Don’t cheap out on training time. Make training fun and frequent. Keep training light and fun. Don’t get demanding with your dog. Instead, go with the flow. See what develops. Trust that if you do this long enough, you’re going to figure out what works and what doesn’t.
When you do the things from your heart, they're right.
Albom arrived at the interview with two children from the orphanage he runs, Have Faith Haiti. He never intended to run an orphanage — it was another moment of serendipity for the bestselling author."I happened to ask the guy who had been running it, 'How come the kids aren't eating? You know, we're building all this stuff for you, and the kids aren't eating.' And he said, 'Well, I don't have any money to operate this. And I'm 84 years old.'
"And in one of those moments I said, 'Well, I could probably do this. How hard could this be?' And he said, 'Thank you, Jesus. Here it is.' And I've been running it ever since."Albom said he wanted kids of his own, but "dragged my feet" and lost the chance. "It's probably the biggest regret of my life. But God works in funny ways, you know, because now I've got 53 children. And so does my wife. And we look at them as our kids."Albom spends a week in Haiti each month and learned more lessons from his experiences there, including from a girl named Chika he wrote about in "Finding Chika." Chika suffered from a brain tumor, and at age 5, doctors said they should take her back to Haiti to die. Instead, she stayed with the Alboms for two years and fought her illness.Toward the end, she couldn't walk, but Albom said she was fine with that, since he carried her everywhere. One day he was late for a radio interview and told Chika he had to leave because it was his job.Train your dog for a lifetime of obedience. Behavior problems are the number one reason dogs are relinquished to animal shelters, the number one reason they don’t find new forever homes, and as a result, the number one reason dogs are euthanized.
Dryer Sheets Pick up Dog Hair Like Crazy. Looking for a simple way to pick up some of that dog hair? Use dryer sheets. They pick up loose dog hair on fabric like magic. Just rub a dryer sheet over your couch or wherever else pet hair collects and watch as it clings right to it.
"And she crossed her arms and made that little pouty face. And she said, 'No, it isn't. Your job is carrying me,'" he said.
What we choose to carry is actually what ends up defining us.
With that sentence, Albom said, "I felt my whole soul drop down to my feet."
He realized that instead of carrying around his work, his books, his usual burdens, he had to drop all that to carry a 6-year-old who couldn't walk.
"And you realize it's no comparison," he said. "And what we choose to fill our arms with, up with, and what we choose to carry, is actually what ends up defining us."
No night vision goggles needed! Dogs’ eyes contain a special membrane, called the tapetum lucidum, which allows them to see in the dark.
Listen to the entire conversation on "Making Space with Hoda Kotb"wherever you find your podcasts.
Previously on Making Space:
- Oprah Winfrey and Maria Shriver: "The word was 'cherish'"
- Anne Lamott: "Grace always meets you exactly where you are"