Brilliant!
Here is a list of 16 things you should stop doing in order to make life with your dog happier and your relationship stronger. Difficult? Not at all. You just need to want to do it and then simply do it. You can begin as soon as you finish reading this.
1. Stop being fussy—don’t worry, be happy
Like most things in life, being a perfectionist has its advantages and disadvantages. When you own a dog, you tend to live by Murphy’s Law. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. There are so many variables that things seldom go 100% the way you expect. You can and should plan and train, but be prepared to accept all kinds of variations, improvisations and minor mishaps along the way as long as no one is injured, of course. After all, in most situations less than perfect is better than good, so…
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hmmm…I wonder if this works on bf’s?
I don’t know. I’ve never had one :).
Wow this hit home. When we brought Luka home as a very young pup we were very happy, which quickly turned to frustration and a sense of being hopelessly lost. We felt like we had to raise a “perfect” dog – in essence we had read and conversed ourselves into thinking what we needed to make him into was an automaton. The books all said blah blah blah. The breeder said blah blah blah, etc. The videos and trainers said blah, do this, blah, do that, blah blah blah. And we were miserable. After a few weeks my boss (who is a very respected veterinarian) asked me aside how things were going with Luka. After I told him of our frustration he gave me the greatest advice anyone had given me regarding the puppy: “Put the books away. Enjoy your puppy for what he is.” What he meant was not to stop training or trying to instill certain manners in my new little friend, but to stop obsessing over everything he did or how much grass he ate, etc. I told myself to “Grow the F*$@# up.” and within a week Luka and I had bonded like crazy, I was starting to really see his personality, and I looked forward to going home to play with him.
Definitely worth re-posting. Thank you.
I love this post! Embracing your hound for exactly what he is takes any desperation for perfection out of equation. Dogs are fun. And comical, when you dont take them too seriously.
-Whitney, http://www.sitstaysquirrel.wordpress.com