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Beyond Obedience: Training with Awareness for You & Your Dog

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"Beyond Obedience" truly takes the reader beyond basic training methods. Ms. Frost introduces a new way of thinking about our dogs, their needs, and their intelligence, then guides us, through examples and exercises, to a higher understanding of canine psychology and personality. Only after helping us to gain that understanding does she tie this new-found knowledge in with "traditional" training methods, then teaches us how to apply both in the most effective way.

Filled with stories from her years of experience, the book sometimes leaves you smiling at canine antics, sometimes teary-eyed at inevitable failures. Yet, in the end, readers willing to work through the exercises to "connect" with their pets will come away with a much deeper understanding and appreciation of their canine companions, and training sessions are bound to become a pleasure for both handler and dog. Using even just a few of the methods, I personally achieved much greater success in training a very difficult puppy.

April Frost and Rondi Lightmark's book not only taught me how to connect better with my two dogs, but also how to connect better with myself. I would highly recommend this book as the first book to read about dogs. The sections on the human-animal bond are so inspiring and the holistic medicines, massages, and flower essenses are educational. I laughed out loud and even teared in parts.

I am Rondi Lightmark, the co-author of BEYOND OBEDIENCE: Training with Awareness for You and Your Dog written with April Frost. I welcome the opportunity to say something about this unique book which after only three months is already in its second printing. Before I carry on, let me share a few reviews:

USA TODAY, September 18, 1998: "A most compelling guide. Through a holistic, respectful and nonviolent approach, Frost teaches how to intensify relationships between humans and dogs -- with better results for each. Readers will want to sit and stay for this one.

NEW AGE JOURNAL, December 1998: Recommended for holiday giving."An animal behaviorist illustrates how the training process can be a gratifying experience for both the owner and the dog."

YOGA JOURNAL, December 1998: Recommended on holiday book list: "Animal behaviorist April Frost, aiming "to contribute something to people and animals that will empower both the fulfill their highest potential," has devised a training system based on "the development of love, mutual respect, and communication" between humans and canines. She's able to pull it off because she understands the two equally well. since she can't get your dog to think like you, she shows you how to think like your dog. that would be enough to make her book interesting; but then she adds spirited discussions of the chakras in humans and dogs, how our "energy fields" affect communication between the species, and the "heart connection" between humans and their pets. And just when you think she's getting too "woo-woo," she provides extensive, step-by-step exercises to make her ideas tangible and put them into practice."

BEYOND OBEDIENCE: Training with Awareness for You and Your Dog is the book for the dog lover who believes that it is time to change our relationship to the animal world from domination to communication and mutual respect. Says Frost: "Dogs, in many people's minds, are here purely to serve our needs. Actually, this role for dogs is perfectly wonderful and nothing to feel guilty about, because they are very happy giving us their unconditional loyalty and love. However, when this gift is taken for granted, which it has been for thousands of years, then the animals suffer. Our language reveals a psychology of domination: we "own" "pets," we are their "masters," we "command" them to "obey," and "discipline" when they don't. We have to find a new language that supports a more enlightened point of view and aids communication. My animals are my teachers, companions and friends. I own the responsibility for my animals, but I don't own my animals. This is why I no longer call myself an animal trainer; it's too one-sided a term. My goal is to open the lines of communication and understanding between species; both have to do this learning together. So, I like to call myself a "animal communication facilitator." Old-style dog training was mostly about physically forcing an animal to do something, rather than working with its mind and soul. It was a tough, insensitive method that made no allowances for differences, not in temperament, not in personality, not even in sizes between animals.What you did with a Great Dane, you also did with a Chihuahua. Even before I developed Training with Awareness, I saw how this method was hard on dogs who did not fit the norm, especially very sensitive breeds. It also was a difficult technique for people to use who were not assertive or strict disciplinarians. Old-style methods did not take either human or animal psychology into account, for it was taken for granted that humans considered themselves superior to animals. The definition of owning a dog was limited to caring for its needs, making use of its instinctive talents, and enjoying its company. All of the expectations tended in one direction. Although animal behaviorism is a growing field, with the result that it is more acceptable to speak of animals having emotions and a psychology, it is still perfectly possible today, and very common, for many people to use the old, limiting definitions of the relationship."

