Life Lessons from Reggie: What Obedience Training Taught Me About the Growth Mindset

“... it’s not about immediate perfection. It’s about learning something over time: confronting a challenge and making progress.” ― Carol S. Dweck, Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential

When I read Carol S. Dweck’s book several years ago, little did I know that I would find true meaning in her words from my dog, Reggie. 

Reggie is a year-old, hound mix, with loads of energy and the fixation on greeting every person and dog with his wet nose, while also finding time to stuff every piece of trash or hunk of goose shit into his mouth...mostly the goose shit. 

I knew I needed to get him some legitimate training, but there was always the issue of cost, or time, or whatever other excuse I was coming up with.

Then I lost him for 25 minutes, or an eternity in my eyes.  

The idiot writing this blog was on a “dog-walking” date because that’s apparently what you do during Covid. I took my eye and attention off of him for a few moments and poof he was gone. I did my best to keep my composure during the time I was without Reggie. I mean, I’m still on this first date trying to play it cool. But on the inside I’m frantically thinking of the worst possible scenarios and doing my best to hide my embarrassment of being a shitty dog owner. 

Luckily, I found him, and later that day I was looking up local dog trainers near me on Google. (Note: there was no second date. My love life is part of a different blog series...kidding.)

Seven weeks ago, Reggie and I walked into Ken Brady’s garage at totherescueK9 in Plymouth. Well I walked, Reggie tried to eat everything on the ground.

That first session was rough. Ken went over how much you really have to keep on top of a dog to form a new habit. But with time, Ken said, we would start to see results. He didn’t sugarcoat it, which I really appreciated. The task of training a dog who had learned a few bad habits early on was going to be hard work and it required the owner to be all in.

I agreed to the challenge. I started to see little bits of improvement from Reggie during that first visit. When Ken wanted him to sit, he sat for the most part. When he didn’t, he was given a correction. When Reggie did it right, he was praised as if he was royalty. 

These small habits, coupled with the positive and negative feedback, would begin to build in Reggie’s mind. And these habits would form in me. 

We had some seriously frustrating walks. I had a hard time seeing the positives at times. But I promised myself to keep fighting through it. Reggie could tell he was doing the right thing. The dope carrying the leash just had to believe too. 

We kept on it and kept going. Before he would see a bunny or a bird and sprint after it with no fear of train tracks (true story) or anything else in his way. But with Ken’s teachings in my head, we worked on bringing Reggie as close to other animals as we could, correcting him when he would go a little haywire. 

Over time, things got better. I got less frustrated. Reggie actually developed a spring in his step. On our walks, if I tell him to sit, he plops his butt down without thought.

I went in with a fixed mindset and came out on the other side as a person who is loving this process. I can envision new scenarios to put him into to really sharpen his training. Most of the time, I won’t even have to say anything, because he knows what my expectations are.

I think what Reggie and I went through in our training was a perfect example of what Dweck studied. 

The simplicity of how Ken taught really allowed us to grow. We didn’t have 25 commands. He wanted us to sharpen four to five commands and get better as we go. Our goal every day was to work on the fundamentals. 

The consistency that is needed to train a dog is crucial. No walk should be thrown away as just a walk. Every time you go out is an opportunity to learn. You also have to make sure it’s fun for you and the dog. Because those days when you want to quit, you’ll need a good laugh. 

The process has become better than the end goal, whatever that may be. Learning how to better communicate with Reggie has made our relationship stronger. And since I’m the one who does the talking for both of us, I’d like to believe he knows that I’ll always have his best interest for him even when I do show frustration about not hitting our goals fast enough. Patience is something you have to develop. Again, another growth lesson to strive for. 

So it took a real-life situation to bring the words of Mindset to life. I’m grateful for Ken and his ability to teach dogs and humans how to be better. 

Now I know that all goose shit on every sidewalk we walk by will safely rest in its stinky place. Next thing I’ll teach him is to land me the second date. 

Tom Layman was a former sports reporter for the Boston Herald. His work has been published in Runner’s World, ESPN, The Harvard Gazette, and several other publications.