THE BEST WAYS TO BOND WITH YOUR DOG

Bonding with your dog should be a daily activity. Dogs bond with many people in their lives, so it’s never too late to form a relationship with a dog, even if you adopt a senior pet. What’s important is how you relate to your dog and what happens during the time you spend together one-on-one. Fear, pain and unpredictable actions reduce bonding, but confidence, calm, fun and regularity increase bonding.

Many activities you already do with your dog can be sources for bonding: feeding, walking, petting, and grooming. The more regular these activities are in your schedule, the more your dog will become a secure and trustworthy companion who trusts you too. Try to do at least one of the following activities with your dog every day:

• Practice basic cues like sit, come, stay and lie down. Then move on to fun tricks.
• Enroll in a dog obedience class. You’ll both learn to communicate better.
• Practice fetching. Throw a ball and call your dog to bring it back. Repeat.
• Take your dog for a car ride. If you have more than one dog, just take one on some trips. (Use a doggy seatbelt for safety!)
• Try a game of hide and seek. Tell your dog to stay, go hide, and then tell her to come find you. Or hide a treat and help her find it.
• Feed your dog her dinner by hand every so often.
• Take your dog to the pet store to choose a new toy. (Be sure the store allows dogs.)
• Take your dog to the park with a picnic. Share.
• Tell your dog about your day.
• Tell your dog how special she is.
• Brush your dog every day. It feels good, and it will make her feel closer to you.

Excerpted from The 2013 Healthy Dog Wall Calendar — Text by Eve Adamson, Photography by Jamie Pflughoeft

Healthy Breeds by Amber Lotus Publishing – Text by Eve Adamson

The Healthy Golden

The Healthy Lab

The Healthy Pug

The Healthy Dachshund

Forty years ago today, the United Nations General Assembly convened the very first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. The following year, in 1973, the first World Environment day was celebrated. Every year since then, the conference has been hosted in a different city and addressed a different theme. This year, the them is is: Green Economy: Does it include you? (Hint: The answer is Yes!).

We at Amber Lotus proudly keep our Green flags flying. We print our calendars on recycled paper and FSC-certified paper. Also, we plant trees. We plant a lot of trees — over 200,000 since 2008. Trees, as you know, help to mitigate climate change by removing carbon from the atmosphere. This is a small contribution toward an enormous problem, but it is more than symbolic. It is meaningful action. We’ve planted enough trees to remove over 5000 tons of carbon from the atmosphere. We also add about 5000 tons of coolness to the atmosphere with our Green Patriot wall calendar, to inspire you in your own fight against climate change.

What will you do? Where do you fit in the Green Economy?

Kids say the most amazing things: honest, amusing and altogether entertaining.
The Kid Quotes 2012 wall calendar captures this literal yet lighthearted point of view with a year full of quotes from everyday kids. These wise wee ones share the most sincere and silly musings on friendship, love and even marriage.
Artist Kate Harper combines playful words with festive imagery – making even the most proclaimed grown-up feel like a kid again.

2012 Engagement Calendar

Carrie Brownstein from Portlandia says the calendars we publish are beautiful. We hosted the entire film crew in our offices yesterday for the filming of an upcoming episode.
Carries choice of Calendar was Bohemian Cats. She says it will make a great gift for a cat loving, zodiac buddy.
We are back at work now creating our lineup for 2013.

Thought for the Month.
I listen to wisdom from my physical being. I quiet my mind, ask my body to speak to me and hear its messages. I understand why my body acts the way it does. I have compassion for its feelings, and I take action to lovingly support and nurture myself.

Notice the feelings in your body. Stay quiet and present as you tune in to any areas that feel relaxed, as well as those that are tense. Inhale deeply and imagine that your lungs are filled with healing light. As you exhale, direct your energy and breath toward any areas of tension.
Feel your muscles relax and ask them to tell you why they were tense.
Listen to your body compassionately. Reassure your physical self that it’s safe and protected, and consider any insights that you received from its messages.
Your body is very honest – it will always tell you the truth. Based on your discoveries, do you feel like making any changes in your plans? Do you want to ask for additional help from us, the angels?
Check in with yourself regularly. Hold silent conversations with any area of your body that’s asking for your attention. Listen to its messages and take steps according to its guidance. In this way, it won’t need to signal you through tension or pain, and will instead work with you harmoniously.

Doreen Virtue – Messages from your Angels

About this time o’ year, we often lament answering the phone and being the person to break the news that a caller that their favorite calendar is no longer being published – especially for titles like Medicine Wheel or Feng Shui that we published for many, many years. So… what are your calendar ideas? What would you like to see? We’re not looking for cheerleading on our current line-up… per se…(wink-wink!) but we’d love to know what you’d like to see in the future from Amber Lotus!

No other artist has captured the wonders of angels and otherworldly spirits as delightfully as Sulamith Wulfing (1901-1989). The Angel Spirits 2011 Wall Calendar makes this hidden world apparent to the naked eye by capturing its beauty and spirituality. The childlike innocence and hope portrayed in each painting acts as a balm to the spirit, more needed than ever in this modern world. All thirteen paintings are accompanied with text by Lunaea Weatherstone, written in the voice of the angel spirits guiding us throughout the year.

ISBN: 978-1-60237-366-2