Learning the Language of Dog

Welcome to the Dog is Love podcast! We're so happy you're here. In this episode, co-hosts, Chrissy Wohltmann and Cara Kelly discuss the language of dog and explain the meaning of, "to have a dog, you have to understand DOG." They also go into the three Foundational Principles of DOG, focusing on the first principle, 'How Dogs Live.' 

Transcript

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Dog is love, like the roots of the trees and the

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stars up above Dog

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is love, judgement free, unconditionally

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Hey guys, welcome to Dog is Love. I'm Chrissy Waltman, and I'm so grateful you guys decided to join us. This is our first episode of Dog is Love, and we are thrilled to have you. This podcast is our first for the whole team, so please bear with us as we navigate this new adventure. I'm joined by my partner in crime, my sister from another mister, Cara Kelly. Hi. With me on this canine to thrive journey since 2010. as well as our producer, Toni Kelly, who is here to help us look and sound good. Cara, Toni, and I have known each other forever since I was 14. Isn't that nuts? That means I was seven. Yes. Or eight. I was eight. I wanted to start with an introduction to kick off our episode for those listening who may not be familiar with us and K9to5. And after that, we'll get started. I found that in life, it's infinitely better to navigate the ups and downs with a dog by your side. I believe a dog's love is God's love on earth, nonjudgmental and unconditional. And it's no coincidence to me that dog is God spelled backwards. A dog offers joy, peace, gratitude, contentment, and love. So dog is love. Dogs have been some of my greatest teachers, companions, and sources of inspiration. They remind me daily to be fully present in the current moment. Through the pack, I've come to believe that nature has all the answers. If we can allow ourselves to just slow down and pay attention, dogs can teach us so much about living. When it became clear that having a dog whose schedule needed more rearranging than my own and relying on neighbors to ease the anxiety was not the answer, I started my dog walking company, Canine to Five, in 2007. I saw the opportunity to create a small business that married my love for animals, nature, and the outdoors. But we've come a long way since then. And my hope with this podcast is to share everything I've learned from the pack with you. Thank you so much for joining us. what's really in a name, and how to navigate the endless options of food choices. You'll hear a lot from us, veterinarians, trainers, and other canine specialists who will weigh in on topics from week to week. We'll also find every opportunity we can to show how the dynamics within the pack directly correlate to human relationships and how, if we're humble and willing, we can evolve into better versions of ourselves, all thanks to our dogs. We're going deep, people, and we couldn't be more excited. Wait, Chris, before we start, I think there's an important story to tell about one of our friends, right? Which was sort of, not that it was necessarily the impetus for the podcast, but... was an inspiration for this is really relevant information and we need to get this out there. Yeah. Like, remember, we wanted to do the podcast for so long. We've talked about it. And then this phone call was kind of like, this needs to happen. Let's get going. Let's go. Okay. So I have a friend that's actually not local anymore. She's out of state. And it is a mom and a dad, three kids. And then we placed an incredible dog into their family from another customer of ours. Right. And then over the years, of course, they wanted to add a second dog in. Absolutely. Yeah. And the second dog, I can't remember if they bought it as a puppy or if it came as like an older puppy. But it was a pup. Yeah. It was young. Yep. And so it's a male and the dog that we put into the house was female. Okay. All right. So like things are going well, you know, he's a good little guy. And then one day dad was coming downstairs and that dog had a bone. Okay. And I forget what happened, like, but for whatever reason, dad interacted with the dog and that dog became territorial of the bone and started growling. And then I nipped and then bit the dog. Bit the dad. I mean, yes, the dad. And then the, I mean, the dad was like, dad's furious, furious, right? And I think the dad interacted with the dog in a way that, you know, anybody would when a dog bites you. And then of course it was just like, that's it, this dog's out of here, you know? Right, right. But I think at the end of the day, you know, it's just, Not a lot of people really understand dog. Sure. As this actual friend used to tell me when I was a mom, stop, take a beat, count to three and start all over again.

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Yeah.

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Yeah. So when that phone call happened and I get these phone calls quite often. Sure. I was like, we need to do something to be able to reach out to more people than just my friends or acquaintances that can give me a call. Right. Because you and I talk about this all the time in any relationship. Right. you have to sort of understand how the other party, how they receive love, how they give love, right? What's our favorite book? The Five Love Languages? Yes. And it's no different with a dog. And we've worked with these dogs. You've been doing this for two decades. I've been doing it

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since 2010. So like a long time.

