Justis Bolding | Growing up around dogs and horses, I've always wanted a career with animals. In fact, as a little girl, I didn't want to be a doctor or a police officer - my dream job was to be a tiger trainer! It's not surprising that in the pursuit of an acting career in New York, I've fallen into training dogs as well.
In 2002, my precocious Jack Russell Terrier, Spider, led me to Stacy and Whos Walking Who where we completed Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Obedience. Spider sure kept me on my toes. I feel like I encountered every problem in the book and I saw first hand how he needed something like obedience to apply his energy to. Now, Spider loves showing off his tricks as an example dog in class, and doing exciting doggy thinks with me like judging the Halloween Parade at Tompkins Square Dog Run.
Unfortunately, in today's society, many people think it's "mean" to "make" their dog do things like sit or stay. A lot of humans want to give their dogs the life of luxury they would love to have: no job, no responsibility, free food, and sleeping all day. I think it's important that people realize that this is not an ideal life in the dog's point of view. Most dogs would rather run and hunt and play with other dogs than sleep all day! And dogs need some rules and obedience in order to find their place in the "human pack."
I think every dog should have the chance to learn tricks and obedience, and it has such an important effect on the canine/human relationship. And it's important to keep teaching your dog new things. After all, you would never stop your child from going to school after kindergarten, right?
I think the desire to help homeless and misunderstood dogs drives most trainers, and I am no exception. There is nothing more rewarding than helping a dog and owner solve problems together, and nothing more fascinating than understanding the canine mind.
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