10/10/2025
If a fish is continuously put on the sand, over & over again, hour after hour, day after day then she will spend her whole, entire life believing she is a rubbish fish ..... No matter what she does she just can't succeed at anything. She can't breath properly. She can't eat. She can't swim. She can't relax. She can't concentrate on anything. She can't make friends with any other creatures on the sand because shes just trying to get through the next hour before she runs out of air. She fails .... And fails .... Over & over. She has no confidence in herself. She can't flourish and she can't be her best self.
Put that same fish into the sea and watch her go!! She is so fast! The best swimmer in the sea!! She can catch her own food. She can breath. She can flourish. She can actually "live" instead of just "exist" (the two things are not the same) Her confidence grows in herself. She can relax. Form friendships with other fish. She can make her own decisions: Left, right or straight ahead?? Suddenly, she can be the best fish in the world.
She was ALWAYS the best fish but she just didn't *know* she was the best fish.
She was continuously put in the wrong environment. She never had her needs met. It was pretty much IMPOSSIBLE for her to be a good fish and so she spent her life believing she was the worst fish.
It's no coincidence that the majority of the Kangals I work with "sit" or "lay down" mid-walk.
I actively promote it. I encourage it, if you like. I mean, I don't ever actually ask them to "lay down" mid-walk but I do make a conscious decision to do whatever I can do within me to help this Kangal be the best possible Kangal he can be.
When he has a need to stop & observe .... I allow it.
When he needs a moment to figure out what that new scent is blowing in on the wind .... I allow it.
When he spots a "danger" (the black bin bag that suddenly appeared overnight / the childs bike that had been left out / the loud noise in the distance) then I allow him to take a moment to figure it out. It doesn't matter how irrational that "danger" may be to you .... If your dog senses danger then its real to him and it is not your job to decide WHY a black sack may be bothering him but it is your job to understand that your dog needs to process this strange item.
What might this Kangals Great, Great, Great, Grandfather have been doing, back in his day? What might his life have been like? How might he have spent his days? What genetics are flowing through this Kangals body, screaming to come out so that he can be the best possible Kangal he can be?
Imagine if David Beckham lived in a world where he NEVER got to kick a ball? How would he ever know that he's a good football player??
Imagine if Van Gough never picked up a paintbrush?
Imagine a hundred things!
But how can you ever possibly be your best self if you are never given the opportunity to be?
It took Hunter over a year to find himself. He's still finding himself, now. I see new, cheeky little behaviours sneaking out of him - tonight he found a feather over the park and picked it up & started playing with it. He's never, ever played before but I see him relaxing more & more.... Hes showing his true self .... He's being the best Kangal that he can be 🩷
www.KangalDogTrainerUK.co.uk
