Moving Beyond Words - A Transformational Journey with Your Animal Companion

02/10/2026

Intentional touch as the healer

02/10/2026

02/08/2026

Curiosity Didn’t Kill the Cat — Complacency Did
Why Curiosity Matters More Than We Realize in Creating a Happier, Healthier Relationship with your Animal Companion

(as posted on Brainz Magazine February 2026)
By Arlana Tanner-Arlana Tanner - Sibelle

Holistic Wellness Practitioner • Inter-species Relationship Guide • Speaker • Author of Moving Beyond Words — Our Shared Journey Moving Beyond Words - A Transformational Journey with Your Animal Companion
In this thoughtful exploration of the human–animal bond, holistic wellness practitioner and inter-species relationship guide Arlana Tanner-Sibelle invites readers to reconsider one of the most overlooked elements of lasting connection: curiosity.

Rather than offering techniques or answers, this article opens space for reflection on our role in a shared journey that is never finished, and on how curiosity may be the key to deeper understanding, mutual growth, and enduring connection.



https://www.arlana.ca/blog/curiositysavescat

01/25/2026

01/25/2026

Best way to teach door manners

01/21/2026

Redefining "ownership"

If you cannot provide a species-appropriate lifestyle, you should not own the animal.
Of any kind.

That statement isn’t extreme. It’s foundational.

Animals do not exist to meet human wants, emotional needs, or convenience. They exist as members of their own species, with biological, social, and psychological requirements that do not disappear because humans desire companionship, status, or control.

Food and shelter alone are not enough.

A species-appropriate life means meeting the needs that animal evolved to have. Choice, predictability, safety, and the ability to express natural behaviour. These are not luxuries. They are welfare baselines.

Loving an animal does not mean you get to redefine their needs to fit your lifestyle.

This is not about perfection. It is about responsibility.

There are situations where animals already exist in less-than-ideal circumstances. Rescue, rehabilitation, medical limitation, or temporary restriction can all require compromise. The ethical line is whether those compromises are made in the animal’s best interest, with the goal of improving welfare whenever possible, not maintaining ownership at any cost.

If meeting an animal’s core needs is not feasible, the humane choice is to reconsider ownership, not to lower the standard.

Having animals in our lives is a privilege.
Not a right.
Not a requirement.
Welfare is not optional.

01/20/2026

In parts of Switzerland, you don’t just “get” a dog—you earn the right to care for one.​
Anyone who wants to become a dog owner must first complete compulsory training sessions and pass written theory exams before a dog ever sets paw in their home.​
These lessons focus on real‑world skills: how to meet a dog’s physical and emotional needs, how to understand their behavior, and how to handle them safely in everyday situations. The idea isn’t to scare people away, but to prevent problems and protect everyone involved—pets, owners, and the community around them.​
By framing dog ownership as a learned responsibility instead of a spontaneous decision, Switzerland helps reduce bites, neglect, and abandonment. It’s a system grounded in knowledge and respect, built on the belief that no dog should have to pay the price for an unprepared human.​

01/09/2026

To all new puppy parents, please read this carefully;

When you bring home an 8-week-old puppy, you’re not bringing home a “small dog.” You’re bringing home a baby whose body is still under construction. At this age, their bones haven’t fused, their joints aren’t stabilized, and much of what supports their movement is soft, flexible cartilage rather than solid bone. That’s why puppies move with exaggerated steps, loose limbs, and awkward turns—it’s not clumsiness, it’s biology.

Their joints are held together by developing muscles, tendons, and ligaments that haven’t learned how to properly stabilize movement yet. Nothing has fully tightened, aligned, or strengthened. There is very little grip, balance, or shock absorption. Every movement they make is being used by the body as a blueprint for how those joints will form later in life.

This is why overexercising a young puppy is NOT harmless.

Short bursts of play on safe surfaces are normal and necessary. But repeated stress—long walks, excessive running, sharp turns, jumping off furniture, or sliding on slick floors—creates microscopic trauma in joints that are still shaping themselves. Each hard landing or uncontrolled slip sends force through cartilage that isn’t ready to absorb it. Over time, those forces alter how joints grow, align, and stabilize.

