Hi there,
So delighted to have you here. My name is Lia Marques and I would like to introduce myself…
I am Brazilian – American. Yes, both nationalities. I don’t know which of the two I consider myself more, I was born in Brazil but have spent the majority of my life in the States… more on that later.
For now I would like to welcome you and share a little bit of the knowledge that I have acquired these many years working with dogs. You see, the secret for a better life with your dog is simple: close the communication gap. Simple? Yes. Easy? That’s up to us.
I was born in Brazil, lived there until I was 7 years old. Then, my parents’ moved the family to Minnesota in 1984. We stayed there for 2 years while my parents’ got some sort of PhD. It might be helpful to add that I didn’t speak one word (literally not one word) of English. So there I was, my brother 2 years older than me, loving the adventure. Me? Dreading every second, counting the days, (maybe even hours), that this nightmare was going to end. But you know what happened? I learned to communicate, I learned (after 8 months) the language, I could understand and be understood. That; made all the difference in the world.
I tell this story to illustrate that when one can not be understood or understand, life tends to become very stressful. But each individual has a different reaction to very similar circumstances. My brother saw it as something to be conquered, I saw it as a punishment of sorts. But once I started to become part of the school, to understand the assignments, to not feel like I was invisible and make friends, I was able to find peace and even enjoy the 2 years stay.
I was able to learn English, and that made all the diference. I have learned several languages since. One of them happens to be DOG. Like all the languages I have learned, learning the language of dogs has taken time, practice and patience. But I speak it. To be honest if time and work were taken into consideration, I might even have a PhD in dog. *since they say it takes 10,000 to master a craft.
Hence I consider myself more of a translator than a trainer. My job, at the end of the day, is to teach the human that language – not to “train” the dog- but to work on the relationship and close that communication gap. Yes, there are techniques – every language has it’s own grammar- and I will be showing some in the future. But at the end of day, once the communication gap is closed, the rest becomes easier. Different trainers have different techniques, but the goal, should always be to make the relationship one of open communication, one of trust. Making that possible is my goal with all the people and dogs I work with.
When choosing a trainer, behaviorist, vet, daycare, etc. choose someone that sees the dog. Choose someone that understands their language and that you agree with the methodology. There are no magic pills when it comes to working on a relationship or learning something new. The secret is to find the joy and the adventure, in learning to communicate with a different being. The secret is finding someone that can teach you how to speak dog. I say to clients all the time: “once you see it you can’t unsee it.”
Thank you for being here.