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But the thing that we've learned is that most humans, what is our instinct to do is to put Our human experience on the dog. Yes. But really what we want to do is help you, the listener, understand the language of dog. Yes. And if you can understand the language of dog, you might have a different reaction in a specific situation just like that. Just like that story. Right. Right. Okay. Yeah. Good. So we're going to, that's sort of. Right. Where we're going to lead from. Yeah. So it's a statement I say all the time to customers that are asking me to help with like training or bringing on a new pup into the family is that to have a dog, you have to understand dog. Say it again. Yes. So to have a dog, you have to understand dog. Yeah. Okay. Okay. So like you said, we're speaking their language, not them speaking ours. Yes. Right. And so start with your foundational principles. Yes. Good jumping off point. For sure. So the most helpful thing I've learned over the decades that I've been doing this, working with dogs, is that I've come up from observing the pack, is that there are three foundational principles of dog. Okay. Okay. Yes. So how they live. Yep. One. how they learn and how they act. Beautiful. Right. And I think having a deeper understanding of these three things have helped me coach my clients to unlock, you know, misbehaviors maybe with their own pup or grow a fundamental understanding of who, you know, their best buddy is and why they behave the way they behave. It's like if you fell in love with a person who spoke Portuguese and you don't speak that, you know, someone has to cross the bridge. Dogs don't speak English. Yeah. So we're crossing the bridge. Right. So you have to sort of, you have to get into their psyche a little bit. And I think when, When humans can get into the psyche of the dog, it makes for a more enriching, more beautiful relationship. Exactly. And the relationship that I've experienced my whole entire life with dogs,

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right?

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Right.

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Yeah. All right. So today we're going to start with just the first one. Beautiful. Which is how they live. How they live. Yeah. Okay. Okay. So domesticated, we really can't see the dog in its own pack. Sure. Right. Because we take them from there. Don't say it. Bring them into our own. I know. I know. We essentially kidnap dogs. But let's get that. Let's just go fast past that. OK. Right. So sometimes we save them, too. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. There's that. So because we don't often see that, it's easier to look at ancestors of theirs, which are wolves. Right. To kind of geek out. It's actually gray wolves or more DNA established. But it's fascinating. It's so fascinating. It really is. So like wolves, dogs live in a pack with a hierarchical setting. And, you know, there's that pecking order. Of course. Yeah. Yes. And what's cool about... wolves and if you could see dogs in a pack, which you and I are so privileged to do so all the time. Of course, yeah, yeah. Is that there's a very complex system, family system, where there's a pack leader or multiple, right? Right, like an alpha pair. Yep. And then descending naturally into the beta, betas, delta, and then omegas. Yep. Yeah. Should we kind of touch base on each of those? Sure. Absolutely. Okay. So the alpha is the leader or leaders that dictate decisions. Betas are, I guess you could say like advisors to the alpha. Yes. I would say they're also leadership. They're also in a leadership role. They just aren't the top dog. Top dogs. Correct. And I think we could also say that they're like the muscle. Sure. The pack, right? Okay. Okay. And then what's next? The deltas, which are the caretakers. And then the omegas are the lowest on the totem pole. But that's like kind of the puppies. Right. Like the puppies or the elderly members. Yeah. But even though there's this like, again, I said it before, even though there is this structure. Yeah. Every person, which is a good life lesson, has a true purpose. Every creature. Yeah. Every creature. Sorry, did I say person? Every creature, every dog has a very specific job within that pack. Yes. Okay. Yes. All right. So one of the cool things when you're watching wolves or if you see a dog pack is the way that they move from territory to territory, right? So usually, which you would think the pack leader would be in the front, right? So usually the pack leaders in the back to oversee the entire troop or the trier pack as they move. And then in front is those betas. And then behind them for the protection is the, you know, the omegas and the deltas. Yeah. Okay. And so, so I think that just kind of like shows you, Just the dynamic of the positions of the dogs. Also, too, an important thing to note is that, I mean, obviously these are wild. This is not domesticated. This is not domesticated. But it does translate to our environments at home. Yes. I mean, having, and this is what we're saying, like if you understand the language of the dog, having just this basic understanding of wolf hierarchy exists can help you make sense of what your job is at home in your own pack. Yes. Right? And what is that job, Chrissy Waltman? Yeah. So the job is to be the pack leader. Indeed. Okay. Or pack leaders, like we learned, you know, because you had to have pairs. Right. Tell us about sort of like the personality of the pack leaders. Okay. which is really important too, because everyone always says the alphas are dominant and the alphas are aggressive. It can associate these sort of negative words with alpha, but that's really not the case. The alpha is the stable. Yeah. Stable. Sure. When I, when I'm like, I get so nervous talking about or using the words like dominant and submissive with dog owners. Sure. Because the pack leader is like, Someone that is calm. Stable. Stable. Conscious. Strong. Present. Thoughtful. Yeah. You know, in the way that they are leading. Yes. It's something to bear in mind for yourself. Yeah. As the pack leader. Yeah. So like when I say disciplined, I'm meaning like a military discipline. Sure. Not like bad boy, good girl discipline. kind of discipline, right? I'm talking about like discipline in the way that you move in the world with the dog. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. It really interesting to something that I learned being a dog walker.

