Ask Sue – March 2010

Mar 23, 2010 by Sue

 Dear Sue,

Q:   My 3 ½ year old Havanese dog, Paco, is an absolute delight. However, one of his issues is greeting visitors.  He barks and jumps up on everyone like they are his new best friend.  When I know someone is coming to the house, I’ve put his collar and lead on and he is under control, but as soon as the lead comes off, he is on our guests’ laps.  Thank you, MimiQ

A.  Paco feels it is part of his job to see who is coming into ‘his’ home; you just happen to live there, too.  He feels that company coming over is also about them seeing him and commenting about how good looking he is and he says that sometimes it’s an adventure when you have friends that come over to your house. 

It feels like Paco respects the collar and lead more, because of some formal training with it, because Paco does feel that while he is on the lead, he does need to restrain/refrain a little, but he associates being off the lead as being back in his world and whatever you are saying at that point is a side note.   You might want to go back and do some more training, leaving the collar and lead on a little longer and waiting until your guests settle down.  Make sure also that you project to Paco what you want him to do, not what you don’t want him to do.  Paco is only hearing from you, “jump on guests,” rather than ‘don’t just on guests,” and he also feels you are wanting him to greet them.  In order for him to greet them, he needs to jump up so that he can be eye to eye with them.

 I also feel that you might want to change the tone of how you ask Paco to do things, because he seems to tune it out.  Some of these things I am mentioning are more about being consistent on what you want him to do and training him to hear you when he is off the lead.   Again, remember to tell him what you want him to do and you can also show this to him by picturing these things in your thoughts, rather than sending him a picture or a thought of what you don’t want him to do.

  Q.  I have a cat named Bella Mae that came to us as a stray around the age of three.  She had poor dental health and had been declawed.  Bella Mae is now around 5 to 6 years old.  Bella Mae seems to go through periodic bouts with digestive issues, which I have had a hard time pinning down.  I do communicate with her and most of the answers I get are because of stress or what occurred in her past.  I have recently ordered some flower essence remedies to help her with some of her tummy issues.  I will also be incorporating some energy work, Reiki and crystal therapy.  I would be very appreciative of any other insights or help that you might be able to offer so I can better improve my care and relationship with her.  Thank you, Josie 

 A.  I feel that her poor dental health came from her breeding or that she was exposed to other cats with some autoimmune disorders.  Bella Mae said that she feels some discomfort in her throat and mouth when she eats.    I feel that she doesn’t completely chew up all of her food, which then in turn forces her stomach to work a little harder to digest. 

One of the other things that Bella mentioned was that she doesn’t always see things in the right way, which causes her some stress.   If you have any new changes come into the home, or move things around, make sure that you tell her about what you are doing and that no matter what, she will be safe.  She mentioned that the declawing was very traumatic and that she doesn’t feel as confident as she would like to be.  I would suggest that in your energy work for her, you do a clearing of the declawing surgery that took place and see if she stored any anger or fear in her stomach.  I also feel something around her head and neck that needs some clearing and balancing.  Keep talking to her and let her know how happy you are with her and that she has blessed you.   One of the things that Bella Mae mentioned to me was that she is who she is and she is very happy with her life and says back to you, “I love you.” 

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