Författare: åsah

I have often wondered about why dogs do false alerts. Is it a misunderstanding or is it something else? This article was written with my own experience as an example. I would like to put forward a few thoughts so that maybe we can learn to understand the phenomena together.

The problem with false alerts is often up for discussion. It’s understandable. It’s never good to have false alerts that leads to intruding on peoples integrity. A dog indicates on a wall and its torn down just to notice that there wasn’t anything there. I rather have a dog miss a target than falsely alert because a missed hide can be found by another dog. We can already see at trials here in Sweden; it’s very seldom one dog finds all hides, but also very seldom that all the hides haven’t been found.

Last week Sammy and I went to a trial and got disqualified for 3 false alerts (!) to me it was a chock since she has never falsely indicated that much in her life. It can happen once sometimes, but not totally random. And never several times in a row. Of course I got curious, why?!

I often reflect on false indications since I can see it’s a problem showing in most dogs at some point. Here are some of the things I have thought about.

Residual and false indications

I wrote an article on false indications before (in Swedish) where I explain a behavior I noticed: the control smelling. I work a lot with teaching the dogs to not indicate on residual odor. It’s still the same compound of odor molecules but they get weaker and weaker, and I have seen that it takes a lot of analysis for the dogs to tell them apart. It’s something that has to be taught. When the dogs are tired they seem to have more difficulty telling them apart. It takes a lot of concentration and sometimes they just don’t have the mental endurance to tell the difference. I don’t see this as a true false indication since it’s actually just regulation of the scent threshold.

Because of this I have chosen the freeze indication (Kong is not dangerous to smell for a longer time) to be able to control while indicating. That means that when the reward is not coming, they smell again. They will alert again if it’s actually there but sometimes they make a fast decision and notice, with further control, that it was residual and will then let go of the indication and move on.

However, in the trial I had, Sammy didn’t analyze again, but stood firm in her indication. Without using her nose for control, I suspected it was not right. But she was so stable in her alert that I ended up confirming it.

More about these thoughts in another reflection on the subject (translation on it’s way).

Hides placed high or unreachable

High hides are the ones that caused me the most problems when it comes to false alerts. As mentioned above my dogs stay and analyze while in alert behaviour. When the hides are out of reach this control can’t be done in the same efficient way.

I also have difficulty knowing when they actually have the scent where it’s the strongest. So I have probably rewarded only for the alert upwards instead of reinforcing the smell in itself. When they get frustrated, and can’t find anything, I have seen that dogs can point upwards and hope for the best. My dogs often show that they can feel something up there, but aren’t able to pinpoint the way I’m asking for at other hides.

A solution to this would be to lift the dog, or teach the dog to use then handlers body to get closer to the source and then able to analyze and decide in a better way. The first false indication at the trial was pointing up. I reward with praise, as explained further down. Maybe she thought indication was the game of the day.

Rewarding during blind searches

Because this possible misunderstanding could make the dog thinking false alerts is a part of the game. Many people integrate chains of behaviors where the scent in itself is not rewarded when not knowing if it’s true. To continue the search is seen as reward enough. If using toys, treats or praise it would be for another behavior in the chain. Maybe a call back or just ”continue” command.

However, I see a problem in this way of thinking. If the scent is never rewarded during blind searches, the dog will learn that alerting on the scent is not important in that particular situation. The value of the odor decreases and either the dog think its doing something wrong or see a higher value in continuing the search than actually indicating on the hide.

Then we come back to the variable reward system. How often would you continue a search without reward if the dog doesn’t get any positive response from us when working super hard to find and indicate? Then we can get back to the problem with extinction.

Before I decided to praise the dog a lot when finding a hide even when I’m not sure it’s right I did this exact thing; rewarding another behavior in the chain.

However, I felt bad when seeing that the dog was looking disappointed and that made me avoid training a continued search. I ended up rewarding often enough for the behavior to come under extinction when at trials or during blind searches. It wasn’t a fun game anymore.