Frost's beliefs come from a powerful, life-changing experience: For over twenty years, she had a significant reputation as a professional show handler of dogs and horses, having won ribbons all up and down the East Coast and in the Midwest. She had established a career as a trainer, groomer and breeder of dogs and horses. She had maintained a close relationship with animals, but the door between her consciousness and theirs had remained shut. Nevertheless, her Hearthside Animal Center was filled with a happy mix of dogs, horses, cats, birds, rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, and assorted other species. And, its existence was threatened by the fact that Frost had Lyme disease and could hardly move, let alone carry on with her work. Then, a woman appeared on her doorstep and challenged her to alter her perceptions. "Why don't you ask the animals for help?" she said. "If you believe that animals have souls -- and Frost said that she did -- "Then , here you are, surrounded by loving beings who are waiting to help you, and you aren't even listening to them. I don't mean just these animals here, I mean the collective consciousness of all animals. You have an incredible connection with their world already. April, all you have to do is ask." Frost says that this timely conversation allowed her to let go of her defenses and limited ideas about how the world worked and become innocent again, willing to trust, experience, and learn. The floodgates opened. She realized that she had always interacted with animals on an intuitive level without being able to define what it was that she did. She turned from conventional drugs to meditation, holistic medicine and prayer and regained her health. She reconnected with her Native American heritage -- her grandfather was a full blood Abenaki -- and she began to feel what it was like to live in companionship with the natural world, allowing her "life to unfold, supported by the universal love and universal consciousness that links the cosmos and all creatures in it together as one. As her perceptions changed, she began to see that there was a big difference between assuming that animals are lesser beings who need help and protection, versus accepting them as beings with a different consciousness whose choices and reasons for living on the earth deserve our respect. This had a dramatic effect on her work with all animals, and particularly dogs. She began to incorporate a spiritual dimension in her training courses, teaching people how to work with their own body energy and access their psychic gifts in order to create a deep and dramatically rewarding new relationship with their dogs. Satisfied clients spread the word and her classes filled up. People soon began to see that Frost's teachings not only gave them a much more harmonious relationship with their dog, but with life in general. It became apparent that practicing respect and unconditional love with another being of a different species could become a spiritual path of self-development. Many people already know a dog is a good guru! But Frost is the first to create a systematic approach that truly facilitates a healing practice -- via your relationship with your dog -- with all living beings on the earth

BEYOND OBEDIENCE is a comprehensive training manual, and more. It includes many inspiring stories from Frost's extensive involvement with animal rescue, as well as a general overview of the use of holistic medicine in the care of your dog. Writing this book had a profound effect on my life. Whether you have a dog in your life or not, reading this book will do the same for you!

This is the most amazing book about animals that I have ever read. I have quite an extensive canine library, including many books on dog training. No other book has given me such true insight into the human- dog relationship. While many of the author's ideas may be new to readers, or not resonate with them, you can't help but be touched by her great love for dogs. The stories in this book are amazing, and will often leave you in tears. I think the main thing I got from this book was the idea that dogs are teachers, as well as companions and friends, and they have a great capacity for love and deep communication with their humans. Her training techniques,while not that technically different from those ofother trainers, are always geared toward reminding the owner to respect and appreciate the dog they're working with. This book provided me with great insights into my past relationships with dogs, and gives me great hope and excitement for future ones. I can't wait to bring home my new puppy and put Beyond Obedience into practice.

This was a remarkable book. I had to go out a buy a copy for reference. I keep going back to it. April Frost helped me help rescued dogs using her gentle, holistic methods. I learned so many new things from her and her stories of behavior modification with loving patience made me use my brain instead of harshness with dogs. There are no other books out there like this. I've looked. Read it and you won't regret it.

April Frost is an animal communicator who comes from a place of deep love and respect for animals. She relates to each as an individual, and works with each by communicating and explaining - as well as using the clear and consistent behavioral approaches common to animal trainers. She advises people to explore what is right in their unique relationship with their animal companions, taking into account their own personality and that of their animal.

Frost has excellent suggestions and discussion on basics of training for the habits that will enable dogs and people to get along comfortably together.

