Chrissy 0:00
Welcome to The Dogs of our lives. Podcast with me. Chrissy Messick, this is where traditional training transforms into true connection and understanding with our dogs. As a certified dog trainer, behavior consultant and interspecies communicator with a background in high level sports medicine, I bring a unique functional approach to understanding our dogs by integrating body, mind, heart and soul. Join us for insights, stories and practical wisdom that will help you prevent problems before they start and build a deeper bond with your animal companion. Before we get into today's episode, let me ask you a question, how well do you actually know your dog? Why not take my quiz to find out? You can find the link in the show notes. Now let's dig in. Today. I'm talking with Annika McDade, and at the time of this interview, she was doing dog training, human coaching and a little bit of animal communication. Now she's mostly transitioned to human coaching in relation to their dogs and animal communication. A lot has changed for her in the last eight months, including an upcoming addition to her family. And in this episode, we discuss what dog training is to us, not fixing a problem, but more about education, perception, boundaries and the effort and energy we as humans need to put into the relationship. Mindset changes are a game changer. We discuss Annika growth as a dog trainer, personally and professionally, and how she integrates animal communication, energy work, intuitive work, into her work with dogs and humans, this episode will encourage you to think differently about your dog and live with them in a way that's different and intentional. Enjoy this conversation and let me know your thoughts. Okay, we're here with Annika, and I just want to thank you so much for coming on our podcast. I found you through a friend. She's like, you need to look at this person. And so I found you, and we are just so aligned with how we approach our work with dogs and humans and how we do things. And so I was like, I have to get her on the podcast.
Annika 2:00
It's so fun.
Chrissy 2:01
so thank you for being here and taking the time. Thank you.
Annika 2:04
I feel like we're part of like a little club that we feel like is a secret club, and then we realize there's way more of us in this club, and we're like, Wait, there's a whole there's a whole board of us, people with similar thoughts around how we approach our work, with our dogs and our people. So when I find people like you, I get really excited too, because I feel less alone in my experience, yeah.
Chrissy 2:25
And I feel like this is a great way to get what we're doing out there, so we can find all those other people, yeah. And we can collaborate and work together,
Annika 2:33
yeah. And then more people know that this is an option for them, yes.
Chrissy 2:37
So can you tell us a little bit about yourself? I know you have a very interesting story, but just start with kind of where you live and what you do and the dogs in your life.
Annika 2:51
I live on Vancouver Island, and I'm very much enjoying the wildness of nature here. It's pretty, pretty wild and free. I live here with my husband and my dog, Cedar, who's my greatest teacher in canine form to date, for sure. And yeah, I do coaching for people, so supporting the human end of the leash and people that are overwhelmed or feeling stressed or disconnected, trying to understand how they ended up in the mess they've ended up in with their dog or trying to find hope in their journey with raising a more challenging or sensitive dog, so human coaching, with a sprinkle of animal communication and intuition and probably alternative healing modalities. And then I also do more traditional or modern Dog Training here or there, but that's sort of dwindling down at this point, and I'm primarily doing online coaching.
Chrissy 3:44
Cool, is Cedar, what a little mix or what breed?
Annika 3:49
He's a husky, pure husky, Husky. Yes, a wolfy looking guy, very hard to read, been gone. He's gone through a lot of physical stuff, and his behavior is so good considering the chronic pain he's been in his whole life, and I admire so much about his determination and his good attitude. So so much to learn from him every day.
Chrissy 4:08
Well, he's, uh, he's living in the perfect place for a husky.
Annika 4:11
I know he he wants to be wild and free too. We're working on getting his body to agree with his mind, just like me. How old is he? He's almost five.
Chrissy 4:22
Okay, yeah, so as I was saying before, you have a very colorful history. Can you explain your professional path to where you've come from to where you are now, and kind of what made you decide to get into more of a holistic approach?
