Keep It Simple

I was chatting with someone last week about their ambitious goals that they had for themselves and their dog.

They wanted their 8mos old puppy to feel comfortable meeting others, calm and quiet in the house, be engaging with their human when out and about in the world.

These are great goals to have and work towards.

You’re focusing on how your dog feels and wanting to prioritize their welfare and wellbeing.

Sometimes, taking the next step to move towards your goals, you get confused.

When your dog starts barking and lunging at strangers and other dogs, you become frustrated because this is the opposite of what you want.

What may be getting in the way is you’re not proactive in setting up your environment so your dog can be successful. Through your proactiveness, you’re also creating peace in your day. You remain present in each moment you and your dog are experiencing together.

How can you teach your dog what to do when they see a bicyclists or another dog out of the window and your attention is taken away when you’re busy on your computer, talking on the phone, doing other chores around the house?

Someone else shared with me that she struggled with her dog barking and going crazy at the front door when people walked by.

She was surprised when I asked her how does she feel when this happens and what does she do in response?

She shared she feels tightness in her chest and her response is yelling her dog’s name.

She also shared this didn’t work and asked what other strategies can she learn?

I asked her what does she want to feel?

She responded with calm and peace. She can feel this way when she takes space.

Take space is what I encouraged her to do.

Dogs will bark. When she can take a moment and reconnect with herself, she can then respond in a calmer and more peaceful manner.

She then can practice the strategies she already learned, but because of feeling overwhelmed and caught up in the swirling, the strategies she already learned aren’t accessible to her.

She’s emotionally flooded and unable to think clearly.

The mind is wonderful as it can plan and take action. When the mind is overwhelmed because the body and mind are disconnected, we feel lost.

When you reconnect with yourself, find presence in the moment, you can then make choices of how to respond with your end goal in mind.

Taking the next step towards your goal may be less about your dog, but more about how you are showing up and with what energy you’re bringing into that moment with your dog.

Curious how your presence and awareness of how you show up in your day to day can pave the way for a deeper connection with your dog?

Set up a time to chat!

Ask for Support, Your Body and Your Dog Will Thank You!

You do all the things for your family.

You’re juggling work, taking care of things in the home, your family and you feel like you don’t have space for yourself.

On top of it, now you are the one who is the primary caregiver for the dog you and your family added to the family.

You believed everyone was going to share in the responsibilities in caring for your companion animal, but you found yourself doing this too.

You’re exhausted and frustrated.

You’re at a crossroads.

You’ve vented your frustration with your family about what your dog is doing and they go into problem solving mode.

Their solutions don’t line up with your values of ensuring the care and welfare of your dog.

Your whole body tells you, pain, force and intimidation is not the answer or the direction you want to go in how you want to show up for your dog.

What you didn’t see clearly before, but now you do is that what you need is support not permission.

Support in how you take space for yourself to reset.

Support in seeing the connection of when you take time to be present with your dog, not only does your dog receive connection, companionship and love, but you receive too.

You receive relief from the swirling of anxiety and confusion from all the doing for others and what you give yourself and your body is calmness from the raging storm inside of you.

When you see the fruits of your labor in how your dog starts seeking you out when otherwise he would feel fear and frustration, you want to throw a party!

I invite you to include yourself in that party too.

You, along with your dog deserve celebration. Taking the step into prioritizing yourself, what your dog needs and putting into action skill building exercises which strengthen the flame of connection you know is already lit, you fan the flames to create more fire and energy to do this all again.

Maybe, the support you desire is for your family to help you out with other responsibilities while you take the loving leadership role in your dog’s life.

Want to explore what is showing up for you? Let’s chat

Taking Center Stage

Investing in your transformation is priceless.

When you are intentional about how you invest your time, money and resources, you are actively taking a step to changing your life.

One client shared with me yesterday, that the investment in carving out time with her dog and working with a professional, she shared that yes her dog is a different dog than when we started, but her intimate and other professionals relationships have changed too.

This amazes her, but doesn’t surprise me. All of our relationships are interwoven together and taking center stage is you.

You are the one who has the primary role in your life.

Your confidence and honoring your inner wisdom allows you to freely express yourself because you trust who you are and you stand firm in your values.

The same person shared how now she can confidently and unwaveringly take action with her dog in a do no harm manner even when other “strategies” are suggested by those around her.

The ripples of learning move beyond the human and dog bond. The ripples influence and shape other connections too because you transform.

Another client shared with me that she prefers the approach of co-creating a training plan. She’s worked with others who tell her what to do, but they don’t listen to what she has to say.

Often, in the dog training space, professionals have their own judgments of what is needed for the client and their dog without hearing what the person is saying about what their dog needs or wants.

This is a common theme many of my clients shared with me along the way.

I deeply listen to what you communicate as your desire and what you envision for your future.

When we work together, you create your vision of what you desire your life to look like and I guide you along the way.

I support you by helping you get really clear on where you want to go and what next step is aligned for you, not what’s best for me.

The work we get to do together is much more about supporting you in how you make the choice to show up for yourself, others and your companion animals.

You gain more self awareness, how to live more presently and discovering your own empowerment that is laying in plain sight.

When you discover your own empowerment, you make choices from a more confident place and your trust for yourself grows.

Curious about what this gets to look like for you? Schedule a time to connect with me.