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 back, Miranda.

I'm super excited to have you
back in the, well in the studio.

I was about to say.

So formal.

Miranda: So formal.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's great to be here.

Anke: You know, we're just
talking about breathing.

It's really funny how you're
gonna get conscious of that.

So, well, for people who haven't
met you before, let people know as

always, you know, where you based
and what's your business with dogs.

Miranda: Yeah, I love this.

So, um, I'm Miranda Rubush
and I'm based in, uh.

Little place called New Canada Nova Scotia
now, which is in, um, yeah, about an hour

and a half outta Halifax, which is the
biggest area and it's still not very big.

I think there's like a
million in all of Nova Scotia.

Um, and my business is the mindful
canine and um, I am part holistic

dog coach, part intuitive healer.

And you know, really what, um, I'm most
passionate about right now is, um, my

soulful dog Mama circle, which was my
membership for dog moms and helping them

intuitively connect back to their own
wisdom, back to their own heart form, a

deeper connections with their dogs again.

Um, and some really, really cool.

Shifts happening both
in their dog's behavior.

We're not focusing on dog behavior at all.

But it's interesting
that those are shifting.

Um, and also in, um, just in their
general stress level and, and outlook

on life, which is really neat.

Anke: I love that.

I love that.

You know, because the slot so often in
the dog space, it's all about the dog.

Like the dog does this and we
need to kind of fix the dog.

So you know what I hear you say?

It's like, well, let's have a look
at the other end of the leash.

So how did you Absolutely.

Because I mean, we, we've, you know,
we've, you've been on the podcast before.

We've known each other for a while.

And so you were definitely more
focused on the dogs, right?

So what's triggered that shift, or how did
you come about, uh, you know, like what

sparked that focus more on, on the person?

Miranda: Yeah, I mean I think
that there is a shift, I see a

shift in the dog world as well,
like people being more self-aware.

For me it's like just
my own personal journey.

Um, kind of a combination of becoming a
mom had becoming aware there that I was

as triggered by my son and emotionally
reactive as I was many times by my dog.

That was a very hard mirror to look into.

Um, and then also just
wanting to be a better.

Better dog mom and a better
human mom to my human child.

That caused me to start to explore
personal development, mindfulness,

and then along the way when helping
people with their dogs, people would

be coming to me going, well fix my dog.

And I'd be going, okay.

But I think maybe part of this
is, is there's a connection

here into how stressed you are
or how busy your lifestyle is.

Um, and maybe if we, you know, I, I
remember, you know, having even clients.

Come to their own realizations about
needing to slow down a little bit or need

me needing a different pace of life, or
maybe that their dog was kind of show

them something about what wasn't working.

And, you know, um, also in my own healing
journey, I remember having lots of

different conversations with different,
um, therapists of my therapists,

kind of put the pieces together.

And then I, I have a background in
psychology as well, so I love this stuff.

And what came through is like.

A lot of, um, what therapists do as well
is like understanding that it's not always

say if you bring a child to therapy,
it's not always the child, the child is

exhibiting, um, that there's problems
in the family unit or there are problems

in the environment that it's living in.

And I see a lot of that
similar parallels to our dogs.

And this is not in a way to cast any type
of blame or shame, um, onto dog guardians.

Everyone is always doing
the best that they can.

But, um, I just kind of got really
curious and then in that kind of,

that course, I also lost, um, my three
girls, my three dogs, and my cat Alaska.

In a two year period, I lost four
animals and that was devastating.

I was, it was in constant grief.

Um.

But the bright side of that, uh,
was that I also realized that

I couldn't run for my emotion.

I've always been a deeply feeling person
and working in the vet industry for many

years, I learned to shut off my emotions
because I couldn't, I couldn't handle

the depth of the pain of the daily kind
of struggle of guardians and euthanasia.

Sick puppies and all of the
things that you're exposed to.

Um, in the process of losing my dogs,
I started to feel again, and in that

I actually started to wake up because
when you learn to feel sadness and

grief, you also feel joy and presence
and wonder more when you shut off your

emotions that as I had done for survival.

I didn't feel also the good stuff.

I was kind of emotionally numb.

So that's, you know, a really gift, a
big gift that my dogs have given me.

