As I sit here writing I am sitting in the Headspace Guildford clinic room, simultaneously listening to firework sounds with the pup laying at my side. It’s not just that there’s a local wedding party, I’m playing them on my computer for the dog to listen and get used to the sounds. I put them on sometimes and then ignore the fact my computer is banging and screeching at me and attempt to get on with some work! Hopefully when fireworks night comes around she won’t be so scared on account of the ground work we’re putting in now. There’s a critical period for dogs to learn and be exposed to new things. She’s primed to learn and we can see every day how much she is learning from observation and trying things out.
Whilst Seren has been doing a great deal of learning, I’m also learning a great deal about training a pup. here are some of the things I think I’ve learnt this week
- You need a really good hoover: one that hoovers up mud, bits of twig, leaves, dog hair, small stones, bits of garden pot…(I could go on).
- Remember that a pup is only little and is doing things both for self gratification and because she doesn’t know any better. This can really help when they do something which is frustrating (chewing the stair carpet, chewing a chair, eating the pot plants… (I could go on!)
- You have to hold the pup in mind for everything you do, every decision you make – shall we go to that bbq? (can the pup come?/who will look after her?); should we get a new carpet? (is it worth it yet?/ever?!…); shall I grow tomatoes? (where can I put them the pup won’t get?)
- The house feels empty if she’s not there.
All the time I’ve been training the dog I’ve been thinking about the parallels with the parenting journey – becoming a new parent for the first time and managing behaviour as your children get older. Whilst there are many differences there are also parallels. I had a great conversation with a mum of a new baby today and we were both asking of our respective new charges ‘how are the nights?‘ and ‘Is feeding going ok?’.
And the points above are as true for a baby or child as they are for a new dog. In particular number 2 we don’t often hold in mind that a child is doing something we don’t want them to, because it feels good for them, or because they don’t know any better, or because they think it’s what they are supposed to do.
And similarly number 3 – we so often minimise the huge impact children have on every part of a parent’s life. We take note of it when they are a baby and empathise with the challenges, but as children get older we can fail to recognise that every decision, every action has to be taken with thought to the child(ren). Some employers and organisations are incredible at this, and others not so good.
You also need a good hoover when you have children.
At Headspace Guildford we’re really proud to be a learning organisation – we feel there is a lot to learn and develop just as the pup is learning and developing too. We regularly attend and run CPD events, use supervision to develop our ideas, think about ways to innovate our practice (the therapy dog being one such way). As adults I think we could do more to embrace what we don’t know as well as what we do know, and to be humble enough to keep learning.
The fireworks have just finished. I’m relieved as I was experiencing some sensory overload – it’s quite hard to concentrate on a sunny summer day when half your brain is in a dark cold field with bright lights and loud noises around you. But I’ll be more relieved if the learning we do now means that the path ahead is smoother. And that’s as true for pups as it is for mini-humans (and their big humans).