I’m so excited to introduce you to today’s guest, Surabhi Venkatesh! Surabhi is a certified dog behaviour and nutrition coach based in India, and she founded Luchi and Mutton’s after her own two rescue pups presented challenges that required her to look deeper, taking a whole dog - and whole human - approach.

In this episode, we have a candid conversation about some of the challenges we have both faced with our own dogs, and all the complexities of being dog parents to complex dogs. We also talk about how meeting our dogs with radical empathy in their healing journeys, made us realise the need for approaching ourselves with that same level of empathy in our own healing journeys. If you have got a complex dog, and honestly even if you don’t, I know you’ll find value in hearing this.

Surabhi shares her experience of studying with Sindhoor Pangal at BHARCS in Bangalore where she learned about asking the why of our dog’s behaviours, and how to hold space for our dogs’, and our own, big feelings. Oh my goodness, there are just so many nuggets in this chat, truthfully too many to list! Surabhi is such a wonderful human, and her approach to dogs is inspiring.

We do touch on some aspects of nutrition and different cultural approaches to feeding our dogs, but we’re saving a deep dive into that for a future episode. So, if there’s something you’d like us to address when it comes to canine nutrition and how to best support your dog’s health through food, let me know, and I’ll make sure that we address it! Just DM me on Instagram @mysticdogmama

Just a note that this episode was sponsored by Aspirationery, which, in full transparency, is another project of mine where we create books, notebooks, and stationery to help you become all you aspire to be. You can check out our shadow work and moon magic journals and workbooks, as well as our popular “My First Period Tracker” for young girls and tweens on Instagram @aspirationery.

Ok, let’s go!

To learn more about Surabhi, how to work with her, and her podcast, visit her website https://luchiandmuttons.com

To learn more about BHARCS, visit: https://www.bharcs.com/

TIME STAMPS

00:22 Intro

03:15 Meet Surabhi and hear her journey into canine nutrition and behaviour because of her rescue dogs, Luchi and Mutton : “How do I just keep this dog alive??” to “How do we survive this??”

12:50 BHARCS - a relationship approach to dogs with your dog as your teacher

14:10 Understanding pet guardianship as an opportunity to reparent yourself

25:35 Leaning into what we are experiencing vs what we think we should be experiencing

38:00 It takes a village to raise a dog - finding safe spaces to support yourself in your journey with your dog

41:20 Surabhi’s experience of empathy-based dog training through BHARCS

51:00 A new perspective on resource guarding: not sharing your dessert!

54:45 Evolutions in dog-human relationships: emotions

56:40 The need for diversity in our conversations about dogs

1:12:00 Discounting the “magic bullet” for our dogs’ health

1:23:00 How to connect with Surabhi and learn about her podcast + what Luchi and Mutton taught Surabhi about what it means to be human

1:25:00 Outro

This is a really special episode for me, because today we are celebrating 6 months of the Mystic Dog Mama podcast, and 6 months of growing this beautiful community together!

In this special episode, I have created a compilation. If you’ve been with me for a while, you’ll know that I ask all of my guests what dogs have taught them about what it means to be human. The answers are so profound and beautiful, and they offer a real opportunity to reflect on who we are as individuals, and who we aspire to be. I’ve brought all of my guests’ answers to this particular question together in this episode, so you can hear them again in one timeline. I hope you enjoy hearing the breadth and depth of their responses. I’ve listed everyone in the time stamps below, so you can see the speaking order.

When I first decided to create the podcast, I set the intention that this would be a safe space to bring people together to talk about what nourishment for our dogs, ourselves, and the planet could look like. But, I never imagined that this little corner of the internet could create such a sense of home for myself, and for those of you joining me in this journey. We live in a strange time-space continuum that can be so divisive, and so alienating. It’s such a testament to the canine spirit that a little 10lb chihuahua walked into my life, and became the catalyst for creating such a beautiful community. I am grateful to each and every one of my guests, and each and every one of you listening. This means the world to me to have you and your pups walking the spiritual path alongside me and Lucky.

A quick note that this episode was sponsored by Aspirationery, which, in full transparency, is another project of mine where we create books, notebooks, and stationery to help you become all you aspire to be. You can check out our shadow work and moon magic journals and workbooks, as well as our popular “My First Period Tracker” for young girls and tweens on Instagram @aspirationery.

Ok, let’s go!