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Yeah.

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I thought it was really interesting because our role, of course, as the walker is to be the pack leader. But then there's always this sort of sub hierarchy that seems to happen when you're walking a big pack where you can see certain dogs that have a more a natural alpha to their personality you watch their bodies and they will use their body to edge out the other dogs yeah for sure TJ he was that way KOTU yeah Remember he used to be that way? Yeah, so true. Like certain dogs. And this is what we talk about all the time. If we can watch our dogs and watch their natural behaviors, which we have the privilege of doing as dog walkers, we can use them as our teachers. For sure. Right? Yes. In so many ways. Yes. And I think as we... get past these foundational principles, then we'll kind of come, we'll circle back to that. And like, I mean, you're going to hear us time and time again, because you can use their, like what they teach us to use in our own lives. Yes. Yes, absolutely. Yeah. And then also within the PAC leadership, you kind of like brought it in to when we're walking with the PAC, you can also use members of the PAC to help you out. Right. And you have to build that relationship before you can do with that. Of course. You know, of course. Yeah. So like for me doing this for so long and having certain dogs in my pack, I can allow like a rum or. Right. You know, a Dexter go out in front and kind of help me manage the pack. Yes. Lindsay has Hefei. Right, right, right. You have Junebug. So, you know, we can you can do that later on. But for right now, we really want you and your family members to be the pack leader and your dogs to be those omegas on the kind of on the bottom of the totem pole. Absolutely. All right. So what does all this mean? Yeah. Right. For just the general dog owner. It means that we have to strive to be the alpha, that pack leader and, you know, raise our puppies to be those omegas, like I just said. And it's important to know that as a pack leader, if you don't hold that position, your dog will at any minute. Say that again, because that is critical. So if you are not holding the place of the alpha of the pack leader. Right. If you don't assume that role, your dog will. Yes. It's a survival skill. Right. So like, you know, if we go back to the wolves, right? If an... if the alpha leader gets injured or, um, you know, or it gets sick or is an elder and dies off the, this, the, the number two guy is going to step in that and they all go back, fall in line. Yes. Yep. So it's really understand, uh, important to understand that. And you've, you might as the, you know, just paying attention in the environment that you guys live in, you guys, the listeners live in and stuff. You may see it where, um, You know, a dog might be in your eyes acting bad. For instance, like if you have like a very nervous owner and then you're out in the wild and the dog barks at the end of the leash. Yes. You know, that's not a bad dog. That's just a dog acting dog. Yes. Yes. Yes. It happens all the time where dogs will be they they sense because dogs are just creatures of energy. If they sense a nervousness in you or they sense an unstableness in you in that moment, they will immediately assume the role. A pack leader. Immediately. Yes. With dominant behaviors that you'll see. Barking, acting territorially. Yeah. Things that we're all going to, obviously, we're going to get into as we progress with the podcast. And that's a good example, too, because when I ask people to be in an alpha role, right? Yeah. Sometimes they get nervous. Well, like, what if I'm not here? Is my dog going to do what we're asking him to do? Protect the home? Yes. Or protect my children if I'm inside and the dog's outside with the kids? Absolutely. Yes. Because it goes back to that hierarchy system and everybody has their job within the pack. Yes. And they're all helping each other. Yes. Come on, humanity. Like, we're more like than we're different. We should be helping each other. And that's what they do. Right. Right.

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Right.

