Powerful principles

My name is Carolyn Boyd, and I mentor dog owners to release the potential in their relationship with their dog.

I have spent a long time thinking about that description. Dog trainer is just not enough any more. Using words like behaviourist opens a whole can of worms that I won’t go in to here.

The fact is that I have spent the last nearly 20 years working with dogs and understanding how they tick. Then, and most importantly, I have spent the last 40 years working with people and understanding how to problem solve issues.

I have come to realise that combining those skills means lots of happy customers and dogs living their best lives.

Years ago, at one of Chirag Patel’s courses we delved into core values. It is something that we spent a long time talking about in my years in business development, but I don’t believe it is talked about enough in the world of dog training.
When I talk about core values, what I mean are the guiding principles that underpin everything that I do.

So here goes, here are my top three. They might fluctuate over time, but I thought I would share with you here.

Safety

This is about feeling safe and being safe. This is important for me in so many ways and will always come top of the list. I want everyone to come to me to feel safe. That means physically in terms of the space that we meet in, them and their dogs. I need to feel safe physically too.  It is also about feeling safe to talk about the issues with your dog, feeling safe to express your opinion and feeling safe to make difficult decisions.

Kindness

Kindness to your dog and kindness to you. Why not! I have always tried to teach people with kindness. I just don’t understand when I hear people who come away from classes or even 1 to 1s where that basic principle is not there. Kindness is also about keeping my training science-based and positive. It is about giving you and your dog choice … and lots more.

Honesty

That means honesty from you and honesty from me. I mentioned earlier about YOU feeling safe to talk about the issues with your dog. Even if you have done something that you now regret with your dog, I will listen, take on board and thank you for sharing. I have often been described as non-judgemental as well as being honest. There is no point in judging you as you are here in front of me asking for help, but you also won’t want me sugar-coating everything.

I could go on, but these are the top three, and these are powerful principles to live by. I hope they help you understand a little more about how I work.

If you want to find out more, CLICK HERE TO pop on over the the ABOUT ME section of the website.