The Little Bear Dog Blog

My other half writes a wonder blog called ‘Be inspired’ and he recently posed a question: ‘What if everyone in your life is here to teach you something?’

And by everyone he means EVERYONE, not just your grandma and your kids and the ‘nice’ people in your life, he means the idiot boy racer who cut you up on the motorway, your supercilious boss, the neighbour who throws the loudest parties at 3am…. It’s a philosophical question, but a powerful one because it asks us to question our reactions and our thoughts.

Our ponderings over the breakfast table on this question made me realise that two of my most influential teachers were currently sitting at my feet (probably hoping that the table would miraculously collapse and deliver them a jackpot)

Where would I be now had it not been for Little Bear? If he had been the take anywhere dog of my childhood, would I be blogging? Would I be spending my free time studying canine behaviour and assisting at puppy classes in my quest to inch towards a better understanding of dogs and our relationship with them? Would the idea of a second dog have even arisen? Probably not.

At it’s not just dogs that I understand a little better now either. It’s me. In trying to help Little Bear deal with the things he finds frightening or frustrating I’ve also had to learn to read myself too.

I’ve mentioned his ability as a ‘barometer Bear’ before, picking up and reflecting my emotional state straight back at me, but I’m lucky in that I can talk about my fears or irritations, Little Bear on the other hand has a severely limited repertoire of emotional outlets.

Once I recognised this, I realised that I had to work hard to control my energy, my body language and even my outlook in order to help him. It’s work that will probably never be ‘finished’ but we’re both learning and growing through the process and that’s what matters.

Little Bear and Annie got their jackpot in the form of a share of my scrambled egg and a toast crust each, their reward for bringing me to where I need to be and inspiring me every single day.