Annika 4:37
I think the holistic approach has evolved as I've evolved as an individual, I wanted to work with dogs my whole life. And my mom thought that it wasn't a, quote, real job, so I went to school for broadcast journalism, and then decided that I was going to have my not real job and work with sled dogs for a while. And you know, how life is? It just one one left turn, turns into a whole different path. And. And I'm so grateful I listened to myself and that I, I had a mom to prove something to because I, I made a really successful career out of this. And I've, you know, helped 1000s of dogs and people over the years, and I've been a trainer for almost 15 years, actually, yeah, 15 years now. I wouldn't exchange it for anything. It's been a really beautiful journey, a hard journey. I've trusted all the twists and turns, and it's led me to this place where I've come to realize how impactful it is when we take care of ourselves really deeply in the name of taking care of our dogs, and recognizing that without our own wellness and our own attention to what our dog's behavior might be here to communicate to us we can't change or fix their problems. I really believe that there is a symbiotic relationship happening between those two things, and we can't have one without the other. So in that holistic approach is looking at the whole being, so the dog's whole existence and how they came to the person and their genetics and their physical ailments, and how that's influencing the behavior we're seeing. But also in that circle of space is the energy of the person and their wellness and their community and their home environment. So taking both parties and and looking at as a whole being and how they're kind of feeding off each other and influencing each other.
Chrissy 6:25
I distinctly remember with our first two dogs, we had two boxers, and we were like, we're gonna get two dogs so that we can learn how to be good parents. Cute. And boy, did they teach us. And I distinctly remembering one moment I Zoe one of our boxers, she did something, and I'm so angry. And then I was just like, Wait a minute. What's going on inside of you right now? Just pause for a second. And right from that moment, I was like, oh, I need to kind of look at what's going on inside of me and then learn how to approach my dog differently. And that was a huge thing.
Annika 7:06
How cool that you learned that before you parented humans.
Chrissy 7:10
Oh my gosh, the beginning of human parenting. I still, like, had to catch myself for a while, a little while, like, you have these habits and you have these thoughts, and they're just, they become automatic. And so I had to, like, literally catch myself, you know, and then my approach just became natural. And then you just start doing it naturally. But I had to really focus on looking inward from that, looking at how I approach my, you know, dogs, dogs and my kids.
Annika 7:38
So, yeah, definitely, that's beautiful that you got to that place. Most people, I think, don't ever get to that place of pausing and realizing or, you know, working so hard at it that it becomes a second nature response versus our learned response from usually, childhood. So kudos to you. That's inspiring. I'm still in it. I'm still trying to flex those self control muscles and be like, Okay, what? What's here for me?
Chrissy 8:02
Yeah, exactly. And I think that's the essence of what we're trying to do with our clients, human, human and dogs, is like, go there. You know, have that awareness and that intention. Yeah, it'll change everything. Yeah, it does. So I was reading some stuff. And can you highlight you have done a couple cool things.
Speaker 1 8:24
You know, everyone wants to talk about the wolves.
Chrissy 8:28
Yeah, just, highlight a few things that are just kind of cool and different. That kind of led you here. I know you said you worked with sled dogs. And then what else have you done? Yeah,
Annika 8:38
I had crazy. I've had really just, I mean, I say this on every interview I have, but I really, truly am humbled by the opportunities I've had. I got to work with wolves in Inner Mongolia for a year, and then, well, a couple of years, on and off, and then got to work in France with big, Great Pyrenees dogs for a short time doing a film in France in the mountains, and had some really fun helicopter and cave experiences with these guys. And really, I've just been fortunate enough to have experiences to learn what you can accomplish when connection and trust is present with animals. You know, wolves you can't touch, or 200 pound Great Pyrenees that you need to get into a helicopter. I mean, I was with trainers that were far more talented than me, but I was little green young, 25 year old learning like what is actually possible, and I'll never take for granted that opportunity to learn what's possible without force, without bribery, with like sheer time, blood, sweat, tears that goes into deepening a connection with an animal to the point that they'll do things because they trust you and because you ask And because they want to, not because they have to. So that shaped my approach to dog training as a whole once I launched my business, and I'm lucky enough to have a team of people that work with me now, online and in person, that continue to kind of approach training with the same, same attitude that I have. So I'm really happy to. Be able to have that ripple effect, and to have had those experiences that shaped my approach to life with animals so deeply. Yep.
Chrissy 10:06
I mean, I think that should just speak for itself. As a human you can work together in harmony with a wild animal, or, you know, people working with elephants, or, you know, for cooperative care kind of stuff, you know, like, if we can work with these wild animals, there should be no reason why we can't do the same thing with their family dogs. You know, totally
Annika 10:33
Yep. And I think there's a lot of limiting beliefs around that, like, well, I don't have the time, I don't have the resources. I think we create complexities that might not need to be there, like connection can be in your living room, in your 400 square foot apartment. You know, it can be intentional time spent together, versus over exercising to get rid of problems. So I think if we actually simplify and go back to the basics of what animals and US need more of it's slow, it's quiet, and it's intentional.
