Integrating our little border collie and spaniel mix puppy into a studio/gallery environment is challenging, to say the least. The first concern was that Cosmo not chew up the artwork on display. A second concern quickly developed, which was that he not chew up the gallery itself.

I find it disconcerting to be sketching on a large new canvas only to have my pencil snatched by an enthusiastic puppy who madly runs away with it. Furthermore Cosmo is far too fascinated by the handles of my paintbrushes sticking out of the gallon bucket of water I keep beside my easel.

Compounding these ongoing dilemmas is his cheery desire to drink from that same water bucket, because I use cadmium paints in my work. I don’t want to poison the little guy, but it is a tough sell to a puppy that it is ok to drink from the gallon metal bucket but not from the plastic one with the tasty looking brushes in it.

Initially I leashed him to my roller chair so he would not wander away and eat an expensive hand woven basket or something. He loves feet, shoes, and most particularly boots, so he was delighted to plaster himself all over my feet making it impossible for me to move freely while painting.

The next innovation was to bring his crate to the gallery and leave him off the leash. If he wandered out of the safe zone around my easel and refused to come when called, he ended up in the crate for a time out. He quickly learned to hang around the easel.

While he is a mellow little dog, he does have his rambunctious puppy moments. My husband paints with his easel next to mine. I arrived at the gallery to find my patient husband Bern thoroughly exasperated with the frisky pup yesterday morning.

I constantly use CCT, short for Crystalline Consciousness Technique™, but primarily for human beings. I decided to try setting up group fields for the puppy, my husband, and myself with the intention of harmonious interaction.

Setting up fields is a quick but powerful CCT energy process which balances either an individual’s or a group’s energy field with a specified intention, giving much more resilience and stability through the day. I wanted to see how the puppy would respond to the process since my husband and I both needed to focus on our paintings.

Cosmo surprised my husband by promptly settling down to quietly playing with his chew toys or taking naps. He was agreeable and easy to have in the gallery, if one is willing to overlook the shreds of wood on the carpet from his favorite chew stick. I greatly prefer shreds of a harmless stick to shreds of artwork, so that worked well.

This morning I had a couple of unexpected errands, so I again arrived at the gallery after my husband. The pup was in the crate, asleep. He apparently had been a complete pill and Bern had put him in the crate in order to be able to paint.

Cosmo woke soon after I arrived. Bern took him outside to do his business and brought the now fully awake pup back inside the gallery. Cosmo was immediately into everything, biting brush handles, trying to drink from the wrong water bucket, barking, and generally making an absolute nuisance of himself. Bern said that was why he had been put in the crate earlier.

I did a really fast CCT setting up of the group fields again, using the same intention of harmonious interaction. Once again, the pup instantly mellowed and began peacefully amusing himself with his toys.

For the next five hours, he napped and played without having to be put in his crate. My husband was quite boggled by the change. He kept asking me what I had done to the puppy.

Puppies are puppies, and they do need to have lively exercise sooner or later. By four o’clock he obviously was ready for something more vigorous. I had painted as far as I intended to go for the day, so I took him home and let him run to his heart’s content in the yard for awhile.

You can bet I will be setting up group fields including the puppy again tomorrow!

 

 

Copyright © Lexi Sundell 2007. All Rights Reserved.