Healing From Loving Others

Posted byhoundbizPosted inCoaching, Four Paws and You Dog TrainingTags:, , ,

When you’re desperately looking for how to change what your dog is doing, you have to take a look at what you’re doing first.

Changes you need to make could be stepping into your dog’s paws a bit and seeing the world through their eyes, understanding and connecting with how they feel from one moment to the next before expecting your dog to anything differently may be your first step.

This step actually may be a leap for you.

Moving away from the belief that we have to control our dogs and expecting them to follow every direction in a moment’s notice may be something you have to unlearn alongside empathizing with how your dog feels.

Before you can understand how your dog feels and be compassionate to your dog, do you give yourself the same love?

You may feel a wall of resistance show up as you consider feelings and emotions of you and your dog.

I invite you to lean in to the resistance and see what shows up for you.

Early on in my relationship with my dog, Jack, I struggled with his barking and separation anxiety. I also struggled with feeling confident and knowing my own self worth.

At that point in my life, I was just starting to understand myself and heal from trauma I experienced in my own life.

I gave permission to the wall of resistance to keep me stuck.

I gave permission to the wall of resistance to prevent me from moving forward.

I gave permission to the wall of resistance to not change.

If you’re like me, the resistance told me I desired to unlearn and heal from being taught that my feelings don’t matter and surviving by avoiding how I felt or sharing how I felt with others.

Unlearning old beliefs and changing patterns of thought peel back layers of hurt and pain and heal the shame and guilt that accompanied them.

By changing these patterns and learning new beliefs about yourself, you start to take action in a new way.

You allow yourself to experience each moment with a fresher perspective and can respond with more clarity and confidence with whatever life throws at you and your dog.

You begin feeling the love and connection you have with your dog and prioritizing this relationship in your life.

Published by houndbiz

Katherine Porter is a force free, reward based dog behavior advisor and consultant serving clients and their companion dogs worldwide. Her calm and gentle approach in coaching clients in effectively communicating what they want to their dog blends her MSW background into her dog training and behavior practice. Katherine was a behavior consultant for Heeling Hounds after graduation. She opened Four Paws and You Dog Training LLC when the military relocated her family to Fort Sill, OK in 2015. During this time, she volunteered with Rainbow Bridge Can Wait where she provided post adoption consultations to new pet parents. She also developed and implemented tailored behavior modification plans for highly reactive dogs residing at the shelter. She also provided educational programs to military children through interactive workshops at the Fort Sill School Age Center. In 2017, Katherine relocated Four Paws and You Dog Training LLC to Germany. She served the Armed Forces communities in Bavaria. She continued coaching and advising her clients in addressing their companion dog’s fearful and reactive behavioral issues. Katherine takes a Do No Harm approach first and foremost in providing behavioral plans. She is committed in serving clients with gentle and modern science approaches in modifying behavioral concerns such as reactivity, aggression, separation anxiety and fear based responses. Katherine is a member of the Pet Professional Guild. She is focused on integrating a holistic and modern approach in addressing her client’s pet companion reactive behavior issues.

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