The Best Dog He Ever Had

I was out walking my dogs this evening and a family passed by with a mixed breed dog. Off leash but very well behaved. Part Chihuahua and part Corgi?? As we passed by, I asked the owner the usual questions: How old? What mix? Etc. etc.

His response was enlightening. She was a pound-puppy and the best dog he had ever had. Didn't know exactly what she was but she was six years old. She was smart and listened to him and was very obedient. And she had never had one obedience class.

His response triggered something in my memory. Long ago when my wife was starting to breed dressage horses, we imported a mare with a filly at side and a foal inside. A 3 for 1 package. The filly was nice but my wife didnt think she would ever be a top level dressage competitor and so we sold her to a nice home with an experienced trainer. Long story short, the filly became an FEI level (WORLD CLASS!) dressage horse! From then on I always believed that the horse was the least critical of the partnership elements. When asked how far a horse might go in competition, I always said that, given good health, I thought the horse would usually NOT be the limiter.

And I think the same is true for our dogs. No matter if a pure bred or a mixed breed, given a good sendoff and start in life by the breeder, all dogs are very likely capable of much more than we sometimes think they can achieve. It's usually our poorly conceived training, our ill-timed cues and responses, our lack of quality time with our dogs that limits their acheivements. The man this evening and his little girl are proof of that.