Dreaming About a Dog Before I Had One

My passion for dogs began long before I had my very first dog.

As a child, I wanted a dog more than anything. But at that time, I didn’t have one. Instead of simply waiting and dreaming, I decided to prepare myself.

Almost every day after school, I went to the library and read everything I could find about dogs and dog training. Back then, there was no internet, online courses, or training videos, so any information had to be searched for and collected piece by piece.

I read books about dog training, canine behavior, and working dogs. I studied magazines from working dog clubs, articles, and borrowed books from people whenever I had the opportunity. I was interested in absolutely everything related to dogs.

Learning From Real Life

But reading alone wasn’t enough for me.

I started attending dog shows and training fields, watching trainers and handlers work with their dogs. I asked questions, observed carefully, and learned as much as I could from real-life experience.

That was when I became deeply interested not only in dogs themselves, but also in the psychology of training, communication, and the relationship between a dog and its owner.

My First Dog

My first dog came into my life in 1995.
It was a poodle.

Even though poodles are generally known as intelligent and highly trainable dogs, my experience was far from easy.

The dog came to me as an adult. She was not socialized, was afraid of streets, people, unfamiliar places, and many everyday situations. She didn’t know basic commands, wasn’t comfortable walking outside, and lived in constant stress and fear.

Working Through Challenges

On top of that, she had almost no motivation to work. There was neither strong food motivation nor toy/play motivation — which are usually important tools in training.

I had to learn how to find an individual approach for this specific dog, slowly build trust, develop motivation, and create communication and engagement step by step.

Now I understand that this experience taught me far more than working with an “easy” dog ever could.

All the knowledge I had spent years collecting before getting my first dog truly helped me during that time.

The Beginning of My Journey

Eventually, she became an incredibly well-behaved and comfortable companion. She learned many commands and tricks, we attended dog shows together, and we grew through that journey side by side.

That dog became the true beginning of my path in dog training.

At the same time, I already knew that I was especially drawn to working dogs. I dreamed about owning a German Shepherd and wanted to dive deeper into the working side of cynology and training.

But that is a story for the next part….