And yeah, more recently I've always been
curious about energy healing, curious

about learning more kind of under the,
on the DL because um, I have such a

science background that it, I would
kind of shut that stuff down as well.

Anke: Mm-hmm.

Miranda: Um, but I really see
this intuitive connection stuff

as coming back to that little
girl that I always have been.

Um.

I, I grew up running in the woods
with my dogs and so happy, so free.

Um, at a certain point I shut all
that down and I needed to be an adult.

And, you know, I learned to understand
dogs in a very sciencey way and analyze

their behavior and I'm, you know, I'm so
much moving away from that and to just.

Um, being present, being with our
dogs, feeling them, understanding

their communication, and also
what they're showing us about,

um, maybe our own patterns.

Uh, and that's, that's
really, it's really fun.

It's also really, um, it's really amazing.

It's a different level of
connection and communication.

Anke: I love that.

I love that.

And do you find that more people are
actually, look, I mean, at least in my

world, it feels like it that people are
becoming more aware and actually looking

more for connection on that level with
with their dogs and themselves, I guess.

Miranda: Yeah, I definitely do.

I think that during COVID people
did a lot of soul searching.

Also a lot of people got dogs.

So interesting kind of connection there.

But like we had a lot of quiet time.

Um, and I think that either a
lot of people, I do find that it

drove them to be more, um, curious
about their patterns, maybe.

By source of necessity because there was
stress and so much stress and struggle.

Like I think that humans and dogs,
we change sometimes when things

are uncomfortable and we can't stay
the same, um, or it just doesn't

work to, to be the same as we are.

And we see like, okay,
what could be different?

We wanna, we wanna take a different path.

I do see, yeah, like a lot of
people reaching out to me both.

Um, dog guardians, but also professionals
who maybe are, are, are feeling stressed,

overwhelmed, um, like they're, they're
tired of just analyzing behavior or

tired of trying to fix dogs and wanting
to, um, see if there's a different, a

different way, um, that they could work.

And that's been really rewarding as
well to kind of support in that space.

Anke: That's interesting.

Right?

So, so what are, when the doc
professional comes to you,

like what are they looking for?

Mostly like, like for help
with the connection to

themselves, to their own, um.

You know, maybe to not second guess
themselves or to their own dogs or

to their client's dogs or, I mean,
obviously it's all been related.

What's the thing they
come to you first for?

Miranda: Yeah.

A lot of times it's that they're feeling
disconnected from their own dogs or that

their dogs, their own dogs have issues.

Maybe it's, um, physical issues or,
you know, like, because we help.

People with their dogs.

Oftentimes we end up with dogs
ourselves that have challenges and

we're kind of trying to simultaneously
navigate helping our own dogs.

While, you know, helping clients dogs
and that's a lot of energy output.

So I do find that a lot of the
women that I'm speaking to are just

struggling with energy management,
um, supporting themselves.

They may be just, um, are pouring
a lot into their clients, pouring

a lot into their dogs, and are
just feeling maybe a bit depleted.

The thing with connection is that,
um, we need to have a balanced

service system in order to.

Um, to connect if we are in survival
mode of just, just eking by in the

day and we don't have any space,
you don't have space for connection.

And that goes, that goes for
calling a friend and getting outta

your house and having coffee.

That goes to just sitting with
your dog and observing and.

Being with them, fully
accepting them and loving them.

Um, or, you know, if you need
to teach them something, like

you don't have the capacity.

And then I think a lot of the people
also express that they're kind of

hitting a wall and then there's
guilt and shame and like, oh, well

I, I'm telling my clients to do all
these things and I'm not doing them.

Or, you know, I have this broken dog too.

Um, and I've been there 'cause
I have a high needs boy, Willie.

You know, we've been on a journey
for the last four years to support

him doing everything from working
with his gut health, working with

his behavior, working with, um.

You know, pain working, like discovering.

I'm currently working with
two people teaching me and

with my own dogs, so I get it.

Um, I think that we, it's really
good and really important also

that we don't have to be islands.

We don't have to figure
everything out on our, on our own.

And just because we're a dog professional
doesn't mean that we can't see sometimes

our own wine spots too, with our own docs.

Um, so it's so beautiful
to have a sounding board.

