Lots of dog trainers talk about the importance of routines for managing behavior, especially behaviors related to separation and anxiety. Routines are marvelous, and they can help create a sense of security.The trouble with routines is that they eventually fail, and if the routine is where all of your effort has gone, you may not have the skills to respond to this without totally freaking out. That's why Greer and I concentrate on building skills like flexibility and resourcefulness more than we work on routines. We want to be ready for the hard days when things don't go the way we planned, and having skills to call on gives us security in the sense that we can trust our own abilities to cope.I'm getting over COVID-19 and things changed a lot around the house because I wasn't able to do stuff. I also live with chronic illness, so we don't ever know if the day is going to be a routine day or one that's full of surprises. We do what we can to prepare, and working on our own skills is far more helpful and empowering for us than the rigidity of a routine or schedule that might not hold.

You can find me on Facebook at @anamcanine or online at www.anamcanine.com. I work with families virtually nearly anywhere and am happy to visit in person in the South Puget Sound area.