One of the things I deeply value about dog training and coaching clients' with their dogs is figuring out how they're connected.
Attachment Theory evolved in the 1930's through the collaborative work of J. Bowlby and M.S. Ainsworth. Bowlby's interest was focused on understanding the relationship between a child and their mother, or lack there of, and the personality that was developed as a result of the attachment. Ainsworth's focus was on security theory and based on the research that Bowlby had discovered, which demonstrated that there was a direct effect that attachment had on behavior.
To understand your attachment style, you can take a quiz online here --
Now that you have your attachment style you can dive deeper into your relationship with your dog.
You may want to journal what comes to mind when you consider the following --
Why did you get your dog?
What do you enjoy about your dog's personality?
What do you want to change about your dog's personality?
Why do you want to change those things (mentioned above)?
How does your dog make you feel?
What makes you feel connected with your dog?
What do you wish you could do with your dog?
What does your dog enjoy doing?
Once you understand what drives your interest and connection with your dog you can start setting intentions that serve the both of you.
Setting intentions is different than goal setting -- to me the greatest difference is being aware of when a goal is no longer serving you and finding connection and growth somewhere else.
For example. my dog Jazzy loves to play frisbee in our yard, and also loves acquiring new smells in enriching environments (like our local parks). Instead of allowing myself to get defeated by her natural scent-driven curiosities at the park when we went to practice frisbee in a different environment, I encouraged her to investigate with her nose first and then invited her to play frisbee afterward.
The result -- happy dog and happy owner.
How do you want to connect with your dog? What's standing in your way of creating a secure relationship with your dog?
I'd love to hear from you -- drop me a line at VirginiaCoDogTraining@gmail.com.
"A dog is the only thing that can mend a crack in your broken heart" ~ Judy Desmond
....perhaps it isn't the dog that mends the heart but the healing process that having a secure relationship with a dog brings.
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