5 Mistakes we make when trying to make a change with our dog.

I was scrolling through Instagram and came across a great video posted by Mel Robbins (if you don’t know her she is brilliant and well worth a follow) her video was about the 5 mistakes everyone is making when they are trying to make change in their life (video link at the end of the blog - but read the blog first! )

I could have written the content of this video myself, about trying to make a change to overcome your dogs undesirable behaviours.

It really resonated with me, so I thought I’d to share these 5 mistakes with you and see if they resonate with you too?

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1. You’re waiting to feel ready.

Sometimes we keep putting things off. I’ll start it when….. , our lives are busy and we could always put barriers in the way of making a change. Change can be new and out of our comfort zone, but in my experience this is when the most wonderful things can happen!

2. You spend all your time taking or thinking about it.

It will be a daily topic of conversation weather it be with family, friends or someone you meet on a walk and will be always nagging in the back of your mind. That’s because you are trying to figure out why your dog is behaving the way they are and trying to make sense of what to do about it.

3. You’re not an expert in change - you are a student. You need to learn about what you need to do.

We so often go ‘well X worked with this dog’ or ‘Tracy said that X worked for her dog’ or ‘I found this thing on Google that said it will work’. What you end up doing it ‘trying’ all these 'quick fixes' and nothing works and you go around in circles. Investing time in learning what to do and why you need to do it that way is the only way you will stop that cycle and have a clear understanding of what to do, and gain the confidence to do it.

4. You’re trying to do it alone

I can hold my hands up here! I always trying to go it alone first - you know what it never works and I end up wasting time and end up seeking help anyway or surrounding myself with people that know how. Support is so important when you are making a change and learning something new - especially when it come to a whole new language from a different species.

5. You’re not celebrating and measuring your progress

You can’t just look at the end goal, you need to celebrate those small steps to where you want to be. This is so important and it's what keeps you moving forward and stopping old habits creeping back in. I hold this in such high regard, that in all my courses and my membership there is a whole module about continued progress. The students will often share their wins and we all celebrate with them. It’s a wonderful community!

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So... I definitely do 1, 2 and 4!

Have you been thinking about making a change with your dog but doing any of these 5 things? let me know in the comments, I am genuinely interested.

Or

Let’s have a chat about what’s been going on for you? You can book in a FREE 30 min coaching call with me here​

P.S - Here is the Mel Robbins video if you want to watch it and follow her :)

​https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ce6BoMkIOs2/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=