Japanese Garden Design Is Quite Simple If You Do This

By Jonathan G Higgins

Japanese garden design is about as hard to understand to Westerners as the Japanese language is. The relationship to the rich and ancient eastern culture adds to this difficulty. The practice is not just a style of landscaping. Rather, it a statement that delivers a specific meaning. Adding further to its complexity is the influence of fengshui and its borrowings from Buddhism and Chinese culture.

The intention of Japanese garden design is to use nature to make a statement. The main element is symbology, most of which is influenced by Shintoism and Buddhism, which is where the gods inhabit nature. This adds even more its cultural complexity making hard for us to understand.

Since the garden is making a statement or telling a story, the first step is to determine what story you want to tell. What is it you want to communicate to the world with your garden? It might be a good idea to decide in broad terms what you want to say, and then through some research find out how Japanese would go about communicating that truth, concept or story with a garden.

Another outstanding feature of Japanese garden design is that the main point is not to be beautiful or showy. The appearance of the garden is not its purpose, but rather the message is the purpose. Beauty is the after thought, so to speak.

The careful observer will notice that flowering plants are scarce or nonexistent in Japanese garden design. Rather, dry gravel streambed or sand swept into patterns and large rocks and boulders are used to tell the tales. Remember that the heart of all Japanese garden design is symbolism and storytelling, the tradition is that this is done with plants and other elements of nature and not so much the use of colorful flowers.

Equally important to Japanese garden design are the use of water, and more specifically the use of running water, which symbolizes passing time or life.

What shouldn’t get lost in Japanese garden design, but often is by Westerners because they think it’s ‘complicated’, is its simplicity. Once you know the story you are trying tell, it’s as simple as composing the elements of nature to tell that story.

What one should refrain from doing is blindly copying someone else’s garden. Why would you do that? Perhaps because you think it “looks” good. But if the “good looks” are just the result of the telling of a story, then the copier certainly is missing the point. It would be like framing a poem you don’t understand and hanging it on the wall. First think of what you want to say, and then through the principles of Japanese garden design learn how to say and then say it. Don’t start from the beauty, but rather from the story.

Jonathan sends out gardening tips to his newsletter subscribers. Just send an email to garden-design@aweber.com And be sure to visit Elegant Garden Design

Simple Techniques To Teach Your Dog To Walk Politely By Your Side

By Eric Letendre

A lot of people have problems with their dogs pulling on leash. Pulling starts from a very young age. Learning what triggers the pulling and how to change it can make leash walking with your dog more enjoyable and fun.

Dogs naturally pull on leash for several reasons. First, it works, period! Your dog learns at a very early age that if they hit the end of the leash and start leaning and pulling, they will make forward progress. The dog is trying to close the distance between themselves and whatever they are looking at - and the leash is restricting that.

Since most dogs can cover distance a lot quicker than humans can, they will pull to the point of gasping for breath. Second, dogs have what is called opposition reflex. As soon as they feel pressure on their necks or chests they reflexively lean into it. So, given this information, it is vital to begin anti-pulling exercises at a very young age.

To begin, you must be able to stand still with your dog on leash without him pulling and straining at the end of it. Have some treats ready to reward your dog when the leash becomes slack. Put the loop of the leash on your thumb and hold the remainder of the leash in your free hand.

As your dog pulls and the leash becomes tight, pull your dog back into you while giving him a verbal correction. Some dogs will run and hit the end of the leash again. You must persevere and pull your dog back into you with a verbal correction as many times as it takes.

Sooner or later he will give up and stay near you with the loose leash. At this moment, heavily reward your dog with food, praise, and pats. Once he is standing consistently with you on a loose leash you can begin your walk.

When you begin your walk, start with the leash hanging loose. As you take a few steps forward, your dog will most likely run ahead and hit the end of the leash. As soon as he takes off and the leash becomes tight, immediately change directions and make a full turn. Your dog will have no choice but to follow suit.

As your dog catches up to you, be ready to heavily reinforce him. Proceed forward and be prepared to turn around again. Try to focus on the times when your dog is walking next to you and the leash is loose rather than on times when the leash is tight.

If you allow your dog to make forward progress when the leash is tight, then you are training your dog to pull. Your dog needs to learn that there will be no forward progress made when the leash is tight. In fact, they will lose distance by making the turn.

Another exercise to try is the red light/green light game. Begin walking forward with your dog.
When he hits the end of the leash and begins pulling, immediately put on the brakes. Your dog will most likely fight this and start bucking, but it is important to remain rigid and become a statue.

Do not look at your dog, talk to your dog, or move forward again. You will probably need to put the red light on often in the beginning, but with repetition and consistency, your dog will begin to see the picture; leash is tight no distance is covered, leash is loose forward progress is made. Yippee!

Yet another exercise is to form circles. Begin walking forward with your dog on a loose leash. If your dog runs forward and hits the end of the leash, pull him back in close to your body and spin in a circle once or twice.

Stop and begin to walk forward again. This will momentarily disorient your dog long enough for you to make several steps with a loose leash. At this point you can heavily reward him with a few special treats coupled with heavy praise. Remember that the key to training is information and communication from you.

There are hand and arm saving pieces of equipment on the market for adult dogs with extreme pulling habits. Gentle Leader Head Collars or Haltis are great tools to use until your dog is trained. However, dogs do not generalize well, and if you use a special collar to walk your dog, once you take the collar off the no-pull effect will not filter over. The best prevention is to train your dog on his flat buckle collar and reinforce loose leash walking. Good Luck!

Eric Letendre, author of The Amazing Dog Training Man, invites you to visit http://www.amazingdogtrainingman.com for free dog training video clips, tips, articles, and advice. Free Newsletter.