She Is Art

Helping K9s.com our new website inspired by Skye and the plight of dogs everywhere
and, as of August 23, the blog:
Natural K9 Training - an exploration

The adventure and voyage with her only lasted 7 intense months. I am changed, and the course of my life has changed. And I am her - not separate - in the deepest heart of hearts. In essence, she will go with me to any manifest world. I had always known her and I always will. There is no time (there) where I am her.


About Skye, from my facebook album: What is art?

♥ She IS Art - sculpted and painted by nature and imbued with a big spirit by creation itself.
She IS Art - no point really trying to describe it - she is a delight to behold....beautiful, present, playful, regal, happy, alert, with such elegance in movement, with determination & focus, loyalty in doing her job - independent yet open to adjustment & contact - slowly giving her trust and turning into a love bug.
she raises your spirits with her magnificent presence just being who she is from her essence...a transmitter of divine vibration.
maybe there are other dogs like this - maybe there is one such special dog for everyone that can have such an effect on someone. maybe i was just ready to see, maybe she really is that special, maybe it was reawakening past live connection. who knows...
...wish you could have seen her fly through the meadow, studying a situation, try to play with a cow, or teach stormy how to play or wag her tail or....
may you be blessed with an encounter such as this so when you hear someone say "it's just a dog" or "just a drum" or "just a promise" or "just a weed" - you know that they "just don't understand". not yet anyway...you've got to be open to the magic, willing to go through the portal into a different world, be amazed, accept what you find there, give it your full attention...allow your heart to be broken once again....humbled, still and awed - and be changed - ART.

Little did I know it was to change my life, or - better said, change me. Even at the time I kept having the sense and visual of walking through a long tunnel with her. At some point towards the end there was an acute awareness of possible futures. I know I am different. There was a leveling up and integrating on a feeling level with the rest of  "it" - and I am seeing people and things with a clarity that is mostly humbling and compassionate - and also seeing the extent of this all - with a peaceful silence - and at the same time the energy to action. At the time of this writing, she's been gone to a new home for 4 months,  which seems so much longer, and still  the tears come every day. I look at it as having fostered her and I know she got a good foundation to be where is is now. She had the key to something in my heart, or my very self, and I stepped through. There is something about dogs in relation to humans which is amazing. The exploration has only started.

Please take a look at  Helping K9s.com  and  Helping K9s Blog on blogspot. That is where this story will continue, even though Skye is in her new home.Unless you have been there, you won't understand that she is, has been, and always will in my heart. There really is a non separation.<3 ...and I still miss her too. 
I have registered to become a dog trainer, and am in discussion of whether or no to start a non profit. 

The only lasting beauty is the beauty of the heart.
Rumi

Timeline from facebook posts

just a few of my posts to recapture what happened for those who don't know the story of how it came to be that skye had to go. i'll add pictures at some point - or not

 

June 14

finally was able to meet up with skye's new mom - i think she was getting tired of me calling - but she still did not get her heartworm meds and i still had some ...anyway..skye seems to be happy in her new family, she gets to run on their property and even gets to go to the river - something i had imagined doing many times, as she loves water. like me, her new mom observed that skye really wants to stay around with her "pack" and house and hearth - though she'd wondered about that her being part husky. anyway, she said she'd send some pics sometime - if she does, i'll post it - this pic is from april

 

i miss her and am happy that she seems to be happy - i knew she loved kids, and she gets to run outside and - she can come inside now too. her at the river - she must think she's in heaven :)

i also gave her new mom a picture with a heart full of worms, heartworm life cycle schematic and copies of heartworm medication packaging so hopefully she'll continue it after seeing that. it is Rx, so not as easy to get . .... i am just going by what i was told and my impression, and did not actually see skye. keeping her in my mind's eye running around happy, doing her guard duty and being part of a good pack, i envision a happy life for her - and it is time to let go of worrying about her. she is in the care of someone else now ...but i ♥ her always.