The damage doesn’t usually show up immediately. Instead, it appears months or even years later as:

• Early arthritis

• Hip or elbow dysplasia

• Chronic joint pain

• Poor movement or shortened stride

• Increased risk of injury as an adult

Letting a puppy jump off a couch or bed may seem harmless in the moment—but that repeated impact trains fragile joints to absorb force in unhealthy ways. Walking long distances before growth plates close may build stamina, but it doesn’t build sound structure. Allowing free movement on slippery tile or hardwood floors forces joints to twist and compensate in ways they were never meant to.

You only get one opportunity to grow a puppy correctly.

A strong, well-built adult dog is the result of both good genetics and responsible upbringing. Genetics set the potential—but early care determines whether that potential is protected or compromised. You can’t “fix it later” once growth plates close.

There will be plenty of time for hiking, running, agility, jumping, and rough play once your dog’s body is fully developed. Right now, the greatest gift you can give your puppy is restraint, patience, and protection.

Keep exercise controlled.

Choose safe, non-slip surfaces.

Prevent jumping from heights.

Let growth happen slowly and correctly.

Quiet now means strong later.

You’re not holding them back—you’re building them for a lifetime.

*Copied from another Breeder*

Feel free to share.....

12/30/2025

So important!

Are you expecting holiday visitors? Would you be able to recognize the signs of trigger stacking in your dog?

Avoid a biting situation before it happens. Please monitor your dog to check for too much Christmas.
Day 3 of seasonal festivities and your dog might be showing signs of Christmas overload:

- too many new faces,
- too much unpredictable chaos,
- too little predictable schedule for rest, destressing, and alone time,
- not used to young children being in the home,
- overwhelmed by too much touching and handling by strangers, or
- stressed out because visiting house guest brought their dog into your dog's environment.

All of these events can act as a trigger for stress and when these triggers become stacked, this can result in your dog delivering a stressed out, grumpy, grinchy, bite to a guest.

Please give your dog some quiet alone time where he can relax, de-stress and get some much needed rest.

Manage the stress before it results in a bite.

12/27/2025

Lately, I’ve been noticing how many animal caregivers are quietly carrying more than they realize.

Caring deeply doesn’t always look dramatic — sometimes it looks like constant vigilance, holding things together, and pushing through fatigue because “this is just how it is.”

I’m offering a gentle, guided Zoom session this Sunday called Time to Care for the Caregiver — a quiet space to pause, reset, and reconnect with calm and clarity.

This session is being offered freely as a gift of support, and is designed to feel private and grounding (cameras and mics off).

If this resonates, you’re warmly invited. click the link below


👉

Many pet guardians feel overwhelmed without being able to point to one clear cause. It’s often not just about our animals, but about everything we’re carrying. This session is offered as a gift to yourself — a brief, grounding reset to help you release stress, reconnect with calm, and feel mor...

12/23/2025

Caring for the Caregiver
A Gentle Reset & Grounding for Animal Caregivers

Caring for animals is meaningful — and it can also be quietly exhausting.

Many animal caregivers live in a constant state of giving, often without realizing how depleted they’ve become. When stress, fatigue, or overwhelm build over time, we can lose our sense of balance — and even our ability to recognize our own needs.
This gentle, guided session is an invitation to pause.

Together, we’ll explore why calm is not a luxury, but a necessary state for clarity, learning, and connection — for both humans and animals. When we’re anxious, stretched thin, or living in survival mode, even the best intentions and self-care practices may not “stick.”

You’ll be guided through a calming TFT (tapping) process to help release stress and reframe what you’re carrying, followed by grounding practices to support steadiness and presence. We’ll also gently introduce the idea that there is no one-size-fits-all way to rest or recharge — each of us has individual needs, and honoring them is key to sustainable wellbeing.

This session is not about fixing, pushing, or performing self-care “correctly.”

It’s about restoring your capacity to receive, settle, and hold nourishment — so calm can last.

Cameras and microphones will be off, allowing this group session to feel like a private, personal experience just for you.

Come as you are.

This space is for you.

Sign up... space is limited!
Click here: https://www.arlana.ca/careforthecaregiver