Issue: May, 2004

Publisher & Editor: Diane Peters Mayer

A. PeakSpeak

Welcome readers and new subscribers.

PeakNews offers a range of information about ring nerves, the ways to conquer it, and how to really enjoy competition, plus your stories, interviews, book reviews and more.

What blocks your success? This month’s Training Tips gives you tips about knocking down those barriers.

Second Chances features PuppymillRescue.com.

In BookPicks, we review Mind Gym: An Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence.

We’d like to remind you that along with your submissions we now accept photos of you and your canine companions . You can email them to: sheri@virtualhelpinghand.com or snail mail them to: Sheri Huffman, 2701 Creek Valley Dr., Garland, TX 75040.

PeakNews offers a unique format in which to engage and connect with handlers from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and South Africa who, in some form, all experience "ring nerves."

Your questions, comments, and stories enrich PeakNews immeasurably. Send us your submissions for the next issue by May 20th.

Please join us to become the handler of your dreams. Your dog will thank you!

Enjoy.

Diane

B. Training Tip Of The Month

What Are Your Roadblocks for Success?

Realizing dreams and accomplishing goals takes planning. We need to set up a plan of action and begin taking small steps if we want to achieve success. But along the way many of us will encounter roadblocks that we don't know how to get around. These obstacles, some of our own making, may thwart any hope or chance of success. Below are some common roadblocks and suggestions for overcoming them:

1. Focusing on the Future

   Looking at the end result, instead of taking those important first steps, may stop you before you even begin. The goal may look too big, and overwhelm and scare you. You may worry that you can’t ever reach it, so why bother? For example: A handler feels his dog must get her OTCH, but they’ve just begun training for their CD. Over time, as they compete and NQ, and training is hard, etc. that OTCH may seem totally out of reach. This handler’s best bet is to focus on becoming a good consistent team, and take small steps to reach their CD. Dream the OTCH, but live in the moment.

2. Making Assumptions

   When you presume to know that things will not work out, even before you’ve taken any action, then you’re setting up obstacles and stopping yourself cold. If you hear yourself say things like:

   "I would like to try Agility, but my dog is too slow."

   "I love training my dog, and would like to become a professional dog trainer, but I can’t leave my job."

   By making assumptions about not being able to do things, you are giving in to your fears, without taking a hard look at the possibilities. A handler I know, Linda, wanted to become a professional dog trainer, but couldn’t leave her day job. When she came to see me, she felt stymied and disappointed. Instead of letting her dream go, we looked at other options. Linda read dog training books, practiced training her own dogs, found a good trainer in her area, and presently is an assistant trainer on weekends.

3. Neutralizing Fears

   It’s normal to feel unsure and afraid when we think about starting something new and important to us. But making plans to reach a dream is also exciting, and that excitement can override fear. And each small step taken, each tiny goal reached, acts as a positive reinforcer to continue the journey. The excitement that we feel about getting closer to living the dream also helps us handle the challenges we will face along the way.

   Using Linda as an example: When she immersed herself in dog training books she became excited about what she was learning, and couldn’t wait to use these techniques on her dogs, and so on. Each step pushed her to take the next one, though she initially had little self-confidence in her abilities.

4. You Are Not Alone

   As you set out to reach your dreams, there will be times that you get stuck, feel frustrated, or are unsure of what your next move will be. Asking for support will help you overcome this roadblock. Look to friends, family, colleagues, or seek professional help. Make sure you choose people who can put aside their own agenda, and listen to what you want. Seek out people with positive attitudes, who know how to be supportive.

   When Linda felt stuck and unable to achieve her goals, she came to see me. But she also befriended staff members at the shelter where she adopted one of her dogs, and searched for and found a supportive dog trainer to work with.

To achieve your dreams, don’t give up on them, though the way seems unclear. Focus on the small steps, be aware of the roadblocks, believe in yourself, and don’t let anything stop you.

