If you haven't figured it out already (and if you haven't, I would seriously question your intelligence) I love dogs. I live dogs. I breathe dogs. I eat dogs. I don't actually eat dogs. But I do, on occassion, eat their fur. And no, not intentionally.
My love for dogs wasn't born in me. I don't think. Instead, I think it grew in stages. Growing up, we had a Poodle mix named Whiskers. I don't remember a whole lot about Whiskers, except that he had this peach dog bed that always sat on a human chair, and that if any of us every tried to move that bed so that a human could use the chair, Whiskers would snap and/or bite. I also very distinctly remember him eating toilet paper and underwear. I didn't do a lot with Whiskers. I was very young. And I was a horse girl. But I loved that dog the same way any little girl with a pissy, moody Poodle loves her family dog.
After Whiskers passed at the ripe old age of 18 years, we didn't get another family dog. My parents are cat people, apparently. But that was okay, because with 3 teenage girls in the house, there wouldn't have been time for a dog anyways. That didn't mean that I didn't have a dog though. When I started riding and showing horses, there were always a number of dogs around the barn ready and willing to give a teenage girl her dog fix every day. Meghan was a fat yellow Lab who frequented the barns and our lives, whether it was tagging along on a trail ride and riding shotgun in the truck on the way to pickup a load of hay, or on those nights when us girls would run away from home, always ending up at the barns, when life as a teenager caught up with us. Meghan was there with her understanding eyes, offering up her soft, warm fur for us to cry on over some stupid boy that had just dumped us, or whatever other teenage tragedy happened to occur.
Then I turned 18 and moved away from home. But after a brief, animal-less existance with a mean hearted boyfriend, I soon returned to my roots. And rescued a dog. A handsome yellow Lab mix. Jake. He was my first dog. My buddy. My roomy. My best friend. There is no greater thing for a single gal to come home to every night than her faithful retriever. But poor Jake. Working 2-3 jobs at a time, Jake was often forgotten. And not in a terrible way. But there were nights when I stayed out longer than what I should expect a Labrador's bladder to hold. And I didn't do much as far as researching dog food, vet care or suitable dog toys. Jake was put on the backburner more often than I even want to acknowledge during our first couple of years together.
But the bad doesn't always have to get worse. And luckily for me, Jake seemed to understand that I was doing the best I could for us. Eventually, I got into a steady routine and Jake got some solidness in his life. And then it happened. I found dog rescue. And dogs overwhelmed me. Dogs became my only purpose in life. I learned truckloads more than any average dog owner learns in a lifetime of dog ownership. Jake was happy. He had good food, regular vet care and dozens upon dozens of new doggy friends staying over. Not to mention baskets of toys. Real dog toys.
What some don't know is that rescue people burn out very quickly. Some are meant for it, some learn to brace themselves or numb themselves to it and carry on. I was not one of those. Rescue burned me out. I continued on as well as I could, but I was struggling. Last year, we adopted Frankie. My second resident dog. And with Frankie came a whole new responsibility. Frankie was not Jake. Jake housebroke himself. He never barks. He even exercised himself. I swear. Frankie was not Jake. So I had to train. We had to train. And I just couldn't drain the Aussie energy. Then I found disc doggin, and my life changed forever. Me and my dogs had a purpose in life. This past year, my love and drive for rescue died. I still support it in every way I can, and maybe one day it will swallow me up again. But I dont have it in me to do the hardcore dog rescue thing that I once did. I cannot maintain a decent running rescue while working on my own dogs. My own dogs always got the raw end of the deal when it came to rescue. They were always last.
In joining this disc dog club, I learned yet another new side of dogs. Performance dogs. Sure, I'd seen The Incredible Dog Challenge on tv in the past. And I knew that dogs sports existed. But that I could ever be a part of it was never a reality until I joined MNDDC. I thought, 'well I could never do that. My dogs could never do that!' But these people don't buy that kind of talk. "Sure you can!" they said. "It's easy! Just try it" Turns out, we could do it. And we did. We do!
Two months ago, I adopted Kirby. Why I thought I needed another young Aussie is beyond me. But dog sports grabbed me by the hair and now they won't let go. We've discovered new ways to train. You will recall my carping about how difficult this new training was going to be for me. But I've already seen significant changes in my once obnoxious, over bearing Aussie pup.
I love dogs. I live dogs. I need dogs in my life.
Why on earth are you harping on about dogs, Em? Do you ever talk about anything else? Do you even have a point?
Why yes, I do have a point. Thank you for asking. The other night, I watched Animal Planet's newest show. It's called Superfetch, and it's sparked something brand new in me. It's not the cute trainer guy who can train any dog to do any trick that pulls me in. Not even close. It's the fact that that cutie trainer, Zak George, was once a nobody. He was an unknown kid who loved teaching his dogs new things and he would videotape himself training at home and post it on Youtube. Nobody even watched him at first. I remember there being about 100 hits on his first video in the first year. But when I began rescue, I needed a whole lot of questions answered. So I did what any self respecting American does when they need an answer to something. I asked Youtube.
And you know what Youtube gave me? Zak George. Amateur dog trainer. Years later, when I got Frankie, I once again turned to Zak George and his Youtube channel for training answers. By then, it had grown in fans significantly. So to see Zak with his own show on AP, it's a big deal to someone like me, who loved him before he was 'Zak George, Incredible World Dog Trainer' or whatever they call people like that these days.
And now I have Kirby, who is fresh, un-messed with, untrained puppy. Kirby has the potential to do anything right now. And I want to teach him everything. Kirby is the dog who will drive you crazy if you don't give him a job to do. Frankie, she's a disc dog. Disc is her heart. She will do anything for me, but she wants to play disc. She would be so unhappy as an obedience dog or something like that. But Kirby... I have 48 things that I want to try with Kirby.
Our non-mandatory assignment for the very last week of obedience class is to come up with a trick(s) to show off. My goal is to teach Kirby one new trick every week. And it's more than possible with this positive training stuff. In a matter of one single week, I have come to believe that you can truely teach any dog, any task, so long as you are of right mind and attitude and you have the right tools for that particular dog.
Have your eyeballs fallen out yet? I figured.
Happy Friday!
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