So I find many more pros than conswith rewarding with praise. There is a confirmation for the dog that it’s right, but not as strong as a marker (clicker for example). The clicker gives such a precise kick of emotions that it’s a bigger risk that it remembers the reinforcement. Which would then be a false indication in this case.

Also, since dogs takes a lot of time to generalize, I don’t think a social reward will give more false alerts in other circumstances.

If there is a problem with false alerts, I rather adress that, than avoiding praise during blind searches. Motivation for the search and target odor will always be the most important for me.

Bridges

Then we get to the next problem.

We mostly reward at the hides and finding the target is what becoming the most important. That’s good, right!

But.. when always expecting a reward around the hide can also put the scent imprinting under extinction. The dogs spend so much time on finding patterns. They create expectations really fast. So then we’re back to the extinction part. No expected pay = something is wrong.

However, it’s impossible for the dog not to create expectations since we are so predictable. Our brains want to create habits, and if not adressed those habits will be created really fast.

It’s for this reason that bridges are so efficient. The smallest movement from us can create an unintentional bridge. That’s something that I noticed with Sammy. I use intentional bridges to get a steady indication behavior. But I also have some bridges that are unintentional. For example, I noticed that my confirmation of the find has become a bridge that can steady a false indication.

At trials we have to say ”markerat” when the dog is indicating for the hide to count. So that is very soon expected to be followed by a reward. So then we unintentionally reward indications even when searching blind. This is another reason the ”not rewarding hides when searching blind theory” is not reasonable. We will still say ”markerat” which has become a bridge. So no reward became an unintentional reward. This can of course also lead to extinction in the same way as mentioned before. ”Markerat” = Bridge = Expectations of reward. Reward not coming = something is wrong.

Training the alert behavior

I also have reason believe that ”frustration alerts” can become a problem when always focusing on getting a steady indication behavior. It’s so cool when the dog manages to stay in alert no matter what happens, and it’s also an important part in the trials. This leads us to almost always rewarding for the alert and not for the actual scent picture. When the dog doesn’t know what to do, maybe because it thinks it’s wrong or get frustrated about not finding anything. The dog will do what has been rewarded the most – the alert.

When we teach the indication posture we mostly start with a target that can be seen. Some use the unhidden Kong, some use a coin or maybe a small cup. The problem becomes clear when hiding the Kong and the dog doesn’t understand anything. We get to the generalizing problem. Dogs don’t generalize as humans. For some dogs it’s not so difficult to understand. But quite a lot of them don’t understand that alerting on a visible target and smelling a target and indicating is the same thing. We actually add another criteria that needs to be adressed. Smell first – indicate when sure.

When I managed to teach a steady indication on a visible target, I go over to not rewarding the dog if it alerts without smelling first. I start by gradually introducing the ”smelling first” criteria and when done, I want the ”pointing on visible targets” to become extinct.

Sometimes I can go back to the coin when getting problems with holding the freeze. But very very seldom will I do it on the Kong (which is our target scent). I never want an indication without smelling first.

I call it the ”scent command”. In the same way as I train the dog to no longer sit without saying ”sit”, I stop rewarding the alert without checking if the target odor is present.

Also, when the dog leaves an alert it will not be enough to just alert again. Just because the dog knows where the target is, it will have to check again. A new chance to do the right thing.

Who knows.. the Kong might not be there anymore. Maybe someone stole it in 1 second. At least that’s what I want the dog to think. And it could be true, since I work a lot with residual avoidance. Sometimes it’s there, sometimes it’s not.

Directions or staying too long in one place

I believe this is the main reason for Sammy’s false alerts at the trial. I have tried to make her alert falsely during this whole week. The only way I got a false alert was to insist with pointing my hand at the same place she already felt she had searched. Or, as during training this week; pointing at the same place several times.

