I got an interesting email yesterday asking for the formula for how long an owner should walk her puppy. She was sure there was a formula for how far to walk them. Bless her heart, I know that it was her attempt to do what was best for her puppy. I advised her that I would be cautious of any formula and that I thought she should use this time to get to really know her puppy and let him tell her when it was long enough. Really? A formula? It would depend on the individual dog, the climate, the terrain, the size of the dog, etc...It made me start to wonder how many people are so lost in the formulas that they miss the dog and who they are.
I am usually guilty of pushing too hard, and asking for too much too soon. I struggle with it and now constantly ask my dog "how is this for you?" It has stopped me from pushing too hard, unless that's what my dog wants to do. I ask my students off and on through class to ask their dogs this question. They are finally starting to get it, but it is a struggle for most of them. Putting our ego aside, and "wasting" a training opportunity that you have paid for seems to go against our very nature.
There is no formula for my dogs. When Phalen was a puppy everyone pushed me to ask more of him. I insisted that he be allowed to be a puppy. He has years to earn titles, etc...I am so thankful that I stuck to my guns. My current foster Foxy is a great reminder that it has to be in their time, not mine and she did not get he "foster dog formula". I'll take watching them unfold in their own time, at their own pace and like me, throwing the formula out the window and making our own unique concoction!
No comments:
Post a Comment