Dog Training Norwich
Why should I?
Remembering that our dogs are not actually obliged to cooperate with us, can empower us and place us in a much more influential position. When we tell ourselves that our dog should walk to heel, should come when called and should be friendly towards other dogs (to mention a few) we effectively create a big gap between where we are and where we want to be. Living with this gap can be extremely uncomfortable for both you and your dog! 
‘Should’ can be seen as a rather unhelpful word and sometimes just replacing it with ‘Could’ can make all the difference! ‘My dog could walk to heel’ feels so much more hopeful and full of possibility! Words are incredibly powerful and the words that we repeat to ourselves about our lives and the situations and circumstances within it, can become like mantras that shape and impact our perceptions and reactions.
‘Should’ can keep us stuck in resistance, in a place where nothing is ever quite as it should be. As the saying goes – ‘what we resist persists’ and the more we resist what is, the more we can dig ourselves into a problem! My dog should do this, my dog should do that and I should be in control! Where did all these ‘shoulds’ come from!?
Much like us, all dogs are different. Different parents, different births and different formative experiences with their litter mates and the world around them. All these variables are what create the diversity of personality that dog owners the world over have delighted in for many thousands of years.
On a survival level, a group of diverse personalities can work really well. It means that there are a variety of different skill sets available, to fulfil different roles and situations. Put simply, different life experiences create different creatures with differing capabilities. Not better or worse capabilities, just different, and everyone has something special and unique to offer to the group.
When we honour these differences we can work together in harmony, and for the benefit of all. If we replace ‘should’ with ‘could’ we can bypass resistance and free up both inner and outer space. A world of possibilities now becomes available to us as the Universe conspires to bring helpful people and situations into our lives, and we are able to co-create – with our dogs and everyone else around us – the peace and joy filled lives that we all desire.
