Mindful Partners

If you dream of being like Dr. Dolittle, able to speak joyfully with animals, this book will show you how to bring that dream to life. In Mindful Partners: The Zen art and science of working with animals, Dr. Jenifer Zeligs, leading behavioral psychologist and acclaimed author of Animal Training 101, takes you on a transformative journey to expand your connection with animals to the deepest level.

Mindful Partners is a must read for any compassionate animal lover-combining breakthroughs in behavioral sciences with centuries of contemplative wisdom. Dr. Zeligs guides readers to see behavior as it fundamentally exists-looking deeply and clearly at how actions and reactions are born, practiced, and altered. Dissecting the mystery of behavior, she warmly shows the reader how to use mindfulness to develop a special kind of partnership in which both parties share in a mutually beneficial, kindly, and satisfying interconnection.

The book is filled with intimate and amusing accounts of Dr. Zeligs' forty-year history of partnerships across the animal kingdom-from training sea lions to film wild whales to teaching dogs and horses to love visiting the veterinarian.

Whether you your animal friend is a dog, a cat, a horse, or even a bat, this book will offer simple and practical insights from science and spiritual traditions to help you solve some of the most persistent and difficult behavior questions, such as:

How do I get started training my pet?

What approach should I take?

How do I create a strong connection with my animal friends?

How can I establish genuine interspecies communication?

How can I learn to read my animal's behavior and needs?

How can I teach my animal to be calm?

How should I best respond when things go wrong?

How can I reduce aggression?

How do I build confidence while overcoming fears in my animal?

How do I handle my animal's frustrations and urges?

How do I decide what steps to take to teach something to my animal?

How do I reduce unwanted behaviors without punishment?

How do I motivate without causing stress?

Each chapter includes color illustrations, questions for personal reflection, and practices to enable you to master the concepts.

Jenifer Zeligs, PhD, is a behavioral consultant with more than 40 years of experience and the founder of the Animal Training and Research International center. She has taught advanced care and training of both pets and exotic animals at California State University for over twenty years. She is also a Buddhist with decades of meditation experience. In this book, she brings both areas together in an empowering guide to connecting with animals through both science and inspirational wisdom.