The Prairiedog Files Yup, another wordpress blog

Free Advice

We all love getting something for nothing, but do we really want it?

Think back to a time you paid too little for something and as a result things didn't work out too well. Maybe it was a super-discounted flight, or perhaps the cheaper brand of paint, but either way you probably didn't get your money's worth. Now, conjure up a time when you paid more, but as a result bought with confidence and got more than your money's worth.

We've all had this lesson and so we rightly equate the value of something to it's price. Moving forward with that logic, things that are inexpensive or free may, in our minds, be perceived to have little value.

Some time back I had a friend with a puppy discipline problem. In an effort to help (I have raised a few dogs in my time), I pointed out a number of strategies that should work, not the least of which was professional training. A poorly disciplined dog can be a long-term problem, and it's totally unnecessary.

None of my advice was implemented, and to my knowledge the dog still loves to defile the carpet and take food from the table. My advice was ignored, in part, because it was free. A free thing has no value right? Worse yet, I became the sounding board for subsequent puppy issues which were surprisingly no longer of interest to me.

It is indeed better to pay too much for a thing than too little.