Photo credit: biscorogus via VisualHunt.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Over the last couple of days, I became an involuntary volunteer.   I was nominated to puppy sit. Now if I had been asked, as is normally the custom with this type of thing, my response would have been “no thank you”.

Don’t get me wrong, I love animals. The unfortunate problem with some pets are the owners. This puppy just turned a year old and unless you are holding a treat in front of him, he does not know the meaning of the word “sit”. “Come”, and “stay” are equally foreign to the pooch.

I know it is a lot of work to train a puppy. After adopting a Shetland Sheepdog at the age of six months who was barley house broken, I have learned a thing or two. Still, by the time the Sheltie was a year-old I could walk her off lead with no issues. Well, except for the time we flushed a nest of baby bunnies. She was so disappointed that she was not able to herd them all back together.

She knew “sit”. “Stay” was a real challenge for her, but she was good for about twenty-five feet. Of course, she was never happier than when I called “come”. Walking her was a joy, as I knew that she would always be to heel.

Walking this puppy is an arm wrenching tug of war, who by the way, must weigh in around sixty pounds. By the time he left he was doing better, but without daily, consistent, reinforcement, it will soon be forgotten.

It is the same with writing.   Do it daily. Be consistent. Let the process reinforce itself. “Sit”. “Stay”. “Write”. As I do this every day, it is starting to transform from a tug of war, to joy. Prepare yourself though. There will be the day when you flush a nest of baby bunnies, or find yourself volunteered for something you were not expecting.

I hope you are finding it to be the same for you.

Word count for November 14, is:

2,500 words. Fourteen-day total 31,000.

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer