Train the Trainer

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When I wanted to take a cute photo of Squirrel and I with our eclipse glasses and apparently forgot who my dog was...

"Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness." 2 Timothy 2:23-25 ESV

Squirrel and I have worked off and on with a trainer. That make be a shock to those of you who have met him. Yes, this is Squirrel AFTER multiple sessions with a trainer. 

It’s all perspective though, right? A C- in math class doesn’t sound impressive, that is until you hear that last quarter it was an F. As long as my furry high school delinquent is trending in the right direction, I’ll take it. 

There was much that occurred during our training sessions that I expected: learning to sit and stay, using high-value treats to reward Squirrel, and the reminder to make sure that he’s getting enough exercise and play time (He does. We ran 7 miles yesterday, and the boy still had evening zoomies. I was the tired one.).

What I didn’t anticipate was how much my own behavior would be modified due to our training sessions. I’m starting to believe that these are not so much dog training sessions and as they are human training sessions. The trainer can get Squirrel to do anything in about 2-3 attempts, but the trick is if I can keep up the good behavior once we're back home.

You can’t train a dog in an hour; it’s a day-in, day-out activity that I am ultimately responsible for. I’ve heard of people sending their dog away for a month to receive training, and I’ve always wondered as to the effectiveness of that. It’s great that the dog comes back knowing all of the basic commands at the hands of a trainer, but if the owners haven’t been trained to continue and adapt the lessons to accommodate every day life, how long does it stick?

There are a few people in my life that I have to deal with on a consistent basis who drive me as crazy as cats do Squirrel. It would be easy to place all of the blame at their door. And much of the blame does, in fact, lie there. Treating another person with contempt and disrespect is simply not okay, and I don’t think I need to pretend otherwise to be a loving Christian.

If God is the Ultimate Trainer teaching us how to live well, then yes, he is working in the hearts of the people I struggle with...but He is just as concerned with training me. He wants to make sure that I know how to effectively deal with the bad behavior of other people without contributing or escalating the problem.

I’d really, really like God to take John Doe away for a month or so, fix all of his bad behavior, then send him back perfect without any problems. 

(Could God teach him “Quiet?” My lovely acquaintance very much does not have a handle on that command. “Speak” - yes. “Attack” - most definitely. “Sit and shut up?” Not so much.)

But that implies that I contribute nothing to these, ahem, “frustrating” confrontations. And I’m just not certain I deserve that label of perfection.

Like any analogy, this one breaks down if you take it too far. I am not the superior, "master" figure in any of these situations. My job is never to control other people. It is my job, however, to own any part that I might play.

And then go cuddle my dog. Because every bad day is improved by Squirrel-snuggles.