We're Working Hard

After listening to more GDB CD's, I used a different strategy with Melanie today. We took a real long walk to Trader Joe's (all uphill) and went very smoothly. I used her Gentle Lead right from the start and she was a perfect lady all the way up, while in the store, and until we came back down the hill toward the ocean and I told her to make a right turn, which means we were going towards home, not the beach. She had a puppy fit, meaning she just sat down, looked at me as if I had promised her we could go and then changed my mind. It was like a child going through the "terrible two's". I half expected her to lie on her back and kick up her feet. Well, I started off with the usual obedience commands, which she did, but still did not want to go forward towards home. This time I put my foot down and moved her regular collar up high, gave her a super sharp jerk on the leash, and commanded her with the strongest voice I could and gave the command again. This time, she responded as if she was thinking, "Gee, I never heard her talk to me that way before". So, we got home fine and I gave her lots of love and let her run around the house a bit. Then, we went out again for another little walk and came back on the sidewalk that run parallel to the recreation trail. She could see it but there wasn't a dog distraction. In fact, as we got to the Cannery shopping mall, there was minivan with its motor running. I thought we could go to the right of it but it was real close and it started up and I wasn't sure if they had seen us on the right, so Melanie took it into her own mind to actually start backing up and literally turned around to get away from the vehicle. I gave her tons of praise and food reward and once the van was gone, we were able to continue on home. Love that Dog.