Lessons Learned At The Pond

   I decided to take my dogs for a walk today at Jensen Nature Park.  My dogs have been there many times, and we often practice "Look At That" and our Sit/Stay commands, especially around the ducks.  Today as I was letting Allie Mae out of her crate, her leash slipped through my fingers and she headed.... straight for the pond.
     Before I could react she was in the water swimming with the ducks.  I put the other two dogs back into their crates and went after Allie Mae.  I paced the shoreline calling to her, feeling pretty confident that she would come to me.  She has always had a really good recall. She did not come to me. This was a disaster since dogs are not allowed off leash in the park, and they are certainly not allowed in the pond.  I cursed under my breath and continued to sweetly called out to Allie. She totally blew me off.       Luckily, the people who were feeding the ducks thought it was rather funny that she was so intent on swimming after the ducks.  I was NOT amused.  My dog, who I thought had a rock solid "come", was completely ignoring me.  After about 5 minutes of this I started to get worried.  Although the day was warmer than usual, it was still 32 degrees outside.  This combined with the ice crusted pond, led me to fret over whether she would be okay in the water.  I kept on calling to her, but it did no good.  She was really focused on those ducks.  

       Fifteen minutes later I took my jacket off, and prepared to jump in after her.  The people around me thought that I was crazy, but I could tell that Allie was getting tired.  As luck would have it she decided that she had had enough, and, with some encouragement, started to swim to shore.  I gritted my teeth and gave her lots of praise when she finally came out of the water.  I wanted to ring her neck!!!  I led her to the car and got her into the crate.  The whole way home I was steaming mad.  Allie Mae is a very stubborn girl, and has always been a challenging dog to train.  However, this little stunt took the cake.  What a knuckle headed dog!
     Then I remembered that problems can be training GOLD MINES.  I arrived home; ran into the house, and retrieved my 15 foot leash, her favorite toy, and two dog coats.  I got Allie out of the car and bundled her up in both coats.  Then we headed back to the park.  You read that correctly.  We headed back to the park.
     I decided to walk my other two dogs so that I could mentally cool down before training Allie.  Arrow, Pippin, and I had a great walk with lots of attention stops and sit/stays.  We arrived back at the car 40 minutes later.  I took a deep breath and let Allie out of her crate.  Using the long lead we worked on distance sits at the edge of the pond.  In the end I was able to get Allie to sit about 5 feet away from me while being distracted by the ducks.  Needless to say we will be going back to work on this skill EVERY DAY until she gets it.  I NEVER want a repeat of what happened today at the pond.  I felt totally helpless.  However, the incident served to remind me that training has to be on-going and frequently practiced.  I am confident that I will be able to improve Allie's understanding of sit and down at a distance and will be able to get both commands on a reliable verbal only cue.  If you see me at Jensen Park with a long line and a crazy Golden Retriever, now you'll know why.  Until next time... Happy Training!