How The One Thing Applied to Dog Training

We recently hired a dog trainer, and something magnificent happened.

Here’s how it went down.

The Dog Has Problems

I’ll be the first to tell you that there’s no such thing as a bad dog, just bad owners. So, while I take the heat for this, here are the things we needed to address with our dog:

• Biting People (primary motivator)
• Sprinting our property line chasing walkers and bikers.
• Barking incessantly, especially while outside at night.
• Jumping on cars in the driveway
• Biting car tires while moving in our driveway.
• Humping people.
• Jumping on window screens to request to come inside.
• Showing signs of wanting to dismember package delivery people.
• Jumping on people
• Barking at our neighbors

And probably a few (or a bunch) more, like peeing in my father’s house.

The One Thing

The concept of “The One Thing” in lifestyle design is very intriguing to me, like the 80/20, or Paretto’s rule.

Basically, it’s finding the ONE thing that will have the biggest impact on ALL other things. Or it’s the 20% of work that will accomplish 80% of the objective.

Well, after hiring and hosting a visit with a dog trainer she made it clear what the ONE thing is for Bogart, our dog.

No more going outside without a leash.

He used to have free reign within a rather large invisible fenced in area. That has now changed and here’s what that one thing solved immediately:

• Biting People (primary motivator)
• Sprinting our property line chasing walkers and bikers.
• Barking incessantly, especially while outside at night.
• Jumping on cars in the driveway
• Biting car tires while moving in our driveway.
• Humping people.
• Jumping on window screens to request to come inside.
• Showing signs of wanting to dismember package delivery people.
• Jumping on people
• Barking at our neighbors

The only reason it doesn’t solve the humping and jumping thing is because he’ll do that inside, too.

It’s More Work

The only thing that held us back from doing this all along was this idea of it being more work, and it is, but it’s really only a little more work, and it addresses almost everything!

So, naturally, it got me thinking, where are the other things in life that require a little more work but have such powerful results?

Oh, and it’s so much better!

Yes, just like function stacking in Permaculture, there are so many other positive things that result from this little bit more work.

• It brings the family together for a common goal. My daughter is very engaged in training our dog.
• It gets me outside. I know I won’t always be a super fan of this (think blustery nights), but those evening walks around our property with the dog are really quite pleasant.
• Our dog is much more comfortable. I’ve thought about this with regard to freedom. As much as I want my own freedom, the reality is that the freedom we provided Bogart made him very anxious and uncomfortable. Initial indications are that he feels safer being with us.
• It drives us toward more exercise. Historically, we would let Bogart run around the yard untethered, giving him a considerable amount of exercise, now we need to compensate for that by taking him out and exercising with him.

Where else will this work?

I want to brainstorm some ideas for you.

Where else can we look for ONE thing solutions as we pursue a life of freedom and happiness?

Marriage

Is there one thing you can do in your marriage to make all other aspects of the relationship better? Perhaps a deeper understanding of the 5 love languages would help, and then implementing a daily action on whatever love language most resonates with your spouse.

It might be deliberately telling your spouse you love and value them every day. Or writing them a letter of your thoughts on a routine basis or giving them a much deserved break from evening chores one day a week every week.

If you’ve tried this, what’s one thing that you’ve done to amplify the positive aspect of your relationship?

Parenting

What is one thing you could do for your kids that would make the parenting job more joyful and provide them a better childhood experience? Reading every night, a hug goodbye before work every day, freedom for them to make their own food choices?

These ideas are only to prime the pump. Please share one thing that has had a profound impact on your parenting journey. One thing that has meant a lot to me is the drive to treat them as the autonomous people they truly are, and not as a possessions.

Business

Whether you work for yourself or someone else, is there one thing you can do to improve your performance in the workplace? Maybe it’s taking on a collateral duty, taking ownership of something no one wants to do, or abolishing a weekly meeting.

Your Home

Most of us have a laundry list of things we want to get done around the home. What’s the one thing that will address the most anxiety, or provide the most satisfaction if complete?

Recently, in my home, it was remodeling our master bedroom. My wife and I buckled down and finished the job prior to our son being born. I’m currently working hard to dedicate my attention to installing our rainwater harvesting irrigation system because I think it will have a dramatic impact on our food production.

Maybe it’s saving money for a roof, or saving money to move out into a new home.

Cut the Underperformers

Searching for, and dedication to, ONE thing means disregarding ALL the other noise.

Understanding our objectives in life will help us determine what that one thing should be. For my family, we decided that we absolutely HAD to buckle down and resolve the issues with our dog because of the potential liability for an encounter with an unforgiving human. But it has me thinking now, where else can I apply the ONE thing logic in my life to make my time more enjoyable, successful and rewarding.

Also, if there is one thing that is really crushing you, and keeping you up at night, consider hiring someone to help. That could be a financial planner, a fitness coach, or a business consultant. For us, the simple act of committing to a financial obligation of a trainer motivated us to follow the instruction and hold each other accountable to act on the advice. Furthermore, the people who dedicate their life to areas like this have incredible ideas and history to know what works and what doesn’t. That experience can be invaluable.

I encourage you to think about it for your life. When you find one, or act on one, please reach out and let me know what it is and how it goes.

Best to you,

NHMan

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