Dear friend, 
 
In these stressful times, I, like so many of you, often find myself on edge. Responsibilities, deadlines, bills and the state of the world weigh heavily on all of us. 
 
I am not a particularly religious person, but I do feel that if we could take a moment to observe our dogs and how they interact with their world, we might learn a thing or two about staying present and perhaps how to achieve a kind of inner peace. 
 
The sheer joy and single purposedness with which a dog approaches everything in his life is something to be admired. If a dog is chewing on a bone, it is the best bone he has ever had. A romp in the surf is, in that moment, unsurpassed by any other experience and yes, even rolling in some awful, gooey nastiness is done with an abandon that we humans seldom experience much beyond our childhood. Watch a dog on a walk as he navigates through cornucopia of smells and you realize there are no laundry lists being compiled in his head, no worries about the future, no regrets about the past. 
 
I'm not so sure that dogs love us unconditionally. The lack of opposable thumbs prevents them from walking out on abusive situations; however, I do feel their capacity to forgive would perhaps give the Dalai Lama a run for his money.
 
We can learn so much from these wonderful creatures that share our lives with us. It saddens me that with all we know about motivating animals (both human and canine), it still seems to be okay to use force and coercion rather than motivation when we work with our dogs.
 
As a teen, I struggled with a hair-trigger temper. When I got into dog training, I was taught how to use a choke chain. I was told I should correct the dog when he made a mistake and reward him for good behavior. Isn't that what happens in real life after all? I was also told that a good dog trainer could correct using no emotion. But for me, I couldn't help but to bring the full force of my frustration into the equation. Corrections became a euphemism for punishment which, for this flawed human already struggling with managing my anger, was too easy. I didn't like the way it made me feel, and I certainly didn't like the way it made my dog feel about me.
 
Years later, I am more like the person that my dogs think that I am. I am much more prone to manage rather than punish, reward rather than correct. Sure, you can get results using correction but understand that punishment, no matter how nicely it's packaged, isn't necessary. 
 
I still struggle with my shortcomings because in the end I am still human. But I continue to evolve and I owe my evolution to the dogs in my life. They are my friends and my teachers. They continue to amaze me with their lust for life, their enthusiasm and their unwavering dogginess. Long live the dog. 

Happy New Year to you and your pooch,