Look Who’s Talking: Sadie the Wonderdoodle learns TTouch and Animal Communication

By Meredeth Barzen

Lisa Sellman of Aloha Pet Care with Sadie the Wonderdoodle.

When Lisa Sellman of Aloha Pet Care & Dog Training invited us to participate in her TTouch and Animal Communication class last month, we were excited about the TTouch part (any method of lowering stress in the Wonderdoodle household would be accepted wholeheartedly) and excited/nervous for the Animal Communication part (what if Sadie started whining that we don’t give her enough treats or throw the ball often enough?) But by the end of the night, we were both comfortable with the TTouch techniques, and confident that our dog really did love us.

Sidewalk Dog, Sadie the Wonderdoodle, and about 15 other dogs and their people gathered at Auntie Ruth’s Animal Care & Wellness Center in Minnetonka for the class, which started with Lisa guiding us through a handful of “touches”—or light, acupressure-like massage techniques—that we could use to lower stress in both our dogs and ourselves and to bond with our four-legged pals.

“These techniques are for whenever your dog is stressed—the vet’s office, the groomer’s, fireworks, thunderstorms,” Lisa explained, while rattling off a list of Sadie’s worst nightmare situations. “They’re a way to be in the moment, and to give our dogs the gift of being present.”

Then, we practiced those techniques on our own pups and our neighbors’ dogs as Lisa came around the circle and worked with each one of us individually. Sadie the Wonderdoodle, you’ll be curious to know, carries tension in her shoulders, just like her mom. Car rides are her Achilles heel—she got sick on the drive out to Minnetonka—so Lisa showed us some calming muzzle touches for the future.

Susan works on her TTouch skills with her dog, Jeri.

While we were working on our TTouch skills, Animal Communicator Ilga Cimbulis held short, individual sessions in a corner of the room. With all the misconceptions that abound about animal communication, we were interested to see what a session entailed. Ilga, with a  calm, easy manner, concentrated on Sadie (who was busy trying to snag a cookie from the refreshments table behind us) for a few seconds, then announced, “She’s telling me she’s your star, that she’s known or recognized.” Sounds like a certain Wonderdoodle has been reading too much SidewalkDog.com.

Ilga went on to discuss Sadie’s willingness to be out in the world, to help people. She said she had a healing nature about her and that she could be a therapy dog if we wanted to pursue it. But most importantly, she said we had done a good job; that Sadie was well-mannered and happy. Of course we know that Sadie loves us when she climbs up on our knees and kisses our ears, but the effect of someone actually telling you that your dog likes you cannot be underestimated.

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If you’d like to hear what your dog thinks of you (and to learn some massage techniques that might swing her affection more in your favor), Lisa and Ilga have another class coming up February 21—you can find details here.

Or, if you’re looking for more rustic relaxation for you and your pooch, Lisa also holds TTouch classes at the always-dog-friendly Gunflint Lodge’s Dog Lovers’ Weekends. The next one is March 18-21—find more details here.  And, as a special treat for Sidewalk Dog readers, Lisa has seven $100-off coupons for Gunflint Lodge (one per cabin) to give away to the first seven readers to e-mail her at Lisa@alohapetcare.us with their addresses.