The problem we run into is that we often fabricate unrealistic expectations about life, especially about relationships and the behaviors of those around us. Without meaning to, we create impossible or arbitrary standards to which we feel others should conform. Unchecked expectations can lead to a host of misunderstandings, resentments, and false assumptions. We may miss out on the chance to know someone, to meet them at all, because we are so caught up in the fact that they have failed to live up to an ideal we have in our minds. When we are incorrect in our presumptions, we don’t give them the break they need. We give up. All because we had incomplete information.

There is no reason for you to feel badly about having expectations of your dog. He will certainly have expectations of you—that you let him out to pee in the morning, that you feed him his breakfast every day, that you return from work at the end of the day. It’s only reasonable that you have expectations of him, too.

Having a realistic understanding of what your dog needs will allow you to adjust your expectations about your dog. The big picture of your dog’s L.E.G.S.® can help you to authentically prepare for the life you will share together. You can learn what you might expect from your dog’s learning, environment, genetics, and self. You will both be better off if you have a clearer idea about what could be coming down the pike. It is really just about being honest, and finding the terms you can agree on, based on the needs and limitations you both have. Trust is what happens when, time and time again, you meet in the middle.

At the same time, for all the many benefits of expectations, do your best to remain flexible about them. Be willing to be wrong, and you may find yourself pleasantly surprised. Your dog could always be the exception, the one that breaks the mold. Nature does that from time to time.

There are no fixed rules, only guiding insights and information from which we can piece together a more logical and complete framework of ideas. The point here is to simply develop more realistic expectations of your canine friend. The last thing you want is to set him up for failure time and again because you are simply misinformed, unaware of what you have been missing.

The mysteries of our dogs’ behaviors and our relationships with them are far from solved. But we have a whole lot more to go on than we did. Dedicated researchers, scientists, and professionals have provided us with more useful grist for the mill than we had in the past. You may as well be given the chance to take it all in and try to use it, for your dog’s sake as well as your own.