I have many students, both human and canine. An early lesson that my students must learn is that to be successful and content in life, they must learn to have discipline and self control. All creatures, even an Old Master such as myself, must learn to accept frustration and exercise self control. We cannot control everything around us. We cannot control the actions and reactions of others. We cannot control the world, but we can control our responses to those things and learn to accept things as they come.
Young dogs will need to be taught that they must be able to exercise self control and have the patience to wait for things. They must be taught how to focus, think, refrain and be patient. Many dogs will have patient humans who will guide them through this process and help them understand that discipline can be a beautiful thing that leads to an abundance of rewarding surprises and experiences. Those dogs are blessed.
Humans must learn to have self control as they are teaching their dogs this process. They must learn to be patient and to think through their ideas and make themselves clear so that their dogs may have success. They must be reasonable and honest and understand that progress can take time and that their dogs need them to be clear, patient, understanding and thoughtful.
We must all learn to accept frustration and develop the discipline to exercise self control. Wise students will learn to enjoy the process and embrace the rewards of self control. Learning to have self control is the first step in learning to be a content and patient person.
