Angela Villota

Day Four of Training

Day 4 of training consisted of my first attempt of obedience with Hara. I grew up around untrained pets, so it was such a mind-blowing experience when Hara listened to my commands. Yes, I know she is supposed to do that but… only people with untrained pets can relate! Today was also my first time putting on the harness without supervision. This may seem trivial, but it was a huge deal for me. The process of loading into the van was quite exciting. I did it without falling which was something to celebrate. We did our first official rout in White Plains. Deanna was still attached to the training leash, but she did not do anything to prevent Hara from being naughty. If she did mess up, it was up to me to correct her. Luckily, I only had to correct once but that was enough to let Deanna know that I was a light corrector and needed to work on it. That afternoon we were each given the opportunity to use the multipurpose room for a 20-minute play time. Upon arriving to my scheduled playtime, Deanna showed me how to recall. I was impressed at how Hara came to me when I called her over from across the room. Then I set the bucket of toys down for Hara to dig in and pick out a toy she may like. Basically, this dog loves anything from bones, to squeaky toys to bouncy balls. Playing fetch with her was so much fun. I am not sure if I showed her how to play fetch or if her puppy raiser did. I was so glad they gave us the opportunity to blow off some steam in the multipurpose room. I felt bad that we could not give them free range in the room. We had to keep them on leash or on tiedown when we had to do other things such as showering, using the bathroom, taking a nap etc. This is done to establish boundaries between handler and dog. At one point, Deanna had me working on corrections with a stuffed toy Labrador. … Basically, I suck at it. I would be issued a gentle leader at some point. Thankfully, Hara does not require a heavy hand. I also noticed how comfortable I felt during our walk. I can totally see why we were matched together, and I am so grateful for that decision.