Companions
It was probably around summer 1992 or 1993 after we had moved to my grandparents’ house, where an orange dog was living. While I do not remember the breed (and let’s be honest, it was probably a mix at that time), he was very gentle to kids, and every time he had a chance to flee from the yard, he went to the apartment complex nearby to hang out with other kids. He was my first companion. I hung out with him in the dog house (I was so small that I could fit there with my cat and the dog), and we spent evenings just sitting together. Already at that point, I felt that we were companions, rather than a pet and an owner.
Around 1997, my beloved companion passed away, and I was devastated. I asked my parents for another dog because a big piece in my heart had been left empty. The next dog, however, was more of my brother’s companion than mine. A German Shepherd mix my dad brought home (I am still unsure if my mother even allowed that or not), but my dad wanted to make me happy again. This is also when I first got interested in training dogs, so we could live happily together and work together. I read the dog breeds book we had at home, and dog training shows on TV were something I never missed. While our little buddy could just do basic things like sit, give paw, lie down, and come when off leash and called, it was enough for us to have fun together.
Many years passed, and while I still felt a certain emptiness and wanted my very own dog, in 2010, I found an ad in an online forum announcing that Chow Chow and Finnish Spitz hybrid puppies were available. While I had been reading up on Chow Chows, I knew nothing about the Finnish Spitz breed. Having a hybrid of these two was an intriguing result.
So, on 14th December in 2010, the little puppy Spock (who had chosen me) came home. So quiet on my lap, and for the first six months, I thought that maybe he doesn’t even know how to bark. However, he was the dog who taught and trained me the most.
In his puppyhood, we visited a training course. My goal was to find someone who uses gentle methods for training, and that is how I came across clicker training. Spock was very eager to learn and very motivated by treats, but due to his “breed’s” peculiarities, he was also stubborn. “You want me to come to you? How about no?” – I imagined him thinking as he looked at me while I was acting like a crazy clown doing all sorts of tricks for him to find me interesting and come to me. But I was stubborn too, so over time, I learned how to use it to my advantage, and I just had to find a way to convince him that it was his decision in the first place, to come to me.
But there were times when I just let him be as he was – goofy, stubborn, and full of joy fluffball, because even when we want to train our dogs to be obedient and well behaved, let’s not forget that they are still just dogs and the best way is to learn to live as companions.
These three different characters taught me a lot of kindness and gentleness, accepted my empathy and shy way of nature. I hope many of you also allow me to share my loving kindness with your dogs!