Kristina Mägi - Better Life with a Dog

24/08/2024

A good article to understand, why One Health ramification is spot on and how our health is connected to our pets’ and wildlife’s health.

Most new diseases have their origins in animals. So why aren’t we paying more attention to their health?

16/04/2021

If I could only make my dog to stop this annoying behaviour, then I wouldn't need anything more. We're good.
That's a common belief among dog people. HOWEVER...
Do you remember what were your hopes when you decided to get a dog? Where did these hopes disappear? What made you stop before you even got really started?
To have companionship with your dog doesn't mean s/he is obedient or submissive. To have companionship means you understand each other, you trust each other, you meet your dog's needs and s/he accepts yours. To have a good relationship with your dog, means also, that you know what cultural biases and societal pressures are affecting you and how these pressure points of yours affect your dog.

15/04/2021

I'm a mentor, who provides mindful education for dog people. However, while practising mindfulness and seeing its benefits, I have started to be more mindful in my decisions that affect the environment.
We "use" daily our environment and we tend to take it for granted. I didn't think much about whether to buy this coffee (even, if I had left my own cup at home). And I didn't tend to think whether I *need* the new carpet, sofa or cupboards. We have an idea, how to improve our house or how to treat ourselves and when we have money, we buy.
What happens with the emotionally expired products? Pssst, a secret: they don't vanish! In the best-case scenario, these things end up in second-hand shops, where someone finds the item and starts to reuse it.

I love the idea of renovating old houses. And I have a work in process in a 100 years old country house. There's always a question of how much to rebuild and how much to renovate. 100 years old log houses were built to last 100-200 years (here, in Estonia)! The quality of work was high! The skills and knowledge were top-class!

Being reluctant to buy new things and build a *new* house doesn't increase my popularity in the eyes of my own children. Western culture still believes in wealth and invincibility. Living in "The Story of More" and trying to use less is a constant mindful battle between what's considered normal, what's needed and what's not a necessity.

15/04/2021

Dog people vs dog owners

Dog people - people who love and share their lives with dog or multiple dogs
Dog owner - implies to a monetary transaction and it tends to objectify the dog

15/04/2021

Mindfulness - “the awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and nonjudgmentally.”

by Jon Kabat-Zinn

15/04/2021

Education

13/04/2021

What's the one word that would best describe the transformation you'll have after working with me?

MINDFUL.

Of course, mindful can't be some end goal! It's a journey that never ends. However, we only can walk the path, when we START walking it.

In which sense you'll become more mindful?
You'll start to:
- observe consciously your dog's behaviour and see patterns in it.
- recognize your dog's needs.
- teach your dog clearly and in his/her tempo
- notice patterns in your own behaviours.
- learn which behaviours of yours are helping your dog to learn and which behaviours confuse him/ her
- change your behaviours consciously and compassionately.
- look into your own needs, expectations and societal pressure.
- plan and execute a path towards joy and happy life for both of you.

Thank you, for this assignment!