11/06/2025
Work with the dog in front of you is a mantra we repeat often. This means not just who this dog is as an individual but how and who they are at this very moment, in this context.
I left drop off this morning for my almost four year old twins with more compassion than ever for the dog owners we work with. Not always, but more often than not, drop off is hard. It doesn’t matter how consistent I am, how short I keep it, how much we prep beforehand, if I do it how my husband does it, if their best friends or favorite teacher are there. It doesn’t matter that shortly after I leave they are happy to be there, that they thrive there. They’ve been going to this same, wonderful place for a year and a half. None of the other children seem to struggle in the way, to this extent. So when the tears and the chasing after me come, it’s very hard to not feel like a failure. And when it’s both of them. Oof. Twin life is rough.
As dog trainers we owe it to our clients to listen to their struggles with compassion. When they say this isn’t working for me we need to believe them and we need to not assume it’s because of “lack of owner compliance” or “no follow through” we can do everything right and things still don’t go the way we want. We can be consistent and not have change. Each dog, and unsurprisingly each child, has different experiences, different genetics, different emotional states, different struggles. What might work for seemingly everyone else might not work for you and your dog, but that doesn’t mean you’re a failure.
Tilly, MCA pup, unrelated but for tax because we love her.
