Am I On The Right Website?
Usually the saying goes that something “has gone to the dogs”. However, at Dog Star Daily we’ve clearly already done that, and some of you may be concerned that we’ve instead “gone away from the dogs” lately, with our recent posts about various farm animals and a few past posts about cats.
Rest assured, we won’t be changing our site name to Donkey Star Daily or The Monthly Moo. However, occasionally it is helpful to both reach beyond our comfort zone and look to other species from time to time to get a fresh perspective on dog training.
We people think we really know dogs, right? Yet sometimes things can still get lost in translation. Familiarity and comfort can lead to complacency, and from there our habits may drift even further down the river of effort, away from the land of learning and growth towards the state of stagnancy.
Working with, or even thinking about, training and communicating effectively with another species helps one to gain a fresh perspective about how to best train dogs, indeed a different species of animal and not honorary humans with all of our ascribed motivations and ideals.
I often ask new puppy owners to replace the word puppy with the word bear when first making expectations for their young charge. You wouldn’t expect a bear cub to let you know when he needs to go out to pee, would you? Why then do so many people assume that a puppy will let them know, or that a puppy is peeing inside out of spite? Suzanne Clothier’s first post for Dog Star Daily illustrates this point beautifully with her tale of living with a “Storm” in her house.
Another useful exercise is to go beyond our comfort zones from time to time by taking up a new skill to remember what it is like to be a novice at something. This is a particularly useful exercise for dog trainers or any type of instructor, really. When learning a new skill there is soooo much to think about, new vocabulary, our performance (making fools of ourselves), and often many new motor skills to learn as well. Shannon McKay bravely shares her recent “Friday” frustration as inspiration for all of us to get out there and try something different.
New skills and a fresh frame of reference will not only broaden your horizons, but will also bring creative energy and ideas into your usual routine, breathing new life into your daily duties; and innovation and excitement is the key to success in all endeavors.
All this has got me thinking, and soon I'll post about stepping way out of my comfort zone learning about cheetah training and handling.Talk about nerves! (I'd like to add that Ms.McKay did not flinch, quiver, perspire, or seem in any way nervous around these big cats or vultures for that matter, so I find her donkey fear a bit surprising, yet endearing nonetheless.)
What have you done lately to energize and enhance your training routine and get out of your comfort zone? Have you tried a new dog sport, taken up dance, gone back to school, or simply gone to a seminar outside of your area of expertise? Let us know what’s worked for you.
