What was I looking for? Peace and rest. Remove the anxiety, and have my smile be my default. Be more introspective as to why I feel certain ways, and just plain stop feeling negative- in all circles. After all these years, finally, here I am- I sleep well at night. I exercise every day. I work my dogs every day. I put *me* first. I honor the value of my life. As you age, you start to see how important that is.
I had a coach tell me that I "still needed to learn something" when I shared with her that I could not get past a certain issue. Boy was she right!
Everything in my life has turned me to the sheep, and the dogs. Everything. I spent the better part of two years traveling in New Zealand, and it was there that I learned to love, Latin dance, and it was there that I learned what brought me peace. The dancing. The sheep. The dogs. The dancing taught me how to follow- to feel my partner's moves, and move as one with them, and it taught me to work at getting better, to be a better team member. The sheep taught me patience- dealing with thousands of them on a daily basis will do that to a girl, and the dogs- the one dog especially, well, he reminded me about the astounding heart in these dogs.
When I finally settled back at home, I got back to working dogs, but I just did not really like it. I was not a big fan of trialing, really, ever... it was not so much nerves as basically, I felt my dog was good and why did I have to prove it? Well, that is what I thought my issue was.. but it wasn't. Not at all.
You see, I did not like my methods in training. Yes, I have trained many dogs successfully, but it did not feel good getting there. I was tense, I would get angry. I would always expect the dog to do the wrong thing, so that I could be ready to correct. I hated that. Since my early days I wondered why I didn't just teach the dog what the "rules of engagement were" so to speak. Why not teach the dog what the correct behavior toward sheep was? Why not encourage the dog to try something else, instead of stopping something? Why not allow the dog his head enough to learn how sheep work, and what his affect on the sheep is, rather than chase him off? Why not just be quiet and let the dog work. And most importantly, why not just be peaceful out there. And I mean it. No faking being calm, and peaceful, actually being that way. Walk out there like you are walking down the beach. I promise you, once you get to this place, you will see a dog who will no longer look the same to you. You will see a dog immeasurably grateful to you for removing that self imposed tension on him. You will see a dog no longer misbehave and split sheep because he is so tense, he feels he has to make a mess to clean it up, to give him something that he knows how to do. There is so much more I could add, but instead, I want to show you.
I am offering private coaching for all handlers, and working sheepdogs of any level. I will give you the skills to stop your tension, and anxiety, and to recognize it when it rears it's head. I will give you tools to walk the beach, as it were when you work your dog, or run your dog at a trial. I am willing to go out on a limb, having seen many teams of handlers and their dogs out there, that essentially, the only thing that lacks is the removal of your tension. Once you have that mastered.. you my friends are there. Your dog will look in your eyes in a peaceful, loving way on the way to the post, and as she works, she will not be gripped with tension for fear of making a mistake. She will not slice her flanks, ignore your stops, and refuse to come in on a shed. You will have a new person in yourself, a new dog, and you will be doing your part to make the world a better place. Isn't that what we are supposed to be doing when we are here? Oh, one thing I forgot- even the sheep will like you more, and well, I am here to tell you once you get a hold of this, people will wonder what happened to you? Peace, my friends. Peace.
