I knew something was up when they split the group into two and loaded us up in two separate vehicles, half the group on the bus and half the group in a van. We went to the spot for the infamous traffic checks. For a first time handler this is downright unnerving and you don't know what's coming. It is the process of taking a walk on the route and suddenly having a car come swerving at you and your dog and making sure the dog does not let you walk in front of the moving vehicle. Not only does this happen once, but it happens 3-4 times. When this is all over, dogs and handlers alike are rattled and ready to head back to campus and just chill before having lunch.
Below is the series of photos taken during our traffic check-
You can see the white vehicle leaving a lot to head our direction and we are starting to take off across the street.
You can see the white vehicle leaving a lot to head our direction and we are starting to take off across the street.
We are walking across the street and the vehicle is ready to gun it towards us.
Boomer does his job and turns himself in front of me and even backs up leaving lots of clearance between us and the vehicle.
Here we are at another intersection where another vehicle is coming down the street and will approach us again.
Again, Boomer does an excellent job of stopping and giving the driver the stink eye and leaving lots of room between us and the van.
After lunch we headed to the Horseshoe walk which is a pretty quiet neighborhood and in the shape of a horseshoe. There are low lying branches, a big break in the concrete sidewalk from a large tree root and slanted sidewalks too. It's a really good place to learn to work with your dog and read it's cues to you through the handle. It's also the place that you learn how smart your dog is, as they clear you within an inch of the low lying branches but you don't brush them. Which totally blows my mind every time!
We headed back to campus and fed, watered and took the dogs out for breaks. Dinner was amazing as always with Kevin as cook. Then we all met up in the lounge for our first nightwalk on the horseshoe again. Everyone was trying to remember the spots that were in on the route to pay attention to and most found that if they just relaxed and listened to their dogs, that the dogs did their jobs. :)
NOTE: From this point on, I am referring back to my short Facebook posts to finish out this training journal. (Only 5 1/2 years later....) So these are not going to be as detailed or clear as they could have been- my apologies up front for that.
Whoo hoo Night walk under the belt and we did pretty good. He stopped for a couple of things and think I did pretty good at trusting him. Will have to ask the trainers what he was stopping for the one time. First time he was a little slow to go back to the sidewalk but just kept telling him to straight find the way and we got there :). LOVE my dog :D
Ok, blogs aren't happening. I've HIT THE WALL... Im going to bed. Night all!
