An update on the human product line
Before I start writing about dogs being our mirrors, I have one “pre-announcement.” Very soon, sometime in March or April, my team and I will be launching our human supplement line!
It is not available yet, but you can expect to see SoulFood H+, GreenMin H+, FeelGood Omega H+, GutSense H+ and NMNPure H+ to be the products in the Human Essentials line-up.
If you are wondering why we are doing a human line, here are at least two good reasons:- Our dog products have been benefiting dogs for many years now, and because dog lovers have seen the transformation with their own eyes, they have been asking if they could also take our products. The answer is yes, because everything we make for dogs is human-grade quality, but dogs prefer powders, and people prefer capsules. This is one reason we decided to take the leap and make human formulas too.
- Evidence shows that the dogs of healthy and happy people are healthier too, which means that our human line of products is another way of keeping dogs healthy. I have no doubt that this health connection is real, so helping you look after your own health is important.
It has been a lot of work to put everything together, and I am super excited. Sadly, the Canadian bureaucracy makes the process take much longer than it does in the USA, so we will launch in the USA first, and in Canada as soon as we receive all of the permits.
The product names in the human line will be the same: GreenMin, SoulFood, FeelGood Omega, except they will have an h+ at the end. The ‘h’ is for humans, and ‘+’ is for the benefits that the h+ line will bring to you. H+ is pronounced “age plus,” which is ultimately our goal - to add years of healthy life.
As one of our “human guinea pigs,” I have been taking the human line for some time now and am happy with the results. I am still bald, but of course I didn’t expect that to change.😆
Initially, we will have a smaller batch production to ensure the freshness of the ingredients, so if you are interested in trying them, and joining your dog on the journey to great health, sign up using the form below.
Today’s Topic: Our dogs are our mirrors.
Do you think that you and your dog are alike? From what I have seen, the longer dogs live with us, the more they’re “dialled into our energy field” and are like us. This is not unlike what we witness in old married couples who, as time progresses, look and act more and more alike.
The connection we have with our dogs resembles the connection between the Earth and the Moon. Our dogs are the Moon, and are deeply influenced by our energy field, but they can also cause the tides in our life the same way the Moon affects the Earth.
I hope it is okay for me to ask you to stop for a minute or two, look at your dog and describe what you love about them. Most often, the characteristics we describe are those we love and hold in high regard. You see the best of yourself reflected in your dog.
But our dogs aren’t always angels. They act up, don’t listen, jump on the couch that is off limits and sometimes ignore our recall. Some can be aggressive, whiny, fearful, stubborn, greedy, jealous, gluttonous, jump up on people, or try to hump other dogs. The list could go on.
When they act up, we get frustrated or embarrassed about their behaviour. We have learned to box our emotions into two categories ‘the good’ and ‘the bad’ ones, but when we look at these two groups objectively, both can have a positive or negative impact.
For example, happiness is usually seen as a positive trait but if someone is happy about other peoples’ misfortune, such happiness is not good.
Fear is usually frowned upon and fearlessness is celebrated, but when fear is channeled for example into inventing seat belts or airbags, the outcome is positive.
Anger can also be the positive, when it is channeled into fighting the good fight against environmental pollution, protecting nature, or defending freedoms when a government violates human rights by locking people up in quarantine hotel prisons, when they could quarantine at home. Ooh Canada!
To summarize, our emotions are neither negative or positive, but they become one or the other depending on how we handle them. Seeing our emotions as neutral would create a huge shift for most of us, who beat ourselves up for feeling something that is “not good.”
What frightens us about our dogs
Our society has conditioned us to disown and push away our so-called negative emotions, and this is why it may be frightening to see these so-called negative traits in our dogs.
Many of “the modern world dogs” live their life on leash, and are restricted from saying a proper “doggy hello”, with a sniff of the butt, and wag of the tail. Plus, many dogs have an anxious human at the other end of the leash, who has been conditioned that any expression of fear, anger, or frustration is not okay.
Most dogs, with some exceptions, always aim for a peaceful resolution of a conflict, but the leash restrictions and human worry create a very combustible combo.
I remember one of my dear friends and clients who had an aggressive dog. In order to help her, she let me take her dog for a walk to test her out. To my surprise, she was fine with my dog and other dogs, as long as she could say hi and sniff them.
However, as soon as we got back to her house and she saw her “worried mom”, she went after Skai, which was followed by the owner’s screaming and yelling that reinforced the bad habit.
I don’t deny that some dogs are dangerous and truly aggressive, and this is why I recommend that all aggressive dogs are assessed by a positively minded behaviourist. However, positive doesn’t include prong and choke collars and electric “zappers” of any kind.
Such devices are the lazy approach to trying to solve problems, and only lead to more trauma. I am certain that with some rare exceptions, most dogs would be just fine if they had an opportunity to socialize from an early age.
This is directly tied into a very common recommendation that dogs shouldn’t socialize until they are four months of age and fully immunized. Puppies need to be socialized early, and there are safe ways to do this. Click here.
I know it is not easy to be calm in situations when our dogs misbehave. I get embarrassed when Pax is jumping up, and trying to kiss peoples’ faces when he is excited to see them. In such situations I use treats to recall him, and then I ask him to sit and greet others more politely. Now, when he sees another person, he turns to me as if he was asking: "Am I going to get a treat?"
Such training can be used for jumping up, chasing bikes, or aggression, because when a dog connects the situation with a treat it will help reprogram their behaviour.
I see a dog treat as an equivalent of a tip for a server in a restaurant, you know, the places where we used to go to eat and socialize...
When you leave a good tip for a server the first time around, they will more likely remember and see you in a positive light. If you leave a good tip repeatedly, they will have a positive association and you will become their favourite regular.
The same happens when we create positive associations for fearful, worried, or so-called aggressive dogs. Positive associations with treats and rewards work! Electric collars and the use of rough force in general doesn’t produce happier dogs, it produces dogs who are more frustrated and afraid of punishment the same way beating created obedient but scared kids in the past.
What are Dogs 2.0?
I have at least half a dozen friends who are on their second generation of dogs, and so am I. But I will not delve into the heartbreak of losing our dogs, instead I would like to share what I have noticed about the first and second generations of dogs of my friends.
The first generation, despite being great dogs, seem to be more serious, less cuddly, and perhaps slightly more neurotic. The second generation of dogs are easygoing, love to cuddle, and are emotionally more open and physically healthier.
Better health would be understandable because most people learn from the mistakes they make with their first dogs, but how can we explain that the second generation of dogs are generally happier and better adjusted?
My take on this is that the first generation helps us become better people and the second "gen" reflects the progression of our personal growth. They are the reward for our hard work, the mirror of who we have become. They are DOGS 2.0!
© Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM
