SAIL SEES SECHELT BY THE SEA SHORE

So, I wrote my previous blog based on my first impression of Sail and that good impression hasn't changed but I have learned more about her in the last week.   She picks up on the energy around her and matches it.  If she sees excited dogs she gets excited.  If that dog is little and it's very excited, the way only little dogs can get...with crazy scrambling energy, it sometimes will trigger something in her that is not the same thing that has her pulling on the leash and vocalizing when she sees dogs playing off leash at the beach.  

We went down to MacDonald Beach on Saturday morning and she was crazy with wanting to play with other dogs as they ran and bounced and fetched.  I can't blame her but she was a little over the top and I assume this is because she is used to having her freedom, not being attached on the leash to a human who doesn't want to go chase other dogs.   The thing about Sail that is so good though is that she is smart and does want to please, so once I was able to snap her out of her excitement she listened quite well and calmed down and was able to sit and stay relaxed.   This was no easy task though.   At first I wasn't really expecting it and I kinda lost my patience...not good by any training manual's standards.  Once I had a chance to think about it though I tackled it like any other problem.  Step by step, slowing the activity down and repetition of asking her sit only for her to stand again and then sit and stand and repeat about 10 or so more times before she realizes I actually will persist in asking her to sit.  By the end of our walk she was much easier to control when she saw other dogs on leash and I had a plan so I stayed relaxed too.  It was as much of a training session for the human as for the dog and equally exhausting for both.

On Saturday we went to Tisol as TG had a table set up to promote Turtle Gardens dogs that are up for adoption.   She was well behaved and received much admiration from everyone.  She loves the attention from strangers...no shy dog here.  At one point a customer came in with a cat in her arms and I'm not sure what Sail's intentions were but she sure pulled to the end of the leash fast and furious.  She also got overly excited about a few little dogs that were the scrambling excited kind I mentioned earlier.  She was hard to settle but a while later another little dog came into the store and she was relaxed and happy just to sniff and had an excellent greeting.  

On Sunday we went over to Sechelt for Father's Day and Sail played well in my Mom and Dad's back yard with their dog Ralph (an Airedale).  They played rough but seemed to have fun.  We went for a walk down the hill to the beach and then back up and by the time we got to the top Sail was pooped.   At the Ferry terminal in Langdale she was great with every dog that we met including two or three litte guys.  When we headed home she slept the whole trip away and finally discovered the comfort of the Kuranda bed at home once we got back.   She really crashed hard after a whole day of new experiences.


On our way back up the hill in Sechelt,
with the water in the distance


Having pointed out some negatives from the weekend, I want to say that I have seen a huge change in Sail in just one week.  She is learning that I'm the boss and that I will follow through with anything that I ask of her.  She will even spot the rabbits in my neighbourhood now and with one or two 'leave it' commands she won't even look in their direction.  I have been doing some really fun clicker training with her and she picks it up so fast.   She is playful when you ask her to be and calm and relaxed otherwise.   I purposely did not take her for a walk one night other than just for a pee break here and there and she was content just hanging out.   She aced her first day at the regular dog daycare and dogs and staff really liked her.  She even found a good play buddy.

She is alot of fun and she has been a challenge in a very good way for me.  It is very rewarding when you see results so quickly.  I think she has potential to do so much and her only limit will be how much or how little her adopter asks of her.  I think she could do agility or freestyle really well but if someone wanted her to just be their walking buddy...she'd be okay with that too.

Here's a video clip that shows how fast she can run.  Tonight I gave her the first bit of freedom that I could by piecing 4, 20' leashes together.  Man, can she ever run.  Her recall was really good too, especially  considering we haven't been working on that.   She ran to me so fast if I whistled for her and by the end of our walk her tongue was hanging out the side of her mouth.

...and in slow motion.  I love how she checks me out as she whips past