C. Second Chances

We are pleased to highlight Puppymill Rescue, an internet-based 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization. Its mission is "to locate, foster, vet, and place in forever loving homes, purebred dogs previously used by breeders in Puppy Mills."

Puppymill Rescue has about 40 rescued ex-puppy mill dogs for adoption on their website. Based in Florida, they will adopt across state lines, but a home visit and vet referral is necessary.

To read about Puppymill Rescue, adopt one of the fabulous dogs waiting for a new home, or make a donation go to: www.puppymillrescue.com

Their motto: "One dog at a time."

Have a rescue story? Want us to feature your favorite shelter or rescue group? We all want to read about it. To submit, write to us at CAYPNews@aol.com.

D. BookPicks

Mind Gym: An Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence by Gary Mack, David Casstevens, Alex Rodriguez, McGraw-Hill, 2002 Mack explains how your mind influences your performance, even more than physical ability. Using stories of athletes he has trained, the author shares the exercises and techniques that have helped athletes reach peak performance.

Be sure to check out our recommended reading list.

Have a book you loved? Write a review, and send it to us at CAYPNews@aol.com

E. Announcements & Coming Events

JOIN our Yahoo Ring Nerve Group

This list discusses my book Conquering Ring Nerves: A Step-By-Step Program for All Dog Sports. We have Q&As and share ring nerve experiences and successes. We also feature chats with dog writers, competitors and others. This is a wonderful forum for talking about ring nerves.

Click to join now!

Conquering Ring Nerves, A Step-by-Step Program for all Dog Sports By Diane Peters Mayer, M.S.W. Conquering Ring Nerves is designed for competitive dog handlers, from novices to seasoned veterans who experience mild to severe performance anxiety. Featuring mind-body exercises and techniques from the Competing At Your Peak Ring Nerve Seminars, plus chapters on Self-Esteem, Making Mistakes and Creating a Safe Mental Space, and more. Illustrated with real-life handlers’ stories and packed with training tips, Conquering Ring Nerves will help you to ease your anxiety and compete at your peak under pressure. Published by Wiley/Howell Book House

To order from Amazon.com click here!

CONQUERING Ring Nerves For Handlers and Dogs
Summer Ring Nerve Specialty Seminar
Obedience • Rally • Conformation

Make plans now to attend our popular six hour seminar:

Sunday, July 18, 2004 from 9:00am-4:00pm
Presented by Great Companions in Allentown, PA.

Learn great exercises and techniques to help you relax, concentrate, stay connected to your dog, walk smoothly in the ring, and much more. Don’t miss it!

$125.00 for seminar and materials. Register now! Space is limited.

FMI: contact Diane Peters Mayer at DPetersMayer@aol.com
or Ali Brown at www.greatcompanions.info

See the difference a day makes!

CAN'T make the Seminar? Join the hundreds of handlers who have STOPPED RING NERVES FROM HOME with our Audio Ring Nerve Program for All Dog Sports, with Training Manual.

• Great Exercises & Techniques.
• A Super Quickie Stress-Buster.
• Guided Imagery to mentally rehearse your perfect performance.
• Terrific Training Tips.

This program will help you do it!

The Audio Program & Manual is $29.95 plus $6.00 S&H in US. (PA residents add $1.80 sales tax). International add $10.00 S&H.

To read more about it or purchase by check or secure credit card online, please click here.

or call Diane at 215-348-8836.

ATTEND Diane’s RING NERVE WORKSHOP at Dana Crevlings’s Competitive Edge Sports Camp in Cornwall-on-the-Hudson

Five Days of Agility from June 27-July 2, 2004
(Diane's workshop date and time to be announced).
Competitive Edge Sports Camp
Dogs of Course

For more information visit www.dogsofcourse.com

READ Diane's monthly column Conquering Ring Nerves in AgilityAction.com, the new online Agility Magazine from Laughing Dog Press.

For more information email laurie@laughingdog.press.com

If you enjoyed PeakNews we invite you to share this link with other handlers who you think might benefit from it.

Thank you! See you next month.

**Note: Columns may vary from month to month.

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