Look for the good stuff….
It can really tough when our ‘perfect dog’ just isn’t. Often depending on what the problems are, it can become overwhelming for both dog & the humans. I speak to so many people and yes, generally if they’re contacting me, there are behaviours that they are concerned about or dont like (even though the dog might).
When we (humans) are feeling overwhelmed, sad, frustrated, angry even it can be really difficult to see the ‘good’ stuff’ our dogs do. Its almost like our brain switches to ‘only see bad stuff ‘ mode…
Even when our dogs are doing the ‘stuff’ we dont like’ they literally can not be doing this ALL DAY.
In fact, often it may be something that took just a few minutes, like chewing up your favourite cushion, stealing the sandwiches off the bench, digging up your veggie patch, barking at the neighbour’s dog…
So what were they doing the rest of the day???
See where I’m going with this…..LOOK FOR THE ‘GOOD STUFF’ your dog does every day!!!
Once you start to really notice and acknowledge the great things your dog does the more you will notice!!!
An easy way to start is just to pick 3 things that your dog did today that you liked or preferred.
Often, you start off noticing the things they didnt do e.g.: “well he didnt eat my slippers…dig up the pot plants…pee on my favourite rug” …
This will change as you practice, rather than just noticing the ‘things they did wrong’ you will start seeing all the things they do right, such as greeting people nicely, eating all his breakfast, chilling out quietly while you were on the phone, walking calmly on lead, taking time to sniff about, ignoring cars & vehicles passing along the busy road and so on…
This doesn’t mean that the ‘stuff’ you dont like doesn’t matter, it does, but if you only focus on the problems and the things they get ‘wrong’ , you stop seeing all the great stuff your dog already does!
It’s perfectly ok to not be ‘perfect’ but if you are struggling with some of things your dog does, whether that means wanting to change the behaviour or even just understand the behaviour from the dog’s perspective, Get in Touch