Second-Dog Syndrome
Here’s a post I wrote on Coda that appeared in the Dodo, a great new online magazine devoted to animals. They called it “My Dogs Do Sensitive Work. Will My New One Let Me Down?” I called it “Second Dog Syndrome.” Despite everything, Coda is growing up and starting to fly right!
What an excellent article! I too am starting over with my second dog, another working line German shepherd whom I am training for Schutzhund. He is very different from my first dog (who is a 9-year-old German shepherd whom I titled to IPO3 at the national level), and it’s hard not to compare the two sometimes. But each of them bring me so much joy, and some of the differences I love (like the fact that my second dog is a big cuddler and is very affectionate… which helps outweigh the “what a jerk!” adolescent moments.). What makes me happiest is seeing him excel in the work he’s been specifically bred to do, and to have those moments in training where we just “click”. It gives me great hope for our future together in IPO competition, although I always have to remember that we must work at his pace, not at the pace that worked for my first dog.
Thanks again for the article!