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.

Lisbeth: Hello and welcome, Lisbeth.

I'm super excited to have you here.

So am I.

So am I.

Very exciting.

We just learned to know each other a
little bit before we started to record.

And I'm just very excited about our
little chat that we're going to have.

Yeah, me too.

Anke: Me too.

And I can't wait to, to
introduce you to people.

Well, there's a doggy podcast, like
there's going to be dog barking.

That's funny.

Um, all right.

So let's just start like, where
are you based and, you know,

what's your business with dogs?

Lisbeth: Okay.

So, uh, I am based in, in Norway.

I actually, uh, right now I'm
in the South of Norway, but.

Four years ago I moved way up north,
I mean above the Arctic Circle, in

a small village with 280 people.

It's like, you know, the most
remote place, uh, on earth.

Yeah.

Not on earth, but well, pretty much so.

Um, and, uh, I'm the founder
of Nordic Dog Trainer.

The whole name is, um, Education
Center for, um, Ethical Dog Trainer.

So in short, Nordic Dog Trainer, which
I started in, uh, 12 years ago now.

2011.

Yeah.

Anke: Wow.

So what inspired you to, like, I
mean, is that your first career or

did you do something else before?

Like, how did you go in there and
also, you know, how did you find the

path to be, you know, to literally
even name it ethical dog training?

Cause obviously you would have
experienced something else where

you thought like, this isn't right.

Okay.

I'll

Lisbeth: try and keep this short.

So, um, I'm 54 years old.

So I started my business in dog
training when I was 42 years old.

So that's number one.

You're never too old.

Actually, it was the perfect time to do
it because everything I've done before,

which is a lot of different things.

I used to work for hotels.

I used to work for the Red Cross.

I have a master's degree in international
politics, which doesn't, you know,

make sense for what I do today.

So, um, yeah, First, I had a stroke.

I had a stroke in my mid
thirties, and then I had not

only one, but two heart attacks.

So at the time I was working as a teacher,
as a lecturer at the university here

in Norway, but due to my Unfortunate
circumstances, that kind of job was

not really, uh, something that I
wanted to continue doing, uh, because

I needed breaks during my workday.

I loved my job, but it, and it was
the most difficult thing I've ever

done, uh, career wise, was to actually
resign from a very good, secure job.

I loved my colleagues and everything.

It was very interesting, the job I
was doing, but I've always loved.

running my own businesses.

Um, in 2003, I started
a pet shop in Norway.

I continued, I saw open another one.

So I actually had two pet stores
and I had an import company as well.

And okay, so in 2001, I got my
first dog as an adult because

I lived abroad for 11 years.

In 1989, I went abroad.

I lived in different countries in Europe,
and I came back to Norway in 2000.

And in 2001, I got my first dog
as an adult, because I wanted

to stay in Norway for a while.

I was working as a teacher.

And then, by coincidence, I found
Thurid Rugo's book on talking terms

with dogs about the calming signals.

And I still remember it.

I was sitting outside on the veranda,
actually, reading the book during

just one weekend, and I thought,
wow, it really resonates with the

same way I'm thinking about dogs.

It was not about training or anything.

It was just about the behavior.

and the dog language.

So in 2003, I met Thudit because she is
kind of the, she's not, of course, she

didn't make up these comment signals
herself, but she did a study, an

observation study, for many years in dogs.

And she was the first one to actually
write it down and publish a book about it.

Wow.

In the late 90s.

And she's Norwegian.

So I got to know her in 2003 and later,
because of my stroke and everything that

happened health wise, I wasn't able to
do her dog trainer school until 2011.

And since then, I have been so
lucky to that has been my mentor.

She's been my teacher when
it comes to calming signals.

And now she's.

teaching at our dog trainer
school, you know, the table center.

She's

Anke: out.

So, yeah, you will say that that it's.

I mean, like that makes, I think
that's probably what even drew me

towards when I came across your work.

It's that idea that it's like our job
isn't necessarily to teach a lot of stuff.

It's almost like it's our
jobs to help the dogs relax.

Like we put them in an
environment that isn't necessarily

their natural environment.

So our job is to help them
relax and you've got some

magic tricks up your sleeve.

Lisbeth: I do.

I do.

And that's the fantastic thing because
I, I am the crazy dog woman for real.

I mean, this is me.

So, um, I ended up with eight dogs just
because I could, I was living on my own,

so I could, I didn't have to ask anyone.

I took in rehomed dogs.

So I had eight dogs.

at the most and my interest in is in
behavior and I just want dogs to have

the best possible life that I can give
them domestic dogs because I hate to

say it but they are not free they're
in captivity when we have them as pets

and I think it's our responsibility.

to know what kind of, uh, species
that we're living with, to know

the basic stuff with them so we can
communicate and understand them,

so we can provide the best living
conditions possible for our dogs.

It's nothing to do with being
spoiled or anything, it's just

the minimum requirements, I think,
is that we understand What we

decided to take into our homes.

That's so true.

That's so true.

Anke: Is there something like
one or two things or whatever,

something in particular that you
think, oh boy, I wish people knew.

Something where people
constantly put their foot up.

Lisbeth: I, I wish I knew myself.

The calming signals, the language, the
small subtle signs to dogs because they

speak all the time and we all think we
know the dog's language like when it's

wagging its tail it's happy and when
it's growling it's you know angry or

aggressive even you know but it's so
much more to that and what I learned

through my um school going to uh Turid's
dog trainer school reading her books

being mentored by her was just too good.

Relax and stop training and
start living normally relaxed,

stress free life with my dogs.