In the trials this is a very difficult part. How to know when the area is searched?

Some trials have very big areas but only 15 minutes to search (Level 1) or even bigger areas with 20-30 minutes. However, I noticed, very often even, that they have to be around 10 cm from a hide to actually get the scent. It can be small pieces under a box or even hides in places where I thought would be easy. You never know..

So at trials it’s easy to get stressed about time.

When training I very seldom direct the dog to certain places by pointing. I try to teach the dog to search in front of me by itself. To teach it to search everywhere at that place before moving on.

In these Swedish trials, handlers actually have to do 50% of the job. The dog concentrates on the scent pictures, and the handler keeps track that the whole area has been searched. It’s not always that there is a scent to follow unless passing closely, so our job is actually important. Maybe the dog thinks an area is searched, but there might still be a hide in a corner for example. Maybe the odor is too weak to smell from further away.

So how do we know when the area has been searched? I would in training just wait until I have seen that the dog searched my imaginary cube before moving on to the next. Like that I move in a systematic way through the bigger area. Then it’s easier for me to keep track of my part of the job. But with a limited timeframe we need to move faster. At the trial I directed Sammy by pointing and places where I felt she hadn’t searched. She took this as another game.. or what do I know, really. All I know is that it was repeated 3 times in a row.

Preparations

Does the dog know which game we are playing?

The trials, and also in operative searches, the areas vary a lot! You could need to search a factory building, a school, forest or even sheep house. I think it’s important to have preparations to make the dog understand what we are supposed to do. Once a trial was in a forest, and I can say that most dogs thought they were out on a nice walk. No idea that it was the Kong searching game we wanted.

In my trial, where I got disqualified, I didn’t have the same routines as always. My husband was there (he is never there when training), I took her straight from the car and just a super quick smell on a piece of Kong in my hand. Normally I do a few mini-searches to prepare her for what to come.

Coming straight from the car after a long car ride made her get way way too excited, I think. Maybe she didn’t analyze as otherwise?

But.. apart from the false alerts, she searched in a concentrated and amazing way! What I had focused on the last few weeks had really paid off.

So… now I know what to think about for the next trial!

False alert?

During the week I was trying to figure out what could have been the reason for the false alerts. I thought that maybe I had been focusing on training with too many hides. So I was gonna do a long empty search to see if I could provoke a false response. The first thing she does is alert! Oh my god! I have a big problem now.

But of course there was a forgotten piece hidden under the rocks. Phew!

I read this article about ”The Kong method” by Simon Prins which was interesting to me since I reflect a lot on the subject.

I agree with the arguments Prins laid forward, but I also have other reflections which would speak up for Kong as a training aid for scent detection work. But exactly as Simon says (pun intended), we have to make sure WHY we use different methods and tools. What are your goals?

My goal is to be creative and find new ways of training scent detection without being scared of ”making mistakes” that can be harmful if you’re working professionally.

I believe that, through dog sport we can learn so much more about how to communicate with our furry colleagues. With no harm done to anyone, we can focus on moving training techniques forward in a creative way. And we can be many doing it!

We can also evaluate results and collect enormous amounts of information. Blind searches, double blind searches, reward systems.. The possibilities are endless. We just have to ask the right questions.

So thats why I think dog sport is one of the best ways to contribute to the dog training world and, in the end, also to society.

However, the sport have to be advanced enough to show real life scenarios and how they could be handled.

Such a sport is getting official in Sweden at the moment and Kong is the target scent. You can read more about it on Svenska Brukshundklubben homepage. I hope more countries will contribute to data collection in this way because it is so rewarding for everyone involved.

As Simon mentions in his article; it is totally different when you are supposed to do operational work with other odors. Then Kong will probably not be the best option. Kong can be present in many environments. It must be difficult, or impossible, to erase the ”love of kong”.

