Why is Everyone in Such a Rush?

It’s a question that entered my mind this morning; why is everyone in such a rush for their dogs (and even their kids) to grow up or become mature? Maybe I contemplate this because I have more grey hairs now, and as you age you realize time goes by too quickly and you need to slow down and enjoy the small things, the puppies, the kids, the innocence of youth. Or maybe I prefer immaturity … because god knows I haven’t hit maturity yet.

Sometimes with this rush that I see, people place unrealistic expectations on to their puppies, requiring that they perform how an adult dog with many months or years of training would. I see a rush to get past the puppy stage, a rush to get them perfect, which, by the way, there is no such thing in the world of dogs. I see people with that scrolling mentality of hurry up and get there so I can move on. I see less patience and more quick demands. I see so many, who if they changed their own behaviour, would actually enjoy the ridiculous puppy antics and quirks.

Puppies, as with children, need time to develop, time to grown, time to mature, and endless patience to help them get there. Puppies need time to develop confidence, time to develop understanding and time to develop communication. Puppies are not programmable robots. What you teach a puppy today needs to constantly be reinforced, especially through the first year or so of life, and then maintained there-after.

I realized this especially with my last puppy, that it’s so much more satisfying to enjoy their ridiculouslessness, to allow them to be immature, to laugh at their antics and to have patience and enjoy the moments, because it doesn’t last long.

If you have clear rules and are consistent with them, it becomes very easy to raise a puppy and enjoy them without rushing through it and expecting perfection. I think this is where I see a lot of failure, frustration and then rushing to get them perfect. People are, as a whole, inconsistent and not clear in their expectations, which breeds a confused puppy who acts out because they don’t understand their place or what is required. Then people want to rush to get them to no longer be a puppy because they are frustrated and annoyed.

It is so important to be able to enjoy the small things in life, including puppies and children. I’m not saying don’t have expectations, don’t train them and don’t provide them with rules and boundaries. But what I am saying is don’t push them too hard, don’t wish them away, don’t expect out of them what you would expect out of an adult. Reduce your expectations, set boundaries that are attainable, play more than work, don’t put pressure where pressure isn’t needed, accept mistakes, accept that they will never be perfect – their immature minds can not handle your expectations of perfection.

Remember, puppies are born not knowing our language, and they are born into a society that doesn’t prefer normal puppy behaviour. So be patient, be clear, have fun, and don’t wish them away so quickly.