Chrissy 11:05
exactly. And I'd like to explain it as just living with your dog. It's just living in a different way with your dog. It's paying attention, and like you said, having that intention, living with each other, I mean, how we interact on a daily basis. That's not training. You know what I mean? It's just learning to live with each other and knowing knowing each other's likes and dislikes and not forcing an issue.
Annika 11:31
I agree, I think a lot of the time too, to add to that, we don't realize how much of our relationship with our dog is being influenced by conditioning or societal norms, or what other people have determined is the right or wrong thing to do, or what you're supposed to do by a certain age, and information being available to us all the time online now also allows us to compare our dog's behavior or our relationship with them to other people. And there's so much to filter through, whether it's what is normal at the age or what information is right or wrong, it's it's taking us farther from the actual internal knowing of what our dog needs on a day to day basis, because we're paying enough attention to you know. So, yeah, living with your dog is a beautiful way of simplifying that, like just be with them and notice them shake everything else off that you feel like really matters and go back to that basic connection.
Chrissy 12:26
A huge part of that is having our own awareness of our needs, having an awareness of our dog's needs, and not projecting what we think our dog needs, and not projecting what our needs are onto the dog. It's, it's really learning how to become aware of yourself and aware of your dog as separate beings, but also being together. Yeah, yeah. That's like a holistic approach, right there. Yeah. We'll just go back in time a little bit. Is there a specific time, like when you were little, where it really impacted you, know, your values and beliefs and attitudes toward animals that you can think of?
Annika 13:09
hmm, I had a difficult childhood. I think many people could say that I had a very challenging father and a very unwell father. I think what shaped some of my dog love is I remember the only real happy memory I have with my dad is one of at least, is we used to go to the shelter when I was maybe eight or nine, and I wasn't allowed to walk the dogs, but I was allowed to fill their water bowls for them, and so I used to volunteer at the shelter on weekends when I was really young, and it was something my dad would take me to do, like he didn't come to soccer. I can't recall him being present, really, ever other than at the shelter with me, and it was just he and I, and we'd walk through the animal graveyard there. And I think, yeah, I think it was really a special time for me. And I didn't have dogs growing up and the in home environment was really dysregulating, and any time spent with dogs was such an opportunity for me to be calm and present and really held energetically. So I think that inherent love started when I realized how good I felt around them, everything else melted away if I could just hang out with dogs. Little me is happy, for sure now, because I get that every single day, and I'm really grateful.
Chrissy 14:24
Oh, I love that. Yeah, I can completely understand that. You know, most of your memories with your dad were not great, but that was one. That's the one time that you have that really positive association with him, and that really stuck deep in there.
Annika 14:42
It's funny. I haven't told that story or thought about that since he passed away. So to I'm like, feel it in my throat right now. I'm like, wow, that's a really, that's a fresh one to come to the surface. So thank you for asking that question and allowing me to go there.
Chrissy 14:55
I mean, I got all teary. Oh, that's great, too. Two intuitive talking together, and that's not good.
Annika 15:03
No, both empaths. Okay, great.
Chrissy 15:07
Let's just start crying together right now. So you already shared this a little bit with your dad, but would you be willing to share any personal or professional challenges that have influenced your work with dogs.
