The Nasty Little Dog Who Became Our Greatest Teacher

Author W. Bruce Cameron was right: "When you adopt a dog, you have a lot of very good days and one very bad day." 

One of those very bad days happened for us last week. Fran' s 16 and 1/2-year-old Brussels Griffon Tango crossed the Rainbow Bridge. 

That was a terrific age for a dog to live to. And we know we're lucky to have had him for so long. But that just means that he was a big part of every aspect of our lives. As he aged his care got more complicated, took longer, and was constant. 

Wouldn’t change a thing

It's been a strange week. We have all kinds of time that we didn't have before and we don't know what to do with it. Tango was a rough-coated Brussels Griffon, so every day involved washing his face and beard, combing it out, drying him off. He absolutely adored getting dried off. The more vigorous it was, the more his ears flapped back and forth, the more he liked it 

It's the silly little things like that you miss the most. He wasn't a very loud dog, but the house is oddly silent. Even with three other dogs living here, the whole atmosphere, the rhythm, everything, is different. We'll adjust. Of course we will. It just takes time.

Fantastic teacher 

Tango possibly taught us more about dogs, dog training, and how dogs think than any other dog. We had to become better trainers and better dog owners because he was such a pain in the butt

When Fran got Tango she didn't realize that he was fear-aggressive because she could do anything with him. She was the only one on the planet who could. Tango tried to bite, lunge at, basically kill anybody else who got near him including Hope. Which was unfortunate because then, as now, we two sisters share a house 

We’d never dealt with aggression at this level before, just occasional snarky behavior or hissy-fit spats. We knew we had to turn him around. And we had to use methods that would teach him the world was a wonderful, friendly, happy place.

Another business born

It seems that when we find solutions to problems we have to share them with the world. Golly Gear was born to hunt out and share the best gear for small dogs when we couldn't find stuff for Golly. 2-Minute-Trainer was born when we transformed that nasty little Tango into a delightful gentleman.

By the time he was three, Tango could go anywhere and do anything without fear. And without trying to kill anyone. He competed in Rally and Agility until he was done. He always let Fran know when he was done. Sadly, last week, he was. Good boy, Tango. Good dog.