Day 2 of Training: Mon, Feb 16, 2009

Tinsel's second lesson started with a knock at the door, and in came Pete and his volunteered help, Cindy. A petite and lovely lady with a big heart, Cindy owns a groom shop on the Hong Kong side and is also working on dog rehabilitation under Pete's tutelage. She came as an extra "stranger" to help Tinsel familiarize with having guests at home.

As expected, Tinsel barked and charged at them initially, but rounded off to the side once she got close, backing up to the bedrooms after a while. I was a lot more relaxed this time around but there was always this little bit of uncertainty underneath.

After watching some more videos, snacks and sodas, Pete took us downstairs for Tinsel's first actual round of training. I was, again, apprehensive of what's to happen and had to admit that I was expecting some of Tinsel's worst.

Well, Tinsel did lunge out at a dog at first, but under Pete's leadership, she quickly recovered and learned that her behaviour was not appreciated. In just a little while, she was already trotting nicely and obediently next to Pete and her reactive level came down significantly. It was really amazing to see how Tinsel changed from Tinsel the Terrorist to Tinsel the "not-so-friendly" dog in such a short while. When Pete walked Tinsel right in between two unknown dogs on the narrow pathway, both Lolita and I were so shocked at Tinsel's non-response that we both said, "Ha?" at the same time.

Wow.

In the following hours, Pete shared his knowledge and know-hows of handling Tinsel in similar dog-to-dog encounters as we walked pass dog after dog, leashed and unleashed. I really have to confess, that most of the time I was still extremely apprehensive. Every time I spotted a big dog I would think, oh shit. But instead of lifting Tinsel up and dodging away, we walked straight up to them. Over and over again, until Tinsel started to realize how she should behave. Or more accurately, until I began to feel confident that I could handle the situation myself.

I was physically exhausted but mentally thrilled at the end of the day. Exhausted from all that walking and from all my useless worrying. Thrilled because I now knew that Tinsel CAN be changed.

Tinsel, on the other hand, was quite psyched. I could tell that she was quite tired physcially due to the long walk, but she couldn't fall asleep and sat there into the wee hours, thinking, and most importantly, smiling.

Wow.

As for Kimba, I had thought that the little guy's not a problem but as I learned more about dog behaviour, I began to realize that he has been spoiled. Luckily, we have Cindy, who walked and trained Kimba while we were handling Tinsel. He seemed pleased with the arrangement too, as he was basically trotting nicely right beside Cindy most of the time. Thanks, Cindy, for your generous and selfless help.

As I went to bed that night, I couldn't help but wonder how I could have met such amazing people.

Wow-wow!

AM