Be....just Be!
In a dream
last night, I was working sheep in a big field somewhere in the UK-I think
England, which is odd as Ireland would have been my first choice, or the coast of Scotland. Anyway, one of the top guys was
giving me a lesson and advice as I worked my dogs. It was a gorgeous day- a dream
perfect, quintessential blue sky, sunny, sparkling green grass for miles.
So, after a
few go’s working, in the midst of this perfect dream,
a sound-byte of advice literally made me smile in my dream, and probably in my
sleep too. The trainer and I, had been talking about different lineage, methods for starting a
baby dog, bringing on a more experienced dog, etc….and in my sleep I heard,
“Watch your
dog, Observe YOUR dog-be Dedicated to what YOU see”
I don’t
think anyone has ever said that to me in real life, for all the training I have
done with many people, in many venues. But, it fits! We go to learn from
others, but at the core we know our dogs best (hopefully).
Some
trainers insist we see the way they do or do the way they do, while others help
us to see better through our own eyes, to do better through our own eyes. I am
lucky to train with mostly the latter type of person, they are Gold! From this dream advice, my take on it is, If
we are dedicated to the process and use our judgment of what we see, our dog
and we will excel.
A good
trainer is likely going to bring out the best in you, we as dedicated trainers
will likely bring out the best in our dogs, to our ability. And as ability
grows, seeking more knowledge is like a drug! Yes, herding may mean you are covered in
bruises, mud, excrement at times…but it is a beautiful thing watching a dog
working as they were meant to do. I used to get Goosebumps watching a beautiful
agility run, but it is nothing like the beauty of watching a dog, in an open
field, working sheep-it speaks to me on a visceral level.
I love training in
both, my dogs do too-as well as disc for fun and some obedience. I don’t feel I
need to choose between or pretend to not have done, or do one of the “sports”
as some do, but have chosen to simplify and focus on which sports-to be more dedicated. Watching
each dog, they show me what they need. I feel like this dream was also about trusting myself, in what I see in each dog (which I think about constantly). To me, "seeing" means be open to learning and new, but also doing what you feel is best and think about it, not always what you are told to do, or to see. Have a backbone, be dedicated.
If we
observe our dogs, we know them. We get the dogs that teach us, because that is
what is meant to be. Sometimes, we may get or have a dog that we realize isn’t
for us, but we don’t give up, or maybe
we do? They may feel the same way-the
energy of them and us bounces off of, rather
than blending us as a team. Whereas, with no need to justify or quantify in a
million ways, a dog can appear in our lives, that is the perfect connection. I feel my dogs watching me all the time,
pretty sure they are dedicated to what they see.
So as a
major Déjà vu hit when feeding the crew this morning, I guess today is full of
inspiration. Odd for a long-time vegetarian to be so in love with herding, yes?
But, working critters does not mean they are hurt-low stress handling and
training is what it is about for me. There is a lot of cruelty involved to the
dog, or to the stock, or both-with some trainers, but not with me. No not
vegan, was for awhile, found it hard to do for personal reasons…but I also
believe there is no black and white-we should all have the right to choose what feels right for ourselves (and
depending on the outcome of our US election…I may be choosing to move to Ireland).
Funny though as I was writing, a piece on
a former Texas cattle rancher who became vegan and started a farm sanctuary, came on
my fave CBS Sunday Morning. The universe is speaking-think outside the box, hahaha. Happy Sunday, the sun is
shining!!
PS: Did you know
that Oreos are vegan? GMO friendly, well probably not :)
