From Training to Teaching: Building a Foundation of Trust with Your Dog with Chrissy Messick

Today I’m joined by Chrissy Messick, a dog trainer, behavioural consultant, animal communicator, and fellow podcaster, who helps dog parents set the foundations to build a happy and healthy relationship with their dogs. 

I just love this conversation because Chrissy really takes a holistic approach to how we help our dogs navigate this world - and by proxy, how this helps US to better navigate the world. Chrissy shares how she grew up around animals, but then entered a career in sports medicine - even working at the Olympic Games! But it was her experience in volunteering at the local Humane Society, working with a life coach, and taking animal communication courses that served as a huge pivot, and took Chrissy down the path of working with dogs and their humans from a whole dog perspective.

Chrissy shares how her first dogs with her husband served as incredible teachers for her that have even informed the way she parents her children.

She also talks reframing training to teaching our dogs, how dogs are supporting us in coming back to our own bodies, and how we can better develop our relationships with our dogs by making sure create opportunities for both passive and active “being”. Chrissy also shares wisdom that dogs have shared with her and her clients through animal communication sessions.

To connect with Chrissy and learn more about how to work with her:

https://⁠theanimalnature.com⁠. 

And definitely check out her podcast The Dogs of Our Lives anywhere you listen to podcasts! She has some wonderful guests that I think you’ll find really interesting and helpful in your journey with your dog!

This episode is sponsored by Aspirationery, which in full transparency, is another project of mine where we create books, notebooks, and stationery to support you in becoming all you aspire to be. I’m really excited to announce that we have released a Spanish language version of our popular My First Period Tracker for Young Girls and Tweens in order to increase menstrual literacy and empower young people to become advocates for their menstrual health. You can learn more about our books on our Instagram ⁠https://instagram.com/aspirationery

⁠https://mysticdogmama.com⁠

⁠https://instagram.com/mysticdogmama⁠

OK, on that note, let’s go!