I know you want your dog’s behavior to change. I get it. There are behaviors that your dog does that drives you mad! It’s normal to feel frustrated when your dog does certain behaviors that you don’t like. I did dog training near Chardon today which focuses on a set back. The dog’s name is Brownie, and I will talk about that experience soon.
First, it’s normal to expect that training will change these maddening behaviors so that you can gain peace of mind. Yes, training works and will change your dog’s behavior. However, set backs are a HUGE part of training progress. When your dog learns a new way of being it takes time for this behavior to become more reliable or a new way of being.
My Personal Set Back
I got inspired to write this today because my daughter and I went downhill skiing on Sunday. I had never taken Iris before and it was a HUGE challenge for the both of us. Iris was overwhelmed by the clunky boots, getting the boots on her feet, tightening the boots, carrying the heavy skis, attaching the boots to the skis, etc. Basically, once we received our rental equipment it became a spiral of challenges.
When we arrived at the slope, the conveyer belt was broken. We had to walk up the hill. I felt disappointed. Iris was daunted. She began crying and totally had a huge meltdown. We literally almost left the resort. The meltdown lasted for at least an hour. I was frazzled and my sympathetic nervous system was firing.
I wanted to share this because there are many times when you are training your dog that you will just want to give up. It will appear that you aren’t moving forward at all. How do you deal with that? Do you just give up and stop training?
Let’s give you some tools that can help you learn how to move forward through these challenges and get unstuck. First, I want to share about my experience with dog training near Chardon today with a dog named Brownie. She is a great example of moving through a so called set back.
Brownie’s Problem When I Did Dog Training Near Chardon
As your dog is learning something new, he / she will try on different ways of responding to see what happens. Today I was dog training near Chardon in Huntsburg. I was training a dog named Brownie to get into the car. Sometimes Brownie got into the car quickly and sometimes more slowly. Once Brownie started getting into the car more slowly, the owner’s brain went immediately into a “problem.” A normal response and one that is common for our brains.
How about a different perspective? Brownie might have been experimenting. She doesn’t speak English so she tries on different actions to see what happens. If she gets more of what she wants then she will perform that particular action more often. She has no way of knowing that we actually want her to get into the car more quickly.
How can we help her understand that we want her to quickly get into the car? I had the owner give Brownie a longer duration of treats for getting into the car quickly and a shorter duration of treats for getting into the car more slowly. Even if the treats were the same amount, the longer duration of treats will appear to be more in Brownie’s brain. Overtime, Brownie will realize that she gets a better reward for going into the car quickly.
As a result, the contrast of going into the car slowly verses going into the car quickly helps Brownie learn what works better. As long as she wants the reward, she will start to get into the car faster over a period of days / weeks.
The biggest mistake you can make is to not allow your dog to fail. It is helpful for your dog to see what happens when he reacts a way that is different than what you are goal. It also is helpful to think of training as an experiment. What happens when my dog does this? What happens when my dog does something different? Is the consequence increasing or decreasing the behavior that I want my dog to do? What payoff is my dog getting?
Now lets look at the tools to help you change from a set up to getting back on track.
Ground Yourself When Doing Dog Training Near Chardon
After Iris’s meltdown, we both did rapid eye. It grounds your energy quickly and is like magic. Rapid eye releases trauma and realigns both hemispheres of your brain so that you can think more clearly. Once we did this, we were on the slopes having a blast,and it turns out that Iris is a great skier.
There are many ways to ground yourself. You need to do the ones that work best for you.
- Rapid eye
- Shaking your body
- Eye patching (patch one eye for a few minutes and then patch the other for the same amount of time)
- Chi Gong
- Yoga
- Breathing through your belly. Have the out breath be longer than your in breath.
- Meditation
- Watch this video below to learn more tools on ground.
When your body is less stressed and your nervous system is more balance, you can easily make choices that excel your success.
Grace
Have compassion towards yourself and your dog. Come from your heart. Understand that your dog is a different species, and it will take time for the both you to understand each other. Come from the heart towards yourself and your dog.
Re-evaluate and Ask Yourself Better Questions
Once Iris and I grounded, we talked about feeling our emotions and then regaining our focus, instead of reacting. She was more grounded and could receive this learning. When we were skiing, she then shifted quickly time and time again. We had a great time!
I started asking myself better questions too. What is going well? How can I open myself up to a new possibility? What if this an opportunity to open ourselves to a new possibility is better than anything that I can imagine?
When you are training your dog, it is the same. Look at the bigger picture. What can you do differently? How can you help your dog understand more? How can communicate in ways that your dog will understand? How can help training be more successful with your dog? How can you be a team with with your dog? How can you choose fun while training your dog? How can you turn training into a game?
From Problem to Possibility Can Help You With Dog Training Near Chardon
Now that you are asking better questions, you can open yourself up to receive a new possibility! Iris and I did! We had the time of our lives skiing together!
When you just focus on problems, your brain shuts down and you come from fear and control. We all do it. Recognize it then refocus. How can you open yourself up to a new possibility while training your dog?
Ultimately remember that training your dog is not an upward spiral. Both you and your dog are learning something new so set backs will definitely happen. You can also just think of them as a new opportunity to change your perspective.
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Share with Me About Your Dog Training Near Chardon
I would love for you to share your experiences with me. What challenges are you dealing with your dog? How can you embrace this so called problem / set back and change it into a learning experience? What is your new possibility? Contact me below and share!
Or if you are lost on how to apply this, contact me too! I am happy to help you train your dog 🙂
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