The Buck stops here!
By Jennifer Schmitt, CFP®, CPA
This is my dog (mine and my husband’s). We got him about 3 months ago. His name is Buck. He came with the name. We didn't care for the name and he seemed confused when we used a different name, so we kept it as Buck. We have given him several middle names – Aroo (Buckaroo), Ley (Buckley), Key (Buckey) – you get the picture.
We found Buck through a humane society website. His bio said he weighed 35 pounds. When we went to visit him, we knew he weighed much more than 35 pounds (about 53 pounds). We did not really want a dog that big, but since we actually saw him, we would have felt guilty saying no, even though we had doubts. When the shelter people told us he had been at the shelter for 6 months and his sisters had already been adopted and he was living with 170 other dogs, we had no other choice but to adopt him.
We wanted a dog for companionship, which requires responsibilities on both sides. For us, it was to feed him, keep him safe, etc. For Buck, all we wanted from him was to follow a few commands – sit, wait (stay), come when called, and walk on a leash – not a high bar for a dog. We realized pretty quickly that we needed help training him (that Taylor Swift line, “it’s me, I’m the problem, it’s me” comes to mind).
We were going to be traveling, so he went to obedience school while we were gone. Apparently, he did great. The trainer said he was smart, quick to catch on, and liked learning new things. She made videos of him doing exactly what he was supposed to do. I was so proud. I thought he might be a genius dog.
However, we were not as successful with the training on our own. I’m pretty sure he’s not a genius. Buck was better, but not where we hoped he would be. We reached back out to the trainer, letting her know he wasn’t doing for us what he did for her. She told us it would take time. We had to be persistent and patient. We had to set realistic expectations.
So, we are trying to do what she told us to. We are working with him daily and rewatching those training videos. We are all getting better but still have a long way to go. As far as those realistic expectations, he may never pay attention to me when he sees a rabbit.
We have only had one other indoor dog (we have had several outdoor dogs, with much lower expectations on our part). We got her when she was an adult. She was already trained and knew what to do. She was the boss of us – she knew it, we knew it, and it was great. We miss her.
Our Buck story is not unique; every pet owner has similar stories, but it is unique to us. Whatever your story is, it is unique to you, and at Legacy, we like to hear about your stories. Please let us know if you would like to share your story or even hear more about Buck.
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