Annika 15:21
I think having a business that is very service oriented, where people pay you money to fix their problems, from a consumer's perspective, when you hire a dog trainer, traditionally, they are here to fix your problems. And there's a lot of pressure in that, like, I'm going to take people's money and I'm going to take a lot of money, like, I, you know, over the years, have taken a lot of money from people to fix their problems. If you simplify it, I came to realize once I wasn't a young, insecure trainer anymore, that I literally couldn't do that without healthy boundaries of like, Listen, I'm not here to fix your problems. I'm here to educate you so you can put the effort in to fix your problems. And truly, the problems don't necessarily need to be fixed as much as everyone needs to wake up and understand each other. Take a different like, you know, take a deep breath, and then let's look at things a little different. So finding my voice and advocating on behalf of the dogs, to reframe what dog training actually is to me, and allowing my clients to buy into that was pivotal that happened pretty on early on, because I realized I was depleting myself trying to take on the responsibility of behavior change, and it really wasn't my job. It was their job establishing that boundary for myself and honoring like it's about the work they're putting in and the receptivity I'm able to create as their trainer, I've been really lucky. I've had great clients. My buy in is great for like them, realizing what I'm saying and really being open and leaning in to deepening the connection and finding compassion for their dog and and that was, you know, the game changing, behavior changer was the attitude change. So that that wasn't really a long challenge as much as it was a pivot in the way that I perceived my business. But the other thing in the industry that, you know, I find hard still, is a lot of dog trainers have people pleasing tendencies, I think the learned behavior of our own. We want to make people happy. We want to feel like we're having impact. We want to change things for people. When it's hard for them, there's a bit of a fixer attitude about us sometimes, I think, generally speaking, for some people, and yeah, just realizing that you can't make everybody happy. I can't stop people from telling lies or telling stories in the industry. I can't I can't make people understand who I am or where I'm coming from. I can't impact people's perspective of me and my ideas and the way that I do things, it's completely out of my control. It's been very freeing and very liberating to honor that and know that other people's opinions actually are not a reflection of me and the impact I'm having. You know, a lot of self development therapy and coaching and reflecting on my own confidence has allowed me to be free of that worry. It doesn't mean that I don't stop, like, it doesn't stop people have opinions, and I know I'm not for everybody, and people won't agree, and that's totally okay. Working through that has allowed me to kind of come out of the witchy closet and be like, Listen, I'm downloading information from these dogs. I'm not just like a behavior whiz who can understand the science. I'm hearing things and I am making big changes in the way that I'm approaching training because the dogs are benefiting from it. So to answer your question a little more directly, understanding your own boundaries while you're trying to help people is key, but also understanding that you're bringing something to the table for the collective that has I know I have great intentions, and I know I'm here for the animals and the people alike, and I can't change how other people receive that. So not letting that dampen my ability to stand tall and say I believe that I'm able to communicate with them a little bit differently than maybe someone else would identify as being able to do it, and that doesn't make anything right or wrong about me. Does that make sense?
Chrissy 19:07
Yeah, yeah, definitely. It's so interesting, because I think I'm literally going through that right now. It's like, when you start out, you just just want to help everyone, you want to help the dogs, and you just want to make it all better. But you get to a point where you're like, Okay, I'm getting burnt out, because, once again, having awareness of how you approach things, like you said, you start to attract the clients that have the same values and mindset that you do. Once you're clear about that, and start attracting those clients, it becomes like so different. It's just so much more relaxing and enjoyable. And you see massive changes. You just feel like full and like you're making a difference. You know, when you when you're working with those people, because when you're when you're not working with those people who just want to. Quick fix that is heartbreaking.
Annika 20:04
And something that I learned through that too, is like my dad taught me, this my entire life, through a lot of suffering, you can't force people to see things through your perspective. You can't force people to want to do it in the way that you've determined is the kindest way you know that is always for the person on the other end to receive or not receive, to resonate with or not resonate with. And our values shape so much about how we want to raise our dogs or learn to connect with them deeper, or get quote results with their training. And I don't think we talk about that enough. So, yeah, I think remaining really open to the fact that, like, you can't force people to see things the way that we see it. So it's more of an a constant invitation and trust that those people will come. That that makes the work really, really deeply meaningful for me, at least.
Chrissy 20:54
And I like to think of it as planting seeds. You know, the people maybe that I didn't reach, I'm like, Okay, I planted a seed, and somewhere down the line, maybe it'll click for them, but that's how, that's how I kind of see it, is planting seeds, and everybody's on their own journey to get there. Hopefully, you know, we can help people get there at some point.
