A year ago today...

palo1

Well-Known Member
Joined
27 July 2012
Messages
6,256
Visit site
I came home from the other side of the country with this little chap.IMG_20190524_140615 (1).jpg

Never had a terrier type before but had followed my gut feeling that this is what I needed in a year of 'future proofing' my life. Best dog I have ever had, without any loss of love and wonderful memories of the hounds that have gone before. :D I don't quite know what I have done to deserve such a brilliant doggo but I am enjoying every minute. IMG_20200508_090453_0-min (3).jpg
 

palo1

Well-Known Member
Joined
27 July 2012
Messages
6,256
Visit site
Thank you. I am VERY hesitant to confess this so please be gentle with me but it has taken me years to learn not to show any frustration, to be able to walk away from an animal training situation that is 'difficult' so that I can regain the necessary level of calm, sympathetic understanding. I have never been an animal 'hitter' (unless there has been a very clear and immediate danger which would warrant that - e.g dog grabbing another animal or horse going to bite with intent etc) but I have allowed anger and frustration to result in shouting and my own feelings being clearly quite negative and conflicted. As an animal lover to the bottom of my heart that has always saddened and disappointed me :( I am not a particularly fluffy bunny BUT Red Irish Terrier has been a complete gift to me in that way. In the year that I have had him I have never shouted at him or shown anything other than calm positivity. He has had to have occasional time out for hassling my older dog and I have, of course talked very sternly to him when needed but perhaps at last my own (rather late!!!:rolleyes::rolleyes:) maturity has allowed me to develop the kind of training/relationship I think I have always wanted. I haven't turned into some kind of evangelist for a particular kind of training - for me it has been all about being able to develop my own feelings/degree of emotional control. Sorry if that sounds ridiculously fuzzy...

When Red IT was really ill with meningitis and I thought I might lose him I felt so glad that what we had together had been so sweet and joyful and it was a real lesson to me then. It has paid huge dividends too in that he trusts me implicitly which I fear, perhaps may not have been the case with the dogs of my youth where lack of patience and self control probably meant I seemed a bit emotionally unpredictable to them! :( Thank goodness I was always blessed with happy, tolerant characters that were prepared to forgive me and move on :) :) In any case I am so proud of Red - just for being absolutely gorgeous, funny, sweet, wild and loyal but I am a little bit proud of myself too. We haven't yet hit the 18 month (possibly rebellious) mark of course so my self control may go to pot yet....:eek::D:D If all that sounds appallingly saccharine please be reassured that my 13 year old hound still drives me to utter distraction, I can't really persuade her to listen to a word I say, she steals stuff at every opportunity and has absolutely zero desire to do anything I ask her. I am relentlessly kind and patient to the old bat as well and have understood from day 1 that she does not really consider herself to be a domestic pet but still has inalienable rights to the sofa and anything she can get her chops round. :D
 

dogatemysalad

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 July 2013
Messages
6,118
Visit site
Thank you. I am VERY hesitant to confess this so please be gentle with me but it has taken me years to learn not to show any frustration, to be able to walk away from an animal training situation that is 'difficult' so that I can regain the necessary level of calm, sympathetic understanding. I have never been an animal 'hitter' (unless there has been a very clear and immediate danger which would warrant that - e.g dog grabbing another animal or horse going to bite with intent etc) but I have allowed anger and frustration to result in shouting and my own feelings being clearly quite negative and conflicted. As an animal lover to the bottom of my heart that has always saddened and disappointed me :( I am not a particularly fluffy bunny BUT Red Irish Terrier has been a complete gift to me in that way. In the year that I have had him I have never shouted at him or shown anything other than calm positivity. He has had to have occasional time out for hassling my older dog and I have, of course talked very sternly to him when needed but perhaps at last my own (rather late!!!:rolleyes::rolleyes:) maturity has allowed me to develop the kind of training/relationship I think I have always wanted. I haven't turned into some kind of evangelist for a particular kind of training - for me it has been all about being able to develop my own feelings/degree of emotional control. Sorry if that sounds ridiculously fuzzy...

When Red IT was really ill with meningitis and I thought I might lose him I felt so glad that what we had together had been so sweet and joyful and it was a real lesson to me then. It has paid huge dividends too in that he trusts me implicitly which I fear, perhaps may not have been the case with the dogs of my youth where lack of patience and self control probably meant I seemed a bit emotionally unpredictable to them! :( Thank goodness I was always blessed with happy, tolerant characters that were prepared to forgive me and move on :):) In any case I am so proud of Red - just for being absolutely gorgeous, funny, sweet, wild and loyal but I am a little bit proud of myself too. We haven't yet hit the 18 month (possibly rebellious) mark of course so my self control may go to pot yet....:eek::D:D If all that sounds appallingly saccharine please be reassured that my 13 year old hound still drives me to utter distraction, I can't really persuade her to listen to a word I say, she steals stuff at every opportunity and has absolutely zero desire to do anything I ask her. I am relentlessly kind and patient to the old bat as well and have understood from day 1 that she does not really consider herself to be a domestic pet but still has inalienable rights to the sofa and anything she can get her chops round. :D

What an absolutely beautiful and honest post. With maturity, experience and knowledge, good people become good animal keepers. Only foolish people never learn.
 

palo1

Well-Known Member
Joined
27 July 2012
Messages
6,256
Visit site
Thank you. I must add that for some strange reason whilst I have often found my dogs frustrating, I do find horses easier so the lessons with them have not taken so long. I think it may be to do with the dogs sharing my home as well as their (in my experience) predatory instincts (which in fact I quite admire) that I have struggled not to get frustrated with. It's a bit thought provoking too as it makes me think about the role of our egos in working with an animal as well as the rather sentimental animal culture that sometimes prevails here. Don't get me wrong, I am not interested in some kind of hard-headed approach to pets but the kind of mawkishness that allows us to think that animals will instinctively, or emotionally do the right things for us because they 'love' us really isn't helpful at all. I don't believe I was brought up with that attitude at all but even so training is a 'complete' cognitive task and if it is not engaged with fully there are definately 'gaps'...!! Sorry for all this philosophising; I have had a very routine day today. :)
 
Top