Hey folks! Sorry I didn't post last night; it took a little longer than expected, and Jeff and I wanted to get a movie in before bedtime. So, here goes!

Lefty reacted as usual to the knock at the door, and initially the trainer was a bit gruff and told me to either put Lefty away or get him on a leash. I thought, "Oh, no--another person who's going to tell me that Lefty's not a very good dog, or that I really have my work cut out for me, etc." However, we sat at the table and occasionally Paul (the trainer) would toss a treat at Lefty. He let Lefty approach him at his own pace, and within a very little bit of time had Lefty eating out of his hand (literally).

We did a lot of talking about what to do in certain situations. Some was common sense, but other things he mentioned were new to me. For example, when the mailman walks up the street, I've been having Lefty sit and giving him the "No Speak" command repeatedly, and it hasn't been working. He suggested having Lefty sit and instead, giving him treats the entire time the mailman is within view. He figures Lefty will become more interested in the hotdogs than the mailman and that over time, he'll see the approach of the mailman in a positive light.

He had me give Lefty certain commands to see how well he minded me. Lefty minds me quite well, and is intelligent. Paul said, "He's a good candidate." I said, "I'm so glad to hear that; most people say--" and he interrupted me and said, "I said he was a GOOD candidate; I didn't say he'd be easy." That made me laugh.

His impression of Lefty was correct and not much of a surprise. Lefty is an anxious older dog. I don't think he's ever truly at ease or perfectly happy. Therefore, I don't think I'm ever going to get a dog that is completely comfortable in all surroundings (and frankly that's fine with me). However, Paul does feel that Lefty can be managed and that we'll see definite improvement, given time, structure, leadership, and exercise. Jeff and I haven't always been leaders and we're not always consistent. We're just going to have to be, ALL THE TIME.

I don't think I could write everything down here that Paul suggested. As I said, a lot of it wasn't too much of a surprise, but we did learn some new things, and I was just so excited to hear--from a professional--that Lefty could make progress. I was becoming disheartened by comments that "dog people" had said in the past, because I really didn't think his behavior was THAT out of the ordinary. I was beginning to think these people saw something I didn't.

The best part about last night, however, is that I truly think Lefty had a good time! Once he got over the shock of having a stranger in the house, he seemed to enjoy being "worked" and rewarded. I think I need to give him a lot more of that. When Paul left, Lefty seemed to be in a good mood.

So, now I've got my head full of things like "clicker training" and "agility" and I'm trying to figure out what the next step is. I'm feeling more hopeful than I have since we got him, though.

Thanks for being interested! I'll keep you up to date on Lefty's progress!

S