Annika 21:17
That's a really beautiful way of looking at it. Is like, I'm just going to plant the seed and walk away, and you can water it or not, and you also never know how much your perspective is going to inspire somebody or like, Whoa. That makes sense to me. Wait. I never thought of that. I think being authentic in our training and our approach to how we connect with animals and people too is so important, because if you're authentic, it can really help people relate and understand that. Oh, I never thought about it that way. So the seeds are planted. I think, easier than we think maybe, yeah,
Chrissy 21:48
one of my favorite things is going in working with a client, and, you know, there's a fix it mindset type thing, and you start just working with them and just talking and showing stuff. And I love the moment when you see that click, that shift, and they look at their dog differently
Annika 22:07
totally. I just got goose bumps. I know exactly the moment you're talking about. Yeah, and then all of a sudden, the conversation is not about the jumping or the barking or the pulling. The conversation for them is like, I love her so much more now that I understand what was happening, and you're like, Okay, job's done. Great. The jumping will dissipate now that you understand each other at some point, you know,
Chrissy 22:28
yeah, it's that perception. It's that perception shift. Oh, thank you for sharing that. Okay, you were talking about cedar, and do you want to share how he's influenced you a little bit? Or other dogs that, like any dog that sticks out in your mind. Oh,
Annika 22:43
I'm thinking of this dog, Huxley, right now. I have to tell his his human to listen to this. Yeah. I mean, actually, Huxley and cedar both have taught me. It's usually the Nordic breeds. I've always been so drawn to them. But I I feel like they're just, they're so they're wisdom keepers. They're just like, hey, hey, slow down. I'm going to make everything a little hard for you so you can pay attention and slow down. But both of those dogs, I mean, cedar is so sensitive, he looks like a wolf, but if I raise my voice at all, I always tell people like if I stub my toe and I have a reaction viscerally, because I have a little angry person that lives inside me. Sometimes it's little Annika that couldn't get her dad to stop being scary. She comes out. Sometimes when I stub my toe and cedar just got up and shook off. He's like, Oh, it's like, oh, energy shift.
Annika 23:34
He's so energetically sensitive more than any dog I've ever had, and he's been the greatest invitation for me to recognize how much they mirror our energy. You can't see it. You're usually not aware of it. But when you have a dog that you know you love so deeply and who's so so calm and so polite, and then you walk in the room and he's like, bye, and he walks away like major buys all the time. Don't touch me. Don't come near me. I don't like your energy. He forced me to change my whole life. I moved out of the city, cut my clients in a third, spend more time in nature less. You know, extravagant lifestyle, made lots of sacrifices. Changed my whole life. Really started focusing on my physical wellness, and stopped keeping myself super busy with helping other people, and started really helping myself. And he's the catalyst for that, for sure. He looked me in the eye so many damn times, and he's like, lady, I don't know how else I can tell you, get your crap together. Let's go. I can't handle your nervous system being dysregulated. So he you would think that, you know, I've scared him before, intentionally, but because he really moves away and is scared. But it's like as simple as a tone change for him, my sensitive, sweet, little wolf looking guy, I would do anything to make him happy, including completely navigate how dysregulated my nervous system has been for the last 25 years. I. I'm doing a lot better things to him.
Chrissy 25:01
Oh, they, they just help us so much. When you were talking, three things just popped into my head. One was it, remind you. Remind me so much of one of my clients. She has two Malamutes, and she lived in downtown Boulder, and I actually did a communication session with her, and he's like, I'm not gonna live much longer if I have, if I live in this environment. So that she moved up to the mountains, basically, for him, and he lived to be 16.
Annika 25:34
Wow, a Malamute. Oh, precious, yes.
Chrissy 25:38
And so for her, it reminds me so much of what you're saying. Her malamutes have just taught her so much like she and she, she listens to them. And, you know, we help navigate, you know, some training stuff. And is it like an underlying medical issue that's causing this, you know, that kind of thing. So we do a combination of, you know, teaching and training and animal communication, and it's just so amazing. The second thing that came into my head was, I don't know why, but what does your husband think of the relationship like with you and cedar and what he's teaching you?
Annika 26:15
Man, I'm so lucky to have my husband is very alternative and very open minded, and I married him for that. He thinks that our animal communication is totally normal. He's super proud of it, and he's very open to learning. You know what Cedar's messaging is for him, too. It's interesting. Cedar's teaching he and I the same message. When I first started dating him, cedar came into the kitchen of his house. And my partner was having a stress episode. Sometimes that happens, and cedar came and laid on his feet in the kitchen. And cedar is really scared of slippery floors, so him walking into a slippery new kitchen was really weird. And I looked at my now husband, I was like, Oh my God, he's healing you. Like he's actually he's grounding you. I can see the whole thing like, you know, that's that's a cute story, but when you see the impact that that is having on someone else's real, lived experience that is hard for them, you're just like, I can't not wake up to the greater magic that is happening here. I can't not I can't unsee that now. So my husband's down for it.
