Addicted to dog training

I realized something today, I'm addicted to dog training. This weekend was, as you probably know, spent with 6 huskies, so for me to come home to an empty apartment today was awful!
I have so many things I want to teach the dogs, but I don't think it is what I can teach them that make me want to train dogs. It is what it does to me and what they can teach me. When training a dog I have to focus on another being, understand what is going through its mind. I have to learn how to interpret the small gestures made by the dog, and understand when to praise and when to stay quiet. I have to be patient and wait for the dog to make a move. There is no more rewarding feeling than when you've managed to get the dog to understand what it is you want from it, and seeing that it does it by its own free will. It is the clearest confirmation you can get to show you that you've improved your own ability to teach. And the dog will mirror you, if you get frustrated, it too will feel bad and perform worse. So for me this is the best form of meditation, to focus all of my attention on the bond between me and the dog. By doing that I become strong, happy, confident and loving, the kind of things that makes me the person I want to be. I (hope I) give a lot to dogs, but it cannot be compared to what dogs give to me, they make me a better person!

Me training "target" with Scott (Danish Swedish Farmdog) and Casper (Basset Artésien Normand). Foto: Mads

Me training "sit" (with a varying degree of success) with Siberian huskies, Ahsoka, Tessa and Vida, and Danish Swedish Farmdog Scott. Foto: Monica