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I took Tucker to his first school visit yesterday. There were 4 other dogs and a bunny. We were there to teach the kids how to interact with animals. I got there early with Tucker as he is always excited to go someplace new. The other dogs were pretty mellow, Tucker was the one with the most energy. Not over the top, but let's just say very enthusiastic. Not out of the ordinary for Tucker, and the director and I both know he will settle in when everything starts.
So we get into the room and spread the dogs out into stations. We have 50, 4 and 5 year olds coming, so it is a divide an conquer mentality for this visit. When the kids enter the room, you can just feel their excitement. What Tucker did next surprised me. He turned and locked eyes with me. In an instant, his soft brown eyes told me, "I got this Dad. Thank you for bringing me here." I said," I know Tucker, I love you too buddy." Tucker has never been a dog to focus on me, it has always been a work in progress and a challenge to keep his focus on me, and shut out the rest of the world. Today in the midst of the chaos of the young kids, instead of getting amped up further, and feeding off their energy, he turned to me. This knucklehead is finally getting it.
My boy simply racked out in front of all the kids in each group. 8 pairs of little hands petting him nicely as we talked about how to meet and take care of a dog.
Afterwards, I took Tucker for a walk to build on his experience. As we walked together, all I had to do was just whisper his name, and he would turn and look at me. He has never done that before. Could it be that after almost 4 years of training he is finally getting it? Sorry for the novel, but this is a milestone for him that I just had to share....
Anyway, how old was your dog, and what were you doing together when you had that first connection?
So we get into the room and spread the dogs out into stations. We have 50, 4 and 5 year olds coming, so it is a divide an conquer mentality for this visit. When the kids enter the room, you can just feel their excitement. What Tucker did next surprised me. He turned and locked eyes with me. In an instant, his soft brown eyes told me, "I got this Dad. Thank you for bringing me here." I said," I know Tucker, I love you too buddy." Tucker has never been a dog to focus on me, it has always been a work in progress and a challenge to keep his focus on me, and shut out the rest of the world. Today in the midst of the chaos of the young kids, instead of getting amped up further, and feeding off their energy, he turned to me. This knucklehead is finally getting it.
My boy simply racked out in front of all the kids in each group. 8 pairs of little hands petting him nicely as we talked about how to meet and take care of a dog.
Afterwards, I took Tucker for a walk to build on his experience. As we walked together, all I had to do was just whisper his name, and he would turn and look at me. He has never done that before. Could it be that after almost 4 years of training he is finally getting it? Sorry for the novel, but this is a milestone for him that I just had to share....
Anyway, how old was your dog, and what were you doing together when you had that first connection?
