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RenChenZa^® day of the dog

My name is Andrew I became committed to sharing the ideas and concepts of RenChenza^® in 2003 when I had a dream while camping in one of America's most dramatic landscapes, Death Valley. The dream was about how to make the world a better place through the human / dog experience. That dream was about a summer celebration called RenChenZa^®

Little did I know on that cool November morning that my dream would take me back 5000 year into human history. Back to one of our greatest civilizations most important celebrations. This dream would connect an ancient Mid East New Years celebration with the twenty first century. I have often talked about how vestiges of forgotten cultures still influence modern society. The dog days of summer are a good example of how ancient history affects our modern lives. 5000 years ago ancient Egyptians celebrated their New Year on the first day of summer. The New Year celebration coincided with three annual events, the first of these events is the summer solstice which at that time occurred when the Dog Star Sihor would rise with the sun. We know Sihor by the Greek name Sirius. The other significant event was the rising waters of the Nile River and its subsequent flooding. It was during this time of the year that the Nile River renewed the land with its nutrients and water. In Egypt the dog days of summer were a joyous time of festive merriment.

I was filled with inspiration when reading about the Egyptian New Year and celebrating the Nile River renewing the land with its life sustaining waters. During the summer the Nile River would wash away the old and replenishing the land with fertility and hope. These are the some of the same ideals that inspired my Death Valley dream. RenChenZa^®   is about renewing our commitments, and planning how we will conduct our lives for the next year. RenChenZa^® is about making the world a better place through the human/dog experience.

The RenChenZa^® dog festival is a time of thanksgiving and renewal. Usually we observe RenChenZa^® on June 21 with close friends and family. But on the weekend after June 21, we get dressed up and go out to a local park for an informal dog walk/parade. Celebrating on the weekend gives those of us involved in the RenChenZa^® celebration time to talk about and consider the far-reaching effects of the human/dog experience as well as the impact our own behavior has on history. For those who are involved in transforming or rebuilding their lives the RenChenZa^® dog days of summer last for 49 days (seven weeks) starting on June 21st and give people a whole week to fully explore each of the seven important points to a happy successful life.

Renewal and planning for the future is a traditional function of the winter New Year celebrations. However, in the North summer is a more practical time for reflection and planning than the winter holiday season. The winter holiday's are too rushed and harried to really concentrate on planning one's life. A Summer celebration will give people more time to focus on how they will make their lives and the world a better place. The other advantage of summer planning is the days are longer so people have more daylight hours to get things done. Even if you do plan your yearly goals during the winter New Years festivities, RenChenZa^®   will give you a half way check point to evaluate how you are doing. But I think a more practical schedule is to use the winter New Years as a half way point to check how your RenChenZa^®   plans are developing.

Unlike the Roman-inspired Dog Days of Summer, RenChenZa^®  Dog Days are a time of thanksgiving and renewal. The Roman "Dog Days of Summer" are marked by twenty days before and after the Dog Star Sirius is first seen at dawn. As centuries pass the time of this celestial event changes. Throughout history the dog days of summer have started and ended on many different official dates. This date continues to change even in the last 500 years of recent history.

As I have said in my book dog training Best Friends Learning Together "having RenChenZa^®   start on the first day of summer commemorates a joyous time in human history when the Dog Star appeared with the New Year's celebration. And starting RenChenZa^®   on the summer solstice will remind people that we are still connected to nature. A yearly celebration of the dog will teach current and future generations about the cultural ideals of a dog friendly lifestyle. A standard dog holiday will make it easy for dog lovers everywhere to gather in solidarity at the same time every year."

While RenChenZa^® starts on the first day of summer it's more practical to celebrate the good and joy dogs bring to the world on the first weekend after the summer solstice. The weekend celebration will give people time to consider the far-reaching effects of the human/dog experience as well as the impact their own behavior has on history.

"RenChenZa^® is a celebration of the human/dog experience. It is a special time for dog owners to celebrate the joy and support dogs and people give to each other." The first day of summer is the perfect time for a worldwide dog celebration to unify all people, and make the world a better place.

We hope you enjoy all the features this website has to offer, and the many new ones we will be adding in the coming months. Let us know what you think... we love feedback!

There are some exciting developments coming, so sign up for the newsletter and check back regularly to watch this new site grow and improve. We are in the process of developing ebooks, web seminars, video training classes, and a whole lot more!

This site and the new book are both about how we can incorporate the lessons learned from our dogs and especially from training our dogs into leading better lives as people.

Click here to sign up for our newsletter and keep informed about our study groups and workshops.

New classes and workshops will have an original and innovative world cultural component to compliment the dog training.

Some educational elements of our new workshops are:

• dogs and the seven insights for a successful life
• dogs in foreign and domestic cultures
• dogs and geography
• dogs and communication
• how dogs can help us understand why hatred and terrorism exist

We are planning a new seminar/workshop schedule for in 2008
Become a part of the RenChenZa^®  dog lifestyle community to get regular updates and more information.

For offline seminars, contact Andrew Ledford.