Perfect dogs

The perfect dog

Jamie Flanders CDBC FPPE CFDM CBC

There’s something very important that every dog owner, especially those currently on a behavior and training journey with their dog, needs to know. And that is, your dog can and will make mistakes. Your dog can and will forget what they’ve learned, and your dog can and will be unable to perform perfectly when they are having big emotions. Every now and again a client I’m working with will check in with a report of how their dog made a mistake. After they’ve regaled the account of what happened , almost always what follows is, “I thought we were making progress, but I guess not. I’m so disappointed.”

Training and behavior modification is a journey you set out on with your dog. There are going to be ups, downs, sidesteps, and backsteps. There is not a linear path to success. But you’ll know you’re on the right track if the general trend of progress is up, even if the successes are very small! When you are working at a behavior and training program with your dog, you have to be prepared for inevitable bad days. A bad day does not mean that you haven’t made progress, it doesn’t mean that you are starting back at square one, it doesn’t mean all your efforts have been for nothing, it doesn’t mean your dog is stubborn, it’s just a bad day. It is for this reason that I strongly suggest that my clients keep a daily victory journal. Your dog has done something great everyday, even if it was small, and it’s mentally helpful for you to keep track of all the successes your dog has had, that you can look back on when a bad day comes.

Your dog is allowed to have bad days. Just like we’re allowed to have bad days, we’re allowed to make mistakes, and we’re allowed to forget. We have to stop holding our dogs to unrealistic and unfair standards that we wouldn’t or shouldn’t hold for other humans who have the bigger smarter brains. Dogs are not robots that will perform perfectly after information has been downloaded. In fact, not even robots or computers are perfect! Computers and robots malfunction all the time! So why can’t we extend this grace to our dogs? Why are dogs expected to be perfect all the time?

One of my favorite quotes of all time, from a fellow colleague is, “Our dogs are doing the best they can, with the education we’ve given them, in the environment that we put them in” - Susan Garrett.

If your dog has a bad day, it’s okay! It’s a bummer sure, and you’re allowed to feel sad about it. But don’t beat your dog up for it, and don’t beat yourself up either. We can’t control everything! Learn from what happened, try and determine why it happened, and build a strategy to help your dog be more successful next time.

Now, go read your dog’s victory journal!