Three Character Traits Dogs Gave Me

By Connie Cleveland

 

I don’t remember life without a dog in it. Decades of working with and loving dogs have taught me many lessons. And in the process dogs have given me — or perhaps encouraged me to choose — several character traits that I use not only in the dog training world but in other areas of life.

 

The Gift of Patience

My mother said that I learned to walk holding on to the hair of our very patient Puli. Evidently, Ace would stand as I pulled myself up holding fistfuls of his hair, and wait more even more patiently as I took one hesitant step after another.

I was constantly reminded “ask permission before you pet that dog,” and remember being shocked the first time I met a dog that didn’t like me. Not dissuaded, I sat, patiently waiting for that Dachshund to change her mind about me Dogs treated me with patience, and I became more patient, the more I interacted with them.

I remember the first time someone told me that I was patient. It was in high school — a friend  had asked me to help her with Algebra because “You are so patient, and I just don’t get it!” I was surprised that she would describe me that way and wondered if patience was an innate trait I was born with, like brown hair and brown eyes, or was just the way I chose to act, like Ace had acted around me.

As I helped her with her assignment, I considered how impatient I was when I was practicing scales on the piano, or emptying the dishwasher. I was good at math, and I liked my friend, so clearly, I was choosing patience.

Furthermore, at the start of 8^th grade my parents bought me my first competition dog, a golden retriever. I adored that dog and by age sixteen had become passionate about training her. No matter what my parents or teachers thought, I would not make my living as an accountant or engineer, or any other type of numbers aficionado. I was going to be a dog trainer and as such, I needed patience.

In college, I adopted a Shih-tzu. I had fallen in love with the short-nosed cuddly lap dogs and intended to train her to be my next competitive obedience dog.

Patience? I thought I had learned to be patient, but Beep gave me more. When she heard her name, Beep would run out of reach as if she thought that her name meant “Run like crazy, someone is about to pick you up.” Whereas I could teach my retriever to do something following steps 1,2 & 3, Beep needed 1, 1a, 1b, and 1c before she was ready to tackle step 2.

The lessons in patience continued as I began a career of teaching owners how to train their own dogs, hiring employees and growing my business. Meanwhile, the dogs had another trait I desperately needed.

 

The Gift of Problem-Solving

Dogs have the ability to solve problems. This is the first principle that I teach people about their dogs. If you put a dog in a situation that he does not like, he will change it. For example, if he wants to come inside, he will bark at the door. If you let him in when he barks, barking has solved his problem.

If the dog’s toy rolls under the couch, he will figure out how to get it out. It may be by pushing the couch across the floor, it may be by longingly looking under the couch until you obediently reach under and retrieve his toy for him, or it may be by ripping at the dust ruffle to get at the wayward toy (which rarely works, but is worth a try if you are a dog). His determination, however annoying, is admirable.

If dogs can solve problems, so can I! This character trait was encouraged by my mom, a busy mother of three who was devoted to exposing her children to a variety of interests and encouraging our participation in all kinds of activities.

When the logistics of driving three children to three places in a short period of time seemed impossible to arrange, my mother would solve the problem. She could organize car-pooling expeditions better than anyone, and in fact, it often enabled far more than just her three children to participate in desired events.

Leaving childhood for the world of dog training immediately taught me that the world of dog training has to do with teaching a dog that some ways of solving his problems are verboten, and others encouraged. A dog’s consistent behavior, whether “bad” or “good,” typically has to do with how he has learned to solve particular problems he perceives.

My career as a dog trainer has been built on my ability to solve problems. That trait may be for an owner whose competition dog is struggling with part of his performance, or for a pet owner completely frustrated by the antics of the wayward pet. The traits of patience and problem solving were taught to me by the dogs, and in turn, I apply them to the dogs and their owners.

I also have a bias towards problem-solving in the workplace, as an owner of a small business. My staff has heard me ask, “What’s the plan?” and if that statement is met with silence, I tease them into action with “A bad plan is better than no plan.” It’s my simple way of saying, “Come on! We can and will solve this problem!”

 

The Gift of Contentment

As I complete this article, I am surrounded by four retrievers lounging at my feet, demonstrating one other character trait that I so admire — contentment. They are lying comfortably, calmly, peacefully, waiting for me to suggest that I’m finished. When I stand up and head for the door, they will jump up, eager to discover what the next activity may be. But for the moment, they wait, completely content being with the person they love.

My father chose contentment. As he aged and became confined to a wheelchair, I remember the day that I said to him, “Dad, I’m sorry that your body is giving out, but I’m so thankful I still have your mind.”

He replied, “Daughter, I got to do everything I wanted to do for the first 78 years of my life, I have nothing to complain about.”

My dad never had a bad time when he was with someone he loved. From ball games to birthday parties, a meal, or a visit, he was content with every opportunity to spend time with his family and friends.

Just as I chose patience, and problem solving as traits of my own, I can only hope that when I’m in the presence of my family and friends that they feel that kind of contentment from me. A contentment that says being together is enough.

Now, it’s time to take the dogs out, on the lookout for what else they have to teach me.

 

Connie Cleveland is a nationally-recognized dog trainer recognized for her work with family dogs and dogs involved in obedience and field trial competitions, as well as dogs exhibiting challenging behavioral problems. She is also the owner of the Dog Trainers Workshop, a spacious training and boarding facility for dog lovers featuring an indoor training facility, an outdoor agility ring, and a boarding kennel set on 14 acres with a pond and walking trail. Cleveland’s eleven obedience trial championship dogs include her dog Eli, the first Golden Retriever to earn both field and obedience championships, and her dog Ezra, the only Labrador to have earned an obedience trial championship, a field championship, and an amateur field championship. To learn more about Dog Trainers Workshop or to reach Connie, see https://www.dogtrainersworkshop.com or https://www.facebook.com/DogTrainersWorkshop.