“I need to break my dog from pulling on a leash.”
“Get my dog to stop barking and lunging at my neighbors and her dog.”
“Can you fix my dog from growling at my kids?”
Would you describe your behaviors in this way?
Have you ever tried to “break a habit”?
Were you successful?
When you say I want something to stop, to be fixed or behavior to be broken, you’re missing the entire picture.
You’re coming at it from the top down (mind and then willing your body to do something differently). You’re not acknowledging you wanted to feel differently about a situation and you took action to create a new way of doing things.
Instead, when you are successful in creating a new habit, you first desired something different in your life and then you took repeated action based on this desire to do the new thing.
I’m really going to urge you to consider something different because I want you to be successful.
I want your life with your dog to be joyous and for you to experience the connection you can have within the relationship with you create with your dog.
So, take a few deep breaths and consider what I’m going to share with you.
All behavior is motivated by an underlying emotion, the same goes for people too.
People aren’t immune to their feelings.
You may stuff your feelings down, deny they exist or think them away, but they are there and they are driving what you do just like emotions drive what your dog is doing too.
The brain is wonderful as it can plan and create action steps, but the action it takes is sourced from how the body feels (for humans and dogs).
When you make the choice to feel confident and to feel accomplished and you marry the understanding dog behavior is also motivated by emotion you are now informing your brain you desire yourself and your dog to be successful together.
This piece is so important is because you can now take action through the lens of how you can team up with your dog in overcoming this challenge rather than seeing the problem through the lens that your dog or your dog’s behavior is the problem.
You now recognize if you’re feeling fear or frustrated when your dog pulls on the leash or is growling at your kids, your dog is feeling similarly too.
When your awareness is raised to consider your dog’s feelings alongside yours, you can then step into your role as a guide, teacher and leader.
Now, moving into applying this, when you want to experience confidence, you will be motivated to set up your environment so your dog can feel safe and when a dog feels safe, they make safe choices which encourages them to do this again and again.
A confident dog is a relaxed dog.
A dog that chooses to settle.
Therefore, it benefits you to draw into your choice making your dog’s wellbeing and welfare alongside yours when you consider what your life to look like with your dog.
Do you desire to experience a more connected and loving bond with your dog?
I’m hosting an online workshop where you can have a deeper dive into the body mind connection and understanding this for yourself, you can deepen your understanding of how your dog experiences his world too.
Sign up (the event is free)!
Four Paws & You Dog Training 