by Mary Lenehan | 17 Mar 2022
Industry Commentary, Op-Ed
When I saw Nancy Zweir’s recent post on LinkedIn about keeping play as an integral part of an adult life recently, I couldn’t resist commenting that fostering a puppy is a great one. It also happens to be my current front-burner method for knocking adult-me out of lax improvisational habits – and into the unavoidable chaotic joy of keeping a frenetic, playful office mate in-home.
In fact, being a mother in toy design with a strong life-long affinity for animals – it’s been clear to me for ages that the parallels between child raising (from a behavioral standpoint) and puppy-wrangling are close enough to make puppy practice a valid litmus test for how some people may or may not adapt from 4-legged to 2-legged little rascals. ; D
Many, if not most of the same “reward the good/redirect the bad (behavior)” advice applies – and works. And in terms of redirecting – it’s in play that results are quickly and unequivocally established - particularly in puppy engagement. Because nearly everything a puppy does in real time is an accelerated version of human child development.
The bond between our species – born of the same mammalian origins and solidified with a unique symbiosis tens of thousands of years old – is clearly at work. But no matter the many fascinating reasons (this is NOT a dissertation LOL); this dynamic is instructive, challenging and undeniably delightful. Especially as applied to creative development.
For example; walking a puppy is a metaphor for managed expectations, improv and best practices rolled into one. Struggling with an 8-11 week old Great Pyrenees infant on walks, erroneously attempting to muse on the days priorities, it becomes clear how many parallels there are between creative work flow and the process of wrangling an emerging powerhouse of sentient brains, bone and muscle. And here a few that came to top of mind today:
These days, that prize is a tired, napping ball of baby-shark teeth and velvety fluff underfoot as the grown-up-human day begins. Warm blood flowing to brain, coffee kicking in – and the task of designing dog toys today ; ) feels energized and fresh.
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