Teachings of Dog - No.1

I learn a lot about rapport and tolerance from watching our five dogs, and I wanted to share some of my learnings with my Blog readers.

The first in the series comes from Poppy - a diminutive Lhasa Apso of endearing temperament and enormous character. When she first came to us she had very sore feet due to a chronic infection. After the dogs have been out in the garden, if their feet are wet and muddy then we dry them on a towel before allowing them out of the kitchen, but Poppy could not tolerate this at all as she found it too painful. However, she didn't like having wet feet, so she worked out a way to solve the problem... Now, if we put the towel down on the floor, she will dry her own feet by scratching around in the towel (which she also finds great fun!).

Poppy's teachings:

• There is always more than one way of achieving your outcome - pick the one that is the most fun.
• Don't just complain about something you don't like - ask yourself if it is possible for you to do anything about it and, if so, take responsibility and take action.
• What activities do you really enjoy which you can use in another context?