"My goal is to have a dog who allows strangers to pet him on the street, loves all visitors, and can go to the dog park and play with other dogs." 

Have you caught yourself saying that before?

Let's flip that on its head! 

"My goal is to have a child who allows strangers to hug him on the street, gets along with everyone at school, and can go to the playground and play nicely with other kids - even the bullies." 

Listen, we all want the best for our dogs (and kids!) but there are some reality checks that we need. Now.

Every dog is an individual, just like we are. We can be introverted or extroverted. We can love parties or hate club. We can be a little shy or totally obnoxious. We can have a short fuse or a high tolerance. 

Why would dogs be any different? 

Dogs are social creatures, just like humans are...which means they can be any of these things. Even at the same time. They can even change their minds! 

This article has been bookmarked for me since 2017 and I return to it often to keep myself in check.

(Hey - we're all human. Except our dogs. They're dogs.)