Can the Dog Whisperer’s Process Work on Humans?

Can the Dog Whisperer’s Process Work on Humans?

Last night while having dinner with my family, my kids put on the Dog Whisperer TV show on. As we were watching, we saw how dogs’ energy is tied to their human master’s energy and how the dog reacts to the anxiety or excitement of their owner. One dog was chasing and trying to attack people riding bicycles or skateboards. It wasn’t clear why seeing people on these wheeled items were making this dog crazy but the dog would attack and make it very difficult for the owner to control him.

Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, explained that the dog needed to be interrupted right as his mind was getting too excited. The dog needed to be broken out of the trance of the emotion in order to calm down and not attack.  The owners then learned to nudge the dog near his back leg with their foot right when it seemed like the dog was responding to seeing someone on a wheeled vehicle (i.e. bike, skateboard, etc.). This forced their dog to stop running the cycle and becoming agitated.

After thinking about this off and on for the past day or so, I have come to the realization that humans get into the same predicament. We get “triggered” by something and the thoughts run away with our calm minds. We can find ourselves reacting, often as we have historically reacted and that this reaction often can get worse over time. If we don’t find a way to break the cycle right when we are triggered, we can get stuck in negative emotions or energies which are hard to break.

So can we find a way to nudge ourselves out of these feelings right when we are triggered? I think so. We don’t necessarily have a trainer who can nudge us or pinch us to wake us up from this unconscious reaction, but we do have an internal voice that can do so.

In the morning we can set the intention that today we are going to allow our minds to be aware of things that are causing upset. As we begin to feel our hearts race, our minds getting upset, or even feel ourselves begin to say negative things, we can stop and take a deep breath. In that moment when we take that breath, we can ask ourselves if this response is truly helping or hurting us. Undoubtedly, it is hurting us and possibly could be causing upset to others (as is what happens when a slow driver gets in my way and I miss my turn and end up calling him an idiot. My kids get upset that I have called someone a name as it’s not “nice.”).

In my example, the only person being hurt is me and possibly my kids. The other driver doesn’t hear me nor probably care that I was in a rush. Those feelings and my upset are all on me. And besides, I must wonder if this continues to happen to me, then maybe it’s because I need to learn to deal with these feelings. Maybe the reason things upset me is because I have too many rules about how life is supposed to work, what I am supposed to be doing, and how others are supposed to be behaving. Maybe the whole purpose of these feelings and these triggers is for me to learn where I am allowing the past to get me stuck and to stop getting stuck there.

After all, life is about growing through our experiences and becoming better people. Life is change and if I am to really live, I must learn to change and grow through all my “triggers.”

If we can stop this automatic response, like the Dog Whisperer did for the dogs on his show, then we too can learn to choose our responses and be happier, calmer, kinder, and healthier people.

Here’s to slowing down and allowing our inner guide to shape our new responses to old triggers!