Power Pose
Do you have things that you do to keep your confidence topped up in tough situations?
Maybe you have a mantra you say in your head to keep your spirits up?
Maybe you workout , eat healthy, meditate or read to help you stay in the right head space to be positive.
This could be called your Power Pose!
These are things that you keep doing over and over throughout your life to keep your confidence and optimism up.
Your dog needs their own “Power Pose” to go back to while they navigate the harder things in life and you can help
them grow a skill or behaviour that can be their Power Pose!
How amazing would it be to be able to empower your dog to maintain optimism and confidence while dealing with something that is tough for them!
Maybe learning a new skill, playing a new game, being in a new environment or playing with a new friend. These are all tough situations and having something that you can ask your dog to do (a power pose) helps top up their optimism and confidence to continue on in this tough environment.
Lets take the behaviour of getting your dog to put 2 front paws onto an object. This is such a great behaviour because it grows confidence and puts them in a position that makes them feel good about themselves. Their head is high and their chest is out, they know that what they are doing is going to get praise or a reward from mom or dad, and this makes them feel good about themselves. It can also support them while they are learning a new behaviour so you add the pressure of learning a new behaviour with the release of doing their Power Pose.
How cool is that!
Growing your dogs Power Pose also helps them learn the value of disengaging from a high pressure situation to releasing their energy elsewhere (like doing their Power Pose)
This converts to the real world when your dog feels that uncomfortable pressure building (maybe they see a dog and this makes them nervous) and chooses to release the pressure coming back to you for an interaction. This is the perfect time to reward them AND boost their confidence and optimism with their Power Pose!
As an example I have a client with the sweetest pup who is nervous around other dogs especially on leash. Barking, lunging, snarling and flopping like a fish on the end of the leash with fear, poor baby. They have diligently followed their behaviour program training plan and the games that I have prescribed to them to help reshape their pups brain FOR the moment- this means training outside of the situation at home till they are ace at the games, then take it out to their yard or an empty field slowly adding in the smells, sounds and distractions in the environment.
Always being aware so you can manage the situation and prepare to “get out of dodge” if an “offender” enters the picture. This creates a good training plan of building skills slowly in calm, controlled environments and gradually adding in small distractions while growing your pups skills and value in disengaging.
Fast forward a few months; I went to walk him and now when he sees another dog he immediately turns to me and comes beside me letting me know that he feels better coming away from what used to be a stressful situation. His brain has been reshaped to see huge value in coming away from his '“offenders”, he can maintain self control and choose to disengage with a cool, calm demeanor ! Way to go team!
If you want to learn how to reshape your dogs brain and support them with a Power Pose then book a free call to chat about games based training and how it can help you and your dog.
Training is a lifestyle not a season, there is always something to learn .
Gameify your life!
Please follow this link to book your free phone consultation
