SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Optimism really allowed Bonnie to have freedom, confidence, and success with other dogs that she hadn't previously had all through the training you'd done and continue to do with absolute dogs.

SPEAKER_00: 0:13

Yes, that is exactly it. That is exactly that's the the the real power of games-based training is that all of this has been achieved in a way that she has found fun and rewarding. And so those learning experiences have those massive transformations have been achieved because this has been something she's wanted to do.

SPEAKER_01: 0:45

Welcome to the Absolute Dog Sex in a Squirrel podcast. I'm Lauren Langman. I'm one of the world's leading dog trainers, and it's my mission to help owners become their dog's top priority. In each episode, you'll discover how to gain trust and communicate with your dog like never before, creating unbreakable bonds that make you the most exciting part of their world. They say optimism is a way of life. And I would say for me, actually, the concept of optimism has changed my life. Not just my dog's life. I mean, my dog's life for sure, but that and in turn, my life when I've had hard scenarios at me, and and they say they come here to serve a purpose and they're here for you. Some days you can doubt that. Optimism really is a way of life. Now, optimism for you, Alice, you have a very large, you call her yourself a mastiff mutt. Like she's a massive mutt. Tell us a little bit about Bonnie and tell us why optimism really did change your life.

SPEAKER_00: 1:40

So, yes, Bonnie is our sort of furry little renovation project who's sort of has has benefited from a lot of different training that we've done with absolute dogs and is a real world away from where we started with a few years ago. And she's a natural pessimist. So when it's a kind of and this sounds like such an abstract concept, I think, with dog training. How can a dog be an optimist or a pessimist? Like, how is that a thing? I think it's a it's a it's an attribute that we we think about in human terms, but really it's just do we anticipate a good or a bad outcome from an ambiguous situation? And when we got Bonnie, she was definitely a dog that when faced with something she wasn't sure about, would tend to assume that it was a bad thing, would tend to uh would tend to you know anticipate a negative outcome. So how this looked for her was that she was very reactive, we had lots of sort of barking and lunging, whether that was strangers or other dogs or cyclists or children or frankly just about anything when we first got her. And through teaching optimism and playing optimism games with absolute dogs, she is now much more likely to assume a positive outcome from something she's not sure about. So it's been phenomenal to kind of put it in really in the nuts and bolts. She was involved in a really in a tragic situation, dog fight situation under the mismanagement of her previous owner, and she really struggled with dog-to-dog reactivity when we first got her. And just seeing another dog in the same field, that was enough for her to completely lose her mind and not be really, really responsive to to myself or Chris. And now she has dog companions who she can have off-lead freedom with, who she can chill out in a house with, and really enjoys their company. So optimism has been huge for that transformation.

SPEAKER_01: 3:49

When you say even then, like you say it like it's normal, chill out in a house with, like that's massive for a dog who has had dog dog reactivity issues, let alone the scenario that Alice she was in, in like you said, the mismanagement of her previous owner. Now, I like what you say here. A pessimistic dog is more likely to anticipate a negative outcome from an ambiguous situation. Therefore, they may bark, they may lunge, they may hide, they may growl, they may even bite, they may run and flight when they encounter a distraction. And for me, that is what the majority, I would say 99.9% of the people that inquire to come here at the training centre are suffering with. It's one of those things. It would be barking, lunging, hiding, growling, reactivity, or biting. Like those are huge. And yet you're saying, let me just make sure you're saying this right, and playing devil's advocate here, optimism really allowed Bonnie to have freedom, confidence, and success with other dogs that she hadn't previously had all through the training you'd done and continue to do with absolute dogs.

SPEAKER_00: 4:49

Yes, that is exactly it. That is exactly that's the the real power of games-based training is that all of this has been achieved in a way that she has found fun and rewarding. And so those learning experiences have those massive transformations have been achieved because this has been something she's wanted to do and she's been interested in because these games are fun for your dogs, they're rewarding for your dogs, and so actually those new ways of thinking, those new kind of neural pathways, I guess if you like, get strengthened and strengthened over time because we're we're doing it in a fun and easy way for your dog. And so these yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 5:30

You've onboarded Bonnie, like you've onboarded. And I love here, so why is it important for our dogs? Well, loads of things that basically drag our dogs' attention, like they really do. Like this morning, I had pheasants on my walk, deer on my walk yesterday, hawks and birds, and I live in the middle of Dartmoor, so we live in the middle of everything. And actually, the fear and the frustration that most people see is only because the ambiguity of the novel situation. Dogs don't know how to handle it. And what I say to a lot of my owners that come here at the training centre or to the training center, I'll say they just don't have the skills yet. And the important word there is is yet. Now, optimism really is transformational for reactive dogs, but it can also transform your vet visits, it can also transform your grooming trips, it can also transform your visitors, it can also transform your dog seeing another dog or hearing another dog on television. Like it can transform in loads of different ways, right?

SPEAKER_00: 6:24

Oh, for sure. I mean, so much that we expect our dogs to encounter in our very human world could be really ambiguous to them. And if they are not sure about something and they tend to be a little bit on the pessimistic side, they could be worried about, yeah, noises, you know, think about fireworks is such a huge one, or like vet visits, there's so many of these things that we really want our dogs to be able to take in their stride. And if they're just not sure and they kind of think there might be a negative outcome associated with these things, it can be so painful for us as owners to handle that situation, but also to see our dogs really not in a happy space. So playing optimism games and training optimism and seeing the difference that that makes, whether that's with sounds, with vet visits, with grooming, you know, if you've got a dog that was not keen on being touched or, you know, was kind of worried about being touched, and then you can actually trim their nails without a fuss and with calmness and with that being a non-event, like that's that's huge, not just for the dog, but for us as owners as well.