But if we look for Kong in dog sports, we can make it easy for a lot of people to train their dogs. Not only will it give thousands of dogs a better life, but it can also give information about the other parts of scent detection training. Scent detection is not only the imprinting of a specific scent.

Everyone can be involved, contribute and therefore also give us enormous amounts of information.

Moving on..

I believe that scent detection training could be split up in three categories:

1. Scent imprinting

I would say scent imprinting is the most difficult thing imaginable, since we have no idea what the dogs actually smell. No matter how much we try to guess, we will never fully understand their way of processing odors and what molecules they are working with. We don’t even know how the molecular information is transferred and translated into brainwaves.

I think we have to be very humble towards the fact that we might think we know, we might be able to find some things out, but we can never be inside the dogs brain and actually ”see” how they process everything. We cannot imagine what it’s like to choose using scent instead of eyesight. There are a lot of things that I think we cannot imagine, but thats for another time.

Scent imprinting is so complicated because of that. We try to explain to another species to find something that we can’t even see or comprehend.

However, this is not the part I have chosen to focus on. No matter how interesting I find it, I think that’s what most people are already focusing on. A lot of new ideas and devices are already being created.

But no scent detection training is complete by just being able to find a specific scent in a sterile environment.

2. Search techniques and communication

No matter how well the dog knows what it’s looking for, its not gonna be able to communicate a find, if they don’t have a way of telling us where they found something. They can’t find an odor in any environment if never exposed to it. They can’t work for hours without having started in small steps. They can’t find a specific scent without being able to concentrate on its work. They can’t find it without knowing where to search for it. Scent detection is about so much more than just understanding the scent picture. The dog is our colleague and friend. To do the work together, we need to cooperate and go through many processes and obstacles. We need to be there to support the dog and use our eyes to see where the dog hasn’t been searching, for example.

3. Understanding and reading the dog

To be able to communicate with another species we need to open up and be aware of small signals. It’s not so easy when we can’t speak to them. But maybe it’s not surprising that we can’t communicate with dogs. After all, we can’t even understand other people even if we speak the same language.

We can never understand each other without stepping out of ourselves and take in what it could be like from another perspective. Your dog is trying to communicate with you all the time, but sometimes we are totally blind to it.

To be able to work well with scent detection I believe that we have to learn how to communicate with a language that both of us can agree on. And that starts with trying to understand. I also think it means being open for dogs being so much more intelligent than we thought so far.

I’m not scared of comparing human thinking to dogs’, but with knowing that there are quite some big differences. Like scent- and memory usage for example. Also, the fact that they are predators and have strong instincts is something to be well aware of. But that doesn’t exclude that they can have a much more advanced cognition and understanding than we can find out through research.

I think the only way to truly understand the dog is to spend lots and lots of time with them. Take the time to try to understand how they are feeling and what they are trying to communicate. And same with making them understand what we’re trying to say. All communication is not words although it seems as if they can understand those too. So maybe we could try to understand some of their communication.

Since we can’t jump into other peoples’, or animals’, brains we can never truly know what others are thinking. Words we learn will always have a special meaning in our own brain, which might not be the exact same as in someone else’s. Another human being is not less intelligent just because they have different ”operation systems” in their brains or different experiences from life.

But being aware of the differences in the way we’re thinking will help with communication between both humans and dogs. You can, for example, read up on how it is to be autistic and you will see that there are many things that are working differently in different human brains too. Everyone is different, human and dog, but everyone also contributes with their special strengths.

Anyway, what I wanted to get to is that the work we do in scent detection is all about understanding each other. No matter how it’s done, it’s a must for our cooperation to work.

”The Kong training method”

When we talk about Kong, it’s almost always attached to a certain way of training. Using hunting instincts and play with a toy to make the dog love to search for it. There are different ways of doing that and many techniques are trending. Here I agree with Simon Prins, ”As trainers, our job isn’t to blindly follow trends, but to think critically about our goals and choose the best approach to achieve them—efficiently and effectively. This means questioning what we’ve been taught, adapting when needed, and staying true to our integrity.” So no matter how we decide to use it, we need to be aware of why.

