I was doing a dance of joy yesterday (Mentally. I’m not fit enough to dance, nor is the world ready to see the results of my attempts). A dog we first saw ten days ago was highly stressed and permanently aroused – it took 20 minutes for him to stop barking at the first visit, 50 minutes to even start to calm down and the guts of 2 hours to get into a state where he could relax enough to respond to his owner.
We worked with his owner on several different strategies and gave her a plan to follow. So yesterday we went back to see how she had got on.
And it was a total transformation. The dog barked just a couple of times as we came in, remained relaxed throughout and stayed engaged with his owner who proudly showed off his new talents.
She and her daughter had followed the plan – the daughter had printed it out and stuck it on the fridge to check each morning. They’d done short training sessions with their dog several times each day and the results were wonderful.
It’s still a work in progress and there is more to do, but she is well on the way to having the dream dog she knew was in there somewhere.
As long as she keeps up the training.
Neither dogs nor people are machines. Sometimes I dream about being able simply to download an app into my brain which would automatically make me do things I should do regularly, like exercise, or do all my planning for me, such as what to eat today. Or setting aside time to train my own dog, Gus.
But that ain’t going to happen.
I can’t honestly remember just how many things I’ve signed up for but never completed (or even started with some). Nothing has changed about me wanting to do them – but wanting to do something and actually doing it are two different things.
I get started on a project, reality sets in, things become challenging, I get distracted, flip into imagination mode, and pronto! I’m enticed by another idea. I switch to the new idea, enthusiasm builds, moving along nicely, interest wanes, I get distracted, flip again into imagination mode and…you guessed it!…get another idea.
Which is why I have so many unfinished courses, schemes and half-completed craft projects. Never mind not doing what I promised myself in January – to do daily regular music practice! Instead, my piano and clarinet are quietly gathering more dust in a corner…
We all need help to set up the habits we need if we’re to do the things we want to do in life. Including regularly training your dog.
Keep training and stay safe,
Carol