Today Kody had a training session with another dog, and it went great. In some ways it was less about "training" and more about giving Kody a chance to have some interaction with another dog in a totally safe way. And of course, the idea is that having a positive interaction will make future interactions easier.
There were two trainers and a dog present which was great. Work has been busy and I was glad that I didn't have to do as much this time. I mean, I love working with Kody, but if there was ever a day I needed to be able to stand back and do less, it was today.
At first we tried approaching the other dog with both dogs on leash. In many ways that worked but with all the commotion and excitement in many ways it wasn't working. So we took both dogs off leash in a fenced in tennis court. Both dogs dragged their leashes around so if anything bad went down, we could catch them easily.
At first, we got them together and Kody got a little to excited so we grabbed the leashes. But after that we were fully able to work with both dogs and sort of run them around. The training dog was really good and knew how to behave around Kody. But the assisting trainer was also working overtime with her dog to both keep Kody comfortable and attracted toward playing. She had a large curly haired dog, which I was glad because a big dog was a little more of a challenge for Kody. Kody got better and better, started playing around the other dog a bit. Kody got brave enough to do a few butt sniffs. The grand finale was when Kody and the other dog sniffed nose to nose for a good long while. It made me so happy to see this.
The thing that's interesting about Kody is he's both afraid of and desperately attracted to other dogs. He wants so badly to play with them, and if they start to appear to "go away" he either barks in protest or runs after them because he wants to be near them. However, if they start to get close, he gets more nervous and scared, especially at first. In time, he warms up to them, but isn't quite ready yet for full on interactive play, but he's getting there. My trainer said some dogs are good around other dogs, but just aren't that into them.
It will be interesting to see Kody's progress with other dogs and if he develops a desire to play or if he just gets comfortable but uninterested.
I told my trainer, owning Kody is about coming to terms with things. I have come to terms with the fact that if I don't pay for Kody to learn to play in a safe place, he's not going to have the opportunities I want for him. I learn so much from having a chance to watch him and talk to the trainer in these situations. The fact that I can observe Kody in this situation and not have to worry or continually apologize is priceless. Especially on a day like today with so much work stress going on, it's really great, relaxing, and fun to be able to do this.