In addition to offering training to people and animals, Frost has dedicated much of her life to helping animals in need. She describes a remarkable rescue of 13 malnourished dogs out of larger pack that had run wild all of its life in a pen, never having known a positive relationship with humans. The dogs were wounded physically and scarred emotionally. Her approaches in healing them are an inspiration to animal lovers.

Frost brings us great wisdom in this book, suggesting many ways in which we can learn to appreciate and care for the animals we choose or who choose us as companions in this great adventure we call life. Dogs are very much in the present, and can help us find our own sense of the now that opens into spiritual awareness.

Talking to your animal mentally, explaining the messages you want to convey, is very potent in training them to understand ways of behaving that will help the two of you get along well. Establishing intuitive and psychic communications with animals also provides another avenue for opening into spiritual dimensions.

Two things I particularly like about this book are: 1) "The three a's" -- attitude, attention, and awareness -- come before the behavioral approach to obedience used in so many other training books, which tend to presuppose the human-canine relationship. But that relationship is the whole point of being together with dogs in a shared life-world, and it is what Frost's book is all about. 2) The traditional obedience explanations are exceptionally thorough, clear, detailed, and broken down into small steps. > >I look at the book from the viewpoint of a Great Dane breeder and academic philosopher. I recommend it to all our puppy buyers, and I want to try to show you why. It's going to involve a little philosophy and psychology. > >To appreciate what Frost is doing, it helps to recognize that behaviorism took over American psychology almost a century ago, displacing the previous introspective approach. The objective behaviorist attitude is now widely taken for granted as the only 'scientific' way of training dogs. There is no place in this scheme for subjectivity, either human or canine, and consequently no place for being fully present with our dogs, which in dog fancy is called companionship, and in philosophy interspecies intersubjectivity. > >Although some European approaches to philosophy and psychology (particularly phenomenology) cultivate interspecies intersubjectivity, American academics tend to dismiss such efforts as 'mysticism', understood (if at all) in a derogatory way. The development and enhancement of interspecies intersubjectivity, a sense of human-canine presence with one another, is what is beyond obedience in this book. > >Frost isn't the first writer of dog books to sense a problem with behaviorism. Already in 1956, in their classic study, Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog, Scott and Fuller wrote that their experimental "effort to standardize human behavior was largely successful," although "An unexpected result was that the quality of the [human-canine] social relationship ... was somewhat shallow" (1956.176). Clearly, what made for good behavioral science also (to their surprise) made for poor companionship. But even as they wrote, all kinds of philosophical objections to the behaviorist method began to surface. Hanah Arendt wrote, "The problem with behaviorism is not that it is false, but that it may become true" -- and that was the dimension that surprised Scott and Fuller. > >But behaviorism became entrenched in dog training. In The Body Language and Emotion of Dogs by Myrna Milani, D.V.M. (1986), the author frequently finds that she must go beyond behavior to deal with the psychological mindset of her clients -- a subjective problem inaccessible to objective scientific method. In The Dog's Mind by Bruce Vogle, D.V.M.(1990), he contemplates the strange gap between what he learned as a behavioral scientist and what he actually experienced with his own dog. But both of these excellent books raise a theoretical problem they leave largely unresolved: How can we bridge the gap between academic behaviorism and the personal presence which is the whole meaning of being together with dogs? > >More recently, Capt. A.J. Haggerty again raised the issue in a short article called, "Timing is Everything" (The AKC Gazette 115.2, 02/98). There he applies techniques of Zen Buddhism to dog training, specifically to overcome some of the deficiencies of the behavioristic method found in Pamela Reid's Excel-erated Learning (1996). But he misidentifies the problem. It isn't just good timing, which Reid (and of course Frost) emphasize just as much as the good Captain. The real issue is the depth and breadth of attention we achieve in being truly present to our dogs. Where Haggerty turned to Zen Buddhism for this 'attitude adjustment', Frost has turned to her own Iroquois Indian heritage, the works of Deepak Chopra, and the Japanese discipline of Reiki, a kind of hands-on healing. > >Of course none of that is heavy-duty academic philosophy. But it doesn't have