Author | Lightnews

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Jan 7

I do hope somewhere in the past 13 years we have moved on from stories where a father can physically assault his daughter and everyone just moves on as if it's unfortunate, but really fine.

1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Jan 7

We just watched the 2011 Footloose remake and the only thing that movie has going for it is the music from the original and the line dancing. Oh, and Miles Teller as Willard was delightful once the writing stopped forcing him into the patriarchal stereotype of a teenage boy.

a man in overalls is jumping over a fence

ALT: a man in overalls is jumping over a fence

media.tenor.com

1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Dec 2

#dogtrainer #dogtraining #dog #dogs #behavior #behaviortrainer #doglover

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Dec 2

So when I say that life is weird, I think what I actually mean is that we, meaning humans as a species, are truly insane.

1 1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Dec 2

And all of this is happening as I'm about to head into physical therapy to rehab an injury I gave myself by starting the sport of freestyle disc dog at the age of 51 and asking by body to do things it apparently can do, but not safely.

1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Dec 2

And how a decade after that I spent a summer working as a park ranger for a county park on San Juan Island, and would spend nights sleeping outdoors on an outlook so I could hear the Orca pods pass by in the middle of the night.

1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Dec 2

I remember how when I was a sophomore in college I wrote a scathing report of the tuna industry's murder of dolphins. And how the summer after that year I spent 2 weeks at a laboratory doing research on the cognitive abilities of 4 dolphins living in two tiny concrete pools next to the ocean.

1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Dec 2

Meanwhile, this podcast, that is making me bawl uncontrollably about both the pain caused to and the love given by this creature, is interspersed with ads for Apple Pay. Apparently when I have a Holiday gift list to finish, the last thing I wanna do is take out my wallet 1 million times 🙄

1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Dec 2

Because despite the bad press that followed the first Free Willy movie, there was a second one that grossed $30 million in the US and $68 million worldwide. It was filmed with a robotic whale, but the original Willy, a whale named Keiko, did make an uncredited appearance via old film.

1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Dec 2

Though it isn't clear whether or not those efforts are truly in service of the whale, or more in service to human guilt, or maybe even just optics that help exploiters and extractors live on to exploit and extract another day.

1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Dec 2

Life is weird. I'm sitting in my car listening to a podcast that tells the story of herculean, multi-million dollar efforts made in service of a single life. The life of a single orca that was stolen by humans, and for which humans are now apparently trying to make amends.

1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Nov 30

Somebody is excited for Friendsgiving!!!

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Nov 29

Is this an autism thing? A me thing? Do other folks who are not autists have these type of reactions to plants?

#autism #audhd #plants #empathy

1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Nov 29

…is perfect, and the people who care for you are all experts, but I think you’re pretty and looking at me makes you happy. So come to my house where it’s colder, darker, and I probably either won’t water you enough or will water you too much. 😬

1 1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Nov 29

We have this amazing local nursery in Chicago called Gethsemane Garden Center. I love getting plants from there, but I also always feel guilty taking them home. It’s like I’m saying: I know you’ve been living your whole life here in this place with all of your friends, where the weather…

1 1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Nov 29

1 1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Nov 29

Dogs, however, are always perfect, no matter what they’re doing and no matter what we think about their behavior. So maybe go tell your dog that they're perfect right now. I tell mine multiple times every single day.

1 1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Nov 29

And perfectionism is just one of many ways that supremacy culture controls us. So if you see me and my dog out in the world, maybe you’ll be impressed, maybe you’ll be embarrassed for me – either way, remember that professionals are just people, and no people are perfect.

1 1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Nov 29

All of this to say that trainers are human and dogs aren’t machines. Trainers are told that our dogs are advertisements for our services, which puts pressure on us for their behavior to be flawless. But they aren’t advertisements, they’re sovereign beings with whom we are in relationship.

1 1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Nov 29

...so many that inadvertently invent one and need to make it to get it out of my head. A bunch of design and trial and error happens, and now 6 months in and I’m ready to start training. Plus even though I like the collar, I can’t stop thinking about how I could do it better.

1 1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Nov 29

...to signal to him that we’re starting from scratch. I was able to find a new harness that meets my very specific requirements and is an improvement on my current one, so that feels good, but the collar is a different story. Hours of searching and I don’t find a one I like, but I’ve seen...

1 1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Nov 29

EG I’ve been experimenting with new approaches to training leash walking and finally settled on a protocol I want to see through to the end. But because my dog already has a messy history (thanks to all the experimenting) with this, I want to get a new collar and harness...

1 1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Nov 29

4. And finally – I’m an over thinker. Good for work because I don’t overly simplify complex behaviors and can effortlessly break a desired training outcome into the steps it will take to achieve and dole those out to my clients one at a time. But for myself it tends to get a bit out of hand.

1 1

Shannon Lynne Sullivan @shanlynsul.bsky.social · Nov 29

The plan was to train a bad AND good greeting, then ask people what they prefer and cue accordingly. But then I only trained the bad one because the other one was boring 🤷‍♀️

1 1