I’m using Kong as a training odor without a method being attached to it. I believe that Kong as a target scent can teach us a lot about how dogs work. How they communicate and handle distraction odors, among other things. But then we would have let go of the fact that it has to be used in a certain way. I would like to look at it as a ”tool”.

The simplicity of working with this material is hugely beneficial, because we can strip off the way we try to understand odor and just work with what we can see. Sight being our preferable sense it will feel much easier to be able to control with our eyes. We like to be in control!

Generalization of the smell

With Kong we are working, as mentioned above, with a material we can see. The dogs can ”see” more than what we can with our noses. Dogs can also see where the Kong has been before. The time it was there, and how long ago. How they do it, who knows, but its amazing!

When we see a Kong or a Kong piece, we can tell that it is a Kong by the way it feels, the way it looks and even its odor. But we also understand that a Kong can look different depending if it’s old, its been in mud or maybe covered in oil… or split into pieces. We still understand that it is Kong we are seeing. We generalize.

I believe the dogs can do this too, even if it’s in a different way (which can be frustrating at times).

Of course, when you think of it. All Kongs must have something in common even for the dog, right? Since we can know if a Kong piece is there, we can be pretty sure that it releases scent molecules from its surface all the time. We can also agree on the fact that it changes all the time.

Simon wrote ”Take Kong, for example. We know that one piece of Kong is not the same as another. Some trainers cut them to specific weights and sizes, others boil them before use. Some handle them with gloves, while others don’t. Some add specific human scents. Odor off-gassing varies depending on environmental conditions” which is completely true! They are all different, but if we, as humans, can generalize what a Kong is, why would the dog not be able to?

When I work with Kong, I stopped trying to understand what the dog ”sees” but instead I want focus on what I know with my own senses. I want the dog to look for all pieces of Kong that are big enough for me to see. I have some sort of control over what the dog is searching for.

Forgotten pieces

When I can see the pieces, I can also control if the dog is right. Simon talked about a risk with using Kong. He wrote that it led to ”False alerts – […] on pieces of Kong left behind by other trainers.”

But if the dog found Kong, and was imprinted on that, then its not a false alert?

I use these pieces people left behind, what I call ”jokers”, to learn something. A test. I don’t get angry when people forgets Kong pieces because I can check if they’re there. For the new dogs, I think that if they don’t get a reward now and then doesn’t matter. You will learn something!

My dogs alert well so I dig a bit, move some things, and there it is! If not, then its a false alert. I use a variable reward system so I can use my signal for ”good work, you found something, let me check”. If they have a good indication I can also minimize the area I need to look. Its so cool when they indicate and I don’t believe it. I check, and there it is! 10 cm under the soil, one meter into the cupboard… in the fridge..

Scent threshold – calibration

However, there is a glitch. The dogs can indicate where the Kong has been, but is not present anymore. This is impossible for us to know and control. Nowadays many, many use Kong as training odor and we can find it anywhere.

Something we can know, on the other hand, is that if the Kong is still in place, it will release new molecules all the time. Even if they change over time, they seem to have a ”core scent” of Kong. If we generalize the smell well enough, they should be able to include all Kong-smells. More about that later on.

So we can imagine that there are tiny molecules of the Kong smell left that we can’t see. But it does get weaker with time. No new molecules are released from the surface. Ghost smell.

There must be a difference in the scent picture and the dogs should be capable of analyzing and excluding residual odor. But there must also be a similarity in the smell, so that it’s more probable that they indicate on residue than just anywhere. So it doesn’t seem right to treat it as false alert either.. (Maybe a subject for discussion? )

When we work like this, we can learn a lot about residual vs. true* odor with Kong. How does dogs handle residual odor? Can they always differentiate residual from true smell?

