Working With the "Dog Brains"

"If you can communicate with animals, why don't you just tell dogs how you want them to behave?"  I can't tell you how many times I've heard this question.  My typical response is to prod, tongue-in-cheek, "Well how many humans can you get to do exactly what you want just by telling them to do so?"

Obviously, communication isn't everything.

I often explain to my training clients that, just like us people, dogs have a physical self and a higher self.  I call this the "dog brain" and the "dog-spirit brain."  The "dog-spirit brain" is that wonderfully wise, profound part of your canine friend that I reach in my intuitive sessions--the part that loves you unconditionally; entertains you with witty, unfiltered commentary; and ultimately pushes you to instill positive changes in your life.  This part can easily be reached (and usually reasoned with) through telepathy.

The "dog brain," however, is the primitively driven component you need to figure out how to get through in order to access your dog's spiritual guidance.  This is the part that leads your dog to steal food off the table, dig up your rose bushes, destroy your favorite slippers, and run wild figure-eights between your legs at the most inopportune times.  (This is also the part that makes dogs dogs.  We adore them for it as much as it drives us crazy.) 

Having a successful relationship with your dog requires acknowledgment and careful integration of both elements.  At its basic levels of operation, obedience training taps directly into the "dog brain."  We're working with your dog's instincts, using practical, widely known behavioral techniques to develop a system of signals, consequences, and boundaries to help you and your dog better understand each other.  If you're doing this and accepting your own responsibility in the training process--allowing your dog to teach you as much as you're teaching her--you'll be well on your way to achieving blissful and balanced person-to-pup interactions.

But if you're focusing only on training the "dog brain," you risk missing out on the wealth of her "dog-spirit brain."  Your particular dog has walked (or perhaps plowed with muddy paws) into your life for a reason.  She has something significant to show you about yourself and your approach to life.  If you fail to connect with your personal lessons in a behavioral challenge you're facing with your dog, it will likely continue to repeat until you finally do--no matter how much effort you put into correcting it. 

And if you're focusing only on working with the "dog-spirit brain," good luck.