09/07/2022
It is my fervent wish that people understood the importance of giving their dogs breaks in training and time to grow up.
All the time I hear people wanting their young dog, 5 months, 6 months, only a year old, to be a therapy dog, a service dog, able to achieve and do things that are beyond their capacity at that age. And then wondering what is wrong with the dog or what they have done wrong. Nothing. Please just give them time.
Dogs need time and space and understanding in order “dog” well later in life. Imagine the damage I would do to my 12 year old daughter if I insisted at this age she start college and go to law school because I just knew she’d make a great lawyer? You’d think I was crazy. She still needs to be reminded to brush her teeth at night. She has plenty of time to have a career, right now she needs to be a kid.
Young dogs need TIME. Please stop forcing goals and expectations on them before they’ve even grown up. You can train them and work with them to teach them valuable skills but make it fun and give them breaks and let them have time to just dog. All that stuff you’re worried they’ll “forget” if you don’t keep pushing and pushing is the same as worrying a car will lose its ability to move forward if you take the foot off the gas. It’s okay to coast for a bit, let the engine rest, and do little reminder work here and there without overwhelming a developing brain and potentially damaging your relationship. It will all be there when they get back from their adolescent trip, I promise.
