Latest / Dits & Dahs / pawsitive reinforcement for dog AND owner
Transcript
- Sue: As a dog owner, I've always believed in positive reinforcement rather than punishment if a dog does something that I don't want them to do. And I'm recognizing now that, of course, I apply positive reinforcement to myself. You're surrounded by lots of opinions about what you can and cannot do, even if it's aspirational stuff like, ⁓ yeah, I know you'd really like that to happen. Chances are it won't, so don't put any effort into it. Or, well, you know. That'd be great if you had X amount of dollars in your pocket to make that fly, but you don't. So don't waste your time thinking on it. Whereas with a dog, when Rita does something that is something she shouldn't do, I don't scold her. I only become very stoic, deal with it I have to deal with. Usually it's something like, you know, making a mess in the house with having a poo or something like that. All things that can be cleaned up and life goes on. Being stoic, she knows that she's okay. And that's the important thing. Because after all, I don't want her to be afraid of me. And by being stoic, it helps her to read my emotions, my energy, which she instinctively does, to become herself. With Rita, that when somebody walks by or she encounters somebody and she barks, I understand that there is perhaps within that person a level of apprehension or maybe even fear towards dogs, mainly because I know my dog. I know that that bark is about her sensing someone that is fearful of her. Not the other way around. What I'm remarking about this morning was the fact that I've been using positive reinforcement on the dogs that I've owned for 15, 20 years. And it's only been in the last couple of years that I've decided to take that on board as a reliable tact for myself and my life. So I'm going to guess that if you're listening to this, you've got people around you in the past, maybe even currently, that are giving you those subtle disincentives when you are pondering. new directions in your life. You may even be doing it to yourself. I certainly, when I was destitute, recognized that much of what I needed to have in my life was unattainable at that moment because I didn't have the income to pay for it. And then you figure out ways to make that happen. Don't make you stop. It just makes you think more creatively. ⁓ That's my view. It's like the first person I recall in my life that told me I'd never make a living with music. It just inspired me and motivated me to to do it because I knew, that person knew, we all knew that people do make a success in the music business, but it doesn't come easy for most. Certainly hasn't been easy for me, but I sure am grateful that it has worked because in the end, it makes me joyous and happy to fill my brain with good stuff. And in my case, that happens to be music. So I should imagine I'm not unique in the sense that there are pet owners who are using positive reinforcement as a tactic for adjusting. or having their dog's behavior or their pet's behavior align with what the owner needs to have happen. And yet the owner themselves is not applying positive reinforcement themselves to their lives. For me, there was a temporary disconnect between the way that I approach my dog behaviors versus how I looked at my own behaviors. And now that I'm in agreement that I treat my dog the way that I treat myself, that's a better thing for me. More peaceful, more joyous, calm, happy. The dog reads my emotions as well. So she knows where my vibe is because she responds to that. She knows if I'm feeling down. So why would I presume that I should have a separate approach to my own life from hers? And now I recognize, no, don't. I just don't want to treat the animals that I own as less than. I mean, yes, she's a dog. I'm a human. On some level, we have different needs, whether it be physical, know, what she's fed. or exercise. suppose on some level, both of those realms, the food and the exercise, are parallel to what a human can do and share with their animal. Why should behaviorally and emotionally, should it be any different? It isn't really. I mean, her brain doesn't have the ability to reason as a human does, but a lot of things are shared by treating her as an equal. In other words, treating her the way that I would wish to be treated if I did something that... someone else disapproved is important to have compassion and to be stoic about it. I'm sometimes amazed at people that I see as compassionate souls who are dog owners since I'm on that topic, how inconsistently they treat their dogs compared to how they treat themselves. As I mentioned earlier, Rita doesn't do a lot of barking and I can tell when she's barking because she's seen a fox or a bear or deer. They're different. She does bark at airplanes too, but mind you, on occasion, not always. But when she barks at a human being, I know it's because she's reading their apprehension, their anxiety towards her. And my role, of course, is to keep everybody safe first and foremost. But it's actually a beautiful thing to recognize that once you start to treat your pet with the same compassion and empathy as you treat yourself in the human way, then you begin to understand yourself better. And that insight, for me, was a beautiful thing. Because in a way, you carry around these two sets of morals, one for your dog, one for yourself being human. It's like you're carrying a double load of weight and burden. Why would you do that to yourself? Why wouldn't you want to have everything aligned? I kind of view it as playing both sides when there is no strength in that. It just weakens you. I also am not the type of dog owner that dresses my dog in costumes or makes or has them. take on or I force on them some human traits. Human traits like not only dressing your dog up, but talking to them in a way that would be conversational to another human being. But the dog can answer directly. And while they do understand, I'm pretty certain that Rita pretty switched in to my thoughts. So whatever I say with words is important, but not nearly as important as the communication and the vibe. I have a schedule. that I adhere to about my water usage. And essentially it means that I don't shower every day, nor do I do a lot of laundry every day. I try not to stress the well with more than one large activity, whether it be a shower or laundry. My showering schedule and my laundry schedule are pretty well intertwined, but she knows before I make a move that I'm going to be heading upstairs to have a shower. And she does this with a particular behavior that she exhibits. That's with me not even speaking or even thinking about it, other than acknowledging that she's receiving those thoughts and responding and reacting. Doesn't happen when I'm trying to do a load of laundry. No, she's pretty much on the money, knowing when it's time to come with me upstairs when I shower. I know she's reading my mind and she's doing what a dog knows to do. I suppose then it gets into the idea of... telepathic connection presumably that I might be sharing with Rita, but she's also potentially swayed by an external implant of a mental suggestion. And that also means that a human who is so telepathically gifted can implant a vibe that she'll pick up on in her brain and respond to and react to. There's no way to prove it because it's not like she's telling me. I recognize that these are fanciful thoughts. I also recognize that my experience with Rita, while it might be shared with other dog owners and their experiences, not everyone who is a dog owner or potentially pet owner, why should it have to be exclusive to dogs? I just have a dog. I don't have other pets. It's an experience of the unseeing and therefore something that most people would quickly want to darken, put some shade on, because after all, Once people understand that that sort of unseen communication exists, as we know that telepathy is real between humans, it just sets a whole bunch of old thoughts on its head, realizing that there are truths that you have yet to accept. Of course, Diabolic Energy's want you to be in the dark and not believe this so that you continue to treat your dog as less than. When I was destitute, I didn't know how bad it was going to get. In other words, the lack of money and how long. And she was a Rita was a puppy at that time. She's four and a half years old, so it's a few years ago now. But in my mindset, I had the understanding to say, you know, if I can't afford to buy kibble, then she's got to eat the food that I'm eating. And it was an easy fix for me to align the foods that I eat to the things that she can eat. Wasn't going to change the common peace that existed in that life at that time to the extent that there was common peace. It was just figuring out other ways to get the same thing accomplished. Devil doesn't want you to figure that stuff out. Devil just presumes that you're going to say that's impossible and leave it at that. Or to continue with the disconnect of treating your pet with a different vibe than you allow yourself to feel. I think over the past few years, Rita has helped me gain more confidence in understanding my telepathy and my spiritual gifts. I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful for the communication that we share. Because after all, I'm responsible for her. I place that on an equal level of being responsible for myself. I treat her as if I treat myself, knowing that there are some distinct differences between us, but nonetheless, we share many things. But in some ways, owning a dog is like having an instant camera viewer giving her response. Confirmation. So if this resonates with you, or if it gives you a giggle, feel free, if you feel guided to do so, let me know. And thank you for listening. This is such a mundane. thought that I'm having today and this is why I blog about it. So thank you for sharing your energy. I appreciate you. you