Nico and I went for a stand-up paddleboard outing on Lower Saranac Lake this evening. About 5 minutes in he took an impromptu swim off the front of the board. We were moving at a decent clip at the time so I snatched him out of the water as he floated past. I set him on the board in front of me and kept going. I try not to console a dog when they are in a fearful state of mind. It would be tempting to say, "oh, it's ok, buddy." But this has the potential to reinforce the moment of fear he had when he fell in the water. Instead, being calm and confident will let them know there is nothing to be worried about. Dogs are exceptional at reading energy and will pick up on your response to a situation. Within a minute Nico was back walking around the board checking things out.
Nico and I took a short walk in the woods behind our house this afternoon. While off-leash is something we are working on with him right now, we are also working on leash walking. Khyber had to learn how to be an exceptional on-leash hiker because he would pack-in with me to Johns Brook Lodge. My pack weighed anywhere from 70-95lbs and dogs must be leashed on the trail we hiked in on. I couldn't be dealing with holding onto a leash or fighting with a pulling dog while carrying all that weight. I trained Khyber to walk directly behind me and attached the leash to the back of my pack. This required a lot of trust in him because if he pulled just a little bit he would topple me over. This approach carried over to off-leash walking as well. Most of the time he was free to explore, but if I wanted him to he would walk right behind me without a leash. When I lived in Kingston, ON we would practice this on the sidewalk walking around our neighborhood. I would keep the leash on him but let it drag. The goal is for Nico to be just as good both on and off-leash.
