Are You Suffering from Puppy Amnesia?

"Our old dog NEVER acted like this!"

I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard that sentence from a new puppy owner.

Time has a funny way of changing our memories, it seems.  Most of us fondly remember our adult
dogs' puppy days as full of puppy breath, puppy snuggles and fun.

Oh sure, there were the occasional potty accidents, and chewed shoes.  But faithful old Fidonever was as much of a handful as our new puppy!

Or was he?

Whether Fido is still with us, or he's crossed over the rainbow bridge to the land of endless dog
bones and tennis balls, we remember his puppy days through rose colored glasses.

What is puppy amnesia?  It's what happens when we get a new pup, and find ourselves surprised
at the amount of mischief the new dog gets into, and how much work raising this new little canine
is!

It's completely normal for dog owners to have 'puppy amnesia' about raising their last dog -
especially if it's been a long time since they've raised a young pup.

At it's worst, puppy amnesia includes comparing our new dog to our old dog - forgetting all the
trials and tribulations that came along with raising our old dog into the wonderful companion we
cherish so much.

As a professional dog trainer going on 30 years in the business, I have had the bittersweet
privilege of having clients return to train their new dog with me, after the first dog I trained with
them has passed away.

It's all too normal for me to hear,

"This new puppy is so much work!"
"He's always into something!"
"Our old dog was so much easier to train."

I have to smile when I hear these laments.  Because I was often right there for the training and
raising of the older dog.  And, because I'm a bit of an email pack rat, I sometimes even have old
email exchanges about the old dog - full of many of the same puppy raising challenges and
questions and complaints.

So, the next time you catch yourself pining for the puppy days of your old dog, keep in mind that
no dog is perfect...and puppies are almost never 'easy'.  

We're just lucky that Mother Nature paints our memories rose & gold when it comes to easily
moving on after the stress of puppy raising is past.

But, those precious moments of puppyhood are all too fleeting - so enjoy your pup while he or she
is young and full of mischief; because the precious moments with our dogs pass by in a flash, and
all too soon we will wonder where the time has gone when we're looking at the graying muzzle
and clouding eyes of our beloved senior dog.

Want to learn more about how to have a better relationship with your dog?  Call us today and
schedule a training session!

Jennifer Hime is the owner of Front Range K9 Academy. She can be reached at k9counselor.com