Busy is a four letter word

”I just don’t have time, I’m too busy!” This is the first nail in the coffin for many modern day dogs.

My site is dedicated to helping people build “right relationships” with those they choose to share their lives with. When we choose to engage with others, whether they be human or otherwise, we must ensure that we make the time to give them what they need and deserve.

It seems these days people are too “busy” to pay attention to all the little things that make a day a little brighter, the smile from a stranger, acknowledging the person who let you into a stream of traffic, or just saying “good morning” to a passing pedestrian in your neighbourhood. I don’t ever want to get so busy that I lose the ability stop appreciating all the little things that make me pause for a moment and smile.

Dogs get very busy in many unacceptable ways when we are too “busy” to give them what they need. Time and attention are at the top of the list when it comes to interacting with puppies and adolescent dogs.  If we spend quality time with those we profess to love then surely everything will work out… or will it? What is quality time anyway? If you are just going through the motions and not getting any joy from what you are doing, why bother. We create good patterns of behaviour through repetition, as do our dogs. For me it is much easier to create good patterns in baby puppies because they are like little sponges that soakup everything on offer. That having been said if you leave them to their own devices, chances are you won’t care for the way remodel your environment.

I am often asked “so how long does all this take”  and there is usually an air of impatience that comes along with that question. The amount of time it takes to shape behaviour and manipulate the environment is different in each individuals case. For me, I have set patterns that I employ to illicit the behaviour I am shaping. When I am helping with issues that arise in the family home, I try to see the world from the dogs perspective and act accordingly.

So if you find that “busyness” is creating unwanted stress in your life and you cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel… Just remember that being “busy” is a choice and not a trophy or a lament. You are the choices you make in life, you live with them every moment and so do those around you. I don’t think anyone gets to the end of their days and says “geeze, I with I had been busier” I know I certainly won’t.