Managing Echo

Yesterday’s session with Echo was awesome. Due to ongoing, dangerously hot temperatures outside, we had to work indoors. The home has air conditioning, and Ken had a portable floor fan going in the living room.

Even though it was cooler inside, the home’s layout is such that, in conditions like those we’re currently dealing with, heat gets trapped pretty fast. Even with the air conditioning and the floor fan, it can take awhile to dissipate. So, to prevent Echo from getting heat sick from exertion, he was worked in sets of four rounds, with five-minute cool-down breaks between each set.

This session was different… because, I forgot to bring his prong collar. He’s been responding so well to it – it has helped him so, so much, in so many ways – and I forgot to bring it. This meant working Echo on his regular martingale collar. And, I confess that I anticipated he would regress to his previous pulling, weaving, and cutting across to get to the stairs.

I was never so happy to be wrong. Not only did Echo offer a beautiful heel as we walked from one end of the house to the other, he also auto-sat almost every time I stopped. I only had to lightly prompt him a couple of times. And, not once did he try to cut in front and across to get to the stairs.

Echo did a fantastic job of working to control his own pace. If he got too far ahead, one of two things happened: The second he felt leash pressure, he stopped and waited for me. Or, if he didn’t do that and I told him “no”, he either stopped and waited for me… or he made the effort to back himself up. This was a huge leap of progress for him!

Because Echo was on his regular collar and we weren’t sure what to expect, Ken preferred to have me handle Echo, just in case. Since we began using the prong collar, Ken has just started to gain confidence in handling Echo; we don’t want to cause a set-back [or worse, risk him being injured] for him or for Echo. He feels more confident and better able to control Echo with the prong collar, so that’s what we’ll continue to use.

Echo did a phenomenal job. Once this heat wave breaks and we can get back to working outside again, I have no doubt he will continue to make progress, and I have no doubt that he and Ken will progress together as a team.

Have a great day, and remember to stay calm and lead on.