Show Up! Dog Training & The Gym

If you know anything about me, you know there are a few BIG facts.

1- I am not a morning person AT ALL.

2- I value boring routine things.

3- I HATE, let me emphasize that again, H.A.T.E. doing things that I’m not good at.

Why does it matter, you ask?

About three months ago, I made a very deliberate and conscious decision to get WAY out of my comfort zone and I signed up for semi-private training with my long term friend Clark Hibbs who also happens to be the owner of Yellow Rose Fitness. It has me up at around 5:20 and sweating by 6am, and doing a bunch of stuff that… is often uncomfortable and honestly... it's hard. 

Did I mention how I H.A.T.E. trying new things and not being good at stuff?

So why’d I do it, you ask?

A few reasons and, honestly, most of the reasons are selfish. As 40 approaches, I was really starting to look like it. I also need to produce more video content for this business and to do so I need to get over my self conscious “stuff”. A lot of that includes both feeling and looking better so that I’m more willing to step in front of the camera. I was also fed up… since opening this place, this is all I’ve done. I’ve had a one week vacation and any other time I’ve not been here it's because I was doing dog things. I don’t say that from a place of resentment, but more to acknowledge that things have stayed very out of balance and I’m not going to live forever. Another fact that some very long term friends have since pointed out… self care is hard for me and apparently has been for a long time, so just agreeing to myself to do something for me was tough. Somehow everyone else was aware of this but I wasn’t… but thats another blog for another time.

Oh weird, Josh had feelings and was vulnerable... YUCK!

BUUUUUUT… I wouldn’t be telling the whole story if I didn’t tell you that there was another motivation, and it has to do with current, past, and future clients reading this; We ask you to do uncomfortable and new things every lesson, so I figured it would be good for me to take a turn at practicing what I preach and be a student again. Take coaching instead of being the coach/expert.

So what have I learned so far… and what does it have to do with dog training?

1. It is ok to do something for myself (or YOURSELF). The world can wait, won’t fall apart, and self care also often benefits those around you.

   1. Training your dog isn’t just for your enjoyment, it also benefits them. Clear expectations and boundaries in conjunction with a systematic and thoughtful training progression improve not only your relationship with each other, but also how the dog feels about itself.

2. It's ok to be uncomfortable. That’s where improvement happens.

   1. Whether you’re building strength or going through a dog training process, it isn’t all going to be easy. Just like the grind to lift heavier, your dog might not be super comfortable with every single part of every process. Growth, learning, and improvement sometimes happen through or after some discomfort and certainly at the edge of your comfort zone.

3. Even when you don’t feel great, SHOW UP… and bring a receptive attitude. Any progress is progress and doing something is better than doing nothing.

   1. The same applies to training sessions. Not every session is going to be amazing, or even better than the day before, but successive and incremental progress is better than no progress and a few GOOD reps is better than no reps at all. That said, no reps is better than bad reps.

4. For things to change, first you have to change things.

   1. Just like clients who contact us with behavioral issues, for the dog to change their reactions and responses, the first thing we have to address is the human side of their life. What are they allowed to do? How are they managed out of practicing mistakes and further habituating old patterns? How do we give feedback to the dog about the choices they’re currently making in a way that is fair and makes sense to the dog? 

5. Learn to enjoy the process and you’ll earn the result.

   1. Whether it is building strength, looking better in the mirror, or reforming and shaping your dog’s behavior, you have to learn to enjoy the process. If your only focus is the end goal, you’ll miss all the little things that happen along the way, and thats where the magic actually happens. 

A note from Coach Clark, owner of Yellow Rose Fitness – “We must accept that we are here because of a pattern of behaviors that we routinely engage in, but we must also get excited knowing that we can engage in new behaviors that we know will produce the desired outcomes. Once you commit to the daily inputs, the desired results WILL show up on a long enough timeline. Do the work each day. Accept it will take time. Be excited about the journey.” 

If you want to get in touch with Clark, he can be reached by email at: clark@yellowrosefitness.com