june 7

"The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men." ~ Leonardo Da Vinci

 Inspirational project benefits homeless pets

how about something like this? we got art friends, we have sammies friends, our local no kill shelter - don't we have access to a school? and young kids, could talk to the teacher there to get hints on how to do this...we have someone who can auction...just inspired as this brings together so many good things

 

This was our dog pack for 6 months: German shepherd/husky, adopted at the end of October 2010 at about 12 months, 3 y old (in March 2011) rat rat terrier Storm, and adopted border collie Shakti, deaf, about 9 years old. they are outside dogs - though at times are allowed in if it rains or gets too cold. It was decided she needed to go (long story) - I am heartbroken - but it is not my dog - I did the best I could though to make her a great dog to be around - she isn't even aloof anymore, though I'm not sure she'll ever loose that streak of independence mindedness ♥. It was a great adventure, eye opener, challenge and learning experience. I gave it all I had to give to take care of her and she'll live in my heart forever....Invoking a good home for her again - where she can lead a happy dog life in her forever home - this is May 3. 

 

may 23

awakening around the globe - this one is taking the form of animal protection, speaking out against animal abuse - a step towards alleviating the suffering of all sentient beings everywhere

Is
it the availability of social media or the actual raising of awareness
and courage to speak out ...or...what is it that makes pleas for animals so much more
apparent these days?

 

may 18

A love of my life - "just" a dog - a magnificent, beautiful sweet being,
opener of hearts, bringer of transitions - Bodhisattva Skye

 may 17

We brought her to Beverly's house Sunday morning, May 15 2011 ...she never had any trouble with any of the other dogs there. She then spent the days with Beverly, nights with Matt, who was delighted to have her. Today, Tuesday, she got adopted while she was at the shelter with the trainer. We all hope it is a good match...and will work out....the lady had fallen in love with her from the photos we had put up. I spoke with her a couple of times. She took her home Tuesday, May 17, 2011.
Anyway, this is the last time I saw her. What adventure - and such gratitude - for her to have been in my life, for those who helped take care of her. Have a very happy fulfilled dog-life ♥
Missing her a lot - and she opened the door to something - the transition is in progress

 She lived in my car for about 24 hours, except for walks and meals...

The first night she stayed outside - the second night inside the car - just as well, since it started raining. 

Spending Friday night at the 35 acres - Skye was in good spirits after spending time at Beverley's house with her other dogs. 

 

may 16

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”
“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”
Mahatma Gandhi

 

may 15

Tool of the divine just by being who she is

 

may 11

If you want "wash & wear" dogs - get stuffed animals ...

 may 10

Skye is going with Tom and Jane - she was calm, a little unsure. We'll know more in a few days. For now, I am filled with gratitude and much more - what a gift she was and is - and I wish her the happiest fulfilled dog life ever with the best training she needs. Tuesday, May 10, 2011 ...alas - 3 days later the saga continued....

Monday evening - an animal intuitive met with all of them - the animals want to work it out - they don't really understand what's happening and why they can't see each other - they miss each other - though there is some wariness and fear on both sides - in the end, all that could be done was ease the transition

Monday, May 9 the shelter was overfull - we went to the country - Saddle Pals - amazing moments. We met Jane - she and her husband were looking for a dog...

 

may 7

Under my worktable just once

This was such a delightful afternoon in May - in a way, we had to live the dream of many years in a few days - this was shortly before Skye had to go 

 

may 8

it's invoking the highest and loving with all your heart - and then trusting, relaxing and letting go - who really knows what is best for the evolution of our being/soul?