Chrissy 27:21
Oh, I love it. Now, just so people get an idea, when you say he's grounding your husband. What do you mean by that?
Annika 27:30
Good question. I perceive dogs to often be transmuting our energy for us. So when things get heavy or hard, I think, and horses, a lot of animals, I think, a lot of the time, come into our energy field, to recalibrate our nervous systems, to help heart coherence, to get us to lower our heart rates, to bring physical stimulation to our bodies, sometimes through licking or weight on to connect ourselves back to ourselves if we're dissociating or having a stressful moment. And so when I saw cedar do such an out of character behavior, so in such an acute moment of clear stress, it was very selfless, and it was effective too. So I just think animals are so tapped into the energetics that we, our big old human brains, need proof of that. We overthink it, and then we lose this, like belief system that is actually, I think, guiding so much of what happens around us all the time. So I guess all that is to say, like I think when I say that dogs have wisdom, or even that Cedar's grounding him, that I have deep reverence for the knowing and the astute awareness he has of his environment that I'm not privy to. With my nose that doesn't function as well, my eyes that don't function as well, and my brain getting in the way of me believing all of it, you know,
Chrissy 28:50
yeah, for the people that are still confused about, you know, talking about energy, there's been some bad associations when talking about quote, unquote energy. And so we're talking about it in a way that's tuning into a radio station or tuning into a vibration or a wave. When you're talking about grounding, it's a way that we regulate our nervous system, a way of decompression. Sounds like cedar was helping your husband kind of regulate his nervous system,
Annika 29:22
yeah, to come back to his human body, you know, to come back into the rhythm that's required for him to, quote, be okay, you know, right?
Chrissy 29:29
Yeah. I love it. Speaking of, can you just talk about, like, the energy work and intuitive work that you do, and maybe talk about it so that people are like, Hmm, you know light bulb moment, or, like, a way that you incorporate it in the work with the animals, because it sounds so woowoo. But I just think science hasn't caught up with what our bodies already know.
Annika 29:54
Yeah, sure. I think yeah, science is starting to try, like, Heart Math Institute is doing an amazing. Amazing job at showing science to put words behind what other people feel and believe. I think the way that I use animal communication is something that I kind of fell into realizing it's not like I can talk to them. For me, it's a knowing. I just have a knowing, and it comes into the back of my head and then it comes out of my mouth without a filter system going through my logical brain. That's what it feels like. And I get to realize I've always been doing that I just didn't know that I wrap the spirituality component or the energy component or the communication component into the coaching sessions online, primarily to help people peel themselves away from the attachments and the conditioned my dog needs to do this, and the it's, you know, pointing outside of ourselves as to the reason why things are happening, and really look at like, you know, what is the discomfort? Where is it coming from? What is the feeling that you are feeling? Where is it coming from? Where else have you felt it okay? How is your dog actually leading you towards feeling that, so that you can let that out and be and felt and processed fully. So it's a spiritual approach to trusting that they come into our lives for a reason. You know, people say, like their soul dog, they've known them in another lifetime, or their dog saved their life. These are people that are, in my opinion, deeply connected to the animal. But I think that's available to so many of us, it's like we're only able to go as deep into that connection as we're comfortable going with ourselves. So there can come a point where we're like, nothing is, quote, working. I can't live like this anymore. I don't understand why this is happening to me or to us. And those are the people that I work with to reframe the things that are hard into where's the golden nugget of universal wisdom here? And not to spiritually bypass how hard things are, but to really honor like, this is hard, and can we reframe this and realize that it might be happening for you in some way, just like my back injury and cedars back injury, it's happening for me to pay attention then additionally, there's a level of like, Yes, I can go into meditation and tap into an animal's energy field and get some insight, something I'm still very much practicing and not mastered. I play with it because I know that I can do it, but it's not something I'm super, super confident at yet. And the last thing I'll just say is, when I'm with them, I can get I can just hear, like, right hip. And then I'm just like, I have you ever had the right hip x rayed and then, turns out the dog has hip dysplasia, So little things like that can guide me to help the person pay attention to what might be communicated through leash biting. But really they're saying, you know, help me. There's something wrong here, and usually it's physiological. Do you have the same experience? I'd love to know what your how you wrap yours in.
