Blog Archive: December 2008

Meet Flynn. He is my one year old Field Spaniel who has boundless energy, a strong will and is loads of fun. He has an insatiable curiosity about the world around him, and training him to walk with me on and off the lead has caused me think about  how we can 'train' (or discipline) our mind to respond to our requests (commands) and focus our mind at will to stay safe, sane and healthy.So I want to share some things I have learned that you may find useful to focus your mind, so that you decide what you think about, and not let those wayward thoughts take control.

Since getting the dog last December, walking twice a day has been ajoy, an adventure, sometimes a nightmare, but above all, it has taught me a lot about life in the dog world - the sights, the smells, the distractions which can take his mind off everywhere except following my lead.  You can imagine my envy at watching other (usually older) dogs playfully running around off their lead but reacting instantly to the calls of their owner.  Not for those dogs an owner who has to call repeatedly to no avail, or as a last resort, have to go running off after the dog to retrieve him/her.  Such was my experience in the early days of letting Flynn off his lead. Patience was tested to the full!!!

What I noticed in the early days of walking him is that he lives very much in the "here and the now" and EVERYTHING interests them - particularly every single smell on the walk. If I had allowed him to have his way and sniff everything, we would have probably only got to the end of the street and it would then be time to go back home.  And taking his mind off the smell and demanded a range of 'techniques':

• To keep him walking, often I would only need to call his name and he would follow.
• Other times I would need to call his name and tug gently on the lead and he would move, with no more interest in the smell he was obsessed with seconds earlier. 
• Sometimes, however, it would need a strong pull on the lead and a sterner voice before he would be happy to move on and follow. Heavens knows what scent he was compelled to investigate further
• In the extreme, I would do a complete about-turn and start moving in the other direction and keep him close by

So with some regular walking practice on the lead, with doggy treats to keep him walking to heel and follow without too many distractions, he would stay close by, come back when called, and so we could enjoy longer walks and both appreciate the world around us - rather than me wondering when  he was going to dive off and chase a smell (or cat, other dog, or who kows what else!!!)

Then, of course, comes the BIG day when he is off the lead and free to roam wherever!!! 

Scary times, when you hope the training and persistence have paid off.  Imagine my joy when he DID return when called - okay I was only in an enclosed space with no distractions, but hey, it was progress.

Then out to the big wide world and over time we have more and more success.  He 'generally' returns when called, even after chasing other dogs, birds and the occasional bit of paper, and sometimes, yes,  I do have to go and collect from another dog owner who holds on to him while I walk to get him.  But every time he does what is asked, I get more excited than he does and he loves it.  And even when he doesn't,   I don't tell him off, but encourage him to do it the next time.  So we both feel good about it in the end.

So what does this have to do with taking your mind for a walk?

Unlike Flynn (and other animals) who are fully present to the world around them and reacting to what is happening, we human beings can have a tendency to get lost in our thoughts and be totally oblivious to the world around us - preoccupied with "stuff" happening to us which can be both positive or negative in outcome, but which generally does not allow us to enjoy the moment. In fact that 'internal dialogue' can lead to a detrimental effect on our bodies and well-being, if continued over time, and if we said to others the often negative things that we can say to ourselves, we could be taken to court for slander!!!

So when you do get obsessed with unnecessary or unhelpful thoughts, or want to focus your mind on what you want to think about take your mind for a 'walk' and use some of the techniques that have helped me enjoy walking with Flynn

• Sometimes a gentle reminder to yourself about what you are doing can refocus your mind from a distracting thought (aka calling Flynns name)
• If the distracting thoughts persist, then stop what you are doing, notice what is around you (so focus on something in the present) - in your physical environment or a sound you are hearing, take a breath in and out and remind yourself what you want to think about. (aka tugging on the lead and calling his name in a louder voice)
• If all else fails and you can not help yourself obsessing over something, then you might have to resort to D.S.D. - no, not a drug, but Doing Something Different.  (aka doing an about-turn with Flynn)                                                                                    In other words, take your mind totally off those obsessive thoughts and go and do something to take your mind off it - for example, clean the car, the cooker, do some gardening, take your dog our for a walk (go borrow one if you don't have your own), play with the kids (go borrow some if you don't have your own, your friends will love you).  And when doing these things, pay full attention to what you are doing, and you will leave no room in your mind for any other thoughts.

(just out of interest, some scientists have proven that while your brain can, indeed, multi-task to keep you alive and well, your mind can only focus on one thing - or thought - at time, so choose which thoughts you want to think about)

And keep at it - be disciplined with your thoughts and after a while you can let them "off the lead" without fear of them running wild!!!

So there you go, some of my experiences with Flynn.  We are still working at walking together with him off the lead, and it gets better every time, but if I forget, he can so easily get distracted and go off in his own little world.

And as well as walking together, in recent months he has started singing with me - but he has very particular taste in music that he joins in with - it only seems to happen with the classical stuff - especially the solo "Every Valley" from Handels' Messiah.  Boy, can he howl when I practise this one!!!

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