Trusting your instincts

Drawing dogs to influence positive thinking

Drawing dogs may not make you rich, but it will add richness to your life.

My office at the animal shelter was a guest house for distressed dogs. The way they trust their instincts to face fears changed my thinking. They never overanalyze or doubt themselves because their brains aren’t capable of those thoughts!

Many of them react without thinking at all, sometimes making their lives a bit more challenging, but they don’t give up either.

Left: Wren Right: Sweet Pea

Wren spent more than a year at Animal Humane. When it was time for a walk, she’d burst out of her kennel like Sonic the Hedgehog. Wren was such a handful that finding the right home for her seemed impossible. Who would want a dog that never seemed to calm down?

Sweet Pea hid under my desk for months, coming out only for meals and bathroom breaks. We’d lure her out with biscuits for walks. Who would want a hiding dog?

Acting on instinct alone can produce rough outcomes, but that’s how we learn. And we all do it in our own time because we’re all on different journeys.

Wren never did calm down, but a person with a dog who needed a canine companion found their way to her. Someone eventually claimed Sweet Pea as their new best friend, too.

Left: Wren with trainer, Erin and her new person and dog roommate. Right: Sweet Pea and her person

Dogs have a way of influencing positive thinking, even in the hardest times. Drawing keeps us present, so what better way to influence positive thinking and trust our instincts than to draw dogs together?

Join

Samantha Dion Baker

and me as we draw waiting dogs together. Bring your dog and favorite materials! We’ll share our sketchbooks overhead so you can watch along and ask questions.

More canine content 

• How Dogs Taught Me to Draw

• The Dogist Drawing Session

• Dogs of Muttville Drawing Session

• Be the Artist your Dog thinks You Are

My first puppy, Kermit and me. I knew what I liked even at age 5!

Let’s talk!

1. What kind of dogs do you like drawing?

2. Share a favorite memory with a dog!

3. What do you find tricky about drawing dogs?

Can’t wait to draw with you soon!