SPEAKER_01: 7:27

And I suppose it would be worth sharing. What's one of your favourite optimism games, knowing that this has been transformational? So one of your go-tos or something that Bonnie's enjoyed, or maybe just something that you see in the community that you think, yeah, that's a real, like, that's a real go-to.

SPEAKER_00: 7:44

Oh, I think one that's like really easy for people to set up and get started with at home is noise box. So this is kind of you could have like, you know, whether it's a kids paddling pool or a cardboard box, it doesn't really matter. Anything you've got lying around at home, there's no fancy equipment needed. And you just start by kind of putting a couple of safe, you know, novel items. So it might be like an empty plastic bottle, or it might be a towel, or you know, some bubble wrap or whatever it might be that's just got might make a different sound or it might have a different texture. And it's it shouldn't be anything that your dog is like frightened of or worried about, but it's just variety, it's just novelty. And you can drop some little pieces of their food, food that they were going to eat anyway that day, and just sort of ditch the bowl and use some of their food for this game and sort of sprinkle some of their food in in amongst these items so that they can sniff and snuffle and search. And, you know, just them putting their head into that space or putting their paws into that space might be, you know, challenging enough for them, but you can then develop and grow this game so that they find that actually, oh, you know what, putting my paws on things or getting involved in something a bit new or a bit different or that makes a funny noise is actually a really good thing, and I'm gonna get a reward for that. Like, and you start to sort of see that that's it starts to sort of flip that mindset.

SPEAKER_01: 9:06

Absolutely. And anyone who hasn't yet experienced the joy of games, we've got a one pound trial. Now, I know you've been through games club and you're excited about the one pound trial. In fact, you're one of the people that was like, we need to do a one pound trial for everyone to experience this. Because if all dog owners knew about games club, the dog owning world would be in a better place, and for sure the dog training world would be in a better place. Just tell everyone what the one pound games club trial is. And Alice, be frank, you've come here through the games club. That's why you're here. And that's really, again, let's be frank, really why probably Bonnie wasn't put to sleep. Definitely.

SPEAKER_00: 9:40

Yeah, I mean, this Games Club has been so transformational for us. So for a pound right now, you can jump in for an entire week and have access to all of the resources in Games Club for a whole week, where there are, I think, something like 11 or 12, or like there's so many mini courses that are specifically focused on different kinds of training struggles you might be having and sort of ways to build that training, build your relationship with your dog. There are structured training tracks. So if you want to get kind of really in depth about a particular game or particular behaviour, there's really guided step-by-step of how to grow that game and how to improve your skills as a handler as well. There's a massive line. So whatever concept you're focusing on, you can create your own little kind of training plan that's going to be really fun for you and your dog and really focus on those training goals that you have. And then there's the community, which is just that's that is just worth the subscription on its own because the community is so full of brilliant, brilliant game changers who are all either going through similar struggles to you or who've overcome similar struggles and can help you out, answer questions, sharing your struggles and sharing your wins. And it's just it's there's there's not a space anywhere else in the world like it, I don't think.

SPEAKER_01: 10:58

I love that optimism really is a way of life. And I'm just gonna round up by saying for me, optimism is also really contagious. So you will feel more optimistic, your dog will feel more optimistic, your friends or your family or the people around you will get to rub off on a little bit of the optimism. Alice, just speaking to you, I'm more optimistic. You speaking to me, I'm more we're more optimistic. The fact that it is really contagious in your in your training, and we're not saying false optimism here, we're saying seeing a situation for what it is and seeing how we can make it better and seeing what we can do to adjust the situation. Optimate optimism in dog training really means the outlook is different. And the more that you can improve and enhance and change the outlook, the better it all gets from here. And for me, optimism is one of those concepts. If I was looking for something in a young dog or I was trying to grow something, if I didn't have optimism, it would always become a focus. What do you think?

SPEAKER_00: 11:53

Absolutely. It's really about just spotting the small wins, celebrating as you go, and then suddenly you'll look back and realize just how far you've come on, and and that you know, that positive outlook and you know focusing on the good stuff really does make a massive difference.

SPEAKER_01: 12:10

It makes such a big difference. So if you're listening, the one pound games club trial, if you're a games club already, we're super pleased you're here. If you're a pro dog trainer, we're really pleased you're here. If you're not on any of those levels or courses, the one pound games club trial, head over to the Absolute Dog Store. It's the one pound games club trial. It's there for you. We want you to have it, we want you to grab it, we want you to give it to your father, your mother, your sister, your brother, your long-lost lover. Tell someone who needs it about it. Because most of all, this really does change and save lives, right, Alice? Absolutely. Jump in and we will be there, ready to welcome you. So, from an optimism point of view, I want you all to leave here today thinking, hang on a second, how could I change this? How could I change that? I know that Bonnie and Alice, for example, their life has been transformed through optimism. Games like the game that Alice spoke to you about noise box, playing with our dog's food when we ditch the bowl, uh, changing our day and ditching the routine for a more optimistic opportunity and being flexible in your outlook. There are so many more concepts that we can dive into on our catch-ups together. We're going to share more with you over the coming months. And most of all, remember, optimism really is a way of life. Thank you, Alice, and team. We'll see you all again next week.