Growing Kinder

08/15/2025

08/04/2025

🕊️ In a world that can feel full of conflict, it’s worth remembering: even our closest animal relatives fight and ultimately forgive.

In the wild chimpanzee communities of Gombe, where Dr. Jane Goodall began her groundbreaking research in 1960, conflict is a natural part of life. But just as natural is what comes after: reconciliation.

One remarkable behavior seen among chimpanzees is reassurance. After a disagreement or fight, chimps may reach out with a gentle touch, a soft vocalization, or an extended arm (like the one captured in this archival photo). These gestures help repair relationships, reduce tension, and restore group harmony.

It’s through the dedication of Gombe researchers and the ongoing work of the Jane Goodall Institute that these complex behaviors can be observed and better understood every day.

Conflict is inevitable. But the ability to reconnect, to comfort, and to choose peace? That’s something we can learn from the chimpanzees, and from each other. 💚

📸: Hugo van Lawick





Alt Text:
An archival black and white photo of a chimpanzee with barred teeth reaching out to another chimpanzee in a forest setting.

08/04/2025

08/04/2025

08/03/2025

This is Loretta.

Loretta could be described as twitchy, easily overstimulated, mouthy, vocal, and a variety of other labels that aren't terribly helpful.

Unless she's really, really tired, any petting, patting, scritching, or scratching is really stimulating for her and she almost immediately escalates into constant fidgeting and putting teeth on skin (no actual bites with an intent to harm, but enough pressure to cause discomfort).

As it turns out, placing one or two hands on with consistent, flat palm pressure has the opposite effect. She's not restrained, she can leave if she wants to, but she can also choose to stay. We sat like this yesterday for several minutes, several times in a row. She opted in, multiple times, and we had a lovely shared experience rather than either of us getting frustrated or annoyed with the other.

Game changer.

What have you learned about your dog's needs That challenged you to interact with them differently?

08/03/2025

08/01/2025

🐶 Puppy Biting and Mouthing Checklist ☑️

Puppies are going to bite and mouth; it's part of how they explore the world! Even then, we realize that it's not an enjoyable experience. Those teeth are sharp!

How do we address it?

☑️ Have all of their needs been met? Food, water, potty, and exercise
☑️ Have they been getting enough sleep, or have they been awake for too long? Puppies need up to 18-20 hours of sleep per day.
☑️ What appropriate chewing items are readily available to them? They should have access to chews, enrichment items, and toys of different textures and types
☑️ Are they being handled too much? Sometimes we unintentionally frustrate puppies by constantly touching them, restraining them, picking them up, and interrupting them without redirecting them, which can lead to an increase in mouthiness.

Redirecting puppies to appropriate chews, toys, or other activities is the best way to combat mouthiness. If the biting continues after attempts to redirect, return to the checklist!

While most puppy biting and mouthing is to be expected, there are times when it escalates past the point of what is "normal". Do not hesitate to reach out to us if it feels extreme or atypical. We can help, whether you're local to us or not! 💙

07/30/2025

Today is the International Day of Friendship! Friendship between people (and animals!) fosters understanding, appreciation, and happiness.

Be sure to let a friend know you're thinking of them today!

07/26/2025

RIDING BRIDLELESS IN A AN ARENA WITH OTHER HORSES ON THE 6TH RIDE.

This photo is from a clinic in Holland or Belgium about 8 or 9 years ago.

It's of an amazing lady named Jo, and her horse Asphodel. I believe he is an Arab x Connemara. By the time Jo came to the clinic Asphodel had 4 or 5 rides, in a round pen.

Jo is British, but lived in Germany at the time, and she had spent a lot of time STTDP (Stick To The Damn Plan). Sticking to the plan involves making sure each step in the horses education is good before moving on to the next step.

One of the steps that Asphodel took a while to get good at before the clinic was the transition from the ground to the saddle (actually the mounting block to the saddle). Jo would pick her foot up to put it in the stirrup and her horses head would raise slightly, so she'd work on that till it was good (meaning it no longer concerned her horse, even slightly).

Then the next day that was good, but when she placed her foot in the stirrup, her horse would tense slightly. She worked on that until it was good.

Then next say she could pick her foot up, and place it in the stirrup, and her horse was good, but when she went to bounce slightly on the foot that was on the mounting block, her horse was slightly concerned. By the end of that session, that bit was good.

The next session she could pick her foot up, place it in the stirrup, and bounce slightly on the mounting block, and her horse was good, but when she bounced with enough energy to mount, her horse became a little concerned. She worked on that until it was good.

This was all at the place she kept her horse (so before she came to the clinic). All of the other riders at that particular barn would walk by and say things like "aren't you ever going to ride that horse", or "just get on and ride", or "you're wasting time, it will take forever at this rate", etc etc.

The final step was to be able to lift her foot, place it in the stirrup, bounce slightly, bounce more, then mount, and her horse was just as relaxed as he was before she even stepped on the mounting block. So the process, from the mounting block, to actually sitting on her horse, took 5 days. So of course everyone at her barn (livery, whatever you choose to call it) now thinks she's taking things way too slow.

Fast forward to the clinic, the first day she went to mount, she had to go back through that step by step process, but instead of taking 5 days, it takes over an hour, because he's in a different environment.. But then when she's on, her horse is completely relaxed, and we take that relaxation into the riding.

Which brings me to this photo.

By day 2, her horse can walk, trot and canter, without any steering (Jo was just riding in a rope halter) and he under his own control. Jo isn't controlling him, he is controlling himself. To show everyone there how important it was that Jo spent those 5 days working on the little things, we pulled the halter off and had her ride at a walk, trot and canter in an arena full horses (I had the others all stand still for this) without a problem. Jo told me that when she went home from the clinic and showed pictures to the people at her barn, they all changed their tune from "you are taking too long" to "oh you are so lucky you have a quiet horse, mine would never do that", but the truth is if they had taken the time with their horse that Jo had, they could be that lucky as well (I like the saying "you make your own luck").

Some people might think that 5 days is a long time for that one step, but if you are planning to ride this horse for the next 15 years, 5 days is actually 0.0913242009% of the time.

Before people start saying how brave Jo is, I want to direct your attention to a big sign on the wall in the photo, that you can't quite see all of. In full it says "I'm not brave, I'm thorough". Brave is knowing something dangerous is going to happen and doing it anyway. When you are thorough, and know you have your horse properly prepared, you don't need to be brave.

if you are interested in learning about all the steps involved in having a horse be able to control themselves like this under saddle, just go to our video library at videos.warwickschiller.com