Willow Wise Therapies

I am so amazed at how giving animals the opportunity to participate in conversation allows me to listen and appreciate them so, soooo much more for their individuality. I am making the time now with Mereenie and Josie for them to speak, each in their own ways. A lot of the time, it involves a pause first, not an immediate response. I so love those pauses, even, I think, more than the answer itself. Because I can see them considering what I have asked and choosing their response to my question or suggestion.
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Every Animal Has A Right To Say "No" Empower animals through choice! In this insightful discussion on Live from The Ranch, Ken Ramirez and Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D. explore the importance of giv...

The office view today 😍

Joy has been absent from my centre, my dispensary, for over two years. The passing of three anam chara in the space of a year was hard, to say the least.

Throughout their lives I followed where they lead. I listened and practiced being understood, and understanding. Until the last. Then, as an animal companion with a privileged role in guiding their healthcare, I stepped forward to lead, where none of us wanted to go.
It's taken time for me to learn how to grieve.
It's taken time for me to want to grieve.
It's taken time to for me to step back to my centre. To once again fully immerse myself into following where the animals lead.

Being an animal companion is joyful and sad the world over. I wouldn't give it up for quids.

Just received a top up on dried herbs for our kitchen from Austral Herbs ! 🎉

Austral Herbs provides an easy to navigate certificate of analysis database on their website so we are confident that what's in the packet is what it is labeled. There are an ever increasing number of journal articles citing testing for products where their ingredients don't match the label. 😱

Whether it's harvested from our garden or purchased from a supplier for use in clinic or kitchen, we make sure we know that we're getting the plant, or plant parts, that we actually want.

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Aussie Brumby doing European classical dressage at https://www.facebook.com/BrightonParkAgistment?mibextid=ZbWKwL with Nadine François.

Thankyou Natalie Smith for coordinating and hosting!!

Love, love love Lakota's horsebox!
It's best when I have the animals in and we're off travelling the country roads.
But, it's useful in other ways, too!

https://youtube.com/shorts/RBU_IpmkQiI?feature=shared

#itsadogslife #dogs Evening quiet time.

Counting goats while the nieces are away.
It's beautiful, relaxing scenery here.

One dry, empty hay bag in a rain sodden yard. Mereenie gives a 👍 to hay bag too!

The ease of carrying the hay in this Caribou bag appealed to me. However, it remains to be seen what Mereenie thinks of it...and what is left of it tomorrow morning. 🤣🤞

Successfully avoiding the Elvis plethora week and the heat.

Slow and steady has paid off in the hairdressing department for Aoife 😊

No more fear of the noise and vibration, she actively targets the clippers now. Paws and elbows remain understandably touchy. Surprisingly, her hind legs, where the most physical intervention has taken place, are straightforward for Aoife 💜💙💚

#itsadogslife #positivereinforcementtraining #mentalhealthfordogs Aoife's, almost, full clip!!

Yes, it's another YouTube animal video playlist, but....!

The Diaries of a Veterinary Herbalist has a new playlist on our YouTube channel, showing the adventures of Josie (the border collie x Kelpie) Aoife (a cavoodle).

Follow along to see what madcap fun they have together living with a travelling veterinary herbalist. It's a promise that you are in for lots of laughs mixed with a little bit of sport, training and veterinary herbal prescriptions!

It's A Dog's Life Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

When were you last enveloped in the sensory experience that is turmeric?

Explore the companionship of turmeric with your taste buds, if you like, in our recipe for the month, Apple Turmeric Coterie.

The ingredients and servings in the amounts listed are generally safe for healthy humans, dogs and cats.

Apple Turmeric Coterie Recipe Card - Willow Wise Therapies Curcuma longa, Turmeric, A spicy warm, vibrant herb, better for company, just as humans are better for animal company.

And we're live!!

Willow Wise Therapies own veterinary herbalist has a YouTube channel!

Subscribe on YouTube to see new episodes and read the diary at www.willowwisetherapies.com.au/diaries

How awesome is an animal participating in their own healthcare!! 💚💙💜

Dog Blood Draw Training | Teaching Animals Ada is fearful at the veterinarian's office, but she needs to give blood regularly. Her owner signed up for training appointments to condition a jugular bloo...

A big thanks to Linda from Holistic Vets Newcastle !!
Yesterday Josie had round two of a drainage tube insertion for an aural haematoma.

Josie is healing well, complete with wound care and herbal, homoeopathic and nutritional medicine prescriptions tailored to her current requirements (with support by Aoife). Except for the inadvertent shaking out of the first tube.... those border collie sensitivities have a double whammy being combined with Kelpie in Josie 😉

My animals and I are really lucky to be able to collaborate with awesome vets that are considerate of an animal's preferences and needs 💚💙💜

Having an animal willing (although understandably not particularly jumping for joy) to participate in their health care is both a privilege and a joy to see. It certainly lightens the load somewhat as an animal companion wanting to give the best of everything and the minimum amount (or none at all) of heartache and pain.

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There is a rule that the amount of time your animal (or child) spends engaging with an enrichment activity is inversely proportional to amount of time you spent putting it together. The effect is intensified if you made a special trip to Michael’s or Home Depot.

On the other hand, if you throw a handful of hay pellets into a pile of recycling, they are likely to have a ball banging around with it long past sunset.

What a super dooper pup!
Thankyou Frankie Aston Ccft at DogFit Conditioning & Performance !!!
Aoife is doing so well with her second go at hydrotherapy. The increased strength in her hind since her first session is amazing!
Go Aoife, go! 💙💜💚

Exactly!!!

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Mereenie finding out a tubs post work out comes with massage benefits...and a towel 😊💚💜💙

Eight years of retirement and three of those with 'dementia poetry'. Definitely makes you want to live every day to the fullest.

Where Is Karen Pryor, and What Is She Still Teaching Us? | Karen Pryor Clicker Training Editor's Note:  This article was published one year ago on Karen's 90th birthday. Since then, Karen’s dementia has deepened and she now lives in a loving memory care unit in California. According to her daughter Gale, "she is still collecting rocks and still using her binoculars to birdwatch. Wh...

🎶I'm so tired at this time
Lookin' like I need a reviver, feelin' like a little pup
And I'm so tired at this time
Sleeping up my energy with you by my side 🎶

Taraxacum officianalis, Dandelion.

Mum was being extra helpful w**ding in the garden this afternoon. Unfortunately, she did a farmer's w**d!!

Hadn't planned on doing some herbal manufacturing this week, but I guess we are now 😁

Dandelion is such a lovely herb to have in the garden. Let's you know the soil is being replenished in nitrogen. The leaves make a great addition in a green salad, gently helping with urinary health.

Dandelion root is fabulous in a cuppa 💙💜💚, especially a dandelion chai!

"Pinpoint three things that encapsulate what your ...[animal]... struggles with and then pick... three games, or so, for each one of those struggles...and then play... them for short bursts."

- Niki French on The Border Collie Geek Podcast