 

may 4

Hello all our Saddle Pals friends,

Natalie & family have a beautiful German Shepherd / Huskie mix with one blue eye
and one brown eye that we need to find a new home for very soon. We adopted Skye at the
end of Oct. 2010 and she was estimated to be about 1 year old or less at that time. She appeared
to have had no formal training and wanted to play with any dog and any sometimes large animal, like a cow or horse,  that came her way.
She is now about a year and a half and is a friendly, energetic 60 lb. dog. She is really sweet and friendly
with people, announces strangers arriving on the property and will wag her tail and
accompany them as soon as she knows they are okay with us. We think this is her natural
German Shepherd part coming through and something we wanted. She also announces unusual things - like ballons hanging out of a window, then investigates.

She's an outside dog which gives her plenty of exercise. She seems to want to herd larger animals
like the cows when they were right next to our property line in the pasture next door. She stays
around the house and barn complex because she likes people and keeps track of all
the comings and goings of which there are plenty. We have no fear that she would run away once
she knows where she is, is her home.

We think she loves kids but can only tell from the one time we had a 5 year old girl visiting us
and they loved playing with each other. She knows about 20 commands, has been to obedience class but does need more work to be promptly following all the commands. She's very smart and
has her own will. She seems to like to have a job -- guarding is good.

She does chase smaller animals -- squirrels, moles, rats. When we first got her the
other dogs chased our garden cat so she's never been trained otherwise since they
weren't.

Skye gets along great with our "rough tough" little Rat Terrier. Together they catch rats
outside whenever they can and rumble and tumble wildly. However, we have an older and currently infirm dog recovering from a rattle snake bite. About 3 weeks ago Skye and this older dog had an altercation over a bone (the older dog does have food/bone guarding and had brought his bone to the play area and they got into it). Then Shakti got bit by a rattlesnake and is not bouncing back too well. He is also deaf. The 3 dogs used to play great together but now the dynamic has been unfriendly between the 2 of them.
Unfortunately we are unable to carry out the dog trainer's instructions about rehabilitating the 2 dogs.
Thus we can't keep both of them. The older dog has been with us for years, he has priority to
live out his days however long in peace. The result is that we need to find a home for Skye who
we've only had for 6 months.

She is beautiful as you can see by the pictures attached. She's had training on a leash
i.e. the walking and heel command. Her experience with horses is that they live next
door. She is smart and could be introduced and worked with. In our experience she will need
somebody to continue training her and tell her what's permitted and not as she is only an
adolescent. And both German Shepherds and Huskies need patience and consistency.
She will do fine if you don't take her anywhere. But we started training with the goal of
her being well behaved wherever we took her.

She's current with rabies, heart prevention and tick prevention. She loves bones.:) and has no food guarding. We really
really don't want her to go back to the shelter. She comes with, if you choose, a dog house, leashes,
pillows, a small "pool" she could sit in to cool off and a year's supply of tick prevention.

Please contact me if you would like an introduction to Skye or know someone who would
like to adopt a beautiful dog like her.

If you are on facebook you can see more pictures here
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1587137991185&set=a.1587136951159.2077999.1017850521&type=1&theater#!/media/set/?set=a.1519489100005.2072101.1017850521

I've attached 4 jpgs in case it's easier to see pictures in your email. (It's slightly more than 2 MB
and should still be well within dial up (slow) internet connection receiving abilities.)

Looking forward to seeing or hearing from you,
Marvette
Natalie Hopcroft's aunt

Looking for a home: beautiful German Shepherd/Husky - here she was patiently waiting for me to get done with watering

 

In my little garden area - waiting for me to be done with watering some seeds

 

may 3

Today my heart is broken once again - she will have to find a different home - asap. i invoke, pray envision a life full of dog happiness for her - may the right family or someones come along soon - she finally started to bond with humans, she's only 1 1/2 years, she still will need training and guidance, she knows about 20 commands - i hope she'll have a buddy kinda like Stormy too. I ♥ her

added: we never even tried to implement the recommendations of the dog rehab trainer. too much work, too much hysteria, too much irrational fear.

