Confidence is all about feeling sure of yourself and your abilities, feeling capable of doing the things you want to, meaning that a lack of confidence can mean you don’t do things you really want to. If this is you, then come join my free four day Confidence Challenge between 10th -13th May – the content will be valuable to everyone.
Dogs (and humans) work and develop best at their own pace
It’s been wonderful watching our members practise all the games in our Nose Nerds scent work programme and I love seeing how both dogs and people are growing in confidence and ability as they work through the programme.
It’s not a competition, you work through the games at your own pace. Every dog (and every human) is different. Everyone has different amounts of time you can spend training – after all, you have your human life to live, too. Some dogs have more natural ability than others and some dogs have been playing the scent games we recommend during our Perfect Pet courses which gives them a great start.
The Nose Nerds course is based in our online Training Academy and there are five games there you can access for free. Try them!
Watching your dog sniff on walks, follow the track of some small animal, or find something you’ve hidden is one of the great joys of dog ownership. I will never tire of watching dogs use their nose and of learning more and more about their amazing superpower.
How does confidence show itself?
Some dogs are very confident and take all the challenges they face in their stride. Others are more wary, uncertain about what to do and lacking confidence. That applies to any type of training you do with your dog – and it also applies to you, too.
Gus is confident about scent work but can be a bundle of nerves when there are odd sounds. He’s always been noise sensitive and lockdown has made it worse – he has started to react more to unusual traffic noises. And those big ears don’t help…
I’ve spent a lot of time (and continue to do so) to try and help build his confidence in dealing with odd noises and bangs. It’s pretty successful – he completely ignored the gun shots we had nearby on Saturday morning – but any new noises can cause a fear reaction.
Confidence is all about feeling sure of yourself and your abilities, feeling capable of doing the things you want to. Confident dogs (and humans) can cope with the trials and tribulations they face in life. If you are less confident, then new things can seem like insurmountable mountains.
Lack of confidence can mean you don’t do things you really want to. It holds you back from taking that scary step towards a new challenge, stops you applying for that promotion or new job, or stops you jumping the corporate ship to follow your dreams.
Our free Confidence Challenge will allow you to build your confidence and follow your dreams!
If you’d like to find out more about confidence and how to build your own capability, why not join my free four day Confidence Challenge between 10th and 13th May. It’s aimed at people who might want to become dog trainers, but the content will be valuable to everyone.
On Monday 10th May I’ll be talking about fear and how it can destroy your confidence. On Tuesday 11th I’ll be talking about why the saying “fake it ‘til you make it” is both true and false. On Wednesday 12th we’ll be talking about that perennial confidence sapper, imposter syndrome, then on Thursday 13th the free webinar is all about how to build your confidence and follow your dreams.
The sign up is via our Trainers Academy page
I’d love to see you there, or at Nose Nerds or whenever you want to join us!
Keep training and stay safe,
Carol
