What the Dog Whisperer Taught Me

A couple days back I was visiting my Uncle John. He asked if I'd take his dog for a walk. As I was pulled along the country road by the beast, I was reminded of some simple advice given by Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer. Primary to caring for a dog focus on these three areas in this order: 1) exercise, 2)discipline, and 3) affection.

I used Millan's approach in the past to teach parenting style (I know, as I don't have any kids, I hardly qualify to teach parenting...but it was part of my job as an Adult Education Teacher). Parents were not entirely receptive toward my comparing bringing up kids with training a dog. Think about it though...kids without exercise tend to have discipline problems. When a parent overshadows with affection the kids is often labeled spoiled. Anyhow, I think it applies.

Then I thought about these three areas with application to detoxifying.

I try to exercise every day. I usually jog for an hour or more and walk at least an hour each day. In the winter months, I bounce on my mini-trampoline. I try to get my exercise out of the way at the beginning of the day (burns more fat...and takes it off my mind for the rest of the day).

Discipline tends to go along with exercise. It also goes with diet. In the past, I have created a list of "What I want to do more" and "What I want to do less". Do more included exercise and eating better (vegetables and fruit). Do less included: cookies, ice cream, bad thinking (I'm bored or life isn't fair...you know those kind of thoughts)and chips (and the list goes on). I kept a weekly count of when I was doing what I wanted to and when I did what I didn't want to. I "paid" myself a dollar for each time I did what I should and "lost" a dollar each time I did something I didn't want to. On Friday, I would see how much I'd earned (usually 20-30 dollars); this was my money for going to the movies or out to dinner or whatever. It helped me become more aware of my habits and better disciplined.

Affection is something we all need. I guess we shouldn't limit it. But I'm certain exercise and discipline are themselves a kind of affection. It tends to be what we crave the most. Everybody needs to know they are loved. Without affection, we cannot survive.

Exercise, discipline, and affection can help in the detox approach. Whatever your protocol, follow the dog whisperer's advice and try to stay out of the dog house.