QT: Correct Your Little Dogs for Crying Out Loud (Best Of-ish)
This post/episode was originally published in July of 2018. The following post/show notes are basically copy/pasted from the original post, but the audio is a new take on the subject.
I’ve never been shy about the fact that I’m a dog guy.
And in my view, bigger is definitely better!
I’m such a fricking child sometimes…
Anyway, as I was saying, I like big dogs.
Dobermans. German shepherds. Rottweilers. Labs.
I love ’em all!
My Dog Bias
I’ll admit that I have a big dog bias.
I’d argue that the weight limit for when dogs “become” cats is a bit closer to 25 lbs, but that’s a debate for another day.
What I do want to discuss today is small dog people and their reluctance to discipline their “cats.”
There are several people in my neighborhood with small dogs that go apeshit crazy when Bailey and I run past them.
And what do their owners do?
It’s almost like they think it’s cute that their little 8 lb dust mop wants to come out in the street and mix it up with a dog three or four times it’s size.
If Tanq, my 85 lb American Bulldog (RIP) behaved that same way when they walked by, I promise you I’d get a complaint filed against me for having such a vicious dog living in our neighborhood.
But Tanq doesn’t act like that. Why? Because I don’t put up with that shit. When he gets out of line, I correct him. Same with Bailey, my 40 lb GSP mix and running partner.
I love my dogs to death, but I have certain expectations of how they will behave in certain situations. And if they aren’t doing what they should do, they get corrected.
For some reason, little dog people (also known as cat people) just won’t correct their dogs.
And it annoys the heck out of me!
What’s the Point?
I promise that I’m going somewhere with all of this dog talk.
Failing to correct the little dog when it’s pulling at the end of its leash and growling/barking at passersby is not a good thing.
A little corrective action eliminates the problem and prevents the chances of a more serious situation arising if the dog were to slip out of its collar somehow.
As runners, we would be wise to remember the same thing.
If there is something in your running life that needs correcting, address it!
Don’t just stand there and ignore it, like the owners at the other end of the leash of their small dogs have a habit of doing.
If you recognize that something in your diet or recovery or strength training or sleep schedule or whatever is amiss, take the proper steps to correct it.
Don’t wait. Because the longer you let that issue linger, the harder it will be to correct.
And unlike the dogs that are “full-grown” at 11 lbs, your problem/issue isn’t very likely to stop getting bigger unless you take action.
So take the necessary action. Today.
This post is accompanied by an episode of my podcast, Diz Runs Radio.
Click this link to listen to me talk more about correcting your little dogs.
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Originally published at http://www.dizruns.com on June 19, 2020.