Purposeful

October 5, 2017

Today, I took a run down my fairly lengthy to do list and focussed on ones that I had been skipping for some time.   You know them…the tasks that involve something that causes you angst.  Whether it be a phone call, filling out paperwork or visiting  a specialist that you really don’t want to visit (dentist comes to mind, lol), you have been balking at doing it.

As I worked with purpose and joyfully slashed my red pen across the lines of text that had been haunting me for days, I thought about where I was in my training with Peanut and decided to also be purposeful in my session with him this evening.

So, I decided upon how many treats I would “spend” (he is small, so calories are always a consideration) and chose which activities needed work (those on which I had been feeling stuck and, like my ‘to do’ list, had been avoiding), and, using the ‘push, drop, stick’ method from Jean Donaldson’s Train Like a Pro, which behaviours needed me to rethink the approach and slice into smaller bits.

The last part of my purposeful training was record keeping.  Just like paperwork, something that is a challenge for me to do, but in the end is always very helpful.  I noted how many reps I had done and the results and even some suggestions for next time.  With a sense of accomplishment and a tired, delighted dog by my side, we were “All Done” (my release word) for the night.

Tonight, I am thankful for my little Canine who lets me know that it is ok to make mistakes and to take a while to figure it out.  Just keep chugging through the angsty bits and we will succeed.