Living an Embodied Life with Your Dog

The felt relationship goes beyond what we know or what words can describe intellectually.

The felt relationship is embodied in the heart and where a deep connection and bond is with another being.

Love springs up and expands our worldview of what is possible and where you can go on this journey together.

Dogs are emotional and sentient beings who deserve our love and our connection.

Let go of old notions of what living with a dog looked like and instead choose how you want to feel living with your dog.

One of my clients did just this.

She wanted her dog to experience a life well lived with her, but traditional dog training classes fell short.

She saw the skills she was learning were useful, but it didn’t touch on how to integrate these skills into daily living activities.

My client wanted to get to the heart of the matter and help her dog feel more comfortable in new situations and around other people and in a changing environment.

She and her dog are learning how to communicate with one another.

She gives opportunity for choices and she’s learning every day what her dog needs and wants.

This is what the Growl to Grow Dog Training and Support Program is all about-building connection and guiding you how you embody the relationship you want to create with your dog.

Build Rapport with Your Clients

We all have our lived experience shaping how we interact with the world around us.

When our clients are struggling with their dog’s behavioral concerns, they are left feeling confused, frustrated or even worried about what’s going to happen.

For sure they don’t want the issue to get worse, but they are also inundated with conflicting information which doesn’t leave them feeling confident in how they can address what’s going on effectively.

This is where you, the pet professional comes in.

Most often, you’re the last resort.

The pet parent is relying on you.

Establishing the client relationship is a delicate balance of being supportive as well as grounding the client in how they choose to implement training protocols and management strategies as a lifestyle routine.

None of this is easy.

But, it can happen when the rapport between you and the client is established allowing for harmonious communication to flow through you all.

Here are useful strategies in starting off the client relationship on the right foot.

  1. Remember your client’s (not just the dog’s names!) This helps you connect with the person in front of you.
  2. Find common ground. As a pet professional, you most likely went through some struggles and were determined to find answers. You also felt worried or had other concerns about what your dog was experiencing. Remember, you clients are in the same boat! They sought you out for answers and your own experience can help you get into the shoes of your client.
  3. This leads me to say, remain empathetic. People are really struggling and in order to help the dogs, you must understand where the person is coming from too. Even our ideal clients struggles. Understanding how to reach your clients in the way you’ll be received and seeing that satisfying their need to be heard and understood will help you, help their dog. The human-human connection is vital for change.
  4. Mind your body language. When you’re active listening, make sure to give your full attention. Nothing says, “I don’t care” when attention is taken away by being distracted or not giving eye contact to your client. But also, don’t stare!
  5. Active listening is vital to the client relationship. Being able to hear the emotions under the words being spoken and reframe these sentiments to your client. This can help your client be heard. In many situations, our clients may feel alone as others in their inner circles don’t understand their struggles. Be the person who understands and reframe their beliefs can help you connect and get at the heart of the matter.

Start Your Journey Here!

Lots of laughter and reflection during the Visualizing Your Dreams Workshop I hosted last Saturday.

Now, you can participate on your own time, the workshop was recorded and now is available for you too!

Get Started!

Giving time for reflection is allows you space in getting clarity on what you want most and you can create a road map which allows you to see your goals on a daily basis.

As my students learned during this workshop, the mind doesn’t discern between reality or imagination.

When those mental images are created in your mind’s eye and you visualize what it would feel like to accomplish your goals, what it would taste and smell like to achieve what you wanted the most, your mind and body are working together.

Your goals become integrated with how you experience your world.

As you continue your practice of daily reflection on your goals, you raise your consciousness of where you’re going.

The daily life worries take less of a hold of you because you’re more clear on where you’re going.

There’s no more room to waste time or energy on the what if’s in life, because you’re staying present in the moment and this is where you can apply your attention and focus on taking the steps to your goals.

When you see what you want to achieve every day, there’s no room to allow other distractions to filter in and derail you.

All you need to get started in living more in alignment with your goals:

  1. Set aside each day for a practice of reflection and gratitude.
  2. Review your goals and create milestones which are specific and time limited which lay the path toward your goals. These will keep you accountable and help you to remain laser focused on what you want to achieve.
  3. Share your goals with others you trust. By sharing with others, you have others who can support you and keep you accountable when you feel overwhelmed. We all need support and having a shared experience with others can provide you a lift when you need it the most.

Only you can prioritize what you want in life.

Taking action starts with you!