Photo by Mitchell Orr on Unsplash
A pet dog is an eternal optimist. He’ll check his bowl several times during the day, looking to see if bacon, liverwurst or some other tasty treat has appeared. The bowl itself represents limitless potential. Just wait long enough and somebody will put something in there.
A trained bird dog is an eternal optimist, too. But instead of waiting around his bowl he has work to do, locating game birds. (A good, trained sporting dog is not a “pet.”) Despite doing more work than his pet counterpart, the bird dog may actually get less “reward” in terms of handouts (and he doesn’t get to eat the birds he flushes).
Both dogs are happy, so which is the better life strategy? Granted, the dogs don’t have a choice, but you do.
You can wait around checking your phone or laptop for incoming business opportunities, and sometimes you’ll get some bacon. And it’s real comfortable relaxing on the couch.
Or you can get out there, relentlessly working the terrain, risking burrs and brambles as you enthusiastically seek out possibilities around each hill and dale.
Both dogs have their day. What will yours look like?
