10/11/2024
I’m a professional dog trainer of 23 years, so here’s a list of things I can guarantee you my dogs are better at than most -
1. Begging for food. That’s right. My dogs 100% know how to turn on the drool and charm when I’m eating or cooking. Does it work? Maybe. Do I always pay cheese tax? Absolutely.
2. Taking over my furniture and bed. Yes. My dogs sleep with me, lay on me, take up real estate on the couch, my lap and anywhere else they find comfort.
3. Getting super excited at greetings. My dogs jump up and hug me all the time. In fact, I don’t ever wear anything I care about. It’s super fun in summertime when I’m in shorts.
4. Chewing stuff that isn’t theirs. Shoes, the corner of a rug, we’ve even lost a chair leg to adolescent teething. Toys? Oh sure they have TONS of them, that I rotate and fill with food and freeze and hide - but what are toys compared to a family heirloom?
5. Ignoring me when it’s really important. Why come back when I’m calling them when it matters most? Why not make me stand in my underwear at 5am for a few minutes. They sure do love to keep me on my toes. It’s even better when it’s in public and I’ve just told people I’m a dog trainer!
6. Getting sick at the worst possible times. It’s not a vacation if someone doesn’t start pooping water or ingest something unknown while I’m gone. Or when I’ve just finished putting the kids to bed and cleaning the house, they are SO good at vomiting right at the bottom stair so I can step in it barefoot on my way downstairs to “relax”.
7. Barking at nothing, and everything, at all times. Leaf fall? Vacuum going? Small creak in floor? We could all die and they keep me safe. Without them, I may fall into the awful spiral of having peace and quiet, and who wants that?
8. Pointing out my flaws. Nothing like an adolescent dog or a drivey shepherd to make you recognize you need more work on your patience, timing and delivery. If it weren’t for them, I’d never have to really work on myself!
9. Leaving too soon. Just as we’ve figured out all of each other’s idiosyncrasies and habits and settle into a friendship of a lifetime, they have to go. We get a few amazing years together, and then my heart gets absolutely shattered, yet I still wouldn’t have it any other way. And THEN, I choose to take the journey all over again.
10. Being my best friends. Long day, feeling gloomy, struggling to see a bright side? They are there through all of it. Making me laugh, keeping me grounded, never taking things too seriously and always ready to try again for me. At my best and my worst they adore me, what better friends can you get than that.
I’m a dog trainer, but I still have dogs. They are not perfect, neither am I. My dogs are still allowed to be dogs as they accept that I’m still allowed to be a human. They are gonna dig a hole in my favorite spot of the yard and I’m going to take away the soggy tennis ball they found in the swamp. They will shred a new bed I bought for them and I’ll ask them to walk politely next to me instead of dragging me down. They will bark at a suspicious plastic bag and I will ask them to perform silly behaviors in front of people. They need to smell a tree branch for 10 minutes and I want to watch this new Netflix documentary. It’s a two way street and I’ve learned to embrace it instead of try to control it. That’s the only way I’ve found for it to be truly fair to them and to myself.
If you want a dog trainer who doesn’t advocate for allowing dogs to be dogs, and humans to be humans, and finding a compromise that’s fair and humane, I’m not your trainer, and that’s okay with me. They aren’t here long enough to make such big deals out of such little things for the level of friendship and devotion we get in return with them. Love your dogs everyone. For them, and for you.
- Helen St. Pierre
