A moving tarp became a full philosophical event for one puppy, and a useful reminder about letting puppies think things through.
A tarp in the yard should not be this interesting, and yet here we were.
The wind lifted one corner and let it slap softly against the fence. One puppy saw this and stopped walking altogether. He stared. He tilted his head. He looked back at me as if to confirm that the world had started behaving badly.
We gave him time. That is underrated. People rush puppies through uncertainty because they are uncomfortable watching hesitation. But a lot of learning happens in that pause. He watched the tarp, stepped closer, backed up, stepped closer again, sniffed the edge, and then stood on it with the sort of pride usually associated with mountain climbers.
The tarp had not changed. He had. He went from unsure to investigative to pleased with himself in under two minutes. That progression is the good stuff.
Confidence is often a thinking process before it becomes a behavior.
The wind lifted one corner and let it slap softly against the fence. One puppy saw this and stopped walking altogether. He stared. He tilted his head. He looked back at me as if to confirm that the world had started behaving badly.
We gave him time. That is underrated. People rush puppies through uncertainty because they are uncomfortable watching hesitation. But a lot of learning happens in that pause. He watched the tarp, stepped closer, backed up, stepped closer again, sniffed the edge, and then stood on it with the sort of pride usually associated with mountain climbers.
The tarp had not changed. He had. He went from unsure to investigative to pleased with himself in under two minutes. That progression is the good stuff.
Confidence is often a thinking process before it becomes a behavior.