September 8, 2021
Our day begins early every morning when Bustey vocalizes this cute sound informing me that it is time for me to rise and shine because he has potty needs.
Upon exiting our front door, we walk into the quiet and peaceful morning throughout our neighborhood. I love to enjoy the brief moment because under a minute, the beautiful tranquility is interrupted when my Bustey barks into the fresh morning air at nothing in particular! Maybe to let his friends, who might be getting their last moments of sleep, know that he is up and ready to begin the day. That is, after he drops a pint or so of liquid waste and perhaps a few ounces of dry waste, he will be ready, LOL! Ahh, my sweet little Bustey (currently around 43 pounds.)
Then, throughout the day whenever we return to potty, he again barks, and not only at the delivery folks, etc. but sometimes at nothing in particular. I surmise that he is announcing to his doggie world that he is ready to play.
Now, I have decided that I do not always want to interrupt our quiet neighborhood. So, I have started to whisper his commands, specifically, “No barking Bustey.” And he obeys me! I am trying out what I’ve observed a similar size dog and his trainer practice at the park.
Sometimes, when I’m at home, I’ll whisper, “Bustey.” He doesn’t always look at me. But, we continue to work at it because my goal is to walk through our neighborhood and succeed in getting him to COME or STOP or LEAVE IT, etc. instead of my current shouting of his commands. Not only is my dog the loudest in our neighborhood, but so is his mom. However, as you can see, we do have a plan.
I’ve also been using the silent command to STAY after I get him in the sitting position by raising my hand, fingers spread apart. He is excellent at that, even after I walk a couple of yards away and go around a corner where he is unable to see me for a few minutes. Then, when I appear to him, he has STAYED and is sometimes even down on all fours in RELAX position. He does not yet know that is RELAX position, but we’ll be working on him identifying that sound. I conclude the exercise by repeating my hand position for him to stay until I call him, and then he comes to me happily bouncing along, tail a-wagging.
Of course, as a new dog owner, I am told by his trainer, Cheryl, that these important SILENT commands will save him from dangerous situations. My favorite though is the WHISPERED commands, because I like the idea of knowing that despite the numerous distractions and noises, he is able to hear the soft sound of my voice and heed my commands. I think that should come in handy when we’re in crowded/noisy places. However, I’m proud of my dog and love when he is being trained and becomes super attentive, keeping eye contact with me to try and please me.
I feel that mentees must make their mentors extremely proud when they are attentive to what is being shared, demonstrating their excitement to learn, execute, and succeed. I hope that they will also continue to hear their mentors whispering to them words of advice and encouragement as they build their careers and/or pursue their dreams.
More to come…
lifewithoutmentors 