Make Your Own Rules
I’ve never been a rule follower. Well, that’s not entirely true. I don’t like to follow rules that don’t seem to make sense to me. If you don’t give me a good reason why I should do something, then I’m not all that interested in doing it.
My smart watch tracks my sleep, and sometimes I get annoyed at it because it likes to give me a lower score because I slept “too long” according to whatever rules it follows. 🙄 That’s stupid. Some nights I need a lot of sleep. It’s just the rules that my body likes to follow. I don’t make those rules, but I sure do follow them!
I’ve learned that the same thing applies to pet relationships. There really aren’t any rules. Sure, a lot of people will try to tell you that it’s got to be done this way or that way or some way, but if you ask them, most of those people don’t even know why they are following those rules to begin with!
Take for example mounting a horse. Most people are taught not only to mount from the left, but to lead from the left. What’s wrong with the right side of the horse?
This “rule” actually dates back to the time when wearing a sword was normal - your sword was always on your left side. So mounting from the left was important because it wouldn’t interfere with your sword. I don’t know about you but I haven’t carried a sword in a while…
It is healthiest to teach your horse not only to mount, but also be lead and handled from both sides. This helps prevent their body from getting out of balance due to weight load being applied to their backs only from the left, and it teaches them adaptability and trust from different positions around their body.
This “rule” turns out to not have any basis on the reality of modern life with horses, and could actually negatively impact the horse, and yet so many people do it that way just because that’s the way they were taught without ever thinking about the reasoning behind it.
When it comes to your pet - you know them best. It’s up to you to decide which rules make the most sense for your relationship. That might look very different from what everybody else’s relationship looks like, and that’s ok. You’ve got to be willing to explore what it is that works for the two of you together.
There’s nothing wrong with trying on the “rules” that other people use to see how it works for you and your pet. It is most important that you discard the rule if it isn’t working for the two of you. Sometimes the conventional pressure can be difficult to go against, but I promise you, you’ll be much happier if you let go of the rules, and make your own. Your pet will thank you, too!
