I want to take a moment to talk about dog training, social media, successes, failures, and your lawn. I am sure you've all heard the old adage the grass is always greener on the other side. A long time ago I had heard another rendition of this that struck a chord with me and it basically stated that the grass is greener where ever you water it. I love this idea but more than anything I’d like to ask why does anyone else's grass matter?
Social media is the equivalent of sitting out on your front porch looking across the street at all of your neighbor's lawns and being envious. Joe down the street has a perfectly manicured lawn and look at Nancy's - it's always clipped just right and her flowers bloom so beautifully, and old McDonald's - well his yard is a meadow-like green, there are flawless flower beds, shrubs, plus he's got a pond with a stream. It's definitely one thing to admire these lawns but before we take that step to envy we should stop and think about how they got these lawns. Maybe Joe just moved in and inherited the nice lawn and Nancy only has a part-time job so spends the rest of her time working on her flower beds because that's her happy place and Old McDonald is a landscaper. Likely when Nancy moved in, her yard was not nearly this nice, maybe it was dirt with zero flower beds, but with time and patience she is created a lawn you'd love to have. Did you know that her backyard is messy, there's dog urine burns all over the grass, and her flower beds are full of weeds? Now we haven't taken a second to talk about Kathy. Kathy's lawn is nice and she has some flower beds, but there's weeds that need pulling, kids toys all over and I'm pretty sure it could use some water. Kathy works a full-time job you see and has two kids. Kathy is doing her best and I'm sure with some work and time her lawn will look just like Nancy’s. Social media paints such nice pictures of people's lives but depending on the person you may not get to see the work and effort how much time it takes for them to get to this final picture that you're seeing.
Now let's get back to dog training. Dog training is a journey and it's not the same path for every single person. All dogs are unique, learn at varying speeds, with different challenges that need to be overcome. Let’s take a look at the greener grass analogy in terms of dogs. Some people, like Joe, might buy an already trained dog or send it to a board and train to have it trained for them. There's nothing wrong with this option but you can't compare a dog that has already been trained to your dog that you're just starting to work with. Some people spend all of their spare time training because this is what they consider fun and they have the time to put into it just like Nancy and her flowers. Are you comparing yourself to Old MacDonald's dog when he is a police K-9 Handler? Or maybe you’re like Kathy, you have a full time job, a family, a home with a yard and a dog. You can’t compare yourself to that person spending ALL their time training, you just don’t have that time to give and that’s OK! Your dog will learn, at its pace with you, if you give it the chance and just a little time.
Instead of being envious of the final picture congratulate them on their success. Use their beautiful lawn as your goal if that's where you wish to get to. Don't be afraid to ask people how they got there, sometimes it's quite the tale to hear the work that goes into the image we are seeing on social media. How many people post the lows or troubles they face? I've been told before, social media isn't about posting your problems and why would anyone want to see a post about the frustrations I'm having. But why not, why does it have to be a highlight reel of only the good times. Real life isn't a highlight reel, there's ups and downs, successes and failures, wins and losses and a ton of work in between.
I have also heard it said that “the grass is greener on the other side because it’s fertilized with manure”. Simply meaning sometimes that Instagram or Facebook account that you are idolizing isn’t real at all but strategically posted images to create a perception that they are doing better than others. Maybe Jim’s lawn is AstroTurf, or maybe those pictures you adore of a dog took 40 tries to get!
As a society, let's build each other up. Be proud of people's successes and understand that a lot of work went into each person’s successes and that we are all on different parts of our journey. Let’s say, “wow that lawn is so nice - I bet they worked really hard to make it so picturesque” and if we decide that’s what we want, then we get off our butts to work on our making our lawn look just a nice. Take pride in each step of the journey because your path isn’t anyone else's. “Keeping up with the Joneses” and their perfect lawn is to much work anyway!
Now let's get back to dog training. Dog training is a journey and it's not the same path for every single person. All dogs are unique, learn at varying speeds, with different challenges that need to be overcome. Let’s take a look at the greener grass analogy in terms of dogs. Some people, like Joe, might buy an already trained dog or send it to a board and train to have it trained for them. There's nothing wrong with this option but you can't compare a dog that has already been trained to your dog that you're just starting to work with. Some people spend all of their spare time training because this is what they consider fun and they have the time to put into it just like Nancy and her flowers. Are you comparing yourself to Old MacDonald's dog when he is a police K-9 Handler? Or maybe you’re like Kathy, you have a full time job, a family, a home with a yard and a dog. You can’t compare yourself to that person spending ALL their time training, you just don’t have that time to give and that’s OK! Your dog will learn, at its pace with you, if you give it the chance and just a little time.
Instead of being envious of the final picture congratulate them on their success. Use their beautiful lawn as your goal if that's where you wish to get to. Don't be afraid to ask people how they got there, sometimes it's quite the tale to hear the work that goes into the image we are seeing on social media. How many people post the lows or troubles they face? I've been told before, social media isn't about posting your problems and why would anyone want to see a post about the frustrations I'm having. But why not, why does it have to be a highlight reel of only the good times. Real life isn't a highlight reel, there's ups and downs, successes and failures, wins and losses and a ton of work in between.
I have also heard it said that “the grass is greener on the other side because it’s fertilized with manure”. Simply meaning sometimes that Instagram or Facebook account that you are idolizing isn’t real at all but strategically posted images to create a perception that they are doing better than others. Maybe Jim’s lawn is AstroTurf, or maybe those pictures you adore of a dog took 40 tries to get!
As a society, let's build each other up. Be proud of people's successes and understand that a lot of work went into each person’s successes and that we are all on different parts of our journey. Let’s say, “wow that lawn is so nice - I bet they worked really hard to make it so picturesque” and if we decide that’s what we want, then we get off our butts to work on our making our lawn look just a nice. Take pride in each step of the journey because your path isn’t anyone else's. “Keeping up with the Joneses” and their perfect lawn is to much work anyway!
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