The Junior’s Perspective – Practicing Positivity

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136 – April, 2024

By Jessica Braatz

A few weeks ago, my boss and I attempted to pull together one of those crazy travel plans that would make a “normal person” say the famous line, “I don’t know how you handlers do that!” and deliver an expected headshake of wariness. Instead, we laughed at the craziness of the plan, the exhilaration of the possibility, and said, “If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.” Said crazy plan involved an overnight drive for half of the team and a red-eye flight for the other. I arrived at the show groggy-eyed and jet-lagged, ready to take on the weekend with nothing but a positive attitude and three hours of sleep, obtained face-down on an economy airplane tray! On our adventure, we laughed, we cried, we drank way too much coffee, and it all worked out. But even if it hadn’t, we would have laughed anyway at our failures–which after my short time in the sport has proven to be pivotal to my enjoyment of it.

With this mindset, we shifted an easily stressful situation into one to look forward to and worked to breathe life into the plan’s success, rather than fearing its failure. But, while this bigger goal was at work, I had my own private agenda. See, while the larger plan was obviously to ensure the dogs were cared for and presented properly, my own miniature plan was to attack the weekend with the most positivity possible. Boy, did I succeed! Someone even commented that I was unusually chipper that weekend. Years ago, attempting to take on something like this would have daunted me, but my positivity translated into resilience. This got me thinking about how much dog shows are controlled by our own perspectives.

A few weeks prior, another friend and I were discussing grooming. I’m the first to admit, I’m an extremely emotional groomer. If I’m having a rough day, take those scissors from me ASAP. I cannot tell you how many of my own dog’s feet would have disappointed groomers everywhere when I am up working way too late, or simply not in the mood. And these emotions don’t exclusively impact me. I’ve noticed when I’m not feeling my best, my dog starts to get antsy on the table, channeling my uncomfortable energy, but not understanding the problem. The only two solutions I’ve found for this are giving up (not the best method) or taking a deep breath and reassessing through a more positive lens.

Click here to read the complete article
136 – April, 2024

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Posted by AnthonyA on Apr 16 2024. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.