TIME STAMPS

00:22 INTRO

03:38 David Ian Howe, archaeologist

12:05 Vivian Birlie, canine reflexologist

14:09 G.G. Silverman, author and creative

16:16 Dr Tom Lonsdale, veterinarian and author

21:30 Dr Laura Donaldson, professional dog trainer and behavior consultant

25:51 Sarah Vrba, astrology and tarot expert

27:73 Susan Raven, author and musician

28:40 Laura Thomas, host of Rescued by a Dog podcast and author

30:31 Berdhanya Swami Tierra, spiritual teacher

44:38 Caroline Griffith, pet nutrition consultant and founder of Canine Flow

46:31 Jessica Green, integrative health practitioner and health coach

47:39 Kay Stewart, veterinary technician and lead educator at Feed Real Institute

48:34 Rachel Knott, zoopharmacognosy expert and animal communicator

50:25 Dr Odette Suter, veterinarian

53:16 Veronica Mezzetti-Draia, human design expert and coach

57:56 Niki French, professional dog trainer, author, and host of PupTalk

59:38 Wendy Welpton, natural movement expert and host of Make Movement Matter podcast

1:02:56 Kim Brophey, professional dog trainer and behaviour consultant, applied ethologist, and author

1:05:11 Rhi Anderson, life coach

1:08:37 Simone Mueller, professional dog trainer and behaviour consultant, and author

1:09:56 Dr Saskia von Diest, Nature communicator and founder of Ecofluency

1:11:52 Jess Adam, therapist and coach

1:13:50 Sally Morningstar, author, photographer, and hedgewitch

1:16:12 Amy Arnold, professional life fulfilment coach

1:18:04 Hannah Zulueta, canine nutritionist

1:20:14 OUTRO

DISCLAIMER: This is not a substitute for medical advice or other relevant professional advice.

It’s really exciting for me to introduce you to today’s guest, Hannah Zulueta! Hannah is a certified canine nutritionist, and is currently studying to become a doctor of acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Herbalism for the human end of the leash. You may know Hannah from her popular blog and Instagram account, @dailydogfoodrecipes where she shares how she applies a Traditional Chinese Medicine approach to health and feeding her own dogs, Maggie, Orbit, and Mr Higgins.

Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, or you might see it abbreviated as TCVM is really coming into the mainstream of holistic dog care. I invited Hannah to come and have a conversation with me to unpack what this really means and looks like on a practical level. Something that I just love about Hannah’s approach to feeding your dog, and to TCVM, is her focus on simplicity. She says that if you can feed yourself and your family, you can feed your dogs, too, and I wholeheartedly agree.

We talk about Hannah’s own journey into TCVM and canine nutrition, starting with how her family fed her dogs while growing up in Papua, New Guinea. She shares the fundamentals of Traditional Chinese Medicine, where it came from as a medicine for the common people, and how you can begin applying its principles to your own dog’s health to restore harmony. Hannah also addresses how she would approach the top health issues that you told me you have with your dogs: allergies, yeast, and anal glands, oh my!I absolutely LOVED talking with Hannah. She is so wise, and gracious with her energy. I know you’re going to love this episode, too!

To learn more about Hannah and her TCVM approach to canine nutrition, visit her blog: https://dailydogfoodrecipes.com, or connect with her on Instagram https://instagram.com/dailydogfoodrecipes

If you’d like to dive a bit deeper into TCVM, Hannah has a wonderful community with mini-courses on specific topics related to caring for your dog with TCVM. I only ever endorse people and programs that I believe in, and I know firsthand that Hannah’s Harmony Circle is a fantastic resource and community that I, myself, am learning from. I’m sharing the affiliate links below in case you, too, would like to check out the Harmony Circle and the courses in it. I receive receive a small commission if you choose to use these links, which helps keep the podcast up and running. So, if it resonates with you, I would be grateful if you chose to use them to sign up.

https://daily-dog-food-recipes.circle.so/checkout/harmony-circle-group?affiliate_code=02a640

https://daily-dog-food-recipes.circle.so/checkout/allergy-reset?affiliate_code=02a640

Finally, a note that this episode was sponsored by Aspirationery, which, in full transparency, is another project of mine where we create books, notebooks, and stationery to help you become all you aspire to be. You can check out our shadow work and moon magic journals and workbooks, as well as our popular “My First Period Tracker” for young girls and tweens on Instagram https://instagram.com/aspirationery

Ok, let’s go!

TIME STAMPS

00:22 Intro

03:20 Introducing Hannah Zulueta + her journey into canine nutrition and Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine

12:30 What is Traditional Chinese Medicine and what are its roots?

