So this week it is time for me to have a deep sharing.  I am here to inspire myself and others in this weekly tip, I am hoping you will get as much inspiration from reading it as I am from writing it!  I am focusing on how it is so easy for us to look at everything that is going on and forget about the progress.  How many times do we compare ourselves and our dogs to others?  How many times do we forget to look how ourselves and our dogs have changed in an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, and in multiple years?

This week was a HUGE transition for me.  I moved into a wonderful house in Olympus Cove in April.  The lease is up in Oct.  I moved in after the lease was signed.  I was not put on the lease and didn’t think anything of it.  Apparently my roommate who signed the lease was having multiple issues with the property management company.  The company has not been following through with agreements and appears to be trying to get money from her.  We were having trouble with the sprinkling system and my roommate told the management company.  The company stated that she would send someone out.  Well she didn’t.  The grass just wasn’t getting water as it should have been and we received a three day eviction notice.  My fears kicked in wondering where I would go and what to do.  I felt that I did wrong and should have known the law as a tenant more.  I believe we worked the part with the eviction out.  I am in the process of finding a new place and am choosing to not pay double rent and will be out by Oct.  My roommates are choosing to leave earlier and are paying double rent.  This is just some background information for you.

As I check in with my body when I think of staying until the end or middle of Sept it feels like a “yes” to me.  Yet the fear kicks in, I feel scared that I may still get evicted.  That I should be following what others (my roommates) are doing)….meaning that I should leave soon and pay double rent.  I am scared that I will be all alone and abandoned in my house when they leave and wondering if I will have to deal with the property management company all alone.  The truth of the matter is that it is time for me to believe in my power and my truth.  It is time for me to listen to myself and not do something just because someone else is doing it.  If I left now I feel that I would be running away from my fear instead of learning from it.

So now I am sitting here and writing this story wanting you to understand that what I am saying is that this whole week has been a gift to me.  It has been a time to check my progress.  In the past, I would have followed what my roommates were doing and felt that I HAD to leave now.  I would have chosen to run away from my fear and not face the lesson that I am to learn. I would have ignored the truth of my body which is telling me to “stay”  in the house for now.  Trusting myself is a new break through for me.  Also allowing myself to believe in my power is new for me.  So this is my progress through this whole big big so called “drama” that was created.  I am choosing to acknowledge this progress:)

I am asking you to check in with yourself and remember to notice past patterns that you did when you were training your dog and give yourself credit for the small changes that you are making.  Integration can take time and does not always happen over night.  What I am saying is if one of your challenges is to become more relaxed around your dog to help him channel his energy.  The first step is to just notice your body’s tension.  Acknowledge that progress.  The second step is to remember to breath.  acknowledge the times that you remember to breath even if they are few in the beginning.  The third step is to increase the number of times that you remember to breath.  Acknowledge that.  Keep allowing yourself to move forward and look back and see how far you have come!

Do the same with your dog.  Notice the baby steps in progress.  If your dog pulls on the leash frequently.  First notice that he is just paying attention to you better.  Then notice that he is pulling on the leash less in areas of low distractions with a high treat frequency.  Then notice that you can decrease the treat frequency.  Then notice that it generalizes to more distracting areas.  Acknowledge each step and remember that for your dog you may have more steps or less steps to acknowledge than this!

Celebrate progress.  It feels so much better than choosing to be degrading and noticing how far away you still are from your terminal goal 🙂

Oh and one more thing.  If any of you know of a wonderful house for rent that is dog friendly and is in the Salt Lake City area please let me know.  I would love to have peaceful roommates and have two bedrooms just for me (one for my office and one for my bedroom).  I will be moving at the middle / end of Sept. Thank you!

Happy Training!

Johanna Teresi Professional Trainer and Owner of Four Legged Scholars