When the Teacher Becomes the Student
- Jan 30, 2015
- 2 min read
By Jamie Damato Migdal, CEO and Pet Industry Entrepreneur
Mimsy has been a part of our family now for about 18 months, and over the holidays I decided that it was time for the two of us to have some proper quality time together. I’m very lucky in that she fit right in without any significant acclimation time or training, but I’d been feeling a little guilty that I haven’t been able to do any real work with her because of everything else that has been going on in my life.
So I signed up for a Focus class with AnimalSense.
After the first class, I thought to myself – I should have done this last year, both for her sake and for mine. The benefits, and revelations, have been many:
Mimsy learned a solid down/stay in less than an hour during the first session. Mimsy is already a pretty good dog; she’s not perfect, but she doesn’t have any annoying habits that need work. It made me realize that over the course of the last year and a half I started thinking of her as a stable entity who didn’t need to learn new things. I know, I know – I’m a dog trainer! I should know better than that. But it was a good reminder not to get complacent.
Mimsy gets a lot of enrichment. She gets treats, attention, positive reinforcement, and the sight and smell of new dogs in a controlled environment.
We get to know each other in a new way. I know some of Mimsy’s past history, but in this class I am able to work with the dog that I have in front of me, not the dog I have constructed in my mind. I love her dearly, but now I’m proud of her into the bargain. It seems silly to say that, but again – we all get complacent, and I’m tickled pink at the weekly opportunity to be impressed by her.
My attention is focused on her, and hers is on me. Even in a noisy room full of other people and other dogs, it’s an intense and lovely experience.
I get a much-needed break from everything. My phone isn’t chirping, I’m not working on FetchFind or CanineLink stuff, and I have the permission to just be with my beautiful collie for an entire hour every week.
I don’t have to be the person performing in the front of the room. That job goes to the wonderful Jennifer Kec. I’m in contact with Jen on a professional and personal basis almost every day, but I really love that she is the person teaching the class. I get to see her in a new way, and that deepens our relationship as well.
It’s the Circle of Life. I founded AnimalSense in 1999, and the first Academy classes were taught through AnimalSense before CanineLink came along. It’s fun to see how the company has developed over the years. My baby is all grown up now, and she’s pretty amazing.
Schedule a little “us” time for yourself and your dog every week; you won’t regret it.
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If you’d like to experience the wonderfulness of an AnimalSense class yourself, the Spring session starts on March 1.
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