17:50 What are the five constitutions and how do I know which one my dog is?

35:00 Some of the current debates in the fresh food space

43:20 Hannah addresses how she would use a TCM approach to your biggest questions: allergies, yeast, and anal glands

1:02:00 Hannah’s tips on where to start practicing TCM yourself today

1:07:00 How to work with and learn from Hannah

1:14:00 What have Hannah’s dogs taught her about what it means to be human?

1:16:00 Outro

DISCLAIMER: This is not a substitute for medical advice or other relevant professional advice.

Today, I wanted to introduce you to someone who has been a big part of my own spiritual journey along the mystical path over the past several years. author, photographer, and hedgewitch, Sally Morningstar. I’ve wanted to include conversations about finding the spiritual path, and walking it with our dogs becauseI believe a big part of why dogs choose us is because throughout time they have played the most beautiful role of walking us home to our true selves.

Throughout her life, Nature has been Sally Morningstar's greatest teacher. Her deep love of the wyrd and the wild is the inspiration behind her writing, photography, and magical mentoring of those seeking to live consciously and mindfully upon this Earth. From the age of 18 Sally began her own search for spiritual answers, which led her to psychic teachers and spiritual mentors in both the Eastern and Western Mystery Traditions, including Vipassana, Zen, Sati (the way of mindfulness) Dzogchen, Shamanism and even saw her becoming a High Priestess in Wicca. Ultimately, though none of that felt right for her until she discovered a sense of home within hedgewitchcraft, which, at its core, is based upon creating right relationship with all of Nature and her Creation. What I love about Sally’s story is that she often talks about how she has been a hedgewitch all her life without realising it until her later years, and that that is often they way it goes when we are meant to walk a particular path. That the path is always there, we just may not have noticed it until we arrive at that place of knowing.I

n our conversation, Sally talks about her personal journey and what it means to follow the old ways in our modern context. We talk about what magic really is, how we are all a part of it, and how the most magical path of life is the journey of self-discovery. Sally also shares how her sweet 19-yr old canine companion, Rosie Dumpling, has been key to her path.

To learn more about Sally and her work, visit her website: www.sallymorningstar.com

Below is an affiliate link to Sally’s amazing The Witches’ Oracle divinatory deck and book. By choosing to use this affiliate link, I may receive a commission for qualifying purchases, which helps to keep the podcast up and running!

Amazon USA: https://amzn.to/3yl4B9X

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3WH5UKi

To enter my giveaway for the chance to win a FREE animal communication session with your pet, remember to rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and send me a screenshot of your review on Instagram @mysticdogmama Please get it to my by May 24th 2024, and I’ll be announcing the winner on our special 6-month anniversary episode airing June 8th!

This next week is Period Poverty Awareness Week. We can’t talk about nourishing ourselves mind, body, and soul, without also addressing the need for awareness around menstrual health. My other project, Aspirationery, supports this podcast through creating books, notebooks, and stationery to support you in becoming all you aspire to be. This includes creating journals and workbooks to remove period stigma, and empower young girls and tweens to learn about their menstrual cycles, as well as supporting women to align with the power of your menstrual cycles through cyclical living. I invite you to check out these journals on the Aspirationery Instagram account, and consider if these books might help support you, or a young girl in your life to feel more empowered. https://instagram.com/aspirationery

TIME STAMPS:

00:22 Intro

06:04 Meet hedgewitch Sally Morningstar + her 19yo pup Rosie Dumpling

12:25 Understanding + Walking the Wisdom Path

19:45 The Old Ways in the Modern Context

31:35 How to discover your soul’s path

45:00 Communicating with our animals

56:00 How our dogs help us to connect to all that is

1:00:00 What Rosie has taught Sally about what it means to be human


1:03:00 Outro

How can you create emotional sustainability in your life with your dog?

This week’s episode is completely focused on YOU as the dog parent. ESPECIALLY if you’re the parent of a reactive or challenging pup like Lucky.

My guest today is Jess Adam of Handlers and Humans! Handlers and Humans is all about bringing mental health to the dog world, and Jess is the perfect person to do this! As a licensed psychotherapist, she is also the dog mama to a beautiful 10 yr-old lab-pit mix named Dio, who has experienced his fair share of challenges with anxiety and reactivity, as well as being a lovable, silly, perfect boy. Through Handlers and Humans, Jess brings her skills and experience from the mental health and coaching worlds, to help other dog parents navigate the highs, lows, and various challenges that come with having a dog who struggles a bit with some aspects of the world. She also helps dog trainers know how to better support their human clients.