to be. The point is to regain our sense of subjective presence, dulled by years of being told to "be objective," as well as by the modern rush "to get things done," mental lists, and the like. What makes for good objective science may actually obstruct direct face-to-face communication. For that reason, not only Frost's basic approach to dogs, but her very method of Awareness Training is founded first and foremost on love and respect. > >You don't have to cultivate these essentially ethical qualities in the same way Frost does; you can make connections with Transcendental Meditation, the history of Christian or Jewish mysticism, existential philosophy, phenomenology, or whatever turns you on and tunes you in to the great adventure of deepened personal and spiritual experience. The basic structure of Beyond Obedience shows you how to do this with dogs, because it's written on the three interacting levels of insight development, supportive metaphysics (pick your own flavor), and practical instruction. > >The first section (Chapters 1-4) ushers us into direct and immediate canine communication. "Look at your dog as though you're seeing him for the first time.... When you are in a relaxed state, gaze softly, without staring, into your dog's eyes.... We need to examine ourselves, too, and avoid using dogs simply to project an image." Bonding with your dog is "aligning the consciousness of two individuals," and doing it in such a way that the species difference becomes as inconspicuous as possible. "I give ... pure acknowledgment of who he is, rather than an assessment of his performance as a dog." > >The second part of the book, on Awareness Training proper (Chapters 5-8) seeks to increase mutual human-canine bond of respect and communication. The greater the bond, the less need for other tools. "Other sensitivities predominate; intuition is medium of exchange" for a more sensitized consciousness. "The animals are my teachers, companions, and friends.... That is why I no longer call myself an animal trainer.... I do not do 'obedience training'. Awareness Training is communication training based on love and respect, and it must go both ways." Let the dog teach you. Because dogs are individuals, there is no one right way. Do not cling to the methods of your own upbringing. "Being in the now is your only point of power." > >Consider using music, meditation, and relaxation, Tellington Touch, and Reiki. The main communicators are eye contact, praise, caresses, and food rewards. "Dogs ... use their eyes to indicate a range of attitudes from aggression to acceptance," so use your own eyes wisely and be theatrical. > >"Behavior is a flow of energy that is manifested in the physical world." If you change the metaphor to, "Behavior is an expression of spirit that is manifested in the physical world," you have a good phenomenological definition of behavior. In both wordings, it's something far more than the objective pattern of actions through which it's expressed. > >Here and elsewhere, Frost's basic thrust points far beyond her own personal experience. When in difficulty, she suggests, use the dog as a mirror of yourself, or become a detached observer. "This is the principle of detachment which is well-known in meditation." Indeed it is, lying at the foundations of Sankara's approach to Advaita Vedanta, as well as the mysticism of Meister Eckhart (detachment=Gelassenheit, 'non-attachment'), and the commentaries of the existentialist philosopher, Martin Heidegger. > >"Training is something you do for the dog, not to the dog." > >The final section of the book (Chapters 9-15) are devoted to a minutely detailed exposition of walking on lead, come, wait, sit, down, stay (in that order); behavior problems, health and nutrition; and games based on retrieving, carrying, and finding things, instead of games like tug-of-war, roughhousing and chase that can get you into trouble. Her training sequences follow this general outline: > >1) Define the goal (walk on lead without forging, etc.). >2) Get prepared with equipment, treats, etc. >3) Mental and emotional preparation: Focus, breathe, clarify intent. >4) "Open and honor the practice," for which she uses Reiki symbols. >5) The series of behavioral steps (say "Heel," etc.). >6) After release, "Close and honor the practice." > >Anyone who has read a book like Eugen Herrigel's famous Zen and the Art of Archery (recommended to me by a piano teacher several decades ago) will immediately see that the technical activity is embedded in a kind of dedicated or consecrated time-space opened in steps 3 and 4 and closed in step 6. For this very reason I myself started meditating with dogs before Frost's book appeared. Her use of Reiki symbols reminds me of the mandala symbolism investigated in psychology by Carl J

I'm a pretty open-minded person. I consider myself a Buddhist. I meditate daily. I practice yoga, and kindness to all living beings. I've worked with professional psychics and animal communicators; my entire family (both human and non-human) are treated primarily with homeopathy and holistic methods.

