Leashes and Lovers - What Your Dog Can Teach You About Love, Life, and Happiness. Sheryl Matthys
on a tray for physically or mentally challenged toddlers, and dogs have been used to train prisoners and juvenile delinquents about the need for love and nurturing. In many of these scenarios the answer was found in the relationship formed between the family member and the dog.
In 1981, Dr. Leo K. Bustad, then dean of the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine, first coined the term “human-animal bond.” Dr. Bustad, who had many honors bestowed upon him for his work and writings on the “bond,” served as chair of the newly chartered not-for-profit organization, The Delta Society. That international group focused on work to understand the quality of the relationship between pet owners, pets, and pet caregivers. The Delta Society, whose mission is to improve human health through service and therapy animals, later teamed up with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the largest and most influential veterinary support group in the world, to nurture the term “human-animal bond.” Every year, together they recognize a distinguished member of the veterinary profession for pioneering work in the human-animal bond field.
Both human and veterinary medicine continue to discover the power of animals to influence the detection and healing powers of a strong human-animal bond. Thousands of articles and books from the perspective of pediatric medicine to writings for the aged have been written relating the benefit of a strong human-animal bond in lowering blood pressure, lowering cholesterol, weight loss regimens, easing depression or healing minds from loneliness and emotional isolation, and detection of seizures and various types of cancer.
Now, Sheryl Matthys has written this most insightful and inspiring book on how relationships with dogs can influence and guide our relationships with other people. Ms. Matthys captures many of the benefits of depending on your dog, or that of your potential relationship partner and their dog, to guide you in important decision-making within that relationship. Dogs teach us unconditional love and affection and that love never wavers. Leashes and Lovers is truly a magic potion for understanding our relationships with lovers and those we love. Many of these encumbrances have been with us for most of our lives and have prohibited us from developing meaningful and lasting relationships, or renewing those relationships as needed.
Yes, change has and is happening every day. As the technology revolution continues on its course in every aspect of life, the need for interpersonal relationships will be ever increasing. Look to Sheryl Matthys’ book, Leashes and Lovers: What Your Dog Can Teach You About Love, Life, and Happiness, to direct you in those important decisions. And let your dog be your guide!
Dr. Bruce W. Little is a veterinarian who has not only witnessed this great change in the understanding and evolution of our best friend – the dog, but has played an important role in implementing that change. After graduating from the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1965, Dr. Little spent 21 years in clinical veterinary practice tending to the needs of dogs and all species of animals. At mid-career, Dr. Little felt a need to make greater and more meaningful contributions and accepted a position on the staff of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) where he served 11 years as the Assistant Executive Vice President and 12 years as the Executive Vice President and CEO of that 78,000 member organization. Among his accomplishments are the creation of the AVMA and Delta Society’s Human Animal Bond Award and the newly created AVMA Animal Welfare Division. Although retired, Dr. Little continues to serve the animals he so dearly loves on boards and committees involving animal related issues.
INTRODUCTION
How to Speak Your Dog’s Language
Wouldn’t you love to have a friend, confidante, advisor, and “BS detector” to help you navigate the often frustrating and challenging world of modern relationships? You can, and he or she might even be at your feet or in your lap right now. Yes, I’m talking about your dog!
The secrets to relationship success are actually wrapped up in how you relate to and what you can learn from your furry friend. In fact, your dog holds the key to unlocking all of your relationship goals – whether with a new date, a long-time sweetheart, a spouse, an acquaintance, your friends, or even your family members.
I’m Sheryl Matthys, The Dog Expert, and I specialize in talking with dog lovers about how their dogs impact their human relationships. As The Dog Expert, my mission is about helping humans discover dogs’ hidden codes as a means of communicating with each other more effectively.
Now, I don’t claim to be a dog whisperer or spiritualist, but I have dedicated myself to bridging the communication gap between dogs and owners so that humans can better understand one another. In fact, I’ve been studying this relationship between dogs and humans for years to become more informed about the world of human-to-human and dog-to-human communication, and yes, dogs really do have things to tell us. In this regard I rely heavily on my degrees in psychology and communications, and on my certification as a dog trainer.
I enjoy helping dogs and humans communicate so much, that I created a place “Where Dog Lovers Meet®” for dog lovers to share with one another worldwide. Years ago I founded LeashesandLovers.com – a dog lover’s online social community where you can connect for friendship, find others who share your affinity for your breed, find a date or even love. Business owners also have the opportunity to network and be recommended. It’s a venue for interacting with people about how their dogs impact their lifestyle and relationships – for better or worse – and what it really means to have both “Leashes and Love” in their lives.
My work has been featured on Bravo’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, E!’s #1 Single with Lisa Loeb, Ambush Makeover, Animal Planet and FOXNewsChannel.com, and in Modern Dog magazine, BARK, Entrepreneur, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, as well as hundreds of other online sites, magazines, blogs, newspapers, and TV and radio stations around the world.
I know dogs. I know people. What’s more, I know that dogs and dog lovers communicate with one another on a deeper level than most can fathom. That deeper communication – and how it impacts ALL of the other relationships in one’s life – is precisely what Leashes and Lovers is all about.
Dogs are smart, and are often instinctually accurate about who is right for us and who is wrong for us. Sometimes it’s a physical reaction. Does your dog react warmly to a blind date or chance encounter, or do his hackles resemble a Mohawk? Or, it may be more of a gut reaction, such as discovering how the mood in the room grows increasingly tense when your date shows up – just because you and your dog know something’s not quite right.
Unfortunately, as we all know, your pooch can’t exactly tell you in plain English what he is thinking, so you need to learn how to “hear,” “see,” and “interpret” what your dog is telling you or you’ll miss out on everything he’s trying to say. Think your dog can’t talk? Think again. Man and woman’s best friend speaks volumes, not only to you, but also about you, and about what you really want out of your life and your relationships.
And what’s more, whether dealing with a potential date, lover, family member, co-worker, or friend, many answers to our dilemmas, happiness, or resolve with others can be found by taking a closer look at our relationships with our dogs and what our dogs may be trying to teach us. The more we connect with our dogs, learn from their natural instincts, and apply that to our relationships with others, the more in tune we’ll be with ourselves.
Dogs want to understand you as desperately as you want to understand them. Why do you think they’re always standing at your feet, watching your every