Magic at work?

 Just thinking out loud here....

Someone said something important to me this morning.

She said: What I really like is the way I feel when I clickertrain my dog, I suddenly feel happier, and I am much better at finding the good things she does. Our relationship improves.

It made me think. I got into clickertraining because I liked the scientific angle. This was not somebody's personal ideas and experiences, This was hard science, with welldocumented theories behind. And efficient too. I liked the efficiency and the fact that the risk of doing damage is virtually non existing... "above all do not harm" as was once the doctors credo....But maybe what drew me into clicking really is not the most important thing about it. Maybe the important thing is not the training of a companion animal, or helping the animal live in a humanruled world. Maybe the really important thing is not what happens inside your dogs head but what happens inside your own head...

I suddenly realize that what I have heard others say between the lines is basically this... "when I started clickertraining I got to like my dog a lot more."...yesterday I spend a very happy 15 minutes teaching my two bitches to jump over a broomstick.... just a silly idea that I sunndely got. And we had so much fun. The young one frolicked about thinking this was great...the older one obviously couldn't see the point of jumping over that thingy, but if that was all it took to get me to dole out treats...well, why not, she seemed to think. And I am still smiling now when I think about it.... Yes, I do get to love my dog even more for every session we have...Isn't taht amazing... a way of training that makes love blossom between you... training can be, and for many people are,  a battle of wills...but that can be exchanged for something that makes you bond, not fight...

IMHO one of the most important reasons for so many behaviour problems (and for the number of animals in shelters) are the lack of a strong bonding between owner and dog (cat/rabbit/insert animal of preference here)...Maybe in the end clickertraining can be an answer...

It has been said many times that the little plastic toy we use to make a click sound isn't magical.... Well, even though the box isn't magic in itself... the things that happen inside us when we use it sure is.... Clickers are not magic...clickertraining is...