This is such an important conversation to have. When we have a reactive dog, or a dog with other complex feelings and behaviours, it can be tempting to keep the focus on our dog’s behaviours, their needs, and keeping them under threshold, but I know firsthand, as I’m sure many of you do, too, when we have reactive encounters when we are out with our dogs, we, too, experience the fear, shame, embarrassment, and even trauma associated with those encounters. And this can send us over OUR threshold. Speaking for myself, I know that my nervous system can become just as dysregulated as Lucky’s due to an off-lead dog running up to him, or just because I have to be constantly vigilant, looking out for potential triggers that we need to avoid. It’s exhausting, and it can feel really isolating, so I’m thrilled that Jess is having this conversation today to highlight the need to care for our own mental health, and recognise our own thresholds. She also shares some really great tips for how to do just that.

Jess and I cover a lot of ground: from allowing ourselves to feel the grief that comes when our expectations of having a dog don’t match our experience, to acknowledging the emotional impact of having a reactive dog on us, and finally, to getting to the point where we can see the gifts that lie within life with a complex dog.

I know you are going to get so much out of this episode, and it’s my hope that you leave this feeling seen, as well as having some practical things that you can do today to support yourself on your journey with your dog.

And Don’t forget, I’m holding a giveaway to win a free animal communication session! If you’d like to be considered for the opportunity to win this free animal communication session with me for your pet, all you have to do is rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, take a screenshot of your review, and send it to me on Instagram @mysticdogmama. I’ll draw one lucky name and announce the winner in our special 6-month anniversary episode that airs Saturday, June 8th 2024. To be considered for this, please make sure to send me your screenshot no later than Friday, May 24th, 2024.

https://instagram.com/mysticdogmama

https://www.handlersandhumans.com/

https://www.instagram.com/handlersandhumans

DISCLAIMER: This is not a substitute for medical advice or other relevant professional advice.

TIME STAMPS:

00:22 INTRO

05:37 MEETING JESS ADAM OF HANDLERS AND HUMANS & HER REACTIVE DOG, DIO

14:00 YOU DIDN’T CAUSE YOUR DOG’S REACTIVITY

21:00 WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE OVER THRESHOLD - USEFUL APPROACHES AND TOOLS

38:25 NOBODY NEEDS FIXING, INCLUDING YOUR REACTIVE DOG

43:30 GRIEVING THE LIFE YOU ENVISIONED WITH YOUR DOG

50:00 GUIDING AND STEWARDING OUR DOGS TO LEARN HOW TO LIVE WELL WITH US

1:01:00 WHAT DIO HAS TAUGHT JESS ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN

1:06:00 OUTRO + MY 3 TAKEAWAYS

"This is how we stitch the world together."

I hope you’ve got a cup of tea with you, because you’re going to want to settle in for this BEAUTIFUL conversation.

Have you ever experienced a deep longing to connect more deeply to your dog, to the natural world, to the cosmos? Well, you are going to LOVE this episode.

My guest today is Dr Saskia von Diest. Saskia earned a PhD in plant pathology, and has a background in postdoctoral research on how intuitive interspecies communication is used in agriculture. Since then, Saskia has pursued her passion for supporting others in having their experience of communicating with non-human Nature, and develop that both for their own benefit, and for the collective benefit. She has been communicating with various forms of Nature for 11 years, and with 15 years’ experience in teaching and facilitating in various countries, Saskia loves creating opportunities for individuals and groups to connect and communicate with Nature’s healing power and practical wisdom. She’s also trained in Family Constellations and in the Way of the Warrior Healer. Saskia founded Ecofluency in 2021, to consult, teach, and facilitate Nature communication experiences, for individuals, groups and organisations, and to promote other voices in this field.

In this conversation today, Saskia and I talk about how Ecofluency developed, and we do a deep dive into what it means to connect and communicate with all of life, all of consciousness, and why this is so needed in today’s world.

Spoiler alert: Not only can YOU communicate directly with nature, but you are ALREADY doing it!!

Saskia shares her own story of how entering into Nature communication helped her heal a deep sense of loneliness. She also talks about a communication session where a client’s dog who was crossing the rainbow bridge helped to reframe and shed more light on the spiritual roles that humans and dogs are playing for one another. Saskia also shares a surprising message from the land to a client who wanted to protect it. And she provides us with some really easy tips for starting your own nature communication journey today with your own dog.