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So yes, your dog, well, I guess unless you're like a, remember Winnie? Like, I mean, I swear to God, a robber could have thrown her. A stake. A stake and she'd be like, come on in, take

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all the

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jewelry. Whoever. Oh my God. But no, for the most part, yes. If you have this trusting dynamic with your dog, it's going to, they're going to step up when they need to step up. Also too, you used a really important word, trust. Yeah. is really important with our dogs. Yes. As it is with, of course, any relationship that you have. But what you're doing when you assume that role of the pack leader is you're relinquishing your dog from that job. And in order to do so, you need to have a really strong bond of trust between the two of you yes absolutely if your dog does not trust you you will know immediately

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yes

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you're not going to make any headway and so you know it's important to just bear that in mind and and we'll give you tools to create that trust yes we will no we'll give you we'll give you actionable tools for that but um but it's something to just understand yeah too right Okay. So you have this pup in your family. Yeah. You're living in a pack. Let's go back to the story, right? Because it was a new pup in the family. So the pup may not have established a sense of trust just quite yet with the dad in that scenario with the bone. Yeah. So he was nervous, you know, and so that dog was just acting weird. dog yeah right he was being territorial and because they're just they hadn't quite found their footing with one another just yet there was a reaction right yeah and so it goes back to environment with how they live and you need that foundation of trust and then what else do you need in the environment so your purpose as a pack leader right is to have a calm and stable environment and And the reason for that is primitive, is that if it's not a calm, stable environment, if they were out in the wild, then they would be very vulnerable to a predator. So, you know, if you have a family... With chaos. With chaos going on. Which is normal. Yeah, so normal. There's going to be things that we're going to help you with so that you can, you know, make sure that the dog stays in that, you know, calm mindset. So talk about for just a minute. So we talked about the importance of like a calm environment. But also, I know that you always talk about this with our clients, the importance of routine management. And how that kind of kicks back into the way dogs live. Yeah. And maybe that's something that we can. I don't know. Yeah. So we're going to be a pack leader. Yep. We're going to teach you that later on how to be a pack leader. Yeah. We're going to create a calm environment for them. And we as the pack leader are going to be calm. Okay. So it's always, yeah. So for the environment, it's always nice to have a spot for your pup to be. Sure. So that could be like a crate in a quiet place. Mud rooms are awesome with gates, you know, just to have a nice spot. Sometimes people put them in porches. Also too, because wolves are, most wolves, foxes, canadaise, are den. Yeah. So that's why the crate works so well is because the crate simulates a den like setting for them that they're, you know, that is instinctive to them as a species. Yes. So you want them to have that space, set up that calm space, but you want it not far away because they're a pack species. So they want to be near you. Sure. Right. So I think, I think that is really important for the environment. And then just within that environment, having that calm household. And so, like we said, with the families, it's pretty hard. So what we can do is create a routine for the dog so that they can be in that kind of, you know, wonderful, blissful chaos. Right. So, yeah. we really promote having a, you know, the dog wakes up, we go for a dog walk, we feed them and get their belly super full. And so that we've exerted their energy first thing in the morning and that they're content by the full belly, right? Right. Then we can put them in that environment that we built for them, the crate, the mud room. They're close to us as a pack and But they can be in that stay in that calm mindset while we're kind of getting the morning routine going and getting everybody out the door. Sure. Beautiful. Yeah. And then you may be saying, wow, like that's a lot to have, you know, getting your everybody up in the morning, getting the dog, the energy exercise and stuff like that. But really, honestly, if you're putting a dog into the house, you have to know that that's your first and foremost responsibility. Yeah. Because a well-exercised dog is a well-behaved dog. So really, it's just establishing. So what about the listeners who are saying, hey, Chrissy, ain't no way we're going to be able to do that. I forgot. two small children under the age of five and i've got a puppy yeah and um it's just me in the house yeah because i'm asking you to do really we do an hour walk in the morning right so what would you do so we can intensify the walk by a couple things we can teach a you know you can go for a bike ride with your dog where he runs next to you you can send the kids out to do that And of course, that's something that we have to build up to and we have to teach the dog how to go for that bike ride. But so that exerts the energy a lot quicker. And that's also a really great strategy that I love. Like if you're going to the beach and there's, you know, you might have like a beach house or a condo and it's not as much environment for the dog to run around and play. So the bike