Comments on: In Search Of The Ever Elusive Perfect Dog

By: Lisa-Anne Manolius

Lisa-Anne Manolius — Mon, 09 May 2011 14:56:59 +0000

Hi Kelly,

Thanks for your comment. I’m so glad you remember to focus on the positives about your dog – she sounds wonderful – and that you shared your perspective. It’s so important to have that attitude, in dog training, and if I dare say so, in life. It makes the journey so much better, don’t you think?

Happy training!
Lisa

By: KellyK

KellyK — Thu, 05 May 2011 14:57:27 +0000

I know this is an old post, but I wanted to comment because I think it’s a really important thing to remember. Between shyness and a short attention span, we’ve had some difficulty training our dog, but when we think about the positives, we’re reminded how awesome she is. This is a dog who greets us at the door, wagging and bouncing, who sits at our feet and covers our legs with puppy kisses. This is a dog who’s learned to play nicely with our young playful cat and to (mostly) leave the older grouchy cat alone. This is a dog who, despite being easily scared, has never shown any aggreessive tendencies. This is a dog who, after some informal home training, can sit, lie down, and mostly come when called, and who’s making great progress with “leave it” after just her first session of formal training. This is also a dog who has had knee surgery, minor eye surgery, allergies, and another eye issue, and has put up with vet visits, eyedrops, and an awful lot of being coned. With all that considered, the fact that she’s destroyed the occasional Sharpie marker or knitting needle or the fact that she hides or barks when strange people come over—not such a big deal.

By: lmanolius

lmanolius — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:57:06 +0000

Hi Grisha and Edie,

Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I couldn’t agree more with what you’ve both said. And yeah, I’m guilty of the same thing from time to time with my own dog, when in fact, he’s come leaps and bounds on some of his issues. Now if only I could make that kind of progress with my own behavioral quirks and issues!

Cheers,
Lisa

By: Edie

Edie — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:33:06 +0000

Great post — and great principles to apply to the way most of us go through our days. Think how well people respond to praise, too. Instead of focusing on how so many have failed me in so many ways, I’m going to try to express more gratitude to those that haven’t. Note that I said “try,” being far more imperfect as a human than my dog could ever be as a dog.

By: Grisha Stewart, Seattle

Grisha Stewart, Seattle — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:21:24 +0000

So true! Even as a reward-based trainer, I sometimes bemoan my dog’s issues instead of concentrating on his lovely focus, exceptional recall, friendly approach to strangers (a big accomplishment of our training) etc. Life’s too short to not think of him as ‘good enough’ – while still working on his fear of kids. He is the perfect Peanut 2009. I expect Peanut 2010 will be even better, but this model is great!