We're all screwed up (and that's OK)
Health & Fitness:Mental Health
Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist talk about Percival the Mali pup as he chills out in Starbucks. Dawn hasn't seen Percival for at least 6 weeks, when he was first picked up. The change in him is remarkable. He lay down in Starbucks with very relaxed body language. He was alert and curious but not anxious, despite being next to a table with two noisy kids. At no point did he have to be given instructions on what to do. His lead was loose.
And this led Jess and Dawn to talking about how much we have a need to control everything, even in a positive way. We teach puppies obedience and then control their every move. We do the same with kids - trying to control what they do so they don't get in trouble. When owners come to Jess for help they want to understand what to do, when first they need to understand why they should do it.
Understanding why allows you to adapt. Dawn taught their child how to make decisions - e.g. how to interpret social media posts - so that they could make the right choices.
The need for control often comes from our own anxieties and issues. Accept that it is a normal human reaction, but then ask "What next?" rather than trying to control everything that happens.
Percival hit 12 weeks and started doing some innate behaviours - he started barking at people. This was not something that he could carry on doing, but also something that he shouldn't be told off for because we could end up with a very anxious dog. Teaching him that it's not ok (with a pattern interrupt) and getting him to do an alternate behaviour has led to a dog that can relax as he knows what's expected of him.
Jess talks about the word "Matriarchy" and how that can inform the leadership we use to guide our dogs, rather than nag them
(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)
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