With dog sports we can, without any damage to anyone, study how much effort it takes to discriminate between the two. How long after do they alert on residual? Can they still do it when they are tired? How much do we need to train them to be able to discriminate between the two in difficult situations?

(*Couldn’t think of a better word)

I have noticed myself, and also read about, the fact that dogs like to generalize odor, and will do so with residual if not trained continuously. More about that in this article. I noticed that if I didn’t ”calibrate” the dog in a month or two, they went back to generalizing the residual with true kong (indicated on residual). When I read about the olfactory neurons in ”The School of Canine Science” course ”Scent for six” I got a hint of an explanation.

The olfactory neurons are getting renewed every 30-60 days and then they are getting shaped after what the dog has been smelling since the last renewal of neurons. So it makes me think that there is a connection. The odors we want the dogs to smell needs to be repeated often, especially if there are small differences to analyze in the scent picture. Like between residual and tiny pieces. Can they feel the difference between residual scent in a drawer compared to a tiny Kong piece still there? How long does the residual stay in the drawer?

I think this could be further studied and I hope it will be. It could help in our understanding of dogs ”false alerts”, that might actually be on residue. This is something that could be more experimented with. Kong could then fit as a safe and easy alternative to other odors.

I have an exercise that I call ”calibration training”. It’s actually used by many and have different names, but I like ”calibration” because it’s exactly what we teach the dogs. How small ”pieces” of Kong should they indicate on? Can they choose to totally ignore residue in a proficient way? Let’s find out..

Easy to handle

We can all agree that Kong is super easy to handle compared to many other training odors. I have shaky hands and got so frustrated when I spilled drops of liquid odor and ruined the search area for I don’t know how long. How long does the liquid smell stay? I can’t see it, so I don’t know. With Kong it doesn’t matter if I drop it since I trained my dog to not indicate where there is no Kong present at the moment.

It’s easy to generalize since we can find it everywhere. It can be handled by different people, maybe put in different places, get scent from oil or soil. It’s still a Kong, and we know it. Just need to teach the dogs that it doesn’t matter where the Kong has been or what it’s mixed with. It’s still a Kong. So no worries about trying to figure out the scent picture. Just make sure that you train with as many different Kong pieces as possible.

Training more often

I mean, you can always have some Kong pieces in your pocket. It makes it SO much easier to actually get to training. When you start thinking too much and need a lot of tools you will not train as often. I think that the best way to learn is to practice. Practice and evaluate. With Kong you could easily get someone else to put pieces in an area and you go there to search by yourself. Which pieces did the dog miss? The evaluation would be in a real environment but super easy to make.

Since it’s easier to handle, you will do it more often, and that makes your dog more physically and psychologically fit. Better body & brain – better job. It also gets easier to use a high sniffing frequency, easier to concentrate over longer periods of time and have many other benefits.

Search techniques

When you can move the Kong within an area unlimited amount of times, it also opens up to unlimited amounts of opportunities to train search patterns and so much more. The residual smell will attract the interest of the dog, but getting closer it will analyze and decide not to indicate because it was only residual. That will also train the dogs brain to be careful of the scent picture. ”Is it really what i think it is?”. Control.

The dog will work better when having a better relation to its colleague (the human). Spending more time with the dog and having fun makes a good base for a great relation. Imagine playing the searching game almost every day!

Kong and dog sports helps me plan my training so that I can do it in a fun way on the walks or just anywhere. Just throw out a little piece of Kong somewhere and have fun! Then I go to trials and see if my plans are working.

Right now I’m working on search patterns to be able to better cooperate with my dog. It makes it easier for me to repeat enough times that we’re working together. Refine our communication. It’s amazing in so many ways.

None of this training would have happened if I always had to bring millions of things to clean and handle the odor.

What do you think? Pros and Cons?