Um, and I'm really honored that.

You know, other pros are trusting
me with that in that space, um, to

help them, you know, to have a deeper
connection with their dog, a better

understanding of themselves so that
they, I mean, my real, my real why is

like, so people can live joyful lives.

Like people can, um, have purpose like
that can feel like they're, you know,

they wanna wake up and they wanna do their
day, um, with their dog by their side.

Anke: And I guess for doc professionals
it is, there's this added thing,

you know, that little, um.

Well, I should, my dog
should be perfect, right?

So my dog, I should, you know, yeah.

I'm going out here pretending to
help other people with their dog.

Like my dog shouldn't
have, you know, problems.

Right.

And I guess that's not,
that's not realistic.

And, you know, so I, I love that there's
this space there where you can, you

don't have to keep that mask up, right?

So you can just

Miranda: mm-hmm.

Anke: Be yourself.

So.

You were talk, I mean, obviously we
were talking before, like, you know,

you were talking about, um, you know,
like a, a meditation process you have.

Like, can you tell, touch a
little bit on like mm-hmm.

What that, what that
looks like for somebody?

Miranda: Yeah, absolutely.

So a lot of what I do now is more, is less
about the cognitive thinking mind and more

about, um, ta like finding ways to both.

Calm your nervous system, like
simple tools that you can use in

your day, um, like as quick resets.

And a lot of those come from HeartMath.

Um, and the HeartMath
Institute is in California.

Um, and they teach really, really
simple, uh, breathing exercises.

Um, and some of them I
teach directly from there.

Others I've adapted.

I find we need those little,
like, check-in points in our day.

But a lot of us, because our world
is so busy, we may be processing

a lot of, um, trauma or grief.

Um, we need longer processes to help
us really connect in with ourselves.

Um.

And so that's really, really important.

So I have a, you know, kind of created
a intuitive connection process,

which is a long visualization.

Um, so essentially start with kind of
relaxing the mind, relaxing the body,

and then there's some visualization.

So visualizing.

Your own heart space, your own
energy, expanding out, um, and then

imagining your dog in that space.

Where is your dog?

Um, sending them love, like visualizing
the love from your heart, going

to their heart, them receiving
it and sending it back to you.

And then just being curious and open.

To anything that wants
to come in that moment.

Maybe it's a intuitive hit about
something you're curious about.

Maybe it's a picture that comes to you.

Um, maybe it's just a sense of
overall peace and wellbeing.

Maybe it's a sense of love that you
actually can feel the amount of love.

Um, people have all different
kind of experiences.

Everything from um,
just having a sense of.

I had one client recently who just
had a sense immediately she was having

this problem struggling with her dog.

Her dog wasn't settling, was whining.

She's like, oh, why don't
I just move her bed?

I think she wants me to move
her bed closer to where I work.

And immediately the dog
the next day settled.

Most calm.

Um, sometimes people are receiving
messages from their dogs that have

passed away, um, either pictures of
their dog being, you know, happy and

healthy, um, or messages of love.

A lot of really cool, profound
stuff that's not coming through

me, and I think that's important.

I'm just creating a space for you to
tap into your own, um, your own knowing,

your own intuition, and for your dog
to, to be able to share too, how much

they love you, how much they care.

I'll never forget one of the first times,
and I, I kind of created this process

both from working with energy healers
and adapting some of the HeartMath.

Um, techniques of like
heart-centered breathing into it.

And I remember, um, doing with
Willie, my boy, when he had injured

himself, he'd injured his paw.

And you know, a lot of times when our
dogs are injured, we're under stress,

so we're going quickly and we're
like, okay, I gotta get this done.

And I could just see he was
like, just like resistant.

So I just stopped.

I just did a really gentle, quick
process where I tapped in my heart,

I visualized connecting to his heart,
and I just felt like him soften.

I just, I instantly got emotional
because I felt how much he loved

me and how much he trusted me.

And I just had, I had enough of a pause
to recognize, wow, he has no point of

reference for what's going on here.

I have just, he's injured.

I have just taken out
all this medical stuff.

I'm asking him to put his foot
in a, a basin of Epsom salts,

I, all those damaging material.

And he loves and trusts me enough to be
there, be present with me during this.