Chrissy 32:41
I do a combination. Sometimes I'll do a reading to get information about what's going on with the animal like you. A lot of it's just inner knowing. I know this. Sometimes telepathy, I'll hear it like that, or I'll see an image. And I had to get out of my own head, and I had to learn how to run my own energy. And it is a lot of work. It's a lot of work, and it takes practice, like everyone has the skill, but it's, how do you practice it? So for instance, Michael Jordan, you know, he's like, really good at basketball, and everyone can play basketball, but he has, like, a natural ability. And he worked on it. He worked on it hard, because in high school, he got cut from his basketball team or whatever. But, you know, it's the same thing with this, the animal communication stuff. Like, some people, it may come like naturally and just working on it, practicing it like a muscle. And then some people, it's, you know, they could do it, but it's not like, it doesn't come natural to them. And so for me, I've had, I think I've always, you've had a knowing, I just didn't really know what was going on. And when I started learning about it, I was like, oh, that's what that is, you know,
Annika 33:57
yes.
Chrissy 34:00
And so, yeah. So I integrate it, you know, with some clients. They they want the animal communication and training, and so I just get information. So I have a background in sports medicine. I did that for 20 years. And so for me, I do a lot of Kinesiology testing to see if there's some sort of medical thing going on, and then take them to the vet and see about this, that kind of thing. And then some people, they don't want any animal communication, so I just kind of work intuitively with the dog and just the information that's downloading, like, you say, yeah, people are like, Well, how do you know it's true that kind of stuff, and I validate with the dog's response, with the human asking the human questions and their response, you know, so I don't feel like a crazy person.
Annika 34:48
Yeah, I know it's very vulnerable to be like I can hear these messages, yeah, I think by by not sharing that, then it you're only doing, you know, the collective disservice, because the voices. You know, they're ready to be heard when we hear them. I really appreciate how you leave it open to the receiver what they're comfortable with. I approach it the same way. And sometimes the conversation doesn't even need to be had. You can just kind of tell where there's an opening to plant that seed, or where there's no opening. Or, you know, you're like, here's the whole rose bush. They're like, awesome. So I really appreciate that approach. I do the same thing. Yeah.
Chrissy 35:23
In fact, I just, I did a reading last night for one of my clients. Her dog passed away. Suddenly, he passed away. Oh, geez, I think it's been like six weeks or two months now, and I was really close with him too. And she's like, Can you do a reading? I'm like, I can't right now, because I don't think I'll be neutral. Yeah, I think we're both, and we were both in a place where we I could do it. It was just so nice to, I mean, this time is going to sound a little crazy, but just to, like, get information from him, information that's going to help her. I'm just getting information and I'm telling her, and you know, she can receive it how she wants, but I know, by the way, she will respond if I'm on target, you know, you know what I'm saying. Yeah, has messages for me as well, and it's just like he's still here, you know?
Annika 36:14
Yeah, that's beautiful, that you're able to tap into that and to feel like it's such an honor to be the middle person, you know, you're like, the phone operator. You're like, what's that? Okay, I'll pass it on. What a tree, you know?
Chrissy 36:27
Yeah, it's, it's very special
Annika 36:29
By the way. I don't think it sounds crazy. Thank you. Yes, a validation.
Chrissy 36:35
So would you be willing to talk about the challenges of being in the dog training industry, and how would you like to see it change?
Annika 36:42
Now this approach isn't for everybody, because I think everyone has their own way of making impact and making change, and the way that has felt the most healthily boundaried for me is to keep my head down and focus on every single moment that I can make change in the people's lives that I have contact with. I intentionally don't participate in big conversations that many people are already having that are sort of jumping on a bandwagon no matter what it's about in the world. Personally, that doesn't feel like a great way for me to have impact. I know that that feels like a great way for others. I think I'm too sensitive to participate. And I think a lot of people would think that not participating in big, hard industry conversations means that I'm negligent in, you know, supporting certain belief systems. But I don't look at it that way. I know I've had a lot of conflict in my life with my my dad and family and mental health, and my way is to protect me and have impact. So I'd like to see people focus on the change that they can make in a way that isn't harmful for them or others. And I don't know what that looks like. I think we're facing that in a lot of areas as humans. These days. People care a lot about a lot of different things, and everyone has a lot of opinions. And honestly, I think if we simplify things, whether it's in this industry or another one, and really understand that our words hold weight, and having compassion and kindness goes a long way, whether it's somebody you don't agree with or you do agree with sitting down and having real conversations that are hard is probably going to have a greater impact than avoiding having conversations and instead spreading like more of a negative message, if that makes sense,
Chrissy 38:33
yeah, yeah. I'm the same way seeing some of it is hard for me and super sensitive about it, and so I just kind of do what I can to make a difference in my own way and not get involved with with that.
