Sweet, Shy Molly

Saturday, I trained a really sweet Miniature Australian Shepherd. She looks a little like an oversized guinea pig, with a thick soft coat, and beautiful, soft eyes. She's just a darling, but she's afraid of her shadow. Walks with Molly have been no fun for her owners, because anytime something scares her, she turns around and heads for home. New people coming into the house are a threat to her, and she barks and heads for her safe zone, which is her crate.

It took her a while at the first lesson to accept me, but at her third lesson on Saturday, she was nearly turning herself inside out with excitement to greet me! She barked a very friendly, happy-to-see you greeting, wagged her little bottom as hard as she could, and quickly assumed a submissive posture with her belly up, begging for a tummy rub. I was quick to offer it. She's a delightful little dog, and my goal is to help her develop some confidence and overcome her fears of virtually everything. I also hope to help her owners understand how to help introduce her to new things, so that she can carefully investigate them in a way that will lead to acceptance rather than fear of those things.

She's coming along very, very nicely. There's one catch to her training though....as soon as she sees a leash or her training harness, she heads for a corner or a place to hide. She really does enjoy her training once we get into it, but she knows that she's going to have to deal with some of her fears when I'm there. Part of my goal as a trainer, is to stretch her out of her comfort zone at each lesson. I don't want to push her to the point of abject terror, mind you, but if she never gets stretched past her fears, she'll never overcome them. My goal is to create and foster trust with her so that she'll know that someone has her back when she's afraid. Over time, she'll develop her own sense of confidence and she'll be off and running with joy through life.

I guess what I've learned from this sweet little girl, is that fears are just never easy for any of us to overcome, but it's a whole lot easier when people you trust help you face them...that, and the right treat to reinforce the correct behavior!!! Let's see, for me....that might be chocolate...or cheesecake...I'm torn...how about a nibble of each??