A free four-part exercise to help you get clear on what you really want from life with your dog.
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Your Ideal Life With Your Dog: A Four-Part Exercise
Take a few minutes to imagine the life you want with your dog, identify what's standing in the way, and put that vision into words.
What does your ideal life with your dog look like?
Here's something I've noticed after nearly 15 years of training dogs.
Most people are very good at telling me what they don't want their dogs to do.
They don't want their dog pulling them down the street. They don't want barking every time someone comes over. They don't want to spend their walks worrying about what might be around the next corner.
And I get it. These are real problems, and they can make everyday life incredibly stressful.
But I think there's another question worth asking.
What do you actually want your life with your dog to look like?
Not just what behaviors you want to stop. What do you want to experience together?
Maybe it's a relaxing morning walk through your neighborhood. Maybe it's bringing your dog to a café, having friends over without chaos, or enjoying off-leash time at the park.
Maybe it's simply being able to sit on your couch at the end of the day and relax.
That's what this exercise is about.
1. What do you want with your dog?
Forget about what's realistic for a moment.
What would you love to be able to do together?
Walk through New York City without constantly managing the leash? Spend a Saturday afternoon exploring a new neighborhood? Invite friends over without worrying about your dog jumping all over them?
Maybe you'd like to take your dog hiking, traveling, or just about everywhere you go.
Don't worry about how you're going to accomplish any of it yet. Just write down what you want.
2. What does your ideal day together look like?
Now let's make it more specific.
I don't want you to imagine some extraordinary vacation or a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
I want you to think about an ordinary day.
You wake up. What happens next?
What does your morning walk look like? What happens when you leave for work or sit down at your desk? What if someone comes over? What does the evening look like?
Maybe your ideal day involves an early morning walk through Prospect Park, stopping for coffee on the way home, and having a dog who's perfectly content to relax while you get on with your day.
The more specific you can be, the better.
Because your ideal life with your dog isn't necessarily about doing extraordinary things.
It's about enjoying the ordinary ones.
3. What's getting in the way?
Now we come back to reality.
You've described what you want and what an ideal day looks like.
So what's stopping you?
Maybe your dog pulls so much that walks have become something you dread.
Maybe you avoid inviting people over because you know how stressful it's going to be.
Maybe you've followed advice from social media, read books, watched videos, or even worked with a trainer, and you're still struggling.
There are two things I want you to consider here.
The tactical side: Are there skills you or your dog haven't developed yet? Do you know what to do, how to teach it, and how to practice it?
The belief side: Are there assumptions about your dog, yourself, or dog training that might be holding you back?
Maybe you've convinced yourself that your dog will never be able to do certain things. Or that it's too late to change. Or that certain approaches to training aren't for you.
You don't need to solve any of these problems right now.
Just be willing to identify them.
4. What if I waved a magic wand and gave you the perfect dog?
Here's where I want you to use your imagination again.
What if you woke up tomorrow and all the problems you've been dealing with were gone?
Your dog was everything you wanted them to be.
How would your life change?
Would you spend more time outside? Would you feel more relaxed? Would you be more confident taking your dog into new situations?
Would you enjoy your dog more?
And perhaps most importantly, how would you feel?
Less frustrated? Less overwhelmed? More connected to your dog? More excited about the experiences you could share?
Take a few minutes and really think about those answers.
Now write your vision.
Take everything you've written down and turn it into one paragraph.
Describe what life looks like with your dog when things are going the way you want them to.
What are you doing together? Where are you going? How do you feel?
Be specific. Make it personal. And don't worry about whether you know how to get there yet.
That's your vision.
And once you have a clear picture of where you want to go, you can start figuring out what it will take to get there.
Ready to put your vision on paper?
Download the free worksheet and work through all four questions at your own pace.
No email. No signup. Just a free resource to help you get clear on the life you want with your dog.
