But then it struck me, I thought about the true commitment of time. Just 30 minutes, 30 minutes is a chunk of time. I began to count all those things I do each day that I have committed to. They add up, feeding the dogs, ponies, cleaning stalls, cooking dinner and the list goes on.
I thought about encouraging my students to practice with their dogs just 15 to 20 minutes a day. Doesn't seem like a great deal of time. But, very often my students share with me how busy their week was and how they just could not squeak out 15 minutes a day to work with their dog.
I started to think about practicing anything for 30 minutes a day. You name it, practice for 30 minutes each day and you are going to become pretty proficient.
So often when I speak with young people about dogs, I hear about how high energy their dogs are, how they don't listen, they bark and the list goes on and on. I ask them if they think that therapy dogs, seeing eye dogs, bomb detection dogs are special. Each and every one nod their head yes!
Then I explain to them how I trained my Alli collie to become a therapy dog. How she has been everywhere with me, well socialized, had opportunity to see many sights and sounds. In other words, I have spent a great deal of time with her. I then tell them how she used to jump on people when she was a puppy, bark at the ponies, get into the trash. They look at me with total bemusement. "No way!"
I also explain how seeing eye dogs are in training from puppies. Hours and hours spent on socializing and training. My conclusion is this, I believe these dogs are no more special than the dogs they have in their own backyard. The difference is...time spent.
Just 30 minutes a day...and your dog can become the good dog they were meant to be and the dog you always dreamed of.
As always, Happy Trails!
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