It didn't take long for my slave brother to settle into his role as T.o.p. (i.e. Trainer of pug). A few days after offering up my pup collar and returning to Southern California, he sent me a brief written statement of agreement acknowledging our pup/Trainer relationship with instructions to review and make changes if needed. Once the pup/Trainer agreement was in place, i received an extensive outline of topics and questions related to human pups, pup play and this pug. *snortle my Trainer explained that the outline was intended to create a dialogue between pup and Trainer that would foster open communication, trust and a better understanding of one another's mindset and intentions in regards to pup training. i was impressed and honored that anyone would take such a high level of interest in learning about this pug's mindset as a pup.

As the weeks passed, my Trainer assigned sections of the outline for me to respond to. Some of the responses were tedious to write while others sparked new revelations about my pupness. Often my Trainer would share his own views and follow-up with more questions for me to think over and respond to. i admit, there were times i felt nervous or defensive when he would challenge me to look beyond my own familiar approach to pup play and consider a new perspective. At times i would feel a knee-jerk reaction to want to refuse considering a new approach yet i knew that if i was serious about my agreement to try pup training, i needed to remain open and willing to accept whatever approaches my Trainer wanted to explore. Otherwise, why even have a Trainer? *tilting pup head to one side Working through the outline gave a whole new meaning to the concept of being 'paper trained'!