The benefits of dog ownership are many and varied they relieve stress, lessen loneliness and love you unconditionally. They want to be with us as with live life to the full, running on the beach, walking through the park or participating in a dog sport event.

However, just like humans need to take a minute to be still and calm and aware of their surroundings from time to time, so do dogs. These days the emphasis tends to be on taking our dogs out and about, exercising them so they are physically tired, meeting, greeting and lots of doing.

What we sometimes fail to think about and teach our dogs and perhaps ourselves is how to simply “BE”.  It’s time to take your dog out into a public space, sit quietly somewhere and take in all the sights smells and sounds and just watch the world go by. Calmly look and listen to the sounds of a neighbourhood, and be ok with it all without the need to be actively moving about. Practice this exercise in different locations.

Don’t think this learning is one-way street we can learn a lot from dogs about mindfulness. They have a particular kindness, gentleness and intuition when it comes to understanding humans. They teach us about forgiveness, they never hold a grudge and continually turn to us for affection, guidance and reward. Always happy and willing to greet us they continually remind us there is a great deal to be contented with and they certainly know how to enjoy the moment. In fact, their lives revolve around living in the moment, being spontaneous whilst remaining aware of the stimulus around them.

So take some time to rest your mind from the frenzy of life. Sit and chill with your dog, practise your mindfulness together. The relax will do you both a world of good.