Meet Lia Marques

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lia Marques a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lia, so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?

That question is even more poignant once one works with animals. I am literally the only one that looks like me in a room full of dogs, since I mostly work alone. No metaphor there. To answer the question a different way; how have I learned to be relevant when working with dogs, private clients and eventually prisoners?
I think comes down to the same thing: showing up and being present. Slowing down essentially. When one works with dogs, one learns to be present. That’s how they live. And it’s a pretty great way to live.
Once you achieve that with the dogs (being effective/successful) it is just a matter of transferring it to the owners (the humans in the relationship). Clients want to be victorious in achieving mile stones with their dogs, they just don’t know how to get there. My job is to show them the way. I have navigated these waters before and I simply have to show both dog and human that I am worthy of following. To do that I make sure I slow everything way down, so we can all be present and get to know each other as energy.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

For over 15 years I have worked in Dog Psychology; a teaching and training philosophy developed by Cesar Millan. For the sake of a title we can say I am a Master Dog Behaviorist or that I fluently speak dog. The crucial difference between dog training and dog psychology is that in the former one works on the dog and the latter one works with the dog. Dog psychology enables one to start communicating with dogs in a way that makes sense to them. The phrase by Orhan Pamuk; “dogs do speak but only to those that know how to listen” is absolutely true. Dogs have a language.

People that work with horses say that horses have a language as well. One needs only learn it. The beauty of working in dog psychology is that one quickly realizes that it doesn’t take nearly as much time as one thinks to start communicating with a different species. It just takes commitment, compassion and discipline. That’s the blessing of my job. What is required of me is something that I strive for in life; my dogs just help me get there quicker.

In that vein it makes me proud to say that I am professional with a high success rate in K9 rehabilitation, essentially meaning bringing dogs back to balance. Particularly through a specialized program I designed for dogs with a bite history. The success of this program is influenced by many factors, but I think the most crucial is my commitment to quality over quantity. The program is very exclusive. The number of dogs I work with each month is small. The limited amount of spots ensures that I can dedicate the necessary time and attention to rebuilding the human-dog relationship and restoring balance in even the most extreme cases. My standard when it comes to closing the communication gap between humans and dogs is simple: we don’t make promises, we make commitments. Those commitments are taken seriously, therefore each dog gets individualized attention, always.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I think learning about the responses that dog have to stimuli, which are fight, flight, avoidance and surrender have taught me how to handle my own impulses in a much more relaxed way. Once I finally realized that dogs can surrender to any and all new situations it gave me the impetus to learn that I can as well. We have very little control over what happens in our life, but the one thing we can monitor and change is how we react to it. Dogs have taught me that.
Another important lesson was the learning about the fundamental difference between dogs and humans: we can choose how we respond to stimuli, dogs don’t choose how to react, they act on instinct alone. If I have the ability to choose how I am going to react to anything, then I choose joy. Whatever happens in my life, I choose to handle it with grace and joy. It is not easy, but it is definitely easier than living in angst.
Lastly I would say that slowing down in my responses has been hugely helpful in navigating running my business, training dogs, posting on social media, handling staff issues, writing blogs, dealing with non profits and all that comes with being a small business owner. Being able to take a breath, assessing and evaluating what is actually going on, not being reactive, but instead proactive in what I seek, that has been a huge lesson. It makes one more present in whatever is going on around you.
My advice to the “newcomers” is take a beat, take a breath. Time is on your side. We live long lives and are fortunate to live in an age where one does not need to have all the answers right away. Be present, ask yourself: is this what brings me joy? Am I following my curiosity or someone else’s idea of what my life should be? Be honest with your answers and go out and live! It might be uncomfortable at first, but you are the captain of your own ship. Navigate it as it seems right to you.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

The biggest challenge right now facing the dog training industry is that everyone is a dog trainer. The market is absolutely saturated. In the pandemic we (dog folk) were considered essential workers, therefore we had a lot more flexibility than other people. What happened was that everyone became a dog trainer. It is not a good situation to be in. There is something to be said about experience. I have been doing this for a long time (15 + years ) and to have people that have absolutely no idea of the genius of dogs just popping in to make a quick buck is a tad disheartening.
The answer is to show people the difference between what other “trainers” think is acceptable and ok, and what a dog is actually able to do when one speaks its language and works in dog psychology. The fact that one wants to save money when training their dog is not a bad thing but the challenge is to show owners what is actually possible versus what they believe is possible. Younger trainers only work on the dog, but they really lack the ability of working with the owner’s and the dog. The biggest challenge right now is showing owner’s that their dog is worth the investment when it comes to the way they learn. That the relationship is worth investing in.

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