A Matter of Trust

We went for a long swim today. I live on the edge of a pond and take my kayak out with them, making triangular laps around the pond, about 11 minutes of swimming per lap with a brief touch to shore in 2 places along the way. By the end of the summer they are swimming 30-40 minutes a day.

Today we did 2 laps for the first time this year. Gust is not a well established swimmer yet, so I pull her into the kayak when she gets worried, something I've done with all the youngsters until they get their confidence for the longer stretches. To get her in the boat I just hoist her across my lap with the handle on the life vest. She's a remarkably trusting little creature. She lays there with her chest across my legs, waist over the edge of the boat, and back legs completely relaxed and trailing in the water.

Watching her gazing about contentedly, laying completely relaxed where I had plopped her, I thought about the trust she puts in me. She has always been a trusting dog. I find it an endearing quality, perhaps only because it makes caring for her easier. I have had other dogs where I had to work hard to earn their trust, and under duress they tended to look to their own plans. Rhyme was the most independent dog I ever had, and the dog I worked hardest to build trust with. For the first year of her life I was nothing but the "puppy police", thwarting her desires. She was stung by a wasp out working one day. I called her to me to swat it off. She took off for the van, running right past me. That same summer Cato and Dare ran through a yellow jacket nest and were covered with stinging bugs. I called them and they raced to me without hesitation despite the fact that they were being actively stung. I was able to swat off the nasty beasts. How I did not get stung myself I'll never know. Both Cato and Dare trusted me to help.

I suspect there is a strong relationship between independence and trust. Perhaps an innate lack of trust creates independence? When I speak of independence here I'm not talking of dogs that are simply not needy, but rather of dogs that resist partnering. If you cannot trust others to work with you then you must always fend for yourself and follow your own plan. I do know that Rhyme began to partner with me much more willingly after I began consciously working to earn her trust. She started to look to me for support, and hear my commands as useful direction rather than endless nagging.