Using the Right Energy

When my husband taught me how to negotiate technical mountain bike trails, he noticed I was looking at the obstacles directly in front of my tire.

“If you focus where you don’t want to go—that rock in the middle of the trail--WHAM! That’s where you’re going to point your tire. You’re also going to be spending all your energy thinking, ‘Don’t hit the rock, don’t hit the rock.’ Look up. Look down the trail where you want to go. Where your gaze goes, your bike will follow.”

Let’s apply those sage words to dog training.

Your dog is going crazy. He’s lunging on his leash at another dog, he's constantly pulling on his leash at everything, barking his head off at the window, or he's at the door being an over-enthusiastic greeter.

ACK!

We’ve all been there. Looking directly at the source of the problem: the dog. We try to figure out how to fix the problem, how to fix him! "No! No! Stop Fido! Stop!" So frustrating.

I’m suggesting dog owners stop looking at the “rock on the trail.” Stop being so focused on the problem of what’s going wrong, instead of where you want to go.

What this looks like in action:

• Literally stop looking at your dog. Shift your gaze up. Look at the sky. Look at your surroundings.
• Breathe. Nice deep breaths.
• Say to yourself, “What a pretty sky. What a nice tree.” Because if we just look up in this moment of stress we’ll still have that “dog conversation” in our head, “My dog's so annoying. Ugh! I'm going to pull my hair out. How can I get him to do what I want? He’s embarrassing me…” So the goal is to interrupt your thoughts and just replace them with ANYTHING, even if they’re boring and bland. They don’t have to be Zen thoughts. Goofy thoughts are welcome.
• Now you are your own energy again.Separate from whatever your dog is doing.
• Before you look back at your dog, feel this energy. Stay slow and calm.  
• Think about what you want your dog to do, not what your dog is doing. You’re not going to tell your dog, “No!” Because that’s not telling your dog what you want him to do. What command does your dog know that you can use at this moment? Sit? Come here? Go to your bed? Whatever very simple command, you're going to say it as upbeat and positive as you can. No judgment.
• Look back at your dog and stay with your energy. Say what you want him to do in that upbeat, happy voice and when he does what you ask, praise him big time. "Good boy!!!"

Remember: Tell your dog where you want to go down that trail, so you don't trip up by focusing on that rock right in front of you.