YOUR WELLNESS TOOLBOX 2021
DAY 35 / 365
💫 THURSDAY THOUGHT
8 weeks ago our 6YO was beyond excited that Ginger was coming to live with us, yet we knew it would not be that simple as he has/had a fear of dogs for a couple of years, we know where the fear originated from, yet in the past year it had escalated to the point we couldn’t walk on sides of the road if there was a dog, couldn’t go on the beach if dogs were running free and he would become visibly distressed around dogs that belonged to friends. Even the friendliest dog in the world would trigger panic and fear.
My husband wanted dogs before children (really!!) and we had been talking about welcoming a new furry friend to the family for a few years. However, the time never felt right and during the summer we made a decision to leave it for another few years. Although we had been advised it could help both children overcome their fears, we had enough going on and parked the conversation. We both agreed we would only discuss if and when an opportunity presented itself.
2 weeks later that opportunity presented itself (I think Tool #18 - The Secret may have had something to do with this 😉) thanks to a post on a local Facebook page that I just couldn’t scroll past and before we knew it we were holding a beautiful new puppy Ginger... named by 6YO before he knew we were welcoming a puppy or what colour she was 😯.
Ginger arrived and 6YO was very apprehensive, he would not come into the kitchen unless Ginger was in her den behind the locked gate or if one of us was holding her. At times it has been very frustrating for us, yet we have done our best not to put any pressure on him, he has to overcome his fears in his own time. We simply encouraged him to take one small (often tiny as his little toe) steps everyday.
Then a few weekends ago there was a sudden BIG change, not only did he suddenly let let Ginger run around him and jump on him, we went for a walk and he did not get scared when other dogs approached him not on their lead!! A few weeks ago he wouldn’t even walk alongside Ginger on her lead. BIG change.
We are so proud of him, yet more importantly he is proud of himself. His small steps led to BIG change and he overcame a fear! They are now forming a lovely bond and even Ginger seems to understand the boundaries with him.
What small step could you take today to overcome something that is holding you back?
Have a lovely Thursday xx