Dancing Hearts Blog

Do you dream of creating a brilliant partnership with your dog? The type of partnership where the two of you can dance through life together as real partners? A winning team together?

I want that for you too, which is why I’m sharing exactly how you and your dog can become winning partners. But first, you need to understand that to be a brilliant partner for your dog, you must put mental conditioning, optimistic thinking, responsibility for your actions, flexibility, intuition, and receptivity on your ‘To BE List.’

It might sound like a lot, but trust me, once you get a grip of all of these things and start working on your ‘To BE List,’ you’ll notice an incredible change and improvement in your relationship with your dog.

 

Your mental state is so important

Your mental state has a huge impact on you and your dog. You might not realize it, but your thoughts and thinking patterns can affect your partnership with your dog. Not considering your mental state as it relates to your dog is something that many people overlook.

Our response to different situations is often influenced by our past experiences, our expectations, goals, our self-image, and many more. All of these things directly impact how we interact with our dogs. In turn, these factors influence the results we achieve when striving to be a brilliant partner for and with our dogs.

The solution to gain more control over how your partnership with your dog grows is by putting things like your thinking, intuition, and aspirational ways of being onto your ‘To BE List.’ Your ‘To BE List’ is different than your typical to-do list.

Learning to manage your mental state takes time. It is something you have to practice. If you can learn to manage your thoughts, you will have more control over your feelings, responses, and actions to certain situations.

You have limitless potential. If you start to peel back the layers, you can begin to reveal a different version of yourself. Or, as I like to call it, the next version of yourself.

 

“Step into your dog’s paws and start to see the world through their perspective”

 

How you think about your dog’s behavior

When your dog behaves in a certain way, you might assume that it’s for a particular reason. However, your first impression of how and why your dog is behaving a certain way may not be entirely accurate.

So, why does this keep happening?

Well, it usually comes down to your basic human instincts. When our dog behaves in any way, whether it’s perceived as good or bad behavior, we tend to ask ourselves why. And, because we’re human, we also tend to choose the answer that takes the least amount of time and effort. This way of thinking can lead us down the path of assumptions.

If your dog doesn’t want to come inside when you ask them to, you might think it’s because they are stubborn. Or, if your dog is lunging or barking at other dogs, it’s because they are young and immature, etc.

The next time your dog behaves in a certain way, take a moment to step into your dog’s paws. Try to see the world through their eyes, and you might find that you develop a deeper understanding of why your dog behaves the way they do. Become interested in your dog’s perspective and make an effort to see things from their point of view.

When you focus on your dog and what they are trying to communicate through their behavior, it’s so much easier to understand why they behave in certain ways. By understanding why your dog behaves the way they do, you can begin to think about how you can help your dog through stressful situations.

 

Focus on the solution, not the problem

Try to see beyond the problem in front of you and think about the solution. For example, if your dog becomes overly excited at the park and around other dogs, think about how you can help calm them down in that situation. You might find that the best solution is to avoid the park altogether. Try a quieter route that doesn’t overstimulate your dog.

No matter what the problem is, there is always a solution. However, it’s very difficult to focus on the solution when you’re solely focused on the problems, struggles, obstacles, and setbacks. Your mind can become occupied with the problem so much that there is no room for a solution to emerge.

Our minds can hold one conscious thought at a time. This means that you need to be careful which thought you allow to occupy that space. Remember that you have the power to decide which thoughts you have. With practice, you can condition your mind to think about the solution rather than the problem.

Whenever your dog behaves in a way that you wish they wouldn’t, think about how you can help your dog overcome the problem. Focus on the solutions and be open to thinking about possible pathways to success.

 

 

Pay attention to how you measure success

Measuring success is important because it drives motivation and even more accomplishments along the way. However, you need to pay attention to how you measure success. Maybe your dog learned a new trick at last and so, you celebrate that success. However, you notice that other dogs were much quicker to learn that trick. You measure your dog’s success against how it compares to others, which isn’t very fair.

Every dog is different, and while some learn things slower than others, it doesn’t make their accomplishment worth any less. It is much more beneficial (and difficult) to measure internal success. When you’re trying to change your own way of thinking and realize that you no longer have to actively remind yourself to think positively about a situation with your dog, that is a success worth measuring and celebrating.

 

Become the Brilliant Partner your dog needs

I believe that who we become as a result of sharing our life with our dogs is what brings us true satisfaction and pleasure. In becoming a better partner for your dog, you will gain a deeper understanding of your dog’s experiences. Seeing things through their eyes gives you the opportunity to get to know your dog on a much deeper level. In turn, you become a more compassionate and patient partner for your dog.

 

“Who we become as a result of sharing our life with dogs is what brings us true satisfaction and pleasure”

 

Here are a few ideas to help you become a brilliant partner for your dog:

Start where you are

Don’t worry about how far behind you think you are. The only place where you can start to make a change is right where you are now. So, meet yourself and your dog where you are and from there, take baby steps towards where you want to be in the future.

 

Appreciate what you have

It’s easy to get swept away with all of the things you want. However, I invite you to start to appreciate what you have. When you are grateful for the things you love in your life with your dog, it becomes so much easier to draw more of that into your life.

Do you want 2021 to be your best year ever? If so, I invite you to join my Creative Alchemy Passion Plan, an awesome plan to help you get clear about what your HEARTS DESIRE really is and create the life you want for you and your dog. Find out more about the Creative Alchemy Passion Plan here: www.dancinghearts.link/2021

 

If you’d like to work with me and learn how to create a partnership lifestyle for you and your dog, you can request an invitation to join us in the Brilliant Partners Academy when the doors open for the next enrolment!

You can listen to everything I talked about in this blog post over on my podcast – Enlightened By Dogs. It’s episode 135, which you can listen to here.