Monday, January 24, 2011

"But He's Everything I Have EVER Wanted"...

I have seen this on blogs lately...people GUSHING about a dog...how they are perfect, everything they have ever wanted :)

And yet, somewhere in their posts, it will HINT, just a little about something they are bothered by...dog not keen enough...yet....toy drive lacking, weird quirks, dog not tall enough...dog too tall...weird temperament (but just a little bit weird)...

I think it has to do with the "stay positive attitude" that people try to hold up to :)

But lets be honest people...there is no perfect dog. Not even PERFECT for you. How would any dog after this dog stand a chance? And if the dog is under the age of 3, they are changing constantly anyway...so sometimes they are perfect, and sometimes not? :)
We ask people who breed dogs to provide the "perfect match"...again, a lot of pressure. A breeder can only guess...genetics are tricky little buggers :)

I mean, those of you that are married...you love your spouse, and they probably are very special to you if you are married to them...BUT, they are not perfect (even though I am.........right??) LMAO! Not....anyway...they are not perfect, but you love them just the same.
Each of my dogs isn't perfect, I am very PROUD to say that :) So lets go through the little list of buggers will we?

Ace (OK..Ace younger, not Ace with old age syndrome :): lacked motivation....scared of many noises and in general hates doorways. He had bouts of panic where he tried to bolt...sometimes with no cause. K...but he has lots of positive things about him too :) Devoted, made me laugh (once took my underwear outside in the back yard when I was in college...ran around outside as I tried to catch him while the REALLY HOT neighbor next door watched)...ok...maybe I didn't like that about him...but now...it makes me laugh. So many things about the boy makes me laugh :) Even now, when he gets lost in closets or other silly crap like that....I smile :)

Zip: Sometimes a dog can be TOO serious ALL THE TIME. This one fits the bill...work work work, we don't play...WORK!! NOW!!!! Relax a little Zip...take a chill pill. If a dog needed to smoke some weed, she is a prime candidate. But...she is the best alpha ever...EVER. And she is so much fun to work. But she is calculating...thus proven by her undercover abduction of 3 lemon poppy seed muffins off my counter a few weeks ago.

Klink: We call her "Clingy Klinky"...she wants to be petted...but not just petted...more like wants to be a part of you...crawling into your ribcage and stay there forever. ALL THE TIME. Annoying, but when it's cold she is the best heating blanket ever :)

Gator: Mr. Light Beam Chaser Wannabe. He has "friends" who he stares at when we go into hotel rooms (luckily for just a few minutes) they live on the ceiling apparently. But the dog has a heart of gold and so much try it's hard to NOT adore him. He also loves to walk behind you...just weaving back and forth...no idea why. Whatever. I never trip on him I guess...

Lynn: She just thinks too much...little math nerd and now she has added a dash of "rebellious teenager" (thank GOD I don't have children...good lord)...pushy and calculating...getting more like her mother everyday. She has been slow to mature...the slowest of any female I have owned...but she gets more and more mature. BEST CUDDLER EVER. Loves to cuddle, but not the "suction cup herself to you" type like Klink.
Even: NOT EVERYTHING IS EXCITING...really Even...really. And you cost me close 10 grand. Good thing you look like a 6 month old puppy and act like one too. You never stop, apparently an off switch wasn't an option on your model. But you're cute...and you're funny...and I love you. Even though you broke the bank.

Crackers: He is no the perfect dog for me :) LOL Not even close...poop eater. But he is damn close for Andy...but he isn't perfect even for the husband :) GASP!!! Not sure what the husband would say about him...I am guessing the poop eating wouldn't be a highlight of the total package :)

Dogs accept us for all our imperfections...we want "the perfect dog"...and sometimes this mindset leads us to focus on the bad in a dog...something less than perfection. I think this hurts our relationship with them. It might not seem that way, but it is something that they are not living up to, and it shows in how we interact with them.
Someone emailed me about why, in my herding post, I didn't talk about "specific things" as far as training...I was going to. BUT, the reality of the situation IS...each dog is different...and something that would work for Klink won't work for Lynn. In herding anyway. Most things work well for all my dogs in agility. Just depends on little tweaks here and there. But with herding, it all depends on what "stage" that dog is in...and there can be many stage going on at once...reading, thinking, constantly to keep up with how the dog is behaving.
Enjoy your dogs imperfections...it's who they are. They are fine with yours :)

8 comments:

Sarah said...

WHAT??? You mean my dogs aren't perfect. Back to the drawing board I go!

Embracing the good and bad "imperfections" in our dogs and accepting those things - and maybe making them what we love about them is what I think makes a great relationship with a dog too - I THINK that is what you were saying. I think also, those imperfections that sometimes make us learn more from our dogs than the "good" and teach us to appreciate them more.

Great post Loretta.

Robin said...

Viva was way from the perfect dog; argued with me on EVERY.FREAKING.CONTACT. Every time. When she really got mad she'd grab my shirt and try to yank me the hell out of her way. And she was pica, whoa baby. If you didn't work her often enough, she'd climb on your head and thump you.

She was also a complete and total natural alpha. Never raised a lip, never hackled. Dogs just saw her walk in and moved out of the way. She was absolutely dead serious about protection at all times. Every walk at a hotel was Viva on her toes, making sure the area was safe. Incredibly resilient. Badly wanted to please, but would argue some too. Could fall asleep ringside then be raring to go by the time you got to the startline.

She was the absolute perfect dog for ME and swear to God I would have cloned her if I could.

Unknown said...

Rev is perfect because of her imperfections. I love every one of them and wouldn't ever want to change her. :) I'm so in tune with the weird stuff she does at this point that "perfect" is the only way I really know how to describe her anymore.

Shenna Lemche AKA Project Leader said...

Cheers to THAT.

This is exactly why I started my little 'Project-' we aren't perfect and we never will be, but darn it, we can work with what we have to be better versions of ourselves.

What's that they say?

Accept what you cannot change, but have the courage to change what you can?

Or something like that- but you nailed it here, good post. :)

Loretta Mueller said...

I think you are all very right. Imperfections are just part of them...and as long as you see it as them...they WILL be perfect for you :) Thanks for the comments!

Anonymous said...

But Emma IS perfect -- I needed to learn how to prevent teeter flyoffs, how to reinforce contacts and how to teach start line stays. And I got a dog that is just perfect for teaching me how to learn all that!

Anonymous said...

IMO, it shows a lack of confidence if all you do is "gush" about how perfect this dog is, or that kennel is or that line (OMG, they are to DIE for).

It almost seems like some breeders put that exaggerated praise clause in their contracts. "Line 43: You must only speak good of the kennel or the dogs. The breeder retains the right to remove dog from owner's house if negative comments are put into blogs or email."

No one/dog/thing is perfect.

My dogs are perfect because they are imperfect and they are unique and they are naughty and chew my shoes. (Well maybe not that last part).

As usual, interesting topic. ;-)

Monique said...

Lucy is not perfect, but she is a perfect match for me. I love how my dogs and I evolve to fit one another just like a favorite pair of jeans. They might not be empirically perfect but I can't imagine them being different than they are.