And I was just so humbled
honestly by how much.

And so I think when we slow down, we can
really sense that and really feel that

in a different way, um, that maybe we
haven't had a chance to experience before.

Um.

And that can be really beautiful
and and really profound.

Anke: And I can imagine that dogs
respond to it as well because

they're so in tune, right?

Like, absolutely.

Any example I would, you know, I,
I can totally imagine that when you

are in that space that, um, yeah.

I like when I'm in a sort of a
meditative space, my dogs just.

Drop around me, right?

And they come closer and then
they just wedge out and you

sort of see them belly up.

And so it's like you can really notice
that they, they are tapping into that,

they can sense that space, right?

So it's not, it's not just about
kind of a nice feeling or anything.

It's actually, uh, like really
alive communication between,

between the two, right?

Miranda: Yeah.

Oh, absolutely.

Yeah.

So I mean, there's so much with our
dogs that's beyond words and is feeling.

So our dogs are in there.

Feelings all the time.

And they're sensing.

They're sensing how much stress and
guilt and fear we might be carrying.

And it might be related to things with
our dogs, might be related to things we're

worried about, you know, or they're sick
and we're worried about them, they sick.

It might be completely
not related to them.

It might be you're worried about
a trip you have coming up, or,

um, a bill you have to pay.

The thing is that our
dogs don't understand.

They just sense our emotional
state because they're just so

deeply in tune with our hearts.

Um, when we take time to release some
of that heavy emotional weight through

a visualization, um, come back to
love, come back to our hearts, they

automatically re relax because they're
like, mom, let go of some stuff.

So I had, um, a client.

One of my very first clients when I
was experimenting with this, um, her

name is Jillian, and she had had,
um, she doesn't mind if I share the

story if I've cleared it with her.

She, she had, um, she has a, a, a big
Dolby guy and he is stranger reactive.

And they had had a really,
really stressful incident where

he'd actually bit someone.

Um, she reached out right after that and
she was just obviously so distraught.

Um, she was just.

Thinking about all the
implications of this.

She was feeling so bad that
it happened for him, um, for

Spencer, but also for herself.

And, um, we did, you know, a version
of this where we just, we processed

verbally, but then we also, I gave
her the meditation to do on her own

when she was, you know, comfortable.

It was just a, a track.

And you know, she sent me a picture
that night of Spencer, like fully

lying with her, cuddled right up.

Um, and this was really different
because she said since the incident.

He had been so, she had been so
stressed and he had been so stressed

as well that he had been avoiding her.

He'd been, he'd been like hiding
and shaking and completely not

himself because he was so freaked
out about what had happened too.

And she was so, she was carrying
so much so by the, by her taking

space and releasing some of that, he
actually wanted to be with her again.

Um, and he came, you know, and she
needed that comfort in that moment.

So it was really beautiful.

And, and it, the cool thing is,
is that they didn't do anything.

There was no behavioral treatment
protocol that happened there,

there was just, you know, we
didn't counter condition anything.

We didn't, you know, it was just an
emotional release and a moment of

connection between them, and that
really was all that was needed.

Anke: That's so powerful though.

That's so, because I think what I
love about this is that it goes to,

to the root of the connection, right?

Because yeah, you can, you know,
like there's a saying like you, it

doesn't matter how fast you run, if
you run in the wrong direction, you

know, and whatever you do, if you fix
the wrong problem, it's never gonna,

you know, it's never gonna last.

You know, it may you do something
in, in the moment if you're lucky,

but it's not gonna last and, and.

Having that tool available, you
know, and it shows up in other

areas of life as well, doesn't it?

Like it's bound

Miranda: to, absolutely.

Anke: Mm-hmm.

Miranda: Yeah.

And I think so much of the time when
we have dogs that have challenges,

behavioral challenges specifically, I
mean, I find that people, when they reach

out to me, they're just, they've been
going in 17 different directions and

legitimately there is a lot that you need
to do if you have a dog that has issues

and you're trying to sort through it.

Um.

But what, you know, that you may
need to multiple vets or multiple,

you know, taking specialist
visits or doing things like muzzle

training, all the physical things.

I'm not saying those are not important.

They are.

