We’ve all been here…

You come home and instead of a happy tail wagging, your dog is looking cowed, with big, guilty eyes. You’ve had an absolute crap day at work, the commute home was rage-inducing, and you really don’t want to deal with THIS on top of it all. But you take a steadying breath and walk into the kitchen – only to see garbage all over the place.

Shit. Were there chicken bones in that from last night’s dinner??

Now what? Clean up the mess, maybe yell at your dog, maybe rub their nose in the mess. Hope they throw up the bones instead of having to visit the vet.

Another $5k vet bill? No thank you!

Then you feel…

• guilty (for having left them at home for nine hours)
• ashamed (for having punished them), and
• like you have failed them and yourself by letting emotion rule you.

I know, because I have been there. Yes, I have punished my dogs in old-fashioned ways.

Nose rubs, alpha rolls, “time outs” in the bathroom.

I have yelled, cried, and beat myself up afterwards. I was sick with guilt for years.

And you know what?

There is hope!