Training Challenges Are Feedback: What To Do When Things Don’t Go To Plan

Описание: Training challenges are feedback, and when things don’t go to plan, it’s often a sign there’s something new to discover. I’m sharing what to do when progress feels stuck and how to turn challenges into learning opportunities for you and your dog.

Transcript Summary:
I have on my coffee mug, and I read this every day, and it says, ‘The more I learn, the smarter my dog appears.’ And that's so empowering because if my dog isn't making those choices, I've got to learn more. I've got to dig more into the Shaped by Dog podcasts.

I have to jump over to YouTube and really devour those Shaped by Dog episodes. The more you learn, the smarter your dog's going to appear. I promise you that. So, the things that are not within your control, those are likely the ones that are going to get you a little bit more discouraged. So, now we need to dial in that moment of discouragement. And how can we respond to that?

Instead of going to, ‘Why does this always happen to me?’, your brain's going to give you that list, or ‘I'm never going to get this.’, or ‘My dog's never going to get this.’ Let's think of how we can reframe what is happening and think about it's happening for you. It's an opportunity for growth.

And guess what? Growth is brilliant. It means you're learning. It means you're discovering. You're having experiences that it's going to take you to a better place. Maybe is going to take you to working with me full time. Wouldn't that be awesome? I think I would like that.

And so, when something happens, the first thing you've got to do is catch yourself. This is going to be difficult. You're not going to immediately be in control of your emotions, but the moment you feel you go from outcome to response, check it down and say, “Okay, why am I frustrated? And is this truth? Is this a universal truth or is this my perception?”

Now if it's your perception that your dog never seems to get this right, how does that perception serve you? It probably doesn't, does it? It doesn't empower you. It doesn't raise your vibration as a human being.

We want to choose perceptions that help us to ascend to the person we're meant to be. We want to choose perceptions that enrich our relationship with our dogs. If our perception leads us to frustration and anger, guess what, your dog suffers. They become to be a little bit more aware of you in a not so positive way when they're training.

That's not what we want. We want everything we do in the name of training to enrich that relationship, to make it something very, very special. So, check what emotion you're feeling. Ask yourself, is your thought a universal truth or is it a perception?

Chances are it's a perception. Now, how can we change that? How can we go from where we are to growth. So, of course, reframing is going to be of limited value if you don't have the good dog training behind you. So, I need you to question the dog training that you're using now.

And if it's not serving you, find a dog training that's more aligned with the kind of person you want to be with your dog. Find dog training that has a systematic approach to take you where you want to go. Find dog training that has hundreds of success stories of people who've walked in the shoes you're walking in.

Now, with your own dog training right now, how you can help reframe is you've got to be videoing your training. Because once you feel that moment of frustration, you can say, “Alright, buddy, we're going to take a little break here. I'm going to take a look at the video.” You've got something to give you hope for what's going to happen next.

And every time you look at the video, I promise you it will be better than it felt. It always is. Next, you're going to journal because by journaling, you are going to be able to keep track of where you are today. It's so easy to get discouraged when you want to be somewhere where you're not. “Oh, when is this dog ever going to be house trained? Is it never going to sink into his—.”

No. By keeping track of the challenges you have currently in a journal, you can look back on where you were last month and go, “Okay, we're actually kind of moving along.” It's not a sprint. It's a marathon. Learning is just going to happen incrementally.

And if you're doing it with games, it's actually going to be more like a parade than a marathon. It's going to be fun. Every day is going to be fun. You're going to cut yourself some slack and move forward but celebrate every single little success.

You have a journal that is a book of all of those celebrations. You've got a video that will tell you what actually happened. And now we're going to reframe your perception. You're going to ask yourself empowering questions. Ask yourself a question that's going to lead you to a better outcome.

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