52 Snapshots of Life: Week 19 – Teach

Our little man with his Gentle Leader

Teaching and learning are flip sides of the same coin. For this week’s 52 Snapshots of Life photo challenge with the theme of Teach, I also have to share how much I’ve learned, too. When dog trainer, Justin Silver, came into my life just a few months ago, we had plateau’ed in our training with Jasper, our rescue with issues. In two phone conversations and one Skype session, Justin taught me what tools to use and how to implement the training and Jasper responded immediately. Now, after three months of practice, he’s like a different dog. One key factor? My energy when I’m with him.

Jasper has taught me so much, too. Because of his issues, I’ve learned about animal behavior and fear aggressive dogs through his eyes, and the sensitivities I’ve needed to develop to create a safe environment for him. And, patience…boy, has he taught me much more patience. I know many of you reading will be shaking your heads yes right now. They just do that. All gifts, all creating a richer, deeper bond between us.

I was so impressed with Justin’s methods and philosophy, I’ve created a Tuesdays with Justin weekly training series on Bark & Swagger for other pet parents who are dealing with that stubborn issue they haven’t been able to solve. Justin is tackling a common training problem each week and teaching us how to fix. For more complicated issues, he insists on a Skype session, so he can see you and your dog. But already, after only two weeks, his advice has helped a number of followers. And, that’s cause for happy times!

Pet blogging friend and colleague, Christina Berry of The Lazy Pitbull, created this fun challenge. You don’t have to be a blogger to participate. Just snap or choose a pic you’ve taken that matches that week’s theme and post it on your social networks, with the hashtag #52Snapshots, so we can all follow along! For pet bloggers, this is a BlogHop, so hop on!

What have you taught your dog lately?