Training Progress

One step forward, five steps back, that’s how it seems the training progress has been with Pandora. At least, getting her to walk near cars, close to roads on sidewalks.

And FINALLY, I have some progress to report.

The Recap

I’m going to give a quick recap. Pandora is terrified to walk anywhere where she can see or hear vehicles. It’s been a part of her since puppyhood. No traumatic events happened with cars.

When we try to walk near vehicles when she was a puppy, she would tuck tail and drop anchor. Then a few months later she started doing the “we’re getting back to our vehicle now, I don’t care if I choke in the process.” I didn’t use a harness right off the bat with Pandora. We used a collar. And after one of our walks, where I had to walk a section of sidewalk back to the car, a vehicle passed us. Pandora went into a panic. She started pulling on her leash and would not stop. After some struggling, I finally picked her up. It was a full on fiasco.

I bought a harness after that because it scared me that she didn’t care that her collar was digging in. I’ve since had the vet double-check that I was using the collar right. I was.

But even with the harness, the walk was a no-go once she heard a vehicle.

There were small training progresses

Once she walked a whole four or five yards like a normal dog on a leash. It was from our car to the vet door. Our vet still won’t allow us in with our pets.

Despite the small progress, we had a major setback afterward. In all areas of training.

Eventually, Pandora had a few more little wins. Walking, with “normal” pulling on the leash. I don’t want her to pull on leash, but this was not a choking pull, it was much less dramatic.

Big “No Freaking Way!” Training Progress

Now, let me say, Pandora did not take a full-on walk near vehicles.

I had taken her out on the trails, we went up to an area where we know. It has a wide road (it’s a walking path but looks wide enough for vehicles). She wasn’t happy. She dropped anchor. I pretended to not notice what she was doing, I was acting interested in a large weed. It took about a few seconds before she was ready to continue, so we continued on. Pandora heard a car; we glimpsed a smidge of it through bushes. She continued to walk. Her tail wasn’t tucked, neither was it wagging happily, it just hung down.

And we made it back to the trail that cuts away from the road. It went so well, that when we headed back to the car, I took a trail that branches off to the road and puts us about 70 yards up from the car. It runs along a road. A car passed us. Pandora was not happy, but she didn’t react. We had to stop as the car passed, but she didn’t drop anchor, she didn’t try to drag my rear back to the car, she waited.

Do you see the picture above? I even got her to sit and wait so I could take a picture! AND it gets better! There was a car idling in the turn lane behind us and she still let me take the picture! Squeeee! People, I looked like a nut, doing my happy dance back to the car and gushing over Pandora.

That was the greatest moment yet. Two years and three months to get to this point. Constant training, trying, and failing. Little moments of hope followed by setbacks. We even switched Vets. It was the worst call because I love our Vet, but they still wouldn’t let us go in with our pets and each time we went to the vet, we had major setbacks. Shortly before this, we had gone to her new vet for her checkup and yearly shots and I got to be with her.

We haven’t walked around near cars, yet. But this moment has given me hope.

DON’T GIVE UP!

Trust the training.