Marknadsföring, tillväxt, misstänksamhet, vinst, pengar…

Varje dag och överallt ser jag stora affischer, annonser, inlägg om hur fel saker är eller hur något annat är det enda sättet. Folk hackar ner på varandra eller gör sig onaturliga för att vara det en tror att den stora massan uppskattar.

Jag vill bli accepterad som den jag är, även om jag kanske inte passar in i samhället som jag borde. Jag har jobbat sjukt mycket med mig själv för att anpassa mig och oftast märks det inte hur ”malplacé” jag känner mig. Men äntligen har jag mitt eget företag, där jag kan förespråka mina egna värderingar och sätt att vara. Jag vill dela med mig av kärlek och glädje över att vi faktiskt är olika. Att det inte finns rätt och fel sätt att göra saker på, utan att det faktiskt är upp till varje person att välja hur de vill vara. Allting har konsekvenser som leder en på olika vägar. Allra oftast är det en krokig resa till målet.

Jag har haft flera jobb men aldrig lyckats stanna kvar, för jag känt mig tvungen att vara någon annan än jag är. Det är så tydliga regler och ramar för hur jag ska vara och vad jag kan säga. Jag har känt att jag helst ska vara tom och bara fylla på med någon annans bild av vad som säljer. Vinst! Pengar!

För mig är det inte viktigt. Jag gillar egentligen inte pengar alls och tycker det är jobbigt att ta betalt. Men samtidigt så måste jag överleva, så lite behöver jag ju få in. Jag försöker hålla kurspriserna nere så att hundträning inte ska bli något som bara är för folk med pengar.

Jag vill så gärna spendera min tid med att hjälpa andra och skänka glädje, för det ger mig mer än pengar. Att se ett ekipage utvecklas är en fantastisk känsla och dom som kommer till mig får lära sig att hantera min glädje som störning i träningen.

Jag tycker om att investera mycket tid och energi i mina kursdeltagare. Jag klurar och funderar hur jag kan anpassa övningarna för att få fram både rätt känsla och beteende. Jag respekterar alla oavsett hur vi väljer att vara och hantera situationer.

Jag vill inte bli känd eller hamna på nån piedestal. Det ger för mycket uppmärksamhet och gör lätt att negativa krafter tar över. Jag känner mig så glad över att få följa samma ekipage över tid och märka hur de utvecklas. Hur vi kan ha roligt tillsammans och hitta på lösningar på problem och uppskatta framstegen. Jag har hellre färre kurser och orkar engagera mig ordentligt i mina kursare än att ha mer pengar att spendera på saker jag egentligen inte behöver.

Just nu är min äldre hund sjuk och jag vet inte hur länge hon kommer må bra. Jag har spenderat extremt mycket tid med tanken att livet kommer vara så tråkigt när hon inte finns här mer. Men det är ju helt galet. Vi lever ju nu och istället ska jag satsa på att visa kärlek och ha roligt med henne varje dag. Det påminner mig också om att uppskatta det jag har även i andra delar av livet. Livet finns i de vi tycker om och det fina vi kan se i världen. När var senaste gången du tittade på allt det du ser med ögon öppna för vackra saker.

Just nu matas vi av så mycket negativitet att vi tror det mörka är det normala. Det som vi alla ska fokusera på. Det är något vi bara kan ändra på genom att aktivt välja att se den andra sidan. Det finns inte bara svart och vitt. Allting har positiva och negativa sidor. Försök leta efter den positiva delen även om den är liten. Lättare sagt än gjort, men ingenting kan förändras utan att vi jobbar för det!

Titta upp på månen ikväll, eller kanske ner på en blomma. Se in i din hunds ögon. Var tacksam för att det fortfarande finns. Ta en stund varje dag till att se vad du kan vara tacksam över i livet.

Om det är någon som känner att mitt sätt inte är det rätta, ja, då finns det andra att ta kontakt med. Jag rekommenderar gärna duktiga instruktörer, för det finns det gott om!

Kärlek till er alla och våga vara som ni vill!