When I woke up this morning, Lotte was snuggled against my pillow with her head on my shoulder. Her cheek against mine. I could hear her breathing, feel her warmth. We laid there for a good hour, just relaxing. There were no thoughts running through my head. It was just us. It was the connection I've been trying to feel when we're training.
No, I didn't just have a two-day miracle (imagine how quickly all of my training problems would resolve if it were that simple!). As I mentioned in my attention post, I've been thinking about this topic for quite a while now, though I've only recently come to understand exactly what it was I was looking for. And it isn't that it has been totally lacking. The connection has been there all along; I just haven't been looking in the right places. It's the same feeling I get when we're really engaged in playing tug, or on the occasions we've spent just meandering around the grass on a sunny day. It's watching her sleep, watching her run, watching her gnaw away at a bone. It's laughing at the silly dog flying and twisting through the air trying to catch the toy on the end of the flirt pole.
Maybe part of my problem is that I'm hoping to see concrete results in training too soon. Maybe I'm focusing too much on details and losing sight of the big picture (something that, from my experience in painting, tends to make things take a lot longer). Maybe the secret is to "just relax!"
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