Following Laika's graduation from the Feisty Fidos class, she began to get a reputation around Animal Friends as not only a friendly former anxiety-case but as a pup that had put in every effort into enjoying life outside on-leash. I was so proud of her! Granted, she did have lapses when overstimulated, but don't we all? To see her before and after the course was pretty amazing! Around this time, the Hello Bully group was planning a sort of orientation session for new pitbull guardians at the Animal Friends facility. They wanted a "model bully" and parent to come to the meeting to show how positive-reinforcement training worked and how successful it could be. I was so excited and flattered that, through our trainer Lilian, they chose us as representatives!
I remember getting to the Animal Friends early on the appointed evening, because I wanted to make sure that Laika had time to exercise a bit and get more comfortable. She was going to have to stand around during the meeting, which she usually didn't like to do; so, for her sake, we took a little walk on the trails before going inside to wait. On our way in, we passed a pitbull with bleeding paws in the back of a truck that someone had found running loose and were waiting to bring into the shelter for care. Laika really wanted to meet the dog, but I got a bad feeling about it. I took her inside quickly. Not 20 seconds later, the pitbull in the truck broke loose and tried to attack another dog that was being walked outside! It was horrible to watch, but luckily the staff acted quickly and separated the two dogs before any lasting damage was done. I am not sure what happened to the pitbull, but throughout the whole episode, Laika calmly watched from inside the door. I was thankful for following my instincts to keep us both safe.
Given this shocking event, my nervousness about Laika and the orientation session evaporated. Armed with the knowledge that I wanted to share and a pocketful of treats, we were definitely more than ready to show others that hard work and understanding between guardian and pup can work wonders for even the most anxiety-plagued bullies. There were about 20-30 people in attendance and from the get-go, Laika was on her best behavior. Her personality and goofiness were on full display and she knew it! She sat and wagged her tail continuously throughout the meeting, except during the short training display with the clicker and treats and a finale for her one-trick! She was so proud of herself and I was also so proud of her, like usual. Laika's joy was contagious and she got many compliments from attendees. She was, indeed, a Model Bully!
I was then able to share a little bit of background about Laika's anxiety issues on leash and the training methods that we used. I made sure to note that her current behaviors were a result of training both of us, since a large part of her behavior was influenced by my own actions, intentions and thought habits while she was on leash. Laika calmly laid around, as I answered questions, scratched her ears and gave her treats more or less continuously for the duration. (She was in heaven!) I got some good questions about techniques, the amount of time we had invested in training and if problems still persisted. I told them that neither Laika nor I were perfect, so there were still times of anxiety, but given our understanding and familiarity with the positive-reinforcement methods we were able to resolve the episodes quickly.
Before concluding the session, I shared the most important thing that Laika had taught me up to that point: learn your companion's boundaries. Trying to push the boundaries a little bit will yield results with the right support and approach, but constantly putting an anxious dog, friend or child in a situation that is known to be overwhelming is unfair and unhelpful in changing habits. (I have applied this wisdom to myself and other relationships, too, many times since.) I noted that at first, I had envisioned taking Laika to the park to relax or to bringing her to picnics. However, she wasn't that kind of dog. At first, I thought I should be able to take her, she will learn; but given her personality, it wasn't to be. Understanding that, I said, was key to connecting with Laika and finding things that were enjoyable for both of us which did not promote anxiety, like running and visits to the off-leash dog park.
Everyone thanked us for coming and sharing our experience. Laika was so happy with the attention that she was wiggling from tail to nose. In her biggest moment yet, she proved that she was committed to controlling her anxiety and able to be challenged in new situations. I could not have been more proud of her that day. It was a good introduction to Laika's courage and strength that she would display again and again throughout her battle against cancer!
Model Bully and expert co-pilot.
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