Training, and the Terrible Twos

This is Heidi. She is a Sheltie, about 1 1/2 years old. From the day we brought her home, she was a loving pup, which I like to attribute to the fact that she was born on the eve of Valentine's day. Adam and I were also fortunate that she was quick to learn commands and become house trained.

For the next long while, it was smooth sailing. We couldn't have been more grateful, as Adam and I had taken on massive home improvement projects on a very tight deadline. There wasn't much time to train or fuss, something we felt guilty about. But, Heidi's good behavior was a sign to us that she understood and was happy nonetheless.

But one day a couple months ago a switch flipped. She started peeing in the house pretty regularly, was a little more lethargic, and just seemed a little less obedient than usual. I was quick to be firm with her and do what I could to remind Heidi that the carpet was not a good place to pee...but there was a general sense of helplessness in retraining something you thought had become second nature. How did I do it the first time? Does my dog hate me? Do I really need to start from the beginning with training? I thought the hard work was over.

So I began taking her out every two hours and rewarding her for peeing outside. I punished her when she peed inside. It's all I could think to do -- punish and reward. I was so worried that the lovingly named Terrible Twos applied to dogs as well as children. But there was something important that I was missing: Dogs have problems too.

If I thought I was upset that my formerly well-trained dog was now casually defiling my house, I can only imagine what Heidi was feeling when we all learned that she had a bladder infection. Our poor dog had a medical condition and was being punished for it!

Maybe the connection is a little stretched, although not so much in my home where Heidi functions as a family member, but the whole incident made me think of how we treat people -- especially those in our professional lives. When we see unexplained behavior in our peers and employees, are we quick to punish?

Obviously, in this scenario we are dealing with a dog...but people are much less black and white. Our lives are rife with complication, yet so many workplaces drop the ball on dealing with that reality. Maybe the next time we notice someone in our lives struggling to perform up to our expectations, we should investigate a little more deeply before punishing someone for things that are unintentional or out of their control.

In my case, I would say I was pretty fortunate. A little medication and extra love will remedy my dog's behavior, and I don't have to wonder about the Terrible Twos. Still, a little refresher on the basics of dog training couldn't hurt.