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Maybe you adopted a rescue dog that faced trauma in its past. Maybe you’ve never owned a dog before and things are quickly going off the rails. Maybe your dog had a negative experience that left unwelcome behaviours lingering.
No matter what brought you to this point, you and your dog are likely feeling apprehensive about what your future together holds.
I know from personal experience how hurtful and frustrating this can be.
Having spent over fifteen years learning and applying, experimenting and experiencing what it takes to grow a healthy human-canine relationship, I’m excited to share what I’ve learned.
Why? Because a healthy bond with our dogs can enhance our lives like nothing else.
It all begins with establishing a healthy bond, as only in the safety of that bond can we clearly see the dog’s true nature.
When we are willing to take responsibility for the state of our relationship with our dogs, including our role in their problem behaviours, we begin living with them differently. We grow in strength and wisdom, become better people, and the dogs can’t help but follow suit. They reward us in ways we never imagined, far exceeding our effort, and bestow on us their unique intelligence and real personality. Because we have done the work to understand them as dogs, they now understand us as humans.
How do I know this? Because I’ve been where you are right now. In fact, I came to my wit’s end with a dog that seemed impossible to train. (You can read about my adventures with Maya here). When I hit my personal rock bottom as a dog owner, I discovered that I was the one who needed to change first. Luckily, I found groundbreaking experts to show me the way. Ultimately, I completely reframed my perspective on how to live with dogs and my relationship with Maya transformed.
Here’s what we won’t do. We won’t be looking for the right control tool to use on your dog. We won’t be devising complex desensitization and conditioning protocols. We won’t be doing obedience in the traditional sense. Rather, we’ll begin by considering the problem behaviours presented by your dog and then look for clues in your way of life, including your approach to training, exercising, and socializing your dog, for why things are as they are. We will deconstruct your mindset towards the dog, and dogs in general, and analyze the impact that this mindset has had on your relationship.
How do we know we have a good relationship with our dog? The dog is confident, calm, and collected. It minds us regardless where we are. It deals with new experiences confidently, knowing it has us to lean on. The dog is self-preserving; it doesn’t put itself in danger because we’ve made its life worth living. The dog is genuinely happy and can’t wipe the smile off its face. You could have this.
In a nutshell, I’ve discovered that healthy bonds take care of most unhealthy behaviours. That may sound deceptively simple and yet sometimes all it takes is a radical rethinking of how you relate to your dog… and we all know old habits can be hard to break. However, once you’re on that path of reengineering your mindset and way of life, the rewards tend to come quickly because the dogs can tell we’re on to something! I promise that you’ll never look at dogs and life with them the same way again.
Are you ready to build a relationship foundation that can support a lifetime of fun, freedom, and accomplishment with your dog?
Way of Life™ Dog Training coaches clients in creating strong bonds with their dogs, aiming for a lifetime of fun and freedom. Working with relationship rather than surface behaviour, we coach people in designing ways of life that nurture sound, solid, and spirited dogs. Therefore, we help owners not only get off to a great start, but also address issues such as anxiety and reactivity, where present.
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