riding is really, really awesome. And then the biggest thing is to put a backpack on your dog. I was going to say the backpacks are good too. Yeah. And you can wait the backpack. So you buy a backpack with, um, with, uh, with pockets on each side. Right. And then we can wait it with like sand in a, um, there's like little sandwich lunch box. bags. Or like little tiny dumbbells. Yep. Like little one pounders on each one. For sure. In the summertime, you can do frozen water bottles and put that in the backpack. And then that's going to give a bigger exertion of energy in a smaller time. Right. So if you don't have an hour. Yeah. So let's say you've got 20 minutes. Yeah. So put that weighted backpack on them, go out for that walk, and that will convert to the same as the hour walk. Good. That's great. That's great advice. Okay. So let's see in the afternoon then, you know, I really like the idea of going for another half hour stroll. I think you really like to do it in the evening. We do it in the evening. It doesn't matter, but really honestly, and this is for no matter if you have a large dog, a small dog, I really like the hour and a half of exercise a day. Right. Split up into the hour in the morning and the half hour in the afternoon. And if you can't do that, swap it. Do an hour in the night and the half hour in the morning. Yeah. I mean, there are definitely times where the morning can be chaotic in our house for sure. And we're fortunate. I have the ability to just turn juniper. We have a two-year-old chocolate lab. And we can turn her loose. So every single morning, she and I have a routine. Every single morning, I put on her e-collar. And we go out. And she runs in the field. And she goes out. And she usually chases the deer off. And she has this little... It's her job. And she goes out there. And then she... She does her business and it's just our little time together. And then usually the exercise will come later for us. But she gets to run. She gets to exert a little bit of energy. Yeah. Now I think you can do that, right? Because number one, you've established leadership. She's also two and a half. Right. Yeah. So she's older. Yeah. And also like, you know, she goes dog walking. Right. with us on a daily basis. And when I wasn't eight months pregnant, she would walk with me every single day. Every single day and do that. So yeah, so like what's with all this exercise that we're trying to promote, right? And I think it just goes back to, I said it earlier, it's like a well-exercised dog is a well-behaved dog. And so if you're having behavioral problems, that's usually associated with the lack of exercise. Yes. And then we also, because we have these electric fences, because we put fences up, we think that like putting the dog outside is good enough, but dogs get bored. Yes. They will destroy your yard. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. And leash walking is, I think, the most important that we love to promote because we might be biased. Yeah. But it really, really is because when you're leash walking, you're doing it in a disciplined manner and You're in an alpha role where the dog is following you. So it ends up being just like the most important interaction that you can have with your dog. And it's also too, it's not just physically stimulating. It's mentally stimulating for them as well. Because when you go out for that leash walk, I mean, they're getting to... absorb smells they're getting to bond with you as their leader i mean it's a it's a bonding experience for sure right yeah for sure so yeah okay so let's tie it all in a nice little bow okay so to understand dog you have to understand these three foundational principles the way that they live the way that they learn and the way that they act today we discuss the way that they live, which is in a pack setting, hierarchical, everybody has their pecking order. And then- The key takeaway. The key takeaway is to be the pack leader. And as a pack leader, to have a calm mindset, And a calm environment. Beautiful. And to get that type of calm environment, you need to have a routine to create that. Right. And a lot of exercise. And a lot of exercise. Yes. Yeah. I love it. Okay. So next week, before we hit the two other foundational principles, we want to first coach how to be a pack leader. Okay. And there's going to be three ways. And those are things that you're already going to be doing with your dog. I'm just going to ask you to be more intentional with that. And those three are how you go in and out of doorways, up and down steps or out of their crate, which is human first, dog second, how we're going to feed them, and then how we're going to walk them. Beautiful. Okay. And so until then, Dog is love. Dog is love. And we'll see you on the next episode. And share an episode We would be so grateful. Dog is Love is created and hosted by Chrissy Waltman and Cara Kelly in partnership with K9to5. Our show is produced by Tony Kelly at Baltimore Podcast Space. Our original theme song was written and recorded by our very own Cara Kelly.

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We could pretend That we have the answers Or we could lean

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into the light

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Cause man complicates The stillness of nature While dogs humbly watch with awe in their eyes We're not supposed to struggle alone A friend for a lifetime To guide you wherever you roam Dog

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is love Like the roofs of the trees and the stars up above

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Dog is love Judgment free unconditionally

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This podcast is the first. Take two. Take three. Take three.