Soul Touched by Dogs

Welcome to the Soul Touched by Dogs
Podcast, the show for dog lovers who

see dogs not as toys or tools, but
wise souls worth our respect and care.

I'm an Herrmann, and I'm your host.

I talk to poor some humans, people who
do great work for dogs and their people.

So come and join us for
today's conversation.

Anke: Hello and welcome, Jodi.

I'm super excited to have you here today.

Jody: I am super excited to be here, Anke.

Thank you so much for having me.

Anke: My pleasure.

Let's just start out with a
two minute bird's eye overview.

Let people know where
you're based and what's

Jody: your business.

Great.

So, I'm based in Austin, Texas.

And, um, I'm a New Yorker,
a transplanted New Yorker in

Austin, and I am a health coach.

I'm a certified health
coach for people and pets.

So I help pet parents, because
this is all about pets.

Um, I help them solve problems with their
pets, health related problems, emotional,

which is also health related issues.

Um, I help them become more
connected to their animals and I

do it all through natural means.

I'm also an energy medicine practitioner.

So, things like homeopathy and frequency
scanning, um, those are tools that

I've learned over many, many years
and developed, um, but as a coach,

because there aren't very many health
coaches, certainly pet health coaches

around yet, um, but I do think that
I'm on the early end of something

that's going to become very popular.

Um, pet parents, what I've seen is
Pet parents have become frustrated

with what's available to them in
the conventional medical system.

And going to the vet, Getting
prescribed, uh, pharmaceuticals, the

pharmaceuticals, working for a period
of time when the pet is on them,

then once the pet is off, the problem
returns, or it doesn't work at all, or

it creates more problems than it fixes.

There's always fallout
from pharmaceuticals.

And that's not to say that sometimes
pharmaceuticals aren't necessary, but I

look for, and I have learned and developed
over the years, tools to address issues

without pharmaceuticals, naturally.

And these are tools that actually can
help not only make conditions better.

But cure, whereas conventional
medicine, vets are not taught to cure

and they're not taught prevention.

They're taught triage.

They're taught to give something
to make a symptom go away.

So that's my job.

My job is to help educate and empower
pet parents and help them solve

problems and learn tools to work
naturally with their animals for

more vibrant health, longer lives.

Anke: Oh, couldn't love it more.

I could not love it more.

And it's, it's literally what you just
explained, you know, the frustration,

like that's exactly what I felt when
I first, you know, got my first dog.

You know, little puppy found in the
streets, now there I was, no idea,

and the advice I got from the vets,
it was like, what on earth is that?

Right, so it just made no sense, and
it felt, it left me doubting always.

You know, there was always a
strong sense of, hey, there's a

conflict of interest here, right?

So I, and is that really necessary?

Like that constant vaccination
and that constant, like, take this

and fill the pill there, you know?

And so I was looking for more holistic
approaches, you know, on all ends, you

know, be it health, be it behavior.

And more connection based, you know,
because I'm thinking, well, I have

a part in the story here, right?

So I'm so glad.

And I do agree there is, it seems
that there is a bit of a wave.

This is still, people start talking
about this a lot more now, which I think

is just the most delightful time to be

Jody: in, right?

And all those ends, the
behavior is connected to the

physical, very, very much so.

We have a Vegas nerve.

And so do our animals that
run from the gut to the brain.

It's the hotline.

They talk all day long.

Really, 80 percent of your dog's
serotonin is manufactured where?

In the gut.

Not in the brain.

Serotonin is one of the happy hormones.

Um, 80 percent or 90 percent of your
pet's immune system is in the gut.

So balancing the gut microbiome,
balancing hormones, in the body.

We spay and neuter from such a young age.

If you equate that with giving a
hysterectomy to a 10 year old girl, people

would never dream of that for humans.

But in animals, it is those hormones
like in humans are very necessary

with proper development and also
protecting that animal from certain

diseases as That animal gets older.

So balancing the hormones, um,
all of the things that we do

also creates a happier animal.

And there are tools that I've learned over
the years that work on anxiety for dogs.

75 percent of all dogs here in the U.

S.

have anxiety, one form or another.

75%!

I mean, how crazy is that?

That is,

Anke: yeah.

Right?

So what are ways, how does that show up
apart from the obvious, obvious kind of,

you know, are there hidden ways that this
shows up which somebody might overlook?

Jody: Absolutely.

Yes, there are the obvious where a dog,
you know, the body language, the tail

under the legs and the slinking back and
the ears and the eyes expression or in

the going in the corner facing the wall.

I mean, those are heartbreaking, but
there are things like, um, destroying.

Things like separation anxiety can
present by an animal destroying the

house or something when you leave or, um,
chewing their skin or, um, not eating.

Uh, dogs can be sensitive to everything
from someone who wears a certain,

a hat or skin color or, um, men.

Or women, or children, or types of
surfaces that you walk on, textures,

um, there's a whole host of things
that create anxiety in various animals.

