I confess, your dog and I need a pat on the back and a “Good Girl (or Boy)!” every once in awhile.
The majority of dog owners are thrilled when their dogs no longer (choose one or more): jump/bark/pull on the leash/potty in the house/chew on their furniture/attack their friends and neighbors. They are delighted to have a well-behaved family companion. They regale me with anecdotes like – how polite their pup was at their recent barbeque – how they forgot to put away a package of paper towels and miraculously came home to find it untouched – when the UPS truck rolled by, their dog didn’t make a sound. They can’t wait to show me how close their dog now walks next to them, instead of ahead in the tugging contest that used to be a neighborhood stroll.
And then there are Mr. and Mrs. Glass Half-Empty.
Mrs. Half-Empty sees the C’s and B’s on her dog’s report card, never the A’s. “Look!” I exclaim during a recent visit. “Dean is sitting instead of jumping on me when I came in! That’s fantastic!” “Yes, but he still barked when you knocked on the door” grumbled Mrs. Half-Empty.
“Wow!” I enthused as we walked Dean through the neighborhood. “He’s pacing himself to you. Watch how he slows down when you slow down!” “He still gets distracted“ muttered Mr. Half-Empty. “Whenever another dog goes by, he wants to go to it.”
Discouraged, I persist in pointing out all the ways that Dean’s behavior has improved. I praise the Half-Empties for their diligence, calm and consistency with their dog. They collectively sigh “It’s taking much longer than we thought it would.”
Remember in Close Enough, where we met Destiny, who’s owners sought perfection in their dog?
So here is a well-deserved shout-out to Dean – and Destiny, and all hard-working and much improved dogs:
“Dean and Destiny, I’m proud of you! You’ve come a long way in a relatively short time. You’ve learned so much and you obviously love the challenges of practicing new behaviors. You are successful every day because of the love, trust, and respect you demonstrate to your owners. You are terrific dogs that are on the way to becoming the best Dean and Destiny you can be. And isn’t THAT worth celebrating?!
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