Feeling growly
“Sometimes I feel growly.
My body becomes tense, my lip curls, my hackles go up along my back and a rumble comes from deep inside me, outward.
Does this happen to you too? How do you know when you are growly?
Sometimes I have mixed emotions going on in my body, I am growly at the front end and waggy at the back end.
Feeling growly is an important emotion as it lets me know something needs addressing.
Maybe I am scared or feeling threatened?
Maybe I am in pain or being hurt?
Maybe I need to put a boundary down that hasn’t been listened to.
It lets me and others know that something important that I care about is happening. That I matter.
Being growly doesn’t mean I am going to bite………..
I’ve noticed that it can also change really quickly.
I am lucky that us dogs don’t go over and over stuff in our minds. We are in the moment, so when that moment has passed so does the emotion in the body.
We like to have a good shake and waggle too, to release the energy of growly tension. A good zoomie and a bark.
Being a zen puppy doesn’t mean I am only happy and relaxed; rather it means I allow all my emotions as they are all important and I embrace my full dogginess.
Zen puppies get growly too.”
Love Sam 
Mindfulness North Canterbury 