I Am a Working Dog

“Working dogs make excellent pets as long as potential owners realize that these dogs must be given ‘work’ to do. Dogs that are not to be used for their original purpose must be trained from a young age and are best suited to active persons and families. Obedience training,dog sports, informal or novelty shows, and trial work are all excellent channels for these breeds’ energy. At the very least they must have daily walks or other exercise at an appropriate level for the breed, given toys, played with, and provided with human company.

Working dogs that are left alone or ignored become bored, vocal, and even neurotic; they may exhibit malaise, lethargy, destructive behavior or attempt to escape. Working dogs inappropriately chosen as pets are often surrendered to shelters for these reasons.” (excerpt from Wikipedia)

I was having “a moment” a few months ago and my fairy godmother – I mean one of my best friends since high school called me up. Did I mention she has impeccable timing? So this particular moment involved me wondering why I have to push myself so hard. It had been a particularly challenging week ( really, aren’t they all?). You know, kids mutinying against me every night, clients demanding actual service and attention (no George Costanza naps for me that at week), husband not feeling the love. Ugh. And frankly, I was just tired. That cranky weary kind of tired where I am channeling a sleep deprived two-year old. I’m beyond reason and more than a little weepy. In short, I’m spiraling into a level ten mommy meltdown.

Check please.

So the call from my guardian angel – I mean friend – could not have come at a better time. And once I was done verbally vomiting and bemoaning the fact that I was a total loser because I couldn’t just loosen up, lighten up, and let my husband handle all the heavy lifting of our family finances. Why, dear God couldn’t I be that fulfilled Earth mother with infinite patience and trust in the universe? My brilliant friend tells me it’s because I am a working dog. As my mind struggles to decipher where she is going with this (does she mean that I am a b*tch?), she goes onto explain that she was having a similar moment a few months back. She was unloading on her older sister who explained to her that people are Iike dogs. And that in fact, if you were to look up the definition of the different types of breeds identified by then AKC you would recognize exactly in which category you belong. And further, once you’ve identified your breed you need to take the AKC’s recommendations to heart and implement them in your own life or suffer the consequences.

Is it just me or are there any working breed mamas out there, who recognized yourself in the definition of working-breed dogs provided by Wikipedia? In a nutshell, we will tear up and destroy EVERYTHING if we are not given challenging tasks to perform. It’s not pretty but it’s hard-wired into us.

So I’ve given up on my dream of ever being a member of the cute and cuddly toy breed. I will continue to admire them from afar knowing that it’s in everyone’s best interest in including my own – that I continue to experience my challenging moments because the alternative is just too damned scary!

If you like my blog you’ll love my book. Buy The Working Mommy’s Manual on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Working-Mommys-Manual-Nicole-Corning/dp/0615637418/ref=cm_sw_em_r_dp_6ZRcqb0QFT7P8_tt