Whenever a dog owner talks about 'training' their dog there is an implication that the 'trained' dog is the end result (outcome) of the essential process.

The problem here is that there is no such thing as a 'trained' dog, just as there is never a 'trained' person, horse, ferret and so on. The simple reason being that life is always an on-going process, of growth and learning. 

For this reason, no matter how much emphasis people put on this outcome, there will always be a problem because this encourages the belief that 'trained' dog or a 'socialised' dog will miraculously result in a dog that never reacts in a negative way to any event, person or other animal, which is impossible. 

Every day is a day of learning, understanding and coping in the world in which we all live. Of course, in an ideal world, our dogs would make good associations with every encounter and experience, but this ideal world only appears in books, cartoons and movies. Once we accept that is the case then we can really start to create the very best that we can for our dogs and ultimately ourselves, we are liberated from working towards the impossible and free to succeed. 

Just last week a very special friend gave me a card that she bought as she knew it would mean so much to me and I would like to share the message printed inside, which is from the wolf/dog. 

                         'You speak to me in a language my heart understands' 

Jan Fennell

16th August 2012