Clean Run - July 2019 - 40

What's traveling DoWn Your leash?
I was standing near my friend at an agility trial, just before her run. In between
doling out cookies and playing with her
dog, my friend made a confession.
"I know I have to stop being nervous,"
she said. "I know it just travels down the
leash to her."
Maybe you felt a little bit of stomach
tightening as you read that. We can experience emotions just by visualizing
certain situations. Denying our fears and
trying to stomp them down seems futile.
Well-meaning coaches and friends will
tell you not to be anxious because your
dog will know and will be influenced by
your fears.
This does two unfortunate things. It demands something of you that you probably cannot do. And it makes you feel not
only nervous but powerless and guilty
because you can't do what they suggest.
So, what is effective and helpful for people when they experience fear or anxiety
about their performance or their dog's
behaviors?
There are some techniques, supported
by research, that you can adopt quite
quickly. By practicing them in no stress
situations, they will become more accessible to you in stressful situations.

By Terrie Rolph

Let's consider fear. Fear can be a helpful
emotion. If an attacker is chasing you,
it'll make your feet fly faster. But when
you're waiting for your turn during those
very fluid moments before your agility run, it's not as useful. Here are other
strategies to try:

as much as you can. Then just let your
abdomen fill up naturally. You can
also "hiss" it out with a bit of pressure,
to ensure you've really emptied yourself as much as you can. After that, do
nothing, and your marvelous body
will breathe in very naturally.

* Name your emotion game. "Oh, I
feel a knot in my middle and a fluttering in my chest higher up. Hello,
fear!" This strategy helps you become
more aware of your emotions. You're
no longer trying to push them away;
you're just acknowledging them.
Oddly enough, doing this often reduces the intensity of the feelings.

* Create and begin to practice a regular set of fun activities that you can
do as you wait for your run. Practice
them at home and classes until they
feel familiar and fun to you and your
dog. You don't have to do them in the
same order if you don't like to. But
they should be smooth and rehearsed
enough that they flow easily.

* Trade your emotion game. When
you feel your physical signs of fear, try
trading anxiety for excitement. Instead of saying to yourself "I'm afraid,"
try "I'm excited." The physical feelings
from "fear" are virtually the same as
those of excitement. You'll fool your
system quite nicely and shift yourself
into a happier place.

* Grab some paper and a pen and sit
down at the kitchen table. Visualize
yourself standing outside the agility
ring with your dog. Allow yourself
to feel the emotions that rise up and
then start writing your thoughts
down. Without censoring or judging
them, let your pen write them down.
After you've written them all down,
read them over. Are they true? Are
they fair? Just by bringing those hidden thoughts to your conscious attention, you'll be able to let a lot of them
go. For more cognitive behavioral
techniques like that, check out the
books written by Dr. David Burns.

* Breathe out. Yes, out. People often
urge others to "Breathe!" But they are
more than likely breathing in on top
of half-filled lungs. Breathing short
breaths, high up in your chest, sends
your nervous system into anxiety
rather than calm-instead, breath out

Clean Run | July 19

Clean Run - July 2019

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