And most of that, they're based on past
experiences, just like us, imprinting of

What we call paradigms that we've created
in our subconscious, same with them.

If it was during the imprinting phase
of, I think it's six to fourteen weeks,

um, it's very hard to get over that,
but I've learned and developed tools

that help dogs, especially, um, become
more calm and comfortable, desensitized,

and Um, they're the pet parent and
the animal becoming more connected.

Hmm.

Anke: So, um, I mean, given that, you
know, three out of four of my, of my

dogs were like found in the street.

Not even, they didn't even
make it to a rescue place.

It just literally is wandering around,
wandering around the street and,

um, it was, yeah, yeah, no, like.

You know, the first one, he was
like horrible with separation

anxiety for the first few years.

He would,

yeah, he'd, he'd eat stuff.

Little tissues and socks
and stuff like that.

And, but I mean,

Jody: initially, There's no shame.

These are like Individuals, you know, it
doesn't mean that we're bad pet parents.

They come with their own baggage,
especially street dogs or dogs that

have been in a shelter in Miami.

You could tell

Anke: with him, you could really
picture the scene because obviously,

you know, where he, where we
lived, you know, he would have

found food in rubbish bins, right?

So when I found him, he was like
sucking when there's male voices.

Oh, well, like, you know, you,
you know, the uniforms of the guys

who clean the street at night.

Jody: You can picture it.

You could just tell the
whole story right there.

Anke: Yeah, yeah.

And it took a while for him to get
to get over all of that, right?

So it's, yeah, yeah, it is possible.

That's the, that's the good news, right?

That it is possible because I think so
often people hold back from adopting

a dog from a shelter because they're,
you know, they're worried about all

the trauma things, the trauma baggage,
and who knows, you know, what, what the

dog will, will display in one way or

Jody: another.

Yes, it takes time, patience.

Consistency and love.

Those are the four elements that I think
if you're able to, and we're all human,

nobody can do all four all the time,
but if you do it more than not, those

four elements, you will have success.

There are, there are very few dogs
that just not able to be rehabilitated.

They're just so far gone.

Those dogs, it's tragic.

It's absolutely tragic and, you
know, they, sometimes it's more

painful for those dogs to just exist.

So, I mean, that's a case by
case basis, but most of the

time, that's not the case, so.

Oh, well,

Anke: I moved away, like, I moved to
calmer places, you know, and people always

say, well, you're nuts, you moved for the
dogs, well, yeah, you know, and it made a

lot of a difference when there wasn't this
constant overstimulation where we used to

live, right, in this, you know, historic
part of town where the widest street was

like two yards wide and there'd be, like,
cats and dogs and scooters and tourists.

And, you know, and there was constant
noise and, and, you know, smells and like

they would have suffered from constant,
you know, stimulation, like overload, you

know, because you could really tell when
we moved away where it's nicer and calmer,

all of a sudden there's no pulling on the
leash, there's no separation, anxiety,

you know, all these things just drop

Jody: away.

It makes such a huge difference.

It's, you know, one of.

Um, our dogs, I was telling you earlier
when we were just chatting that, um,

I got separated and divorced about
a little over a year ago and, um,

one of our dogs, Jasper, a terrier
mix, every crazy terrier you can

imagine was in Jasper, is in Jasper.

He was always reactive, um, my ex husband
Stanley and I, uh, adopted him from

animal control in Harlem, New York,
when we were living in New York City.

And we didn't know it when we met
him at the shelter, but as soon as

we got him home, imagine living in
the middle of New York City with a

dog where every man, woman, child,
An animal, dog, that he saw, he would

lunge, shriek, bark, and try and bite.

And there are a gazillion of them.

I mean, if you put your city that
you used to live in on steroids,

then you have New York City, right?

So it was an absolute nightmare trying
to live with Jasper in New York and

then even moving to Florida with
him and then ultimately to Austin.

He got a lot better over the
years between training and other

things that I did with him.

But he still, I always had to watch him.

And then when Stanley and I divorced,
Stanley moved back to the UK, but

he moved to the English countryside.

So fields and woods and just absolutely
gorgeous expanses and not a lot

of people, not a lot of animals.

And we talked about this a lot when
we were together that we always felt

Jasper would do better as an only dog.

So a couple of months after he
went back to the UK, I met him.

At the airport in Atlanta, like sort
of partway between where he was living

overseas and where I was with Jasper.

And it, it broke my heart
to say goodbye to Jasper.

And I just knew, first of all, he was
going to be with his dad, Stanley.

He loves the dogs, all of them.

I mean, we're still in touch,
obviously, because he has our

child and I have his children.

And so, um, and literally
it changed Jasper's life.

Jasper is never on a leash.

He has plenty of exercise running
through fields and woods and chasing

rabbits, and he's on a beautiful diet.

People cannot believe that
this dog was a reactive dog.

He meets all kinds of dogs, big
and small, all kinds of people.

