Puppy Doga Class Begins Next Month!

Puppy Doga is Here!

Join Barking Buddha Doga instructor, Brenda Bryan and Downtown Dog Lounge Dog Trainer, Cora Wittekind for a class designed especially for puppies.
Puppy Doga is a three week series. The classes will cover basic commands combined with basic doga poses including massage and calming techniques. Teach your pup to sit, stay and more as you strengthen the human/dog bond with your puppy.
Puppies must have first round of vaccinations and be under 1 year of age. Puppies under 14 weeks must have permission of instructors.
Email me to sign up!

Barking Buddha Doga Tip of the Week

The Side Body Squeeze

A few years ago, pre-doga, I was listening to a story on NPR about an autistic woman who discovered that hugging or gentle squeezing was very calming to her hyper-sensitive nervous system. She actually built a squeezing machine to gently squeeze her entire body. The squeezing machine seemed to have a soothing effect on her super sensitive nerve endings.

I must have filed the information from the story in the area of my brain that's marked "someday could be useful" because I recalled the squeezing machine story at the oddest time...years later in a one on one doga session .

I was teaching a young, energetic and dominant dog and her human one afternoon. The dog wasn't settling down and I was pulling all the calming tricks out of my doga magic hat, but nothing was working. Then, the "someday might be useful file" opened up and lit the idea light bulb above my head (ding!).

Here's what I was inspired to instruct the dogi's "mom" to do:

I had the her place her hands wide, full palm and fingers, on either side of the dogi's shoulders and firmly, gently and confidently squeeze inward (not too hard)...move a few inches down the side body and squeeze again...move a few inches, and again....all the way to the hips. She did this while breathing consciously,calmly and deeply. And guess what? It totally worked!

I used "the squeeze" again in another class with more yogis and dogis and later had a student share with me that she used it on her dog out of class as an effective calming tool in a stressful situation.

So wherever the squeezing machine lady is today, I thank her for being the inspiration for The Side Body Squeeze. Let me know how it works on your own dogi!

P.S. Remember with any calming tool we use, our own intention and calm energy is very important in the success of soothing our keenly observant and sensitive dogis.

Breathe and be confident.

Barking Buddha Dog of the Week: Marble

This week's dog is available for adoption! She is coming all the way from Bangkok (remember Tonto from a couple of months ago, another Bangkok rescue?) She comes from a rescue organization called SCAD. Jen and Snickers our local yogi and dogi foster dogs from SCAD. Email me if you are interested in adopting this beautiful girl and I'll put you in touch with Jen and I'll give you a gift certificate for some free doga! Here's the info:

Date of Birth:
Late September 2008

Gender:
Female

Breed:
Mixed (some English Setter features)

Weight:
14-16 kg (31- 35lb) when grown

Background:
Marble was born in the playground area of a temple school in a busy suburban area of Bangkok. The children and teachers fed her and she is very used to human attention. A loose pack of friendly adult dogs also live in the area, although it is unclear if Marble’s parents are amongst them. The area surrounding the school is overcrowded with stray dogs, so living conditions aren’t always favorable. Marble’s lovely nature made her a good candidate for our adoption program.

Features:
Marble has a long silky coat, mainly white, with black markings on the head and ears and a large black patch on her left side and another on her right side nearer to the shoulder. She has an abundance of black spots dotted throughout her coat. She has floppy ears and sweet tan ‘eyebrows’. She carries her waggly tail high. Medium level grooming is required.
Character

Marble is a playful and confident pup, eager to join in with puppy games and she interacts well with people. She enjoys attention and loves cuddles and toys. Shows good social skills with pups and adult dogs, and is very motivated by food.

Location:
SCAD Rehoming Center, Sukhumvit 71 (soon to be in Seattle w/ Jen Rosenbrook)

Health:
Good

Neutered:
Yes

Vaccinated:
Course underway

Yoga Poses vs Doga Poses

Lately I've been asked specifically about Barking Buddha Doga, and recently about the names of the poses. Here's the answer I gave to a yogi from Texas (thanks for the email Brittney!):

I created the names of the poses, like Woofing Warrior, Camel Rides Dog, and the Muttley Mudras in order to incorporate the dogis fully into the practice, so instead of just practicing yoga with your dog, you are partnering with your dogi to do doga. The name of the style I teach is called Barking Buddha Doga. It's a heart opening practice I created as a way to use the love and connection we feel for our dogs as a catalyst to a broader connection to all things...union...which is actually what yoga means.

It's a bit nontraditional in practice but quite traditional in theory. Whether or not we use a traditional method to obtain a connection to the divinity within or we use a less traditional path doesn't matter. Discovering union to self, love and what divinity means to us as individuals, that's the goal. What makes life so much fun are the choices we get to make as we travel down the path toward our individual goals of becoming better humans in a better world.

Stay tuned...coming Friday: The Barking Buddha Doga Tip of the Week

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

April/May Barking Buddha Doga Schedule

The Next Barking Buddha Doga class is Saturday April 11, 9:00 am at The Seattle Humane Society

The next 3 week Seattle Humane Society Series Begins Wednesday, May 6th at 7:00 pm. I'll confirm dates and times at other locales and post soon.

"No Name" Chooses Name, Animal Communicator, and Doga for Puppies

Remember "No Name" (pictured below) from L.A.? Well his new name has been chosen!
"No Name's" name is (drum roll please) : Cayden!! Thanks to everyone who sent in a suggestion.

