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Bobbie Bhambree Take-Aways! – Please share your thoughts!
We had a fantastic opportunity to hear from Bobbie today. She’s an inspiration. She’s authentic, experienced, passionate and practical. She shared so many great ideas for working with dogs and their people, as well as keeping ourselves (as trainers/coaches) motivated for the long haul.
What were your big takeaways?
Did you miss the talk? Not to worry – I’ll be sharing some clips of our conversation soon, in our Motivation channel. Stay tuned for more!
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3 Replies
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Something I really appreciated about Bobbie’s talk was when she mentioned about giving shelter dogs TIME to adjust to us, to build a relationship with them by giving them (safe) free choices in what activities we do with them, rather than coming at them with a mindset of “doing training.” Sometimes, simply sitting with them is all they need in that moment.
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One thing I found really helpful was the discussion around allowing owners to “grieve” the expectations and goals they had for a dog who’s dealing with behavioral issues. Many pet parents will experience a level of shock or disbelief when a behavioral modification and management plan is introduced; it can be disheartening for them to realize dreams they had in regards to their dogs may not materialize. It’s important for us as trainers and dog professionals to honor and validate those emotions. I thought that was a really great point for trainers and developing trainers!
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This ^^ what you said, @Cait – such an important topic. As coaches, we are coming alongside the people and there is very often grief. “Who knew it was going to be so darn hard?” is something I’ve heard many clients say. Validating their emotions and letting them know it’s okay to take a moment to grief the loss of a dream is very important. And then we can either get to work solving the problem, or help them find another solution that meets their needs, which may even include rehoming that dog, behavioral euthanasia or some other difficult choice. No doubt this is hard stuff for pet owners and consultants, alike!
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