It is wonderful to share our lives with animals. But sometimes they can get bored, or stressed with having to fit into our human world. How can we address their needs to help them be more themselves? Animal Chaplain Shel Graves, a dog trainer and cat behavior specialist who has worked in rescue for years, explains simple things you can do to give your animals a greater sense of choice, which increases their well-being by reducing boredom. Animals can get frustrated, anxious, and fearful just like us. Helping them by providing small opportunities to do more of their “natural behaviors” can alleviate many behavior issues.
She explains how you can create novelty in their life with just simple things you can do at home. And as an animal chaplain, she acknowledges that our lives with our animals are always far too short. What we can do is meditate with our animals or have special times where our attention is just on them. This sacred bonding time is something we will never forget, making every minute we have together peaceful and delightful. Shel Graves does consultations online and in person.
EPISODE NOTES: How to Have a Happier Life with Dogs and Cats
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Genie Joseph, PhD, is the Executive Director of The Human-Animal Connection, a 501c3 organization dedicated to bringing people and animals together for the benefit of both. The Human-Animal Connection offers free therapy dog visits to veterans, Active Duty, Health Care Providers, and anyone experiencing stress in the field of Service to Others. Canines Teach Compassion is our high school program with therapy dogs that reduces stress by over 60% in just one hour of structured interaction. We also offer educational classes and zoom sessions to help people deepen their connection to animals, increase empathy, and facilitate cross-species communication. Genie is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and creator of The Act Resilient Method and author of the book by that same name. Act Resilient, which works with Therapy Animals, has been presented to over 4,000 Service Members and their families, and for this work, she was given President Obama’s Volunteer Service Award. And her team at Tripler Army Medical Center was given a National Award for Workplace Resilience from the American Psychological Association. She is a dog trainer, Animal Chaplain, and Animal Communicator and volunteers at various animal rescues and shelter, and shares her life with two miniature therapy Donkeys, Rosie and Lilly, and her rescue therapy dogs, Sophia, Harry, and Bailey, who have brought smiles to many humans.