Annika 38:49
Yeah, if you think about it, it's like I actually can't show up and have an impact with the people that are asking me to if I'm spending my energy defending my belief system somewhere where I'm not actually being heard, right? So I save it.
Chrissy 39:06
Yeah, no, that's good. It's healthy. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see, to see where it goes. Okay, so what exciting projects do you have coming up? If any, yay,
Annika 39:14
yeah, I am dog TV has me featured as a on a mini training TV series that's continuing to launch this year, which was really fun. I believe in what they're doing and they're they have a lot of integrity behind their work, and it's been fun to be on camera again with cedar. A friend of mine has asked me to co host the podcast with her, and I have a lot of respect for this person, so that will be releasing and being announced soon what podcast that is, and I love having conversations with like minded people, but I equally like having conversations with people that don't see things the same way that I do. So I'm excited to expand my, you know, my knowledge and connections through that those conversations on a podcast platform, and then I launched. Um, the coaching business not too long ago, where it's accessible, kind of internationally, for people that resonate with these type of conversations on podcasts, and I have an emotional support group to make it accessible for people that are interested in learning about how self development and learning certain theories for our own wellness can actually influence our relationship with our dog. So those are my two exciting offerings that really light me up right now.
Annika 40:23
Woo. You have a lot going on. Happy to go just enough.
Chrissy 40:29
Okay, is there any nugget of wisdom that you want to share with our audience that's kind of weighing on your heart or that you just feel like you need to say intuitively,
Annika 40:39
what just comes straight to me when you ask me. That is, and it might not be, you know, wisdom, but I really think in a time where we can access so much information and so much help, including, you know, what I'm offering, it's most important, I think, for people listening that are wanting to deepen their connection with their dog, wanting to connect in this way where they can understand and intuitively deepen their relationship with their dog, or even fix things that they want to fix or change is just slowing down and quieting the noise and reaching inside of yourself for the information instead of outside of yourself. Stop scrolling, stop Google searching, even stop hiring for a minute if you haven't like if you're a person that's always got a trainer or a new coach like pause and take the time to just be. It sounds so cliche be in stillness, but I've learned more being in stillness, staring into cedars eyes, in nature or in my quiet home, than I have in the dog training courses I've taken over the last 15 years. There's so much wisdom within ourselves and our animals that we just don't tap into because we don't quite trust it. But you can trust what comes up in that in that quiet space.
Chrissy 41:53
Yeah, that's amazing. I completely agree. So if people want to get a hold of you, to work with you, or just to see what you're doing. What's the best way that they can connect with you?
Annika 42:04
Yeah, we have our training. We have a team of people online and in person at Canine connection training.ca. And then if you're interested in coaching with me, which is the emotional and intuitive stuff, it's canine connection coaching.ca, and it's at Instagram, at Canine connection coaching
Chrissy 42:21
amazing. Well. Thank you so much for being on I really appreciate it and sharing your wisdom.
Annika 42:26
Thank you. Thanks for having me, and thanks for proving to me that there's way more people in our pond than we're aware of. Like I'm just so happy this pond is turning into a very, very big lake at this point of like minded people that don't think we're crazy. That means a lot to me.
Chrissy 42:41
I love it. Yes, awesome. Okay, thank you, Annika, thank you for all you do.
Chrissy 42:46
Thank you for joining us today. I hope you discovered a valuable nugget you can implement right away with your dog. If you enjoyed the episode, please follow, rate and share with fellow dog lovers who might benefit. Don't forget to take our How well do you know your dog quiz, you'll find the link in the show notes until next week. Happy tales. You.
