deck in the garden where his sheer exuberance, dancing and leaping for joy always made me laugh.
Finally he would sit attentively and earn his breakfast reward, which he would eat with very hearty, well earned appetite.
The game delighted him, and made my heart sing. What a great way to start our day!
He was such an amazing guy. He passed away last August… and I confess, sometimes I feel a little blue. I miss him.
My roommate at the time had told me that he was the best dog he’d ever met. He loved him dearly too. They had a very special relationship and went on many adventures together.
I brought him home as an itty bitty black puppy when he was only 8 weeks old. Within just one week, he knew ALL the basic obedience commands by both voice and hand signal.
When he was just 3 months old, he’d already mastered the Art of the Roll Over and Playing Possum.
He knew how to shake hands. He could do a perfect high five paw salute.
He often astonished friends and family by showing that he knew which was his right front paw and which was his left front paw.
He knew how to gather up all his toys and put them away in his toy box (although it got to be a real challenge when he got so many toys, his box runneth over).
He was famous for his talent at shutting doors (I even did a funny video of him doing exactly that).
One time when I went outside?
He actually ran back inside and shut me out of the house, laughing at me through the glass door. I’m so glad he didn’t also know how to lock the door or I’d been in quite a pickle!
We even sang songs together, like Who Let The Dogs Out. He was very good at coming in on the Woof part.
And he did a brilliant job of walking on the treadmill with me on the days that it was simply too hot to walk outside in the Texas heat.
TIP! There can be a serious problem when walking your dog on a treadmill!
One time we were trotting happily along and then he suddenly squatted to poop, because after all, movement can stimulate the bowel. But… the treadmill just kept going! It threw him and the poo off the back of the machine making quite a mess and scaring him silly. Of course we talked about it but he didn’t like the treadmill game so much after that… sigh.
The cool thing was that he loved to learn and to show off what he knew. All his fun “tricks” didn’t take days or weeks for me to teach him.
They literally took between 5 – 10 minutes to teach.
There’s just nothing he liked better than his “training games.” And that’s how it should be.
Want to know my Secret Animal Training Sauce?
It’s communication of course! When you do it right, it even works with horses and kitties and people too.
Believe it or not, one day I felt inspired to teach Taylor, my Russian Arabian gelding, to fetch. He loved the fetch game so much he used to drive me nuts wanting to play it with me all the time… It was SO much fun!
Animal Training should be fun for you AND fun for the animal you’re working with (and by the way, that goes for training people too).
If it’s not? Then you’ve got work to do on your animal communication…
- Start with an apology.
- Improve your inner game – your mindset, approach, intention, your ability to communicate clearly.
- Regroup so you can both start over.
- Communicate what you really want (not sure how to send a message to your animal? Get your copy of my Free eBook: Hidden Secrets to Communicating with Pets Here)
- Try again and follow up your message with the right actions depending on what you’re teaching.
Remember to get help when you need it. Because here’s the thing…
Animals are sentient, intelligent, feeling beings.
They have unique viewpoints, long memories and things that are very important to them. They are in your life for a reason. They are Angels, Teachers, Guides and Healers. When you know how to recognize, respect and revere them for who they truly are, they make you a better person.
Taking the time to learn how to communicate with them opens the door to their wisdom, and will change your life.
So today? Let’s celebrate Einstein and ALL the amazing animals in our lives who have made us who we are today.
I’m so grateful for life, appreciative of you and the many wonderful souls that are sharing this spiritual journey with me.
Remember to celebrate life while you still can, ok?
Leave a comment below – tell us your best animal story!
Take a look at the HEART School of Animal Communication and choose what most appeals to you. If you are a newbie, then I highly recommend starting with the Beginning Core Foundations Course. The Advanced Animal Talk Mastery Course is awesome and includes many of my favorite, most powerful healing techniques along with many specific topics that every animal talk student needs to know how to deal with successfully.
Ready to learn how to talk to animals yourself? Look on the Menu above and click Start Here!
Enjoy this article? Here are three more of my most popular articles about animal communication:
Pet Loss: We Love, Therefore We Grieve Losing Our Pets
Speaking to Animals Changed My Life: The Day a Horse Spoke to Me
5 Responsibilities For a Professional Animal Communicator
Thanks Val! I love getting your emails and have used your tips about visualizing with my dear friend Sofi. I was recently in a teaching placement where I never felt comfortable with my colleagues. Sofi did not either. In fact, there were times when she would bark at me saying “Let’s go!”. So, I trusted her instincts and my own. On one occasion, I felt I should go to watch movies with these colleagues. I told her using pictures that she could come with me but not to bark, please. That night, she curled up on my lap and did not shift or bark for the two hour movie. My perfect pet companion. I do feel she is quite intuitive and am trying to listen closely to the signals she sends me.
I would really miss this dog. He was a once in a life time type dog. How old was he when he passed away?
He was 6 when he made his transition. When he was only 18 months old, he mysteriously contracted 4 “terminal” viral illnesses that damaged his kidneys. I got him through that and he was in good health for many years until he ate contaminated dog food which again impacted his kidneys. He was unable to recover and when he told me he was tired and ready to go home, I blessed him and helped him pass over. He’s still in my heart and we often communicate which helps a great deal. Hugs! Val