I'm also a professional dog trainer. My "tool bag" is full of all sorts of things, not the least of which are things like massage, TTouch, and flower essences. I thought this book would give me some interesting information that perhaps I hadn't been exposed to or thought of before, but I was greatly disappointed. This book was only written 10 or 11 years ago, and I expected to read about some new found way to deal with training and behavioral issues based on scientifically sound learning and behavior modification theories. Instead, what I found was out-dated compulsion-based ("balanced", at best) training methods and whole lot of stuff that won't help the average person with any training issue they may be experiencing.

The author repeatedly describes how she yells at dogs for aggressing while "scruff shaking" them - holding the dog firmly by the skin on either side of the dog's face while giving the dog a firm shake - a technique long forgotten by serious trainers, and which study after study has shown is more likely to increase aggression than decrease it. On the same page, the author also describes how, when a dog surrendered to her by a client aggresses at a delivery driver, she gives the dog a leash correction on a training collar only to have the dog redirect and "latch on" to the author's arm, something any trainer could have told her would happen, and something any worthwhile trainer would have actively worked to avoid at all costs. The author states on page 129: "I finally reached down to make [the dog; Jessica] look at me, since she was beyond being able to pay attention to what I was saying. She wheeled around and latched on to my arm. She was so agitated that she just had to bite someone. She must have known me well enough by that time to do some quick rethinking, though, because she quickly let go. I grabbed her by the fur on the sides of her head and, glaring right into her eyes, blasted her at full volume: "STOP IT! That is absolutely NOT acceptable behavior here!"...Jessica finally gave in and sat."

This book is primarily about the author's achievements in terms of rescue efforts and dealing with dogs whose owners weren't able to "make a connection" with because of their own "inner turmoil." An incredible portion of this book is dedicated to the author's anecdotes and self-proclaimed abilities to make a psychic connection with many of (but not all of) her dogs. Much of the book covers things like chakras, meditation, and what seems to me to be human to canine telepathy, regardless of what the author calls it.

"Dominance" is also thrown around quite a bit throughout this book, and the author's overuse and misuse of the word "dominance" shows a complete lack of understanding of canid behavior. She also does a whole lot of comparing dogs to their wild cousins.

The final straw, for me, what this quote (found on page 131): "I got up and went for a swim in the pond, and the dogs joined me. It was cool when I got out, so I started a small fire, and we all lay together in the circle of light. I looked at Jessica sitting by the fire, and she was both looking at me and looking through me. I've been told that dogs with odd colored eyes can see the wind. Did Jessica also see my spirit in the light, on the edge of darkness?
All of a sudden I had an incredible perception, a deja vu, that these animals and I had been like this before but they weren't dogs then; they were wolves. I felt I had been a medicine woman, alone in a wilderness with these powerful spirits. We spoke each other's language. We lives then, as we live now, heart to heart."

This whole book is filled with crack-pottery like this. As I said before, I'm pretty open minded, and while I do share some of the same views as the author in terms of spirituality etc, it is completely impractical to expect the average dog owner to believe that all that's necessary to change their dog's behavior is a little visualization and telepathy and a couple leash corrections, predominantly because that just isn't how behavior in domestic canines works, or how it is modified. There is a time and a place for alternative therapies, but appropriate application of knowledge must come first, and it's clear that April Frost doesn't have much of it.

If you're looking for a serious book about how to train your dog or change his behavior, this isn't the book for you. In fact, this really isn't the book for anyone seriously interested in modern dog training. Spend your hard earned money elsewhere.

Not the best book out there. If you are interested in finding out if meditation and spiritual guidance can help you solve your dogs issues, than get this book...good luck. If you are serious about dog training and rehabilitation, I recommend the following:
- The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell
- On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas
- Cesars Way & Be The Pack Leader by Cesar Millan
- The Dog's Mind by Bruce Fogle

If you're interested in New Age philosophy as it pertains to dogs, this is your cup of Chamomille tea. If you're interested in practical solutions to dog behavioral problems look elsewhere. I'd stongly advise you to take the book out of the library and read it before you buy it.

I found it useless in addressing my/my dog's "issues".

And, hey, I've meditated for years.