Dog Training as a Spiritual Practice: What Our Dogs Teach Us About Patience and Presence
This title might, at first glance, seem a bit confusing. How on earth can training your dog be a spiritual practice? While I’m not claiming that we need to empty our minds and approach everything we do with our dogs from some kind of nirvana state, I do think there are some compelling parallels between sitting in meditation and working through difficult behaviors with dogs.
Helping a dog to work through intense or dangerous behaviors requires patience. If we allow it to, doing so can teach us to be more present. And what the dog learns throughout the process mirrors the very same lessons people find when they sit in meditation or work through difficult emotions.
Behavior Modification Training Is About Non-Reactivity
Think about meditation for a moment. You sit down, close your eyes, and you become aware of a storm of thoughts, worries, or frustrations. The goal of sitting in meditation isn’t to fight those emotions or demand that they go away. In fact, attempting to do so will usually backfire! The goal is to soften and allow the thoughts and feelings to flow. In other words, the goal is to allow things to be as they are, sitting with them, observing them, and letting them pass in their own time.
Dog training can function the same way.
When a dog is fearful, overexcited, or reactive, we can’t flip a switch and force them to feel calm NOW. What we can do is hold them accountable to clear behaviors, like staying on their bed or holding a down, even when their emotions might be all over the place. This point of focus becomes an anchor for the dog, allowing them to focus part of their attention on doing what we are telling them to do. Just like we humans would focus on our breath in meditation.
Over time, as a dog practices non-reactivity through structure and consistency, their feelings will generally change as well. They will organically become more neutral to the things that previously made them flip out in one way or another. Training, like meditation, is less about changing emotions instantly and more about creating space for change to happen naturally.
Final Thoughts
Behavioral change in dogs can happen extremely rapidly. But emotional change takes time. And we as humans need to accept that a dog may go through a wide range of emotions as they learn to self-regulate.
Our job is to hold our dogs accountable to clear standards, and to honor them by allowing them to go through that process. We can’t insist a dog feel differently right this instant. It won’t work, and can often actually make things worse.
The process is sometimes a bit messy in the middle. And that’s ok. Your dog doesn’t need you to be perfect. They need you to be clear, consistent, and grounded. They need you to set boundaries, mean what you say, and follow through with love and fairness.
Because at the end of the day, training isn’t only about the dog. It’s about the relationship you’re building together and the person you’re becoming in the process.
👉 If you need help navigating your dog’s difficult behaviors, I'm here for you.
- Bradley
