Iz and me on a Rally course. She's "dropped" on cue at a distance from me.
It's OK if you don't what Rally is. All you need to know is that Izzy and I are supposed to heel up to various signs placed around the ring in a specific order, perform whatever obdience exercise is required at each station (on which we are scored for accuracy), and then heel on to the next station. Yeah, I know, I know, that doesn't sound like much fun—but trust me, it's a great sport, and I'll write more about it soon.
The first time we went in to compete, we were fine, but let's just say we weren't really on our game. The second time we entered the ring, our performance devolved gloriously. I walked from one station to the next as Izzy sat patiently, glued to the spot watching me go instead of walking along with me. As I weaved through four cones in a lovely serpentine pattern, Iz took it upon herself to investigate something enticing in the corner. At another station, I went one way around a pole, she went the other and the two of us circled around it as though we were rehearsing a scene from a Three Stooges episode. When we left the ring, Izzy looked so unhappy that I thought the ASPCA would be showing up any moment to read me the riot act.
An insightful and thoughtful trainer watching in the wings suggested I try hand targeting as I heeled with Izzy. That means when I offer my hand and say "touch" she bumps it with her nose. (It's like a knuckle bump, only colder and wetter.) We have this game down, but I never thought of using it in the ring. Well, whaddya know? When we went into the ring again, I dropped down my hand and asked her to touch it. She bopped my hand with gusto and we were off to the races. My little dog kept up with me, wagging her tail and looking HAPPY!
Huh. After all this time, it had not occurred to me that Izzy hadn't figured out that when we get in the ring and I begin to move forward she's supposed to move with me. It's so obvious to me. But it turns out my understanding of the game isn't important ( insert a big fat hairy "duh" here), it's the way my dog perceives what's going on that matters.
I understand what happens when I walk briskly around the ring from one station to another. But Izzy doesn't. She just knows I'm walking AWAY from her. But as soon as my hand is offered, the mystery is solved for her and she knows we are connected. She may not understand the wheres and the whys of it, but still, she is right there, touching my hand and saying, "Yeah, I get it; wherever we go, we're together."
So this morning when I sat down with my cup of coffee (OK, my third cup of coffee) I realized I've been moping around my laptop lately, s-l-o-w to finish projects, finding it frustrating to get a satisfying toehold on others. So, maybe I need to stop thinking about what I ought to be able to do and figure out what I need to do to get it going. Now that I've showed Izzy that it's not that scary moving from one place to another, maybe I'll start to move forward, too. At least to the next sign. And with my little dog right by my side.