 

may 1

YIKES - Snake bite around 5pm May 1. I saw him sitting hugging the back door and waved him towards me, then saw the area around his nose was swollen (and in the process of swelling more, including his cheeks), he was drooling, could not breathe through his nose because of secretions....you can see a couple of puncture marks, presumably it was a rattler. He is at the vet-hospital tonight ....We had no clue how extraordinarily expensive anti-venin alone is. I'm am seriously considering pet insurance for our poochies.----he did well overnight and we brought him back this morning...

 april 26

The adventure continues - rehab session with dog trainer Beverly. It was very interesting on many levels - remember, in case you missed it - the 2 big guys had that big fight over a bone.

 

april 20

cool story from a friend of mine about her 8 y old: A teacher was starting to show a video about elephants at the circus. She raised her hand and said she was not going to watch it.

She said she was not comfortable to watch them doing tricks because they are tortured and forced to learn. She was allowed to leave and the school decided not to show that movie next year.

 

april 19

one of the most destructive and evil things on this planet is badmouthing any other sentient being - destructive if out of ignorance, evil if done out of intent to further one's self and own interests in the eyes of others. but maybe that is just ignorance on a more profound level...
btw, gossip is a form of homicide

 

april 16

Turn of events - after a turbulent start, these 2 have been best buddies since january - however, the 2 big guys have an issue that is not yet settled - they had a big fight 3 days ago...sigh

 april 13 - this were going well still

Didn't he capture the wild in her in this one? - photo by James Rodney April 11, 2011
"Keep in mind that as lovable and at times human seeming as animals are, they're still animals - instincts can flare at any moment in even the most well trained" J. Rodney

 april 9

yes, maybe it's part of waking up to something societies everywhere have been shoving under the carpet for a long time

 

april 8

Gimme Five - she used to miss sometimes, overshoot, hit real hard - but then on May 7, 2011 - she was precise and soft, right on the palm - nice

 april 5

atm, it's kinda not so meaningful for me to admire pretty pictures done for the sake of "self" expression alone - while this is going on. somehow can't keep on the beautiful side, ignoring and not acting on this.... what "self" are you?

 march 30

i am starting to like pit bulls a lot - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcpB3gZwdaY&feature=channel_video_title watch for another side of them

 march 27

“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor political, nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him that it is right.” ~ Martin Luther King

 

march 17

don't overlook shelter dogs if you are looking for a pet - and more...

 

march 12

glass walls

how about a hot dog like this? if you watched the video "glass walls" (my previous post) this will look fantastic

 march 7

How we got our dog to go into the car

 

please see posts from march

 

 

 

 

 

A transmitter of divine vibration

Dog magic - be open to be changed

How lucky to have met her - not just a dog, but a way a perfect match for what was needed, a magnificent being with a purpose.
She's been gone for 3 1/2 weeks now,  which seems so much longer, and still  the tears come every day. During the last month or so with us, and after about 6 1/2 months, she was starting to come when called - just because.  She would turn around on "this way" and she'd been following me everywhere. Neither driven by food, petting or a desire to please, something else made her tick and something else had started to operate here. She was starting to come just because I said so. She had to be won over, convinced I deserved it. She was turning into a bit of a love-bug too. I was looking forward to the next phase of training. And just then...she had to go to a new family. It's along story. Luckily she really seemed to like kids and will have a kid friend in her new home. The woman seems nice, really wanted her and is also very busy. The training she had here may be the only one she'll get, but she won't have to be an outside dog anymore.

It was a profound experience to get to know her. It was intense, it feels like a lifetime went by in just over 6 months, and it was a transformative, life-changing experience. She catalyzed something in me. A bubble burst.

Curious, getting to know her and falling in love, loving with an open heart, in pure delight watching her move, so much deep joy, wanting to do what was best for her, having to go through what for me were physical extremes, recognizing I had known her before and always will - somewhere along the process, leveling up occurred, resulting in being able to "see" better, people and their motives and limitations, where they are stuck, the state of the world, it's hard to explain. I learned so much in many ways about her, dogs, people, myself and the entire world of dogs, including their plight and suffering.

