There are a lot of personal growth gurus, motivational speakers, entrepreneurs and regular Joe Blow’s that know how to be successful. It all comes from the right mindset. We just had a patio poured with stamping and coloring of the concrete. I know absolutely nothing about this job, but the concrete guy is an expert. He knows what he’s doing and in his mind, it’s going to be done right and look awesome. He knows he has the skills. I just met a woman that owns a coffee shop in Holland Michigan,
a place called Coffee 205. She just opened a year ago and has a very successful business. Guess what? She bought the building on a whim and decided to go into the coffee shop business, no experience as a barista, nada. She believed in her vision and she now has a successful Coffee Shop. Dog trainers do what they do because they believe that they can train dogs.
Positive thinking is a strong tool for success.
I cannot count the times I have heard someone say “I can’t walk my dog.” Or, “That is just the way he is, he barks a lot.” People believe their dog is out of control, so guess what? The dog is out of control. Willie Nelson once said, “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start getting positive results”. Change “I can’t walk my dog” to be “I CAN walk my dog.” Or, “My dog is going to learn to walk on a leash.” Too many people put up with their dog’s behavior because they don’t believe in themselves, are lazy, or just put up with it because they don’t want to do the hard work it takes to change behavior.
When people come to us for help, they are usually frustrated and have given up. They do not believe in themselves. We can train the dog, but the question we always get is “will the dog listen to me?” That is the $100,000 question and that all depends on the owner, and again, their mindset. During our initial consult, the owner sees that, in a short period of time, we can usually get their dog under control which tells them that positive results are possible. After the first week of training, the owners are blown away by how well their dog is doing. Their dog, Charlie, now walks on a loose leash while focusing on the person holding the leash. Charlie will place, come when called, and is no longer jumping on people. So, now the owner believes their dog can be a well-behaved companion. We then put the leash in the owner’s hand and coach them through all of the commands. The owner starts believing In themselves, and in their dog. We send them home and then have them take the next steps with more coaching during our group polishing classes. We get the whole family involved so the dog learns to listen to everyone.
The fur parents don’t realize it, but we take baby steps in changing their negative thinking into positive thinking. Are we always successful? Nope. All of that training and preparation doesn’t last long if the fur parent doesn’t believe, or if they fail to follow instructions or stop working with their dog. We can’t change their mind if they are not willing to start envisioning success. Believing in yourself, and in your dog, is half the battle. Some dogs are challenging, people are busy and sometimes a professional trainer can make life with your dog a lot easier and less stressful. There are times the dog listens to one person in the family unit but not the rest. We teach dogs to listen to everyone in the family. We encourage the entire family to be involved in the training and believe in themselves. All it takes is 50 percent positive thinking and 50 percent training. Positive thoughts get positive results.
At Adams K-9, we have helped 100’s of families in West Michigan, and we can help you too.
Contact us today and see how we can teach you to be confident and successful with your dog.
