As a dog trainer, I probably spend more time than most people thinking about how to communicate with dogs. Currently, there is no magic helmet that can get our dogs to speak English, so we rely on dog training to communicate concepts, skills, commands, etc. Communicating about bigger picture things such as emotional states, discomfort or pain, levels of urgency, choices available, etc can actually get pretty complicated. While I spend most of my day teaching dogs how to communicate with and relate to people and essentially tell them what to do, I find myself wondering what it could be like to talk about more. After all, dogs are not robots- they are complex sentient beings with a lot going on in their hearts and minds.
With my own dogs at home, I find myself wishing I could explain to my dogs why I can't take them for a walk on certain days, why things are busy lately and when that will change, why they are learning certain things, and even issue apologies for things I did when I didn't know any better or wasn't thinking clearly. Most of all I wish they knew how much joy, color, and complexity they contribute to my life.
These last few days, this concept has been on my mind and became somewhat of a thought exercise. I realized that this could make an excellent journaling prompt for this year's Take 15 Challenge! So take a moment and pretend that a magic genie pops out of a bottle and grants you the ability to send one message or letter to your dog that they will have translated to them. If you could only write one letter, what would it say? Here are some things you might want to include:
What important requests would you have for your dog?
What stories would you like them to hear about your time together from your point of view?
What do you need your dog to know about you?
What do you want to change for your dog to improve their life?
What does your dog need to change for you to have an ideal life together?
What are your favorite and least favorite memories?
What do you owe them an apology for? Wish you could do differently?
What about your relationship with your dog are you grateful for?
What are your favorite qualities in your dog?
What are some things you have planned (or even just hope you can do) for the future you look forward to? What needs to happen to make that possible?
This list is just a starting point! It's your letter, so it can say anything you want. The purpose of this exercise is to help you dig deep into your relationship with your dog. This process will reveal your attitudes and values surrounding your dog, and should also give you some clues about where to take the rest of your Take 15 journey with your dog. This deep dive can still help you understand on a more nuanced level what the purpose of dog ownership is to you and help you get the most out of life with your dog. Once your letter is written, ask yourself if there are ways to communicate these things to your dog in some realistic way. For instance, if you tell your dog that you feel guilty about not taking them out on a walk, you might consider communicating this by finding an alternative fun activity such as a food puzzle toy next time your dog is pouting next to the door. How you address things is up to you, but I think you'll be surprised how much you can say in everyday moments!
For an alternate activity, imagine what a letter would look like if your dog wrote to you! Would it be very different from your letter? What would be the overall tone of their letter?
If you'd like to share your letter, publically or anonymously, we'd love to see what you came up with. You can email your letter to mindfulcanineutah@gmail.com if you'd like to inspire others! Happy writing!
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