What advise do I have for future dog owners?
Inform yourself about what it will take for you and other members of your household to take on a dog. Decide what type of dog is right for you and your family. And once you say yes to adopting the animal, stick with it. Then have patience, spend time, much time, observe, get to know this being now living with you. Use Natural Dog Training. Be consistent all the time. Most of all, have, build and feel trust and respect for your dog. Discover what kind of training works best for your new companion. Have patience. Observe, sense, feel the energies involved. Find out the proper cuddle times, get her/him to relax and enjoy your hands on the body. Give guidance, correct instantly - stay calm - surrounding emotional and energetic states will get picked up and acted out by your dog.  Find many ways to socialize him/her. Feed them good food, the healthiest you can offer.Take care of their medical needs.  Find out what works best for them in training. Respect them and their intelligence.
Walk with them, take them places, channel energy or go slow, reassure with the tone of your voice. Allow them to do dog things, allow them to be dog-happy.  No pity or sentimentality. No rewarding unwanted behavior. Open your heart, be amazed, touched, surprised and allow the delight and joy. Get help promptly if needed -  spend more time - and take lots of pictures.
Did I say use Natural Dog Training methods :)

With deep gratitude, and with her essence alive in my inner heart forever - this human self here still misses her.

Have a great life.

For those who say "It's just a dog",  I say - ya, you'd probably say it was just a commitment, it's just a promise, it is just love, it's just a human, it's just the planet - and: you just don't understand.

How to get a German Shepherd Husky dog into the car

Our German Shepherd Husky used to carsick when we first got her - after 2 rides and throwing up, she refused to get into the car again - whether it be the van or the car...and we had to lift her up to get to training classes. Well, that just wasn't gonna work for us.

So first, we associated the car with tasty treats, not just yucky rides. Sitting in it, we called her and gave her treats. On separate occasions, we trained her to "jump".

Story in Pictures:

 We started with something low and natural looking and used treats and the word "jump". Walking over it did not count :)

Then we moved to something a little more artificial - mostly because we have a small and a large dog and the big girl would simply step over the barrier, while the little guy was not yet ready to jump the high size. so this allowed for easy varying the height. I pretty much used stuff I found in the backyard to construct the barriers

Now -  both dogs just wanted to go underneath the sticks or branches as they were raised - so we came up with a more solid interim solution for that. Again, easy to construct with a wooden board and some logs. Some folks may have children's play toys around, or some type of garden tools. Buckets might work too. Rewards were not given for walking around the barrier, stepping over it or trying to go underneath. We wanted the JUMP movement. As an added bonus for us, since we also had to train for a "trick" for dog training classes, we got a hoop. The little terrier was afraid of it at first and had to really "get" the jump thing before he jumped through the hoop - but he does now....and got 2nd prize for it :).

It's been fun. Please enjoy the snappers I took for the documenting of this process. It was a cloudy day and our big girl was not all that cooperative - I tell you, she must think all this is silly....

He is much more eager to please

.....

They both jump now

After about a week, we used the "jump" command for the car - and it worked...yeah.

She still does not like it - but she will jump in...there

Happy now...?

How to deal with a German Shepherd Husky who gets car sick and throws up

At first we thought our new 1 year old German Shepherd Husky pup was just well behaved in the car...but then, on the 2nd time out, she threw up. Quietly, but still, she barfed...Admittedly, is was a trip that was about an hour, including stops, maybe too long for her.

