07/11/2025
Typically, I’d go into detail about what we worked on…
But to keep it short, tonight’s theme was thresholds.
So yes, that is a makeshift doorframe 😂
We used it to practice setting intention before the walk even starts.
To slow the dog’s brain, avoid reinforcing excitement, and show handlers how to guide with body language, not just the leash.
The leash is the seatbelt, not the steering wheel.
But what I really want to talk about is this:
To everyone who showed up tonight,
I wish you could see yourselves through my eyes.
And no, not through rose-colored glasses.
I mean really see the effort, the self-awareness, the heart, the courage.
Because that’s what I saw.
There’s a quote by Brene Brown I live by:
“If you’re not in the arena also getting your ass kicked, I’m not interested in your feedback.”
And tonight every single one of you was in the arena.
That messy, vulnerable place where change happens.
Where it’s easy to compare.
Easy to feel behind.
Easy to want to tap out.
But you didn’t.
You stepped into it anyway.
Growth very rarely looks like a victory.
Sometimes it looks like standing still.
Sometimes it looks like self-doubt.
Sometimes it looks like “not much” is happening.
But there’s still a lot going on.
Just getting yourself out there with your dog, surrounded by new people, in a completely new environment that is the work.
And you’re doing it.
Some of you left feeling like you weren’t picking up on things, or that others were further ahead, but that’s my job.
To teach you.
To sharpen your eye.
To help you grow into the kind of handler your dog needs.
Your only job is to show up.
And you did.
I’m so damn proud of all of you.
