04/10/2021
More true words.
MLD Syndrome affects thousands of dogs every year and can be very serious, even jeopardizing a dog's future in their current home.
Professional dog trainers are sometimes at a loss as to how to help dog owners who are desperate for a cure.
MLD, which stands for "My Last Dog," includes the following symptoms:
"My last dog was never this destructive."
"My last dog stayed in the front yard and never went past the driveway."
"My last dog loved kids."
"I've had Dobermans my whole life and none of them were like this!"
Fortunately, there is hope. It starts with letting go of expectations that your current dog will be just like your last dog. Every dog is an individual, with their own strengths and weaknesses. Every dog has something that sets them apart from all others.
It doesn't matter how many German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, or Beagles you've owned in the past, the dog you have now is the only dog that matters.
Trainers have a saying: "Train the dog you have, not the dog you wish you had."
You can wish your dog liked kids as much as your last dog.
You can wish your dog was perfect off-leash everywhere, around everyone and everything.
You can wish your adolescent dog was already a mature adult, past the chew-all-the-things phase of her development.
But wishes don't change behavior. Training does.
Management prevents unwanted behavior. Training teaches new, more desirable behaviors. And reinforcement strengthens and increases the behaviors we want to see again.
Training can't fix everything, of course.
If your dog is an adolescent, it doesn't matter what magic treat, collar, or spray you use, no training can make her mature more quickly. Remember that you were 10-15 years younger when your last dog was an adolescent. Your lifestyle and career demands may have been different then, too. Adolescence is a headache, no matter the dog or breed. Fortunately, it is much shorter than human adolescence!
If your dog is afraid of children, training can't make him love them enough to become a therapy dog at the local children's hospital like your last dog, but he may enjoy therapy work at a local retirement facility. Or maybe therapy work isn't his destiny, but he totally rocks at Nosework!
Your dog may not naturally take to the things your last dog did, but I promise that he has a truly amazing and unique quality that your last dog didn't. You just have to find it!
EDIT: (contributed by my brilliant friend, Stacy Braslau-Schneck) "Ask your doctor if letting go of unreasonable expectations is right for you. Side effects may include closer bonding with your current dog, new discoveries, and a deeper appreciation of individuality."
