The We Choose Respect ParentCast Starring Sharon Bolt
Who’s Walking Who?
This is Buddie. Buddie was a wonderful part of our family for 13 years. Buddie was my daughter’s fourth birthday present. We didn’t really pick Buddie, he picked us.
I remember when Alej and I brought Buddie to the Vet for his first shots the doctor shook his head and said, “a border collie, do you know what you are getting yourself into?”
We had no idea. Border Collies have an endless supply of energy. They love to run and run and run. Thankfully we have a big yard that was a perfect playground for the kids and their buddy. Border Collies are also incredibly intelligent, and loving.
Having Buddie in our home was fantastic. He provided an extra layer of security whenever I had to travel to present my motivational magic shows. He helped both my daughter and son learn to take responsibility for another living being.
I knew bringing Buddie into our home would be a good thing. Both my wife and I grew up with dogs. In fact I can not remember a time growing up when we did not have a dog. Our first dog was named Blackie. We had no idea what breed he was, or where he came from before he landed in our home, but he was a great dog and a great friend when I was 4 and 5 years old. There was a time in our tiny was filled with the sound and the fur and the saliva of fifteen St Bernard Puppies. One of those puppies grew into a monster we called Barabbas. While learning how to drive a friend of mine actually hit Barabbas with the driving school car during a lesson. I will never forget the look of horror on the face of my friend and the driving instructor when Barabbas jumped on the hood of the car and started barking at them.
Our little home is now often filled with the howling of our little doggie Auggie. We adopted Auggie from a shelter the day the police captured the Boston Marathon bombers. (I actually broke the stay in place and shelter order to retrieve him.) Once again we had no idea what we were in for adopting a somewhat damaged beagle. He is a handful, and brings us lots of love.
Owning a dog can be a joyous experience. It is also a lot of responsibility. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Sharon Bolt, a new friend here on the ParentCast. Sharon Bolt is an expert when it comes to training your dog. She is a regular contributor to the BBC, a teacher on the Udemy platform, and a soon to be regular contributor to the ParentCast. She likes to ask the question “who is walking who?” when talking with dog owners, explaining that it is important for the dog owner to be the one in control during a walk.
In this episode of the ParentCast Sharon shares some great tips on how to pick a perfect pet, how to care for your dog and what to do to make sure you are the one walking your dog, and not the other way around.
And I am very happy to announce that my little doggie Auggie, (with the help of voice artist Chris Hardy) will be our musical guest.
Click here to visit Sharon’s Web Site
Click here to find out about my totally interactive school assembly program
Click here to visit Chris Hardy World
