Ok, I have a confession to make. I had a horrible Juneau day last week that made me cry and I didn't tell you about it. To be honest I thought things were going so well and I didn't want to admit it was so bad. But then I thought, "What if someone is reading my blog and they think they failed because they had a really bad dog day too!" So I decided to post.
Two Thursdays ago, I came home from work early. I was sick with a nasty chest cold and I just needed to go to bed. I let Juneau out of her kennel and she jumped on me. I did what Dr. Yin says and became a tree. Only she didn't stop. She jumped four times and on the fourth time she bit me so hard on the back of the arm I cried out. (I really try to not cry out, so that she doesn't think I make fun noises when she bites me. I learned that one talking care of parrots at the Seneca Park Zoo.) Then I just started sobbing. :-/
I took her out back to go to the bathroom before I went to bed and she wouldn't sit by the door. I was good and waited until she stopped being stupid, but I really felt like crap. She jumped up on me again.
Finally, I got to sleep, and she cuddled with me in the bed until I forgot about it. And the next day was better again.
Now the happy story: Today our other dog Lucy had to go to the vet for a long appointment. She has Cushing's disease and needs periodic re-checks that take 2 hours to run. So Juneau, my husband and I went for a training walk. I had Juneau on the hands-free leash and he was watching us. After about 10 minutes he pointed out that when I stop and wait for Juneau to sit, I should pay attention to her front feet. She had been sitting with one foot in the air so she could jump up at a moments notice. But, she SHOULD be looking at my face calmly awaiting my next move. I hadn't noticed her feet because I was always waiting for her to look at my face. Another pair of eyes always helps!
Beccy,
ReplyDeleteThere is a saying by a wise old feldenkrais practitioner about the neurological patterns which are created: "You must lose it many times before it is yours.". I often get discouraged when I see my brain going back to its old ways. But I soldier on and keep doing feldenkrais despite often losing the patterns hours or days later. As I continue, I surprise myself with which ones stick. Do not be afraid to share your successes AND your failures. Failure is just a signpost on the path to success. :)