Remedial Training

Squish in her leashed timeout.

Squish has always been a very chill dog which I trust is as much because of the environment she was born into as it is about her temperament and parents. From before I even brought her home she could sit on command and when I did get her home I invested time in training like you do with all new pets. She's not perfect at all. For the life of me 'lay down' appears to be beyond her comprehension and sometimes her recall lacks any kind of recall at all, although I blame the last one on her ability to ignore me more than a lack of knowledge, a squeaky toy will always bring her back. All that being said, put her on a leash and you have a generally perfect mannered dog which is something I take great pride in.

Today the repairman came to fix my internet. For a dog who is generally more excited to meet new people than any other I've met, she was TERRIFIED. I'm sure it was the large clanky tool belt around his waist that was unusual to her and therefore scary. Her desire to run away almost sent her over the front gate, something I sincerely never ever thought she would try.

I managed to catch her and put on her leash and then, after a few attempts, to get her to sit and stay (the stay part was impressive as it sometimes goes the way of recall). For the rest of the visit, she sat very attentively at first watching his moves and then eventually relaxed into it, laid down and went to sleep. Turns out the repair man was a dog guy and after he was all done I asked him if he'd mind taking off the tool belt and saying 'hi' to her which he happily obliged. Squish appreciated the lack of tool belt apparently because they made fast friends.

I know she's only (almost) nine months old but I expected better from Squish. She rarely has a reaction like this and as a pet owner your first instinct is to kind of freak out like your dog. But if you can calm yourself and then find a calm safe state for your dog (for her it's the leash) then, in my experience at least, you can get them through almost anything and you're building a trust relationship with them. Never stop going back to your training. No matter how old your dog is they can actually learn new tricks, except maybe 'lay down' if they're a Boxer.

Lisa Milton, Squish's Mom, @summitLisa, lisa.miltonwork