I wrote a few blogs about adopting my dog, Uma. I wrote bout the Camden Co. Shelter, about the Dog House Groomers in Audubon, and about Janice Barlow, and then Steve Spence, trainers extraordinary!
Our twice a day walks, Uma's and mine, is an opportunity to meditate, to watch the seasons, to meet neighbors I haven't spoken to in decades, and to see the close-up world in a new way. Today, it was about what she has taught me about relationships.
When I adopted Uma in June, I was in terrible emotional pain over the stroke and subsequent death of my angel of a dog, Trixie. Tribe was a Weimaraner and Labrador mix, and she was an older dog, already trained, very quiet, and calm, and easy going. Every day, Trixie and I would walk at Knight's Park in Collingswood which was a delight of my day. She walked perfectly on the leash, except for her many stop and smell breaks which sometimes made me impatient, but I always told myself the park was her library, "Let her browse!" And I felt sorry for the dogs running around next to men on bikes, or joggers, because they missed that element of their walk. It was all exercise and no sniffing.
So, when I adopted Uma, I wanted to take her to Knight's Park, but she is a Husky Lab mix and I didn't know anything about Huskies at the time. This dog had a different background. She had been exploited as a breeding dog, and then abandoned. No one adopted her because, presumably, they could see how exciteable she was, what people would call a "Handful." And she was. I couldn't take her to any park because she immediately became overwhelmed by the stimuli and literally drag me from spot to spot. She had a trick she used to break leashes and control. She reared up on her hind legs and made a powerful dive which increased her muscle power. She could break free and go after other dogs, or anything that caught her frantic fancy. That was when I called in the Dog Trainers.
First Janice Barlow came on board and helped with a lot of things including 'jumping,' simple basic commands like 'leave it.' and a few other things including walking. But, though she stopped Uma from beating me up every day, it wasn't enough after a month or so I called my vet in despair and his office recommended Steve Spence, Zen Animal Training. Since I practice meditation, the name seemed to bode well, and two months later we are well on the way to 'good dog land." Steve took us to the park, taught me how to put on Uma's collar without getting battered, how to get her to 'place' and walk 'loose leash.'
In the meantime, what Uma taught me was to walk in my own neighborhood. Right from the start, she did best with a solid routine walk from our porch around a mile, down to Northmont, over to the Railroad, and back. It is her patrol. And so I have watched the little local gardens in full summer bloom, and the emergence of the lawn and tree fungi! I have talked to the man who made a model windmill for his yard, the lady with the backyard chickens, the people waiting all summer for their porch to be finished, and many other neighbors. Also, I have learned to not make Uma live Trixie's life or walk in Trixie's park, but to find her own place and to teach me what is interesting in my own backyard.
Also, Uma has taught me to sit on my own porch, which I never did although it is a pretty little porch enclosed in shade trees and holly.
If you open your mind and let go of some of your controls and expectations, you can be led to wonderful truths by the most unexpected guides.
Happy Trails, Happy Tails, Happy Tales!
Jo Ann
No comments:
Post a Comment