Posts Tagged ‘Pets’

Make More Deposits Than Withdrawals

Posted: February 22, 2013 in Relationships
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Deposits Withdrawals

image from chalkboardquotes.wordpress.com

Today’s blog post is about dog training, but about much more than that.  I’ve been a fan of the dog trainer Eric Letendre for several years, reading his books, watching his videos, and eagerly reading his daily emails about the subject.  (If you’re curious, check out his book The Amazing Dog Training Man’s Ultimate Guide to Dogs or his website or YouTube channel.)

His email from a few days ago rang true as good advice not just for dog training, but for relationships in general, so I want to share it with you.  The email recalls a chapter in his book where he wrote about “how the relationship is like a checking account.  Every time you do something positive with your dog, you are making a deposit into the account.  Every time you do something negative to your dog, you are making a withdrawal.  In order for the relationship to stay positive, happy and healthy, you have to be making more deposits into the account.  Too many withdrawals without enough deposits will result in a relationship that will go negative.”

Brilliant.

Beyond the relationship you have with your pets, think about the relationships you have with key people in your life – spouse, family members, coworkers, neighbors, friends, acquaintances.  Think about the best of those relationships.  Aren’t they the ones where there is more thought to giving than taking?  Don’t you get tired of being around people who always want something from you, but never give in return?  Don’t you want to free yourself from being around those who inject nothing but negativity into your life?  Don’t you want to be with those who give and who are positive?  I do.

If a relationship with someone has soured in your life, try to analyze it from the deposit/withdrawal perspective.  If you are making more positive deposits in the lives of others, chances are good they will not think twice about the occasional withdrawal you need to make.  But be careful about always being the one to withdraw, or you may just find others wanting to withdraw from the relationship.

Make more deposits than withdrawals, and as the image above says, know when to close the account.

Leap Year Lesson #324: Animals Are People, Too

Posted: November 19, 2012 in Relationships
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Animals lovers everywhere feel pain when their pets hurt.  That’s how it is for me tonight as I watch my 2.5 year old Border Collie/Lab mix Callie following minor surgery today to remove her front dewclaws.

For the last couple of weeks, she has repeatedly torn one after snagging it on carpet or something else playing and diving for balls and other toys.  I’d go for days without testing it in hopes that it would heal, but as soon as we started playing again it would get injured.  We had no choice but to make the call to have them removed for her own good.

She didn’t understand why we removed her water dish late last night or why we didn’t feed her this morning or why we started the day with a ride in the car and me leaving her behind at the vet.  I was like the parent of a child at day care as I sneaked out of the vet’s office when she turned her head for a second, only to hear the whimpering when she realized I was leaving.

Callie is a wonderfully sweet dog and we love on each other a lot every day.  Even with the cone around her head and her legs bandaged, she pulled the veterinarian assistant down the hall once she saw me, eager to reunite after I got off work.  She’s not quite herself yet, timid when it comes to steps and getting up on the sofa beside me because it most likely hurts, although she’d never complain about it if it did.

So tonight she gets some special attention.  I’ll stay away from the computer after writing this, let her curl up with me on the couch, probably stay there all night with her, and show some extra kindness.  Tomorrow the feeding schedule returns to normal.  Wednesday the bandages come off.  She’s on the mend even if she doesn’t realize it.  Meanwhile, my little girl needs some lovin’.

I have a special place in my heart for most kinds of animals, especially dogs, and for others who feel the same.

While not technically true, leap year lesson #324 still often feels true: Animals are people, too.

Leap Year Lesson #287: There Is Too Little Unconditional Love in the World

Posted: October 13, 2012 in Relationships
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Continuing with my dog-inspired lessons for this weekend, I want to share with you a brief encounter from Saturday night.

While sitting in my recliner with books spread around me, studying and prepping to teach my Bible study class Sunday, my dog Callie decided she wanted to be in the middle of things.  That’s quite normal for her.  She jumped up on the sofa next to me and gradually nudged her way into my lap, leaning against my chest, and making it impossible to continue studying.

I could have gently pushed her away or somehow barricaded the area with my arm to keep her beside me and not on me, but I let her crawl up on me anyway.  I flipped a mental switch from study mode to dog-hug mode and just spent a few minutes petting her, letting her lick me, hugging her and giving her the attention she desired.  It always does as much good for me as it does her, anyway, so why not?  We both enjoyed being in the moment.

She soon laid down and stretched out across my lap, her nose buried in the open Bible beside me.  It wasn’t long (just as I suspected would be the case) before she got up and circled the cushion next to me, eventually plopping down with her face inches away from me.  That’s a nightly routine when she decides to sleep next to me for a while.

I’ve always been an animal lover, especially a dog lover.  We learn much from the interactions with other species – lessons every child and adult should have the opportunity to learn.  One such lesson taught over and over again with my dog is the joy of unconditional love.  Each morning, each return home, each moment spent playing or napping together is another chance to simply enjoy life together.  She carries no grudges.  The wagging tail never lies.

In a world of complicated and sometimes conditional relationships, I am thankful that God uses all of his creatures to teach us life’s lessons and to give us glimpses of what His creation should be like.

Leap year lesson #287 is There is too little unconditional love in the world.