Um, however, if you are, if you are
frantic and stressed and so maxed

out, which a lot of the people that
I, I, you know, have the privilege

of supporting are when you're in that
energy space and you're trying to help

your dog, it's like trying to push.

Train uphill.

You're just, it's all effort.

There's no ease.

It's all stress, and your dog senses
that they are causing you stress,

and so you need to take pauses and
release that to come back to maybe

having a little bit of capacity.

And when you have a little bit of
capacity, take some action forward into

what you need to do to support your dog.

It comes back to like you, when you
support yourself, when you take 20

minutes or 30 minutes to do one of these
visualization processes, relax your

body, relax your nervous system, allow
yourself to to come back, release some

fear and stress, and come back to love.

Ultimately, you have so much
more capacity to help your dog

that's right in front of you.

Um, and that's, I know what so many
people really wanna be able to do.

For

Anke: sure, for sure.

That actually reminds me of
when I, with my little Kay.

And he was like, you know, before
we moved into a quiet space where

he became a different dog, but
you know, where we used to live.

And he was like, you know, he is
always kind of frantic and sometimes,

and I was like, sake, I just
wanna go for a walk with the dog.

Right?

And, and, but I learned.

I was like, okay, if I, if I started
to look at him as my signal, right.

Like when he was particularly frantic.

Oh yeah.

I'd be like, yeah.

Wait, wait, wait.

What are, what's going on for you?

Like, I'm fine, you know?

Yeah.

I said, well, lemme just, you know,
and invariably the moment I stopped,

you know, and yeah, and just kind of
like, okay, let's breathe for a bit.

Let's be really present.

Right.

He would calm down instantly.

Right.

It's, it's, um.

And I guess, you know, like you can
probably explain it scientifically

if you wanted to, you know, I don't
think it's, it's magic in that sense,

but it's, it's really powerful.

Yeah,

Miranda: yeah.

Oh, absolutely.

And, and where I think it's really neat
is that so many of us may be disconnected

from our emotional state, like we may be.

From trauma or numb to how we're
feeling or where we feel it in

our bodies or that experience.

But if we can turn and we can start
to notice what does our, what does

my dog do when I'm frustrated?

Yeah.

Like you did.

Or what does my dog do when I'm sad?

Then we can, it helps us actually
identify and name our emotion,

which is a big part of reducing
the charge that an emotion has, is

actually going, oh, that's sadness.

You know?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

And then.

We can kind of move from there so our
dogs can really, you know, really support

us with that, that, um, recognition.

Anke: Yeah, they're
definitely brilliant teachers.

So where can people find out
more if they're like, oh, well

that sounds really interesting.

I wanna kind of dig into that.

So what have you got?

Miranda: I love this.

So, um, my website is my flick canine
uh, dot ca, um, and I run challenges.

Every quarter.

So I have one coming up, the soulful
dog mama experience where you can,

um, you can set up for that if
you're interested in kind of doing a

completely free deep dive into this.

Um, and I also have a freebie
gift, um, of my opening ear,

intuitive connection to your dog.

Um, like a webinar that I did, uh,
that includes a call with me as well.

So, um, take advantage of that
and kind of have an opportunity to

experience, um, what's possible for,
for you and your dog and when you,

when you tune in and connect with them.

Anke: Awesome.

Well, thank you so much.

Uh, like do yourself a favor.

Absolutely.

You know, like try it out.

It's, yeah.

Really powerful, powerful work.

You can't, I

Miranda: can't explain it.

You need to experience,

Anke: I think that's the
thing you need to experience.

Like, you can talk about
chocolate all you want.

Right?

You're never gonna know what
it takes until you take,

Miranda: you have to just give it a shot.

Yeah.

Take a leap.

Anke: Well, thank you.

Thank you so much for, for sharing and I
think we'll, we'll all need a bit of this.

Yeah,

Miranda: absolutely.

Right.

Take care.

Bye.

Thanks so much for listening.

If you enjoyed the episode, don't forget
to subscribe, and leave a review so

other dog lovers can find the show.

If you haven't already, head
over to soul touched by dogs.

com and sign up for weekly doggy cuteness
tips, recommendations, and personal

stories to warm your dog loving heart.

And if you know a pawsome human
you think I should interview,

I'd love an introduction.

Email me at Anke.

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