** Special Announcement** 

The wonderfully inspirational clothing brand Think Allways has generously chosen to support us this month! 10 percent of their sales will go towards Soul Mutt Foundation. Visiting their site and grabbing a super comfy tank or a pair of yoga pants will help us reach our $30,000 dollar goal. 

Now, onto this week's article!

Methods, tools, reinforcement schedules, control your energy, training, stay calm, socialization, oh shit "SIT," too. You can find an article out there to agree or disagree with any of the strategies. Crap, I probably wrote one. :) 

Today I'm going to share a few important things with you that have helped me. Hopefully they help you, too. They all have nothing and everything to do with dogs. I'll explain.

As a person who is going through the process and continues to learn, mistakes will happen. Opportunities will be lost. But, I always remember I'm doing the best I can with the information I have right now.

Not to say "If I only knew then what I know now" doesn't run through my mind at least once a day. Of course it does. 

It is uncomfortable to change. I know it. And, as I have said before, people will go to amazing extremes to avoid that feeling. Here are a few things I try to remember when I'm uncomfortable in any situation.

1- Compassion for my mistakes. They are going to happen. It might not be pretty, but it's not forever. I struggle with this constantly when meeting new people. I'm a lot like my dog Kita. I am a little socially awkward at first, but I grow on you, and next thing ya know I'm sitting in your lap. :) I'm still learning. 

2- Knowing that there is more to learn and room to grow. I was watching an interview with someone I have a lot of respect for. They were asked, "if they had a super power what would it be?" He responded: "to master uncertainty."

WOW! After I heard that I thought: when was the last time I sought out something that was uncomfortable on purpose? Was it as scary as it was in my head? We all know that shit isn't real!

3- Self awareness. What are my learned responses to stress? Me, I worry about what question I will ask next. Which only emphasizes my problem even more because it's hard to listen and process when you are living in the future. And the future doesn't exist. When you are helping yourself or your dog you have to be in the moment with the feeling. Dogs remind me of that constantly. 

In everything I create for you, my main objective (I hope it comes through) is to share where I have been and what I have seen. I don't believe there is a "one size fits all" way to anything, but putting dogs in boxes for education I know with my heart doesn't feel right. I have had a lot of experience with what works, what doesn't, and what people hope works for their own emotional needs and reasons. 

People have trouble with their dogs for one reason.

"Humans expect dogs to understand what we want, and dogs are only capable of thinking like dogs." - B. Fouche

We have to be honest, it's not how we intended the lesson, it's what the student actually learned. Last week I had a reminder of this when I had two dogs from the same house at our place. They played the same games, grew up in the same environment, yet ended up completely different dogs from that same reality.

What it takes to make the change for your dog may be uncomfortable. It may mean taking risks, but you already know what it feels like now. Imagine the possibilities you could create with a little change. You just have to start. Nothing big was ever built without one small step. 

This week I put together a few resources for you. Hope you enjoy them.

The Dog Entrepreneur Podcast - this week I had my friend JP Sears on. We discussed dealing with haters, we teach what we need to learn, and more. Let me now what you think.

Youtube Videos - New vlog. This week I talked about my dirty little secret in the dog industry . I put out a few other videos this week about launching new products and dog parks.

I was also interviewed for a podcast last week. Ian and I talked about business, dog training, and the relationships humans and dogs experience. I think you will enjoy it. 

That's all for now. If you need me, drop me a line and say hello.

Head rubs and belly scratches. 

Gary