For an impatient dog, waiting is hard.

 

Do you have an impatient dog?

Having an impatient dog is challenging. Just ask me about Quinn. She’s a very high-energy dog who always wants to be doing something and works on me to make it happen. She hates waiting!

I know that all the experts would say that I need to take control of the situation. They’re probably right. But I’m not an expert. I’m just a dog parent trying to do the best I can for my dog and our family.

Waiting is hard

I don’t care who you are; waiting is plain hard. Some people (and dogs) handle it better than others. I get impatient pretty quickly. I see things, and I want them to happen NOW, just like Quinn. Being a herding dog by nature, she’s always trying to direct us to get what she wants. Me. The other dogs. Everything.

I suppose that’s why I have an impatient dog. We both know how things “should” be, and we try to force them into existence. I think she might be more successful than I am because she always remains confident in her ability to get “it” done. Maybe that’s a quality in dogs that we humans could benefit from imitating.

How an impatient dog tries to get what she wants

When Quinn decides it’s time to go outside, eat breakfast, play ball, or do whatever else she thinks should be happening, she starts trying to make it happen.

Her routine goes something like this. She starts by staring at me. Then she tries to show me what she wants, followed by whining and finally getting loud and jumping on me. She does nag but in a very good-natured way. She tries to be patient, but the impatient dog in her comes to the surface pretty quickly.

I have been trained (by Quinn) that if I do whatever “it” is, she’ll let me do my work. It benefits us both, I guess. She gets what she wants, and then I get what I want; to get some of my work done. How smart is she that I get to believe it’s my plan when it’s hers all along?

Living with an impatient dog

I suppose I should be more in charge. Maybe I am, at least, with the important things. I try to make a point of learning more about dogs, their training, health, etc. However, the amount of information out there is overwhelming, and much of it contradicts itself.

I am slowly working my way through all the stuff. And I believe we’re making some improvements. I figure it’s always going to be a work in progress.

I’ve been reading books like 101 Dog Tricks by Kyra Sundance and reading posts by dog trainers that sound like they use positive methods. Article from Wagwalking.com about impatient dogs. I’ve also been learning about dog enrichment activities that may help calm her down.

Do you have dog training issues or tips to pass along? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.