I learned patience & forgiveness
Cuddle Biscuit as student AND teacher
Our puppy, Cuddle Biscuit, is our first pup that was actually a baby (8 weeks) when adopted. Love brought her to us through friends who fostered puppies during a pandemic. And love held us together while we nurtured this precious, needle-toothed, high-energy creature who needed our help with learning ... basically everything.
And I mean everything.
The most critical (to us) and the most baffling was when she needed to learn how to relax.
We signed up for an online puppy class1 that also served as dog parent group therapy (REALLY needed at that point). In time, sweet Biscuit caught on to the positive reinforcement training, such as learning to self-soothe when amped up, stressed, anxious and when overtired to the point of off-the-walls zooming. I could sometimes even see the understanding click into her puppy self as she proudly repeated the behaviors we rewarded.
Biscuit learned to pause and give us her attention. We learned to guide her toward the behaviors she SHOULD repeat and reward those good behaviors properly, efficiently, and beneficially. Looking back, I see that when WE learned, the puppy followed our lead. In loving and mothering this challenging and precocious puppy, I've learned patience and forgiveness.
For months we wondered if Cuddle Biscuit would stay still long enough to live up to her name. As I type this, she is curled up on the ottoman at my feet on a Saturday morning filled with neighborhood noises. She lifts her head and softly barks at a sound she doesn't recognize and looks to me for guidance. She has alerted us to something new, we confirm that we are aware, and she settles back into resting and listening.
During the work week, Cuddle Biscuit sweetly naps nearby while I am on conference calls with clients. She makes eye contact with me when she is unsure and I can guide her with simple words spoken softly.
I am grateful.
From my heart, thank you to the super-smart, experienced, Pawsitive Futures trainers who helped us raise a puppy over live video classes during a pandemic. Took a keen eye to spot the subtle learning indicators and guide frazzled dog parents over live video. (They are pros at it.) OMG we are grateful.