So we were talking earlier
about the hand signal.

We have something we call magic.

And yeah.

And I thought, how do I
describe the way we train?

We don't really train.

We are teaching.

We want to teach our dogs the
same, same thing as training.

Okay.

So Positive dog training or ethical
dog training, the way I see it, is not

about drilling obedience or anything.

We have to have boundaries.

Our kids and our dogs cannot, you
know, uh, walk all over the table

and, you know, they have to be quiet
at certain, uh, times and so on.

So, they have to learn things to be able
to live with us, but we don't do obedience

or anything, and we, Don't speak so much.

We don't give any cues or commands.

So instead you can use your body language.

You can show the palm of your hand
to your dog and in most instances

they will understand it immediately.

Sometimes it takes a couple of times.

depending on the dog in the
situation and how you do it.

But when I started using my body
language in the community, and it's

not a weird thing, we don't go, you
know, with weird things, dancing or

anything, it's just, you know, turning
your head a little bit to the side.

When you know how dogs communicate,
it's so much easier to talk with them,

to have, you know, a real conversation.

Anke: Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, and I try, I mean, I, I saw,
you know, your, your webinar with

the hand signal and I literally,
I went off and tried it and I

was like, I can't believe it.

This is really magic.

And it's so simple.

It's like, we do it to
people all the time.

It's like, I'm talking on the
phone, like, yeah, give me a second.

Right.

It's like literally that
movement and they get it.

Lisbeth: So that's

Anke: fascinating.

Lisbeth: A beautiful example how we
can do things is instead, so what it

helped me doing was to stop saying no,
stop, don't do that, you know, and we

try and do, you know, if, for example,
a dog is jumping on you, you don't want

your dog to jump at you at this moment.

For example, I was carrying
my, um, grocery bags.

So this is a scenario.

I come home.

I have eight dogs waiting for me.

They're very happy when I come
home and I have two grocery bags.

And, you know, the way I used to do it was
to try and carry the grocery bags above my

head, you know, so they couldn't reach it.

And I went, Oh, stop it.

You know, I'm very happy to see you.

I was talking a lot and maybe even with
a very loud voice, like stay down, you

know, giving them cues and commands.

And then when I learned more
about this, I realized, Is there a

problem to let them sniff my bags?

No, it's not because I am in
control of the grocery bags.

So, one day I walked into the
house with the grocery bags.

I opened the door to the
garden and I let them choose.

And it took like 20 seconds.

All of them had smelled my grocery bags.

No one started eating
what was inside of them.

Nothing weird was happening.

They just didn't jump anymore
and they didn't bark and it

was all more stress free.

And I thought, wow, why don't I
just continue behaving normal?

Anke: Yeah, that's so true.

And I love the, I love the like talking
less, you know, I mean, I at home

often get in trouble because like I
do, I don't say a lot, you know, and

then I'm getting accused for like,
well, you let them do everything.

I'm actually the, the
more like strict ones.

Like I love, I won't let them.

back at the table because I don't want
them to get used to it if visitors

come, you know, but it's like, I just
don't say much, you know, and, and it's

so common that people like, you don't
know, but you know, it's like, oh, it

drives, you know, it makes me nervous.

Lisbeth: We're making it so difficult.

And when I see, and I've been to, I
promise you, I've been to a lot of courses

and webinars, trying to learn everything.

And it's, It sounds so complicated,
you know, uh, it's like we have

a protocol for everything we do.

And when I was in the beginning,
when I went to courses myself and I

tried to learn it, I was like, Oh my
God, this is too complicated for me.

So I, I can't do complicated.

I just want to do easy.

So what I want is my
dogs to have a good life.

I want them to have nice, relaxing walks
because that's what I like, you know?

So you can teach them to
walk on a long, loose leash.

Very easily, without cues and commands.

Anke: And that's so refreshing.

I just love it.

Absolutely love it.

So where can people go to, you know, to
find out, to watch your webinars, to find

out how to take your classes, join your

Lisbeth: school?

Yeah, because now we have a free
lecture on or a free video on the

hand signal that you're talking about.

And this spring in May, we're going to
do quite a few free webinars as well.

So if you go to NordicDogTrainer.

com, that's our website.

There's a lot of free content.

We have a lot of free lectures.

Because, okay, I have crazy goals.

I want as many people as possible
to hear about this so they

can make an educated decision.

I'm not saying that my method is the
best or what we are doing is the best.

Of course, I think it is because
it made my life much easier.

Um, but, uh, it, it really, surely is
ethical and less stressful for your

dog, and then less behavior problems.

Anke: That make, it just
makes so much sense, right?

So I highly recommend, obviously the link,
we're going to pop it in the show notes,

underneath the video, in the newsletter,
so it's going to be easy to find us.

So do yourself a favor, check, check
them out, they're absolutely fabulous.

And also,

Lisbeth: um, so on Wednesday evenings at
7 o'clock Central European Time, I'm on

Facebook, on our Facebook page, Nordic
Dog Trainer where I do free Facebook

lives, and all of them are recorded.

And we talk about these
things, just like we are now.

Yeah, and I've seen, I've seen a

Anke: couple, so they're absolutely
awesome, so do join that and And,

you know, because it makes for a lot,
much, much more relaxed and happy life

for pretty much everyone involved.

So, thank you so much.

I'm so glad you confirmed this.

Yeah.

Thank you.

It was an absolute delight having you.

So, I will hope to see you soon.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thanks so much for listening.

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And if you know a pawsome human
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That's A N k E at Soul
touched by dogs.com.