So much good stuff in this episode!

I want to turn half of the quotes in this episode into memes.

Like, how learning how to do agility with a border collie is like learning to drive in a Lamborghini.

Meet Tara Stillwell and her dogs Eva, the red and white border collie, Curry, the sable border collie and Duke the mini-Aussie.

Tara has put a ton of effort into reflecting on how her dogs have affected all the relationships in her life. How the expectations we put on ourselves and our dog can trip either of us up.

Most importantly though, she shares so many insights that have helped her embrace life with her dogs again.

We talk about dealing with the guilt she had about not knowing what everyone who’s had multiple dogs before must surely have already known.

Here’s one thought Tara gave to combat that guilt. You can try it on yourself and see if it serves you:

Nobody says: “Let me get a messed up dog so that I can then modify their behavior!”

Isn’t that the truth?

Other dog guardians

She also mentions importantly how she has adapted her thoughts about what other dog guardians are supposed to do or not do. She doesn’t expect them to be able to recall their dogs for example. Can you imagine what that’s like? If you drop that expectation and instead feel compassion for the other guardians?

Podcasts mentioned & links

And of course we talk about some of her and my favorite podcasts and trainers that have already gotten multiple shoutouts on this podcast as well:   Sarah Stremming of the Cognitive Canine and Marissa Martino of Paws and Reward   And then also, Kim Brophy (CLICK HERE for her website), who I didn’t know yet but who has some amazing stuff out there dealing with dog ethology. She uses the LEGS (Learning, Environment, Genetics & Self) model (CLICK HERE to sign up for her course and/or get a free preview)  to account for a lot of why dogs (and us humans too) are the way they and we are. In short, it’s not all in how you raise them. That is something I believe all of us dealing with guilt around  what we believe are our insufficient training skills should take to heart. Watch Kim’s insightful TED talk on “The Problem with Treating Dogs Like a Pet” here: