What makes you feel good? Do you do something a little different from the norm, but it works for you?
When I played tennis as a high school student, before I knew any better, I used to do my backhand by twisting my forehand upside down. When I stroked the backhand, my thumb would face the ground. I had a mean backhand and forehand then.
When I took private lessons, I was admonished for using such a technique. I was swiftly shown the correct way and my backhand dimished to a weakness that always aided my opponent in the win. Then I was taught a 2-handed backhand just like Chris Evert! She was THE woman’s champ back then, so everyone wanted to be like her or wanted their students to be like her. It didn’t matter. Whatever the tennis instructors taught me, it was never as good as my original twisted backhand. I had a twisted serve to match, which was also picked apart.
I soon learned how to be like everybody else, and I failed miserably though I once kicked arse with my backhand and my serve. My form with the serve was so bad, my toss was behind me and my back twisted in ways it never should have. Meanwhile, the “pro” instructor never noticed my injury-making form. Why not? Because he wasn’t that much of a pro. When a profession is unregulated, you can pretend what you want and put it on your business card. I had such bad form that I eventually ended up with two herniated discs, numbness down my legs, and month after month of physical therapy. And by the way, tennis was supposed to be for fun!
Right. So I used to have so much fun playing tennis “wrong” and I was really good at it. Then I was turned around and did it right, I injured myself in the knees, the back, and eventually hated the sport. What was fun had turned into torture at the hands of tennis instructors who were as inefficient and full of self-promoting bru-ha-ha as a lot of hack “pro” dog trainers are today. Dogs can’t speak for themselves, yet I could, and still, I lost out of fun and got hurt. Look what happened to me! In tennis coaching or dog training, there isn’t a baseline in what is considered professional level and what is amateur. In tennis, I had suffered at the hands of “professional amateurs” and to this day, still regret it and physcially pay for it.
I invested in my education to become the best professional dog trainer I could. When I train a dog, I know what I’m doing and when the dog diverges from the norm, I flow with it to make a game of training and let the dog decide which way is right for him. I set it up so the dog chooses the behavior that makes him a better pet dog. The dogs I train are family dogs who people love, relax with, walk and run with, play ball with. They are dogs who love their people and their home life. We want their lives to be enjoyable from both sides. From the side of their perspective – what is fun for them? – and from the side of their delighted owners – what is fun about pet-dog ownership?
So on this Mother’s Day, I’m posting four videos of my own dogs enjoying their lives and breaking the norm. It’s what makes me happy! And it’s how they make themselves happy. What is good in life if not happiness? So here we go.
Emilie is my newest Dobie, whom I adopted in March of 2016. She has her own way of doing everything. Before she was housetrained, she jumped on the elevated dog beds to pee on. She backs into me when I’m at the computer instead of face-first when she wants attention. She eats all the hibiscus flowers she can reach from our trees and prefers not to go out in the rain. But if she finds herself there, would rather sit among the rain drops with back legs held as tightly together as possible rather than quickly pee and come back in. She also chews nylon dog bones upside down with her head and snout held high.
Dobermann Emilie Gnawing on A Nylabone from Helen Verte Schwarzmann, CTC on Vimeo.
This is my Doberson, Luigi, who would suckle a full-sized pillow and purr to relieve stress.
My Dobermann Luna is nearly 12 years old and she has THE greatest smile. She uses it all day. First thing in the morning, when she wants attention, when I come home. She’s brilliant at smiling and chopping. None of my other dogs do it. And out of 13 Dobermann I’ve loved and lived with, only 2 had a smile. I would love to find another.
And once more, Luigi, with his daily rebel rousing over the cookie jar. He loved those simple Animal Crackers that Costco sells. Such a pleasure to him, and look how hard he worked to get them. Though he loved the attention as much as the cookie. He was a apotlight seeker, and I loved giving him the spotlight.
My board-and-trains also give me a kick with their own funny behaviors. There is no lack of diversity in dogs. Just don’t ask them to be the same. When you luck out to have a dog who lacks inhibitions, that doesn’t mean untrained. You can have a trained dog whose own style shines bright. We all should be able to do our own thing and enjoy it. After all, these are the good ol’ days.
To send your dog to the Love Wags A Tail board-and-train camp for motivational learning with our cast of characters, contact us with your dog training, behavior modification wish list to get started.
Helen Verte Schwarzmann
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Certified in Training and Counseling
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed
Certified Trick Dog Instructor
AKC STAR Puppy, CGC, and Trick Dog Trainer and Evaluator
Your Board-and-Train Dog Trainer for south and southwest Florida, Southwest Ranches, Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Weston, Broward, Collier, Lee county
