Are you scared to start?

I certainly didn’t coin this phrase but I heard it in a song recently and felt the need to share- it is never too late to start. These thoughts aren’t necessarily just about dogs, but I will put them in this dog blog. I want to share this reminder with people who know us, have supported us, and maybe even look to what we do for inspiration.

Everyone moves so fast, myself included. We are all chasing the next goal, big event, or life move. I recognized this pattern in my self over the last few years and set out to change my pace. I can’t be alone in having settled for jobs that weren’t the best place for me, or not taking chances because I didn’t know where to start or where the “chance” would take me. Change is hard, and I recognize that. If I hadn’t chosen change, I wouldn’t be writing this blog today. I wouldn’t have three dogs that I absolutely adore, a house they love to make a mess of, a husband that supports me so strongly that he created and manages this blog, or any of the goals and dreams I have today.

I grew up wanting a dog, to the point of asking my parents for one every day. I ended up rescuing my family dog, Buckley, at age 16. He came to us as trained as a family could hope a dog to be, so he simply existed to make us smile. He never attended a training class in his entire 15 years of life, yet rarely misbehaved beyond a little too much barking at inopportune times. When I rescued Vinny, I had never experienced a dog with such severe behavior issues. I was forced to choose a new path to learn how to safely handle this out of control dog. Through this process, I was given the confidence that I needed to bring a high energy, working breed dog into my life (shout out to Terence at My Dog’s Mind for believing in me). This dog, of course, is Chief.

Chief inspired me to train dogs because I enjoyed it, not just because it was necessary. This was the start of a new lifestyle for me. Before dog training, I worked as much as possible, I was always tired, and I was hyper focused on image and fitness. Dog training became the healthiest of obsessions for me, and I have Chief to thank for that. His tenacity to try anything for me with his huge happy heeler grin on his face forever changed my perspective. With our success, I continued to gain confidence in this new journey.

Many times I have doubted myself. I am in my 30’s, married, work a job I went to college and grad school to qualify for, and have all of the expected responsibilities of adulthood. How could I start working towards a completely different lifestyle now? If I let these thoughts darken the bright light ahead that I work towards every day, I would never have met so many incredible people in the dog community, tried new dog sports, started this blog, or applied for the CPCFT program. I used to see my future as a long road to retirement. I now see clearly that this is not the only way. It is not too late for me to try to let my passions inspire my future.

This is my story, and I urge you to take some time to think about yours. What can you start today that will improve your future tomorrow? Since we are dog people, let’s start there. Have you been making excuses instead of taking action? Sign up for the training class, try the dog sport, start preparing for the difficult hike you’ve been intimidated by, plan the meet up with the local person you get along with best on “dogstagram”. Since my cattle dogs came into my life, I don’t dread the early morning alarms, walks in complete darkness to get in the miles before work, and all of the coffee spilled on myself while trying to simultaneously wake up and play frisbee in the dim light of New England dawn with them. I wish I had started down this path years ago, but I would rather start today than never start at all. It is never to late to start working towards creating a life you love to wake up to every day.