What is the point of training your dog? Everyone knows that you “should train your dog.” But if that is all that it is, a “should”, it’s not likely to happen or at least not happen well. Tony Robbins, an internationally known professional coach talks about designing goals around what you want and not what you should do. “Shoulds” are what you think others want you to do and are not likely to happen because you have no vested self interest in the “should”. Think about it, isn’t that true?.
When you design your goals around what you truly want, all of your energy is focused on that goal. It becomes exciting to pursue and you are committed to completing your goal. So instead of, “I should train my dog”; what goals do you have for you and your dog that you really want to obtain? Be specific. Some examples might be:
- I will be able to take my dog with me when I watch my child’s baseball game.
- I will be able to take my dog on off leash runs during rural camping trips.
- I will be able to have my dog sit calmly in a kayak so we can enjoy pleasant trips together.
- I will take my dog hiking with other dog lovers such as with the Michigan Dog Trainer Awesome Adventures group.
- I will be able to earn an obedience title with my dog because I enjoy training him and competing with him as a sport.
- Or perhaps as in the below video with Magnum, I will be able to take him with me while participating in an outdoor Tai Chi class.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmsiufBNEtg?rel=0]
Whatever your goal is, make sure it is something that you want to do and then develop action steps to accomplish your goals such as:
- I will enroll my dog in a dog training program whether that be board and train, private in home dog training or a group dog class, or
- I will buy a dog training DVD to learn how to train my dog myself.
So don’t make it a “should”, instead make it a “I want to…..”. Then simply implement your action steps so your goals will become reality and you can experience new awesome adventures with your dog.
Contact a professional Michigan Dog Trainer for help with setting your goals and training your dog.