And he's never far from Stanley.

So he's living his best life.

And that too made a huge difference in,
in his life in terms of the reactivity.

So yes, environment.

And who their person is,
makes a huge difference.

And one of the things that I
teach my pet parents is energy.

We all are made of energy, our dogs
and us and everything around us.

And the energy that we bring to the
table, our animals are so intuitive.

They pick it right up
and they respond to it.

So if you're bringing anxious.

anticipatory energy to the table, or
stressed energy, or, or sad energy.

Um, this is what they're going to pick up,
and they are going to internalize that.

So, same with the flip side.

Yeah,

Anke: I mean, that's the beauty of
it is that it goes both ways, right?

Because, you know, my second one,
he was, he became even smaller.

He got taken away from some guy who was
literally about to kill him off at like,

I don't know, not even two months old.

And he was always like super,
he was a tough little dog to

deal with in the early days.

Until some, there was one piece
that I never forgot where.

I heard the message, your only job
is to help your dog relax, right?

And I was like, Oh, and then I realized
to see that he wasn't, you know, that

he was just like, he's super sensitive.

And it occurred to me that he really,
he was kind of nervous and whatever.

And there was a thunderstorm
like miles away, you know?

And I'm like, Oh my God,
if he can sense that.

You know, and if you look at everything he

Jody: did,

Anke: through the lens of,
he's just like overstimulated.

He's just stressed because it's too much.

You would interpret his behavior in
a whole different way, you know, and,

and I would always be able to tell when
I'd go out for a walk with him and he'd

be pulled like crazy and he was like,
like literally super highly strung, you

know, and I'd be like, I'm all right.

No, you're not.

You're worrying about this.

Like literally the moment I checked in
with myself, you know, I know chill down.

Next thing you know, the dog was like
halfway down karma, you know, it was

so, because I'm thinking like, he's so
sensitive and I can, you know, I might be

able to, you know, trick another person
to say I'm okay when I'm internally

boiling, but I can't trick my dog.

Jody: No, you can't fool them.

And you know, it's interesting
because Trainers, some trainers

used to say the leash is like, you
know, a connection, like a lightning

rod between you and your dog.

But it goes deeper than that because it's
not only the leash, it's really Everything

around you, your energy, um, your dog
picks up your energy from everything

around you, your aura, everything.

And when people come to me for help
with intestinal issues, tummy problems

for their animals or with, um, skin
issues, it's all part of the same thing.

Yes.

We deal with nutrition.

I'm certified in nutrition
for dogs as well.

So we deal with nutrition as
the foundation of the house.

That is super important.

Um, because you can be feeding
your dog certain food that

creates anxiety and depression.

People don't realize that, but then
We talk about energy and energy

medicine and various forms of
energetics and how to help your animal.

And sometimes that would be
homeopathy, which is energy medicine.

Sometimes that would be frequency
scanning, which is energy.

It's literally a database.

You can do it on your
own computer or phone.

And if you have access to this database,
it scans the body, you or your pets.

It tells you what frequencies are out
of balance, and then it optimizes those

frequencies to be back into balance.

Your pet feels better.

You feel better.

And the more you do it, the
more in balance your frequencies

are for longer periods.

I mean, we live in an ocean of motion, so
our frequencies are constantly changing.

Um, but because Every cell
vibrates on its own frequency.

This machine is super cool
because it goes by chromosome.

So you, and it spits out reports
for every type of scan that it does.

So you are able to see
what could be brewing.

Only energetically at this point,
not an actual condition yet in

your body or in your pet's body.

So you can see if it keeps coming up.

You can do things, lifestyle changes
and whatnot to head things off at the

path so they never become illnesses.

So we have a lot of
beautiful, beautiful tools.

That I use to help pet parents, uh,
with their animals and themselves

because there are, there are clients
where I, um, they're pets, health

coach, and I'm also their health coach.

That's

Anke: such a cool combination.

So where can people go find, find
out more about you, get in touch with

Jody: you?

Um, you can reach me through
my site, which is Jodi.

J O D Y, L like Linda, Teich,
T like Thomas, E I C H E dot

com, Jody L Teich dot com.

And if you put that into your browser,
you will come up with my pet site.

And before too long, um, because
it's in the works, I will also

have my, um, people, my person,
uh, health coaching site up.

And, uh, you'll be able to reach me from
my pet site through to that as well.

Awesome.

Anke: Well, that's going to be, if
you're listening in the show notes,

if you're reading it in the, in
the blog or newsletter, it's going

to be directly below this video.

So thank you so much
for sharing your wisdom.

I definitely want to hear more about you.

So I can't wait to
continue the conversation.

So for today, so much,

Jody: Anke.

It's been my pleasure.

Thanks for having me.

Thanks so much for listening.

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And if you know a pawsome human
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I'd love an introduction.

Email me at Anke.

That's A N k E at Soul
touched by dogs.com.