What if you had a dog that didn’t like puppies, but you decided to get a puppy anyway.

So you picked up a $50 puppy out of the back of a truck at a rodeo.

Your puppy was systematically attacked by your adult dog anytime the puppy moved around the house or was interested in a toy or your attention.

You were told by a neighbor, don’t worry, this is what dogs do.

You never took the puppy off your property because you were busy working. So your puppies only socialization was an older household dog that repeatedly bit, snarled, and growled.

When your puppy grew into being a dog, you decided you wanted to have a social in town dog, walk around, do errands, maybe visit a dog park.

When things didn’t go well, or perhaps very very bad, you blamed the dog. Bad dog.

Life experiences shape us. They teach us what is good, and bad, what we like and what we need to avoid. It is almost insane to think that experiences don’t do the same for our dogs.

The reality is, what you teach your dog from the day they enter your house, shapes how they will see their world with you, and in turn, how they will behave in it, and interact with it. It is up to you, the owner.

When you bring a dog into your home, have some perspective. Have a plan. Have some knowledge more than what your neighbor tells you. This is another living being that is in fact counting on you for information about their world. If you want a dog that can do things with you, than you need to expose them kindly and considerately to this world around them. If you want your dog to be well rounded, than you have to take the time to help create this. It isn’t magic. It’s time and effort on your part.

Failure is common because of a lack of knowledge and a ‘it’ll all work out, don’t worry’ attitude. If you are going to be living with another living being, you have to care more than that.

Here is to love, caring, knowledge, and doing better. We can all do better, I know we can.

Nancy