Tony Robbins talks about being present for your spouse or kids. This is something I am guilty of with John, I know I need to work on it. You know what I mean. You are hammering away at the computer and your mate is trying to have a conversation with you that you are absentmindedly agreeing with everything he says until you realize he has stopped talking and is now just staring at you. I am sure you have been there? Hopefully? Surely it can’t just be me, even though John acts like no one else has these moments:).

So what about when you go out to train your dog are you really present then? Do you go out with a plan or just wing it? Winging it can occasionally result is something worthwhile but rarely. If you keep a training journal you will find more of your sessions are purpose driven and you will feel like you accomplished a lot more when you are finished.

It is not the hours of training that brings the excellence it is focused, purposeful training that leads you to excellence. What about when you are in a class. Likely you rush home from work, grab a pop tart and your dog and you are out the door.

Once you get to class you do as your told and in between you share some laughs with your fellow students. Sound familiar? It is unlikely you are getting the most out of your training dollars.  Right now think of your last private lesson or group class. What did the teacher teach? What lesson was she or he hoping to give you? I don’t me what was the sequence did you run, because that you can remember without necessarily learning from it. You have to memorize it to run it, but that doesn’t mean you learned anything.

Think about it and decide if you are really present for your dog the way you could be.

Love the autumn and I love this picture of Buzzy as a youngster enjoying the fall leaves. What a crack up.

Today I am grateful for the patience of John Blenkey:).