This looks like a fun event this weekend:

The Dining Dog Café & Bakery
Imagine a sweet bistro, white linen table clothes and a wonderful menu all for your dog! Dorothy Moore is your hostess of The Dining Dog Café' & Bakery in Edmonds, home of gourmet healthy food, just for that special pooch in your life. Ordering from the menu is just the beginning of the fun, as the dogs gobble down their appetizers and beg for more! The prices are low, the desserts are delicious and lovely to behold. Join Penelope for your doggy communication on Saturday, March 14th from 3-5pm for a special event price of $10 for 10 minutes. (You may request more time if you like.) Please call to reserve your diner spot and session time.This is one of my favorite places to take my dog! He loves the food and begs for those liver cupcakes! Streaker rates The Dining Dog 4 Paws Up!RSVP at (425) 314-4612 The Dining Dog Café & Bakery9635 Firdale Ave, Edmonds WA 98020Open Thursday-Saturday 3pm-7pm Reservations Requested, they fill up fast!

Penelope Jensen, animal communicator will be there. I had a reading with her for Honey and Gus and she was really accurate. She'll be attending my next Barking Buddha Doga series at The Seattle Humane Society in May. (still confirming the dates) If you're interested in getting a reading for your own dogi, here's her contact info: penelopejensen@comcast.net.

Also in the news...I'm putting together a Doga for Puppies series along with Downtown Dog Lounge Dog trainer Cora Wittekind. I'll keep you updated.

Happy Weekend!

xo, B, G and H

Barking Buddha Doga class 3/5

Handsome Harry working that St. Patrick's day scarf. Sashay!

Treat time with Jen.

Bogey and his mom's legs (Peggy)

Jen loves giving out treats at the end of class. Honey on the far left seems a little surprised by the butt sniff from Sam. You think they'd be used to it by now.

Class was so much fun last week at The Humane Society! I enjoyed teaching about allowing our dogis to help us work through recession stress.

Look for Doga news and the current schedule in tomorrow's post.

xo,

Brenda, Honey and Gus

Chantale with a playful and delighted Beans (I was Bean's nanny when he was a baby).

More treats for the dogis.

W party ect....

Honey tells a story, Brad and Gus look on, amused.

Our friend Gary with Gus and Brad and I looking like we're going to sink into the couch. Gus looks like he's getting ready to move on to another lap (he likes to sit on as many as possible at these social events).

Gary tries to entice Gus to stay with a neck massage. Looks like it's working.

Pictures from the City Dog Valentine party at The W.

Also...interesting article from Slate on "Man's First Pet". Guess what it was? Duh! A dog!!

Here's the link:

http://www.slate.com/id/2213121/?GT1=38001

Tonight's Doga is Cancelled

The gallery accidently double booked and is painting the doga space. We just only realized the scheduling mishap so apologies! We're on for next month though! See you then or at one of the other classes about town.

Wags in Whistler B.C.

I mentioned earlier in the week that I was in Whistler for a long weekend. I left Honey and Gus at home with our friend even though our hotel was dog-friendly. Whistler in general seemed to be very dog-friendly, I saw dogs everywhere which made me miss my "kids" even more. Though I must mention that although I saw dogs everywhere I rarely saw them indoors (the dog in the above pics being the exception). I saw many dogs tied up outside in the cold and snow, which may be fine for them, but not for my 11 year old Honey and forever-baby Gus.

I always miss them so much when I travel without them. Sometimes they do come along but I always factor in how busy I'll be, how I'm getting there, where I'm staying, border issues, all of those things, then I decide if they would have fun or be more comfortable at home. This time I chose to leave them at home.

So when I travel without them, by day three I get a little dog-love starved and have to engage with every friendly dog I see. The above dog is Kaya, she was in a ski store and belonged to one of the employees. While my freind shopped for gloves I got on the floor to love and play with Kaya (sometimes I have no shame when it comes to dogs). I loved that Kaya was so friendly and part of the store sales team. I also liked that her owner trained her to sit by making a fist. That's a new one for me. Anyway, I'm back home now with my dogs plus one (still baby-sitting Stinker, who happens to be next to me snoring this very minute).

Last night's class was so much fun. Looking forward to this weekend's classes:

Sat. 1:00 Downtown Dog Lounge

Sunday 5:00 Twilight Gallery

Happy Weekend!

xo,

B, G, H, S

Barking Buddha Doga Tonight!

7:00 pm at The Seattle Humane Society

Tonight's theme: Allowing our dogs to help us through recession fear.

See you tonight!

Barking Buddha Dog of the Week: Stinker!

I haven't posted in a few days because I was up in Whistler B.C.
The morning after I returned, Stinker (aka Quinby) was dropped off at my house for some dog sittin' while her mommies are in Hawaii. Stinker's real name is Quinby, but at this point she answers to Stinker since everyone has been calling her that for a while. I'm not really sure why she's nicknamed Stinker because she doesn't stink, but she does snore....loudly.
Despite keeping me up because of her snoring (it seemed to bother my husband more than me, at one point I told him to pretend that it was me snoring, because rumor has it that I sometimes snore) I love Stinker and think she has loads of personality.
I chose Stinker to be this weeks dog because, well, she's here with me and because I've been watching a cool transformation over the past few months as my friend has learned to work with her.
My friend hasn't been around a lot of dogs but has adopted Stinker into her life after she began to date Stinker's mom. Stinker's mom works full time and my friend is a self-employed artist so she spends a lot of time with Stinker. They walk with my dogs and me a least once a week and it's been fun watching my friend learn to work with her and develop a relationship. And they kinda look alike because they are both long-legged with wavy red hair. Very cute.
Thanks Snoring Stinker for being our Barking Buddha Dog of the Week!

I'll be bringing Stinker to doga this week so I'll let you know how it goes. She's really energetic for a 9 year old and if I can't find someone to do the class with her that will mean 3 dogs on my mat. Good times!