That Dog Girl

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  • Crappy Artwork and Plastic Bottles

    “Oh my goodness! That is amazing!”

    “Wow! Is this yours?!”

    “For me? Thank you so much!”

    These are all phrases I used in my early years teaching job that I now use in my dog walking job. Call me crazy but with limited human interaction throughout the day (thank goodness), I turn to the dogs for a little conversational output – more often than I care to admit really. I’ve been told that I only need to worry if they start talking back…which I NEVER pretend they do…

    Anyway, I find myself using the same words and the same tone with the dogs as I did when I was teaching and celebrating with the children in school. My kids could bring me the most *interesting* things with a smile and a ‘look what I’ve done’ face and they’d be met with an enthusiastic “Tell me what you have – this is beautiful!” and they’d proudly bounce away to scribble another stick person with ten arms, no neck and no multicoloured hair. I think some of my reactions actually deserved an Oscar nomination. Sometimes I would be presented with a simple line drawn across a page and I would happily respond “Tell me about your picture, what else are you going to add to make it even better?” People that know me will struggle to comprehend that I was genuinely that nice and not sarcastic in the slightest but you’d better believe it! AND THE OSCAR GOES TO…

    Ah the days of standing by the painting easel complimenting artwork, refilling pots and definitely not making sure my paper wasn’t being wasted and paintbrushes weren’t being eaten. Anyone who has anything to do with children, be it family, friends or school, knows that small people can bring you the strangest things. It doesn’t even have to be artwork. On more than one occasion I was handed dead bugs. Delightful! But there’s a learning opportunity at every turn. As it turns out, dogs bring the same amount of crap with the same amount of excitement.

    These days as I walk through fields and woodland, the dogs approach me with discarded bottles, empty coffee cups, sometimes even scrap paper. I greet them with the same enthusiasm and interest as the children were met with in class. “Look at this! Did you find this?” Funnily enough, the dogs have a similar look of pride about them when you share in their happiness at finding absolute rubbish and they usually want to play a game with it.

    All this to say, children and dogs alike, have this incredible sense of wonder at the slightest, most unexciting thing. Be it dead bugs, crap artwork or a half-filled (hopefully not with pee) plastic bottle – they want to show you this brand new, never seen before, most amazing thing in the world and share some happiness with it. I’m not sure at exactly what point this gift begins to fade, life gets serious sometimes, but I think we should learn from children and from dogs and remember to enjoy the little things in life. Get working on those acting skills – appreciate the art, the dead things and the rubbish because even crap can be wonderful…apparently!

  • Classroom VS Country

    As an ex teacher turned dog walker, the similarities between working with children and working with dogs are alarming and hilarious at the same time.

    This morning it occurred to me how taking multiple dogs out in public is pretty much the same experience as going on a school trip. You spend so much time teaching manners and good behaviour and then as a fairly chaotic and stressful challenge, you decide to put everything to the test and take them out into the ‘real world’ that has actual people in it.

    ‘Please God don’t let me lose any’ is on constant repeat in your head and you won’t relax until everyone is home safe. I had a teaching flashback today when I came across a member of the general public while out walking (a fairly common nightmare). Teachers know that feeling of being on constant alert when on a school trip, it’s like your senses are working on overdrive and you notice everything. It’s exhausting but as it turns out, is a transferable skill. I’m like that on ‘in public’ walks. You just never know what to expect.

    I saw this woman from a mile away. No dog with her that I could see (phew!), she was walking at a slow pace with a walking stick, just enjoying the fresh air. I couldn’t quite tell where she was going to go next so I lined my children up at the side just to be safe. No, hang on, that’s not right. I got my dogs in a sit stay at the side, so the woman could walk past without the hassle of tripping over giddy dogs. She started talking and I immediately think ‘oh no, now I have to listen, give a polite response and keep the children, I mean dogs, under control. Pleaseeeee be good dogs, don’t let me down now’. She says how well behaved they are and that its so nice to see them having a lovely time. I thank her, quietly beaming with pride at my well behaved little group. She’s nearly past us now. I hold my breath almost waiting for something to happen. This is the exact moment where you would expect a small child to say something like “My grandma has a walking stick, you look old like my grandma but my mummy says grandma is realllllyy sick you know…” Thank God I don’t have to deal with unpredictable little people now! Oh no, wait. One of the dogs has moved and is humping her leg.

    ‘Get off! Off there!’

    ‘Oh no, it’s fine, I’m not fragile’ she says.

    Fragility has nothing to do with it. I’m mortified.

    ‘Come here. Sit.’

    A phrase that, if taught well, can work with both children and dogs. I never had to stop one of my children from humping the elderly, fortunately. Although, I have known children to bite. I believe its frowned upon to muzzle them though.

    The lady walks away, happy to have seen the dogs and had a nice conversation. Back in my teacher brain, I do a head count for the millionth time before moving away again. Head counting – another transferable skill. ‘How many do I have in my group? 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4. Yep, got them all. 1,2,3,4,5…hang on whose is that? That’s not mine. Somebody round here must be missing it. Oh it’s with them. Right, good to go!’

    There are plenty of moments of joy when I’m out walking dogs, just as there were when I was teaching. But when you’re taking care of other people’s most precious thing in the world, it can be quite stressful. That goes for both jobs. Finally, back to the van. It’s not over yet. Who will be sick on the way home? Not a teacher or a TA with a sick bag in sight.