Day 18- Town Lake/6th Street
Our trainer, Steve, wanted us to go down there
and sit on the side of the trail and just see how Bodhi does with everyone
running by.
...We even got to go up to
a guy with his bike and he showed Bodhi what a bike was, moved it around, got on
it and road around and Bodhi was so amazed but not
aggressive!
...All kinds of people were
going about their business, delivery men, business men, joggers, drunken fools,
etc. The only people Bodhi barked at were these three homeless people that came
up to compliment me on how beautiful he was. When they were standing about
three feet away Bodhi was fine, but one of them wanted to get closer and Bodhi
did a simple warning bark and the man stopped and that was the end of
that!
...I talked with the homeless
people for maybe fifteen more minutes and Bodhi just laid down, with his back to
the group, and watched what was going on elsewhere.
I took Bodhi down to Town Lake, which is a hike,
bike, run trail here in Austin. Our trainer, Steve, wanted us to go down there
and sit on the side of the trail and just see how Bodhi does with everyone
running by. HE DID GREAT. BETTER THAN GREAT! So we started walking the trail
and did about two miles without a single incident! I'm so
proud!
We even got to go up to a guy
with his bike and he showed Bodhi what a bike was, moved it around, got on it
and road around and Bodhi was so amazed but not aggressive! What a break
through. He still looks very interested in fast moving things on the trail
sometimes. I know that's a product of the breed, Australian Shepherd, and I
might not be able to trust him in an environment like that off leash.... but
before I couldn't even trust him in an environment like that ON LEASH! WOO
HOO!
Then we went to 6th street, which
is sort of comprable to Bourbon Street in New Orleans. All kinds of people were
going about their business, delivery men, business men, joggers, drunken fools,
etc. The only people Bodhi barked at were these three homeless people that came
up to compliment me on how beautiful he was. When they were standing about
three feet away Bodhi was fine, but one of them wanted to get closer and Bodhi
did a simple warning bark and the man stopped and that was the end of that! The
man that tried to approach him had Australian Cattle dogs, so he's familiar with
their temperament and said he thinks it's perfectly fine Bodhi barked at him.
I talked with the homeless people for
maybe fifteen more minutes and Bodhi just laid down, with his back to the group,
and watched what was going on elsewhere. It was
amazing.
We also got some more bike
practice with some Bike cops. They also showed Bodhi how the bike worked, turned
the wheels, let us circle them. It was a great
experience.
What a good day for
Bodhi!
Today was the first day Buggy
was on Xanex. Its like day 3 or 4 of Prozac, but I can tell the Xanex is
chilling him out. He was much more outgoing at work, but still not letting
people touch him. He would go up and stiff the workers butts and hands and
stuff and when they turned around he just took a few steps back. I know that
sounds like something very insignificant, but it was huge for
him.
Posted: Mon - February 6, 2006 at 04:58 PM