And the Doggie Gods Smile Again

Working with the right trainer really does make an incredibly huge difference in your life. I’ve personally seen both sides now. I chose the wrong trainer in the beginning but was smiled upon by the doggie gods when my friend Carol offered to help us out. Now that I had taken the plunge and decided to try another trainer, the questions was, ‘would they smile upon me again’?

So, there I was, waiting for Michele from Connective Training to arrive. Now that I had calmed myself down, I was hopeful about the visit. This was going to work out. When I heard her pull up I prepared to keep Chili from jumping all over her. Chili was persistent and greeted Michele in her usual Chili way. Paws, body checks, and tongue. Isn’t that a proper greeting? Just what everyone wants, a bossy little girl throwing her weight around and slobbering all over you. Welcome to our home! I apologized to Michele and acknowledged that this was on the ‘to do’ list for training. What was interesting was that Michele kept Chili back by walking into her and using her body to take away Chili’s space. She handled the situation without being rude or making me feel like I’d done something wrong. This was a great start.

We chatted about Chili for a bit then took her for a short walk. At one point Chili was being her bratty little self and not paying attention so Michele gave her a ‘touch’ correction. Chili ignored her. I told her that Chili is a very strong girl, both mentally and physically, and doesn’t really respond to touch corrections, or choke chains, or pinch collars. It depends on her mood. So Michele shifted her strategy. That’s what I like, a trainer who doesn’t play by just one set of rules. She started using her own body to get Chili’s attention by walking into her, bumping her, and blocking her. Basically she was acting like Chili, but without the slobber. Chili responded.

Back at the house we reviewed the visit so far. We didn’t just talk about Chili, but we also talked about me. What was my state of mind? What was I thinking when Chili and I were out walking and I saw another dog approaching? How did I feel about where Chili and I have gotten so far, and where we wanted to be? She recommended that I come to one of her classes and just observe. She also invited me to take Chili for a pack walk with her and her dogs. Wow, looks like the doggie gods were smiling on me again.

As we were talking, Chili took it upon herself to lay on the couch. I told Michele that I had been trying for a while to keep her off the couch with no luck. I would be firm and tell her ‘off’, nothing, and then I would grab her collar and drag her off the couch. Chili loved this game and would just jump right back on the couch. Michele’s remedy, ‘sit on her’. Sit on her? She then proceeded to sit on Chili until she moved off the couch. Chili’s whole body language changed. She didn’t like this game. Michele said to just put enough weight on her to make her uncomfortable. Over the next week I only had to sit on Chili 3 times then she gave up trying to get on the couch altogether.

It was as if I had spent a couple of hours with a friend. Another friend who was knowledgeable about dogs. I would definitely be calling her soon to join her for a pack walk, and maybe even a coffee.