So here is what worked for us: we take her out once or twice a week for a short ride, no more than 10 minutes, to dog training. We drive carefully. We don't feed her any meals up to 4 hours before a car ride. So far it's working out well. She is getting more interested in looking out the window, her mouth is not getting so watery any more. We think In time she will get used to it - and maybe even enjoy it -  though that is still doubtful.
Of course after the second ride she refused to get into the car again and we had to lift her - that really was not acceptable...see our blog how we got her to jump into the car...:)

Little adventures and observations with our 3 "poochies"

Some adventures with our poochies

Well, after the initial being pulled to the ground, there has been an establishing of a different pack order around here :). That was quite an adjustment for all of us, including Jewel and myself, but especially Stormy.

In training, we found out that our big puppy girl is not easily seduced with food or toys  and training is a bit slow. For a while there she seemed to think: silly...and walk away watching the grounds whereas little Stormy voraciously wanted to learn the tricks and get the treats. However, she does learn - just seems to see the need and sense in doing something. For example - it was difficult to get her to jump through a hoop - she just stepped over it or walked away. However, when it came around the next time to jump into the car - voila, the "jump" command worked like a charm.

Waiting for the treat - take the picture already? hehe

Still, I did a bit more research and then started with marker training and also modified her feeding - and it seems to work. Don't forget, they are all outside dogs, and she was already a year old when she came to us. I think she does very well with dogs, meaning is socialized into normal dog behavior, but I am not sure
she was all that bonded with any human.

But when appeared the cows in the back of our property, on the other side of the fence -  boy oh boy, herding and guarding is in her blood and she comes to life. Chasing squirrels is also major fun, and she stalks around the corner of the house like a big cat trying to surprise them on the ground. If she could, she'd climb trees. Guarding guinea hens is part of the job too.

Dog training class: well, the general attitude seems something like "Must I really go there- and do stuff? Really...."
She is slightly growling when other dogs approach, something I'd rather not see. It will take a while for her to chill around other dogs.


Lately she's been coming when called, unless a major dig is going on, a squirrel hunt or our daily roaming big white dog visitor. Luckily the other 2 dogs don't viciously chase him any more, but it's still tricky to keep them on the property when she, the "big white dog", is coming by.

Today we came back from shopping and found the fresh innards of a bird on the walkway...and later some thrown up meat and bones. I wonder what happened - maybe the guinea hens came back?. Storm yesterday caught himself a rat and was starting to eat it. So I can see him going for a bird too...AND - he refused a cookie when we came back, something unheard of. I looked all over, found a few feathers but no other carcass...or bird-wings. Not sure we'll ever know what happened.

Meanwhile, I am on the 2nd dog pack for the big girl to carry wood. Not sure she finally understood that carrying wood gets her that favorite treat - a meaty bone, as the reward or she just got used to it, but she seems more willing now to carry it. Nice.
And after practicing jump, she now jumps into the car, whereas before we had to lift her into it....oh dear. We have only taken her on shorter trips, and she does not looks as if she were getting carsick as badly. She's even looking out of the window these days.

I am just writing this down so I don't forget. She like to keep her favorite puppy dog around. Today, a rainy day, she had placed it by the stairs. Claude came by and picked it up to put it by the barn, under cover...she went to him and gently took it...only to put it back on top of the stairs again :).

She definitely sleeps longer when it's rainy, and appreciated being rubbed dry these days before going to "bed" for the night.

I love the way she plays, she, our German Shepherd/Husky. It is delightful watching her invitations to the other dogs, the making herself small by laying down and on her back, the stopping when it seems to much for the little guy, her being able to outrun them and handle all situations with them...I love watching them all play. She is a beautiful being...and her playfullness is refreshing.

Shakti sure has enjoyed the play times and increased attention he's getting as a result of Skye being here. He is getting old, sometimes I wonder how long he'll last.

"In her bed"

In her bed - I tuck her in at night - this started because when it was raining for days, all the bedding got wet during the day, so now I take some of it away and make sure it dries and put it out at bedtime. Today she was ready early, took right to it. And that pink blanket that daddy E.J. got her - I think she really likes it. This spot btw is also guarding the barn door - she sure announces folks as they come in.