Hannah and Ivy

Scene:
Warmest, driest day in over a week. It was a Monday afternoon, so the streets were relatively empty.

Characters:

• Carrie (Mom)- Ivy’s Handler
• Tracie (Me) – Hannah’s Handler
• Dez (Dad) – Lucy’s Handler
• Jon – Trainer

Goal:
Controlled walking, heel, and entering doorways correctly.

*****

Jon arrived a little late, but we started the training off strong. We walked around the living room as we introduced a new command – heel. We walked in circles, instructing them to sit when we stopped moving.

After a while, it was time to move outside. We practiced these skills in the driveway and on the road between two parked cars before moving to longer paths on the sidewalk. This was new for both of them. Hannah was a star; taking to the new environment well, and mastering the skills relatively quickly. She thoroughly enjoyed the tasks and only need minor corrections during the entire two hour session.

Ivy, however, was less than thrilled with the controlled walking exercise. The goal was for her to match Mom’s pace. The ease at which she walked indoors was lost once we moved outdoors. She need more corrections, and threw her share of tantrums. We soldiered on, and she was able to have a few successes near the end of the session.

Working with two dogs simultaneously can be quite interesting. Where one will shine, sometimes the other will struggle. That was proven again when we moved onto the second task – maneuvering through doors. This time it was Ivy that stayed on task and performed skillfully, and Hannah who struggled.

For this task, we approached a doorway, and had the dog sit and stay with a loose leash. The human would walk through the door, and the dog needed to stay put until called. Hannah didn’t like being that far away from me. She consistently ignored the stay command to get closer to her human. Ivy, on the other hand, waited patiently until she was told to move.

Each dog has things that come easy, and other things that prove to be a steep learning curve. They are individuals, just like humans. They have areas where they are stubborn, and others where they are compliant. Hannah is working on being less clingy, and Ivy is working on being less stubborn. I am sure those roles will reverse from time to time given the new tasks in front of us.

We have our own lessons to learn. Mom needs to trust herself more and worry less. I am working on being more assertive. Isn’t it great that we all get a chance to learn and grow – even the humans??

Special shout-out to Dad who helped an unsteady Mom during the exercises. He also took over with Ivy for a bit. It certainly is a team effort!

Written by: Tracie Jaramillo