This is one of those conversations that will remind you of just how important your personal thread is to this whole tapestry of life, and leave you changed.

If you would like to work with Saskia, starting May 6th 2024, she is running a 6-week online course that is designed for all experience levels. For more information, visit Saskia’s website, https://ecofluency.org, where you can find out more about her offerings, including this course and a Summer Solstice workshop she will be holding in the UK.

If you’d like to enter to be considered for the opportunity to win a free animal communication session with me for your pet, all you have to do is rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, take a screenshot of your review, and send it to me on Instagram @mysticdogmama. I’ll draw one lucky name and announce the winner in our special 6-month anniversary episode that airs Saturday, June 8th 2024. To be considered for this, please make sure to send me your screenshot no later than Friday, May 24th.

DISCLAIMER: This is not a substitute for medical advice or other relevant professional advice.

TIME STAMPS:

00:22 INTRO

06:50 Meet Dr Saskia von Diest of Ecofluency: from PhD in agriculture to Nature communication

24:00 What is Ecofluency? Finding our way back home

31:31 Communicating with electrons and comets - it’s all possible!

43:11 Show yourself love and compassion to heal the Earth

50:40 How Nature communication and having a dog are catalysts to spiritual awakening

54:25 A beautiful lesson from a dog crossing the rainbow bridge

1:00:00 Easy tips to start exploring Nature communication today + Saskia’s upcoming courses

1:11:00 What Nature has taught Saskia about what it means to be human

1:12:15 OUTRO + Details on animal communication giveaway!

Today we are talking all things predation. What is that, you might ask?? Well, predation is a natural sequence of behaviours that your dog loves to do, and some of it, you might not be so thrilled about. It includes things like sniffing and stalking, as well as behaviours like chasing and eating things they find on the walk. In fact, most of your dog’s favourite hobbies are actually linked to predatory behaviour. I mean, did you see that reel I shared of Lucky hunting for socks?? Straight out of a wildlife documentary film! My guest today is Simone Mueller, a certified dog trainer and dog behaviour consultant from Germany who specialises in force-free anti-predation training, and she joins me to share some really easy ways you can turn your dog’s natural predilections for predation into training gold! Her training, workshops, and books, all focus on Predation Substitute Training, which involves creating fun activities that serve as safe alternatives for your dog to express their need and desires to engage in predation.

So, if your dog is reactive, tends to chase things like squirrels while you’re screaming at her to come back, or scavenges everything he finds on the ground, you’ll learn some helpful tips and tricks you can apply today. From creating games that match your dog’s passions, to talking to your dog as a practice, Simone answers listener questions, and shares some really practical ways you can help your dog be more dog in a safe and fun way.

Simone Mueller, MA is a certified dog trainer and dog behaviour consultant (ATN) from Germany who specialises in force-free anti-predation training and is the author of the three books of the Predation Substitute Training series and is proud to be an Associate Trainer at the Scotland-based Lothlorien Dog Training Club (AT-LDTC) and a member of The Initiative of Force-Free Dog Training, the Pet Professional Guild (PPG), and the Pet Dog Trainers of Europe (PDTE).

Follow Simone’s work on Facebook and Instagram: #predationsubstitutetraining

Learn more: http://www.predation-substitute-training.com

To purchase Simone’s books, please consider using the following affiliate links. When you use these links, the podcast may receive a commission at no extra cost to you, and this helps to keep the podcast running.

“Hunting Together: Harnessing Predatory Chasing in Family Dogs through Motivation-Based Training (Predation Substitute Training)”

Amazon USA: https://amzn.to/3VlDyoi

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3TCZeei

This episode was sponsored by Aspirationery, which, in full transparency, is another project of mine where we create books, notebooks, and stationery to help you become all you aspire to be. You can check out our shadow work and moon magic journals and workbooks, as well as our popular “My First Period Tracker” for young girls and tweens on Instagram @aspirationery.

TIME STAMPS

00:22 INTRO

04:05 Introducing Simone Mueller and her dog, Malinka, who led her to dog training

06:58 What is predation, and what is predation substitute training?

14:00 The hormonal cycle that is part of predation

18:00 Markers of predatory behavior in your dog

20:15 Introducing predatory substitute training activities to your dog

30:40 Domestic dogs are more determined than wild canines

33:45 Simone answers listener questions

57:30 What dogs have taught Simone about being human

59:20 OUTRO

DISCLAIMER: This is not a substitute for medical advice or other relevant professional advice.