"Holly, heel!.......Heel, Holly!" as we went around the course, yet another time.

"Come, Holly, heel!"

"Do you usually ask Holly to come when you want her to heel?", asked Chanone.

"No, not usually," I replied, truthfully.

Five minutes later, I heard it: "Holly!...Holly, heel!"

I honestly thought and believed that I wasn't saying "Come!" Chanone's simple question served to harness my attention by helping me recognize a non-resourceful habit and replace it with one that would help me help Holly replicate the target behaviour. Inadvertently, I was impeding our progress by sending her mixed messages. "Come!' and "Heel! are two very different commands with two very different outcomes.

Despite having read numerous books and watching a few videos, it was evident that I needed further help with training. I was reinforcing some negative habits; I needed some practical solutions to help Holly to become the well-behaved dog that we know she is!

In the process, I was getting frustrated with the very exuberant and adolescent Holly. I didn't want to establish this pattern of frustration and instill negative habits.

After making a few phone calls and speaking with a number of trainers, I settled upon Chanone at Canine Harmony Dog Training. Her philosophy meshed with what I do as a stress coach, so it was a natural fit to work with her.

Calmly and efficiently, she creates the right learning environment and provides practical solutions to encourage you and your dog to work in harmony.

Did you know that harmony also occurs within your body? When you learn to balance your nervous system through heart-activated techniques, your cognitive, physiological and emotional systems harmonize. You also efficiently and effectively use all three levels of your brain.

Learning to undress your stress with do-anywhere, apply any-time techniques is good for you and good for those with whom you come into contact.

You become more adept at accomplishing your goals in a creative and productive manner. You begin to be more fully aware of each moment, which is why stress transformation is so powerful in the business of habit-change.

Untangle yourself from your "knotty" habits and gain a new "leash" on life by contacting me - Auntie Stress.

Five Reasons to Work with a Teacher, Trainer, Coach or Mentor:

1. You benefit from their considerable experience. They've put in many hours to learn what they're sharing with you.
2. Tips and techniques are provided that help you integrate what you are learning and achieve your goals faster.
3. They identify what you are doing right, so you can build upon it.
4. They point out what you are doing incorrectly, so you don't incorrectly practice a skill which then becomes a bad habit that is more difficult to unlearn. Learn to do it correctly from the beginning.
5. Accountability - you may have good intentions of learning something new, but without the encouragement, those good intentions may end up sitting on the shelf collecting dust. Much like that language program you were going to follow, or those exercise DVDs that you bought.

Related post:

• About Dog Training, Stress and Me