No Embarrassing Dogs
Your dog is perfect just the way he is. He’s an individual with a personality and quirks and things he’s good at and others he’s slower to learn. And you love him no matter what. Though sometimes it can be tough to laugh off his behaviors and not be embarrassed by him.
You look around dog class and see focused dogs, other puppies who aren’t barking or biting, and fancy dogs who do fancy tricks. Why isn’t Reggie as “good” as they are? Yes, some humans spend lots and lots of time training and that shows. And others clock hours of practice, but in a group setting or in real-life situations, that training time seems to have evaporated. Normal! I’m not well behaved in every situation either. Getting a live being to do everything you ask perfectly every time can be pretty hard–try that with your spouse.
But here’s the thing: so what? So Reggie is again eyeing that energetic Aussie in class, just glancing your way once in a while? Great start! He won’t do a Stay for longer than thirty seconds at home when the kids are running around? That’s Hard. When a tennis ball comes out, he can’t even hear his name being said? I’d love to see what happens when two tennis balls are out! So what?
Reggie has a hundred other skills and assets. He lets that Aussie herd him when they’re not in class, and he gets along with almost every other nice dog. He loves his children and all children and they can run all over him for kisses. He has great drive for Fetch–never giving up till he finds that tennis ball and brings it straight to your hand.
Make a list right now of all Reggie’s good points. Make another list of all the words he knows, noting which he responds to no matter the situation and which still need tweaking. Every handler has something their dog doesn’t do the way she’d like. Trainers too! That dog in class may look sensational, but she has major anxiety around non-dog noises when she’s at home. That shepherd walking calmly with his person on your street can’t take walks in his own neighborhood because he is too territorial.
You’re not allowed to be embarrassed by your sweet, smart, adorable dog. We’re all a work in progress, dogs too. So we’ll all try just to enjoy them for who they are, work on changes we’d like to make, and remember time with the furry ones is very very short.
And . . . what happens in Dog School, stays in Dog School.