Chapter 5 - Proof That Any Dog Can Be Trained

Three days before Dakota's one year anniversary with us we took her on her first road trip. We knew from our trial runs that she was deathly afraid of going into the truck. Rides for her had always meant abandonment or the bad boarding experience she had last year. Car rides had never meant anything good.

The prospect of trusting Dakota loose in the backseat of the truck filled me with angst. The thought of taking Dakota to someone else's house was even worse. While she'd made tremendous improvements over the past year I did not trust her 100%. Memories of her godawful behavior in the beginning was still very fresh.

We took her crate with us totally expecting her to spend the entire vacation in it. After her bad boarding experience we felt she was better off to spend several days in her familiar crate with us nearby than to go to a kennel again. We made it clear to our friends that we were willing to keep her in the crate if need be. We did not want them worrying about their house or their elderly dog.

Bad Dog to Best Friend:
The Transformation of Dakota
Paperback Book (26 Chapters)

We brought along every dog control device we had... the shock collar, a dog harness, a special walking collar, several old blankets and towels (in case she peed in the truck) and a bag of raw baby carrots for bribery. Dakota loves raw carrots. We debated a long time on how to take her... our other dog has always traveled loose in the backseat (the seat folds down flat). But did we dare try it with Dakota? Would she freik out and pee? Should we put the crate there with both dogs in it?

When we first purchased the crate we got the biggest one they made that would fit in the backseat of the truck fully open. We had to put it in folded up and open it inside the truck. But it did fit fully open and it had a door at each end to let dogs out during pit stops.

Bad Dog to Best Friend:
The Transformation of Dakota
Paperback Book (26 Chapters)

Being in the crate would really demote the travel experience for both dogs but it would be safer (and all dog experts recommend it for the safety of the dog). Would Dakota go bonkers and ricochet around the truck if left loose? We had no idea what she would do. But ever the optimist we decided to try loose first and if we needed to pull over and pull out the crate, we would.

Dakota did NOT want to go into the truck. The first thing she did when Bear tried to pick her up was pee on the driveway. Not a good sign. All four feet splayed outward and stiffened in an attempt to prevent being shoved into the truck, she fought hard. She didn't wanna. Dakota was in full panic and we could not allay her fears. Even though we'd taken her on two short fun rides earlier in the week she was not convinced. Rides were bad. Rides meant abandonment. Owners took her for a ride and she never saw them again. Dakota was deathly afraid.

Bad Dog to Best Friend:
The Transformation of Dakota
Paperback Book (26 Chapters)

We had lined the truck seat with several thick blankets and a piece of thick carpeting in case Dakota let loose. Sooner or later you have to take a risk.

Finally we got both dogs bundled into the back seat and we set off on a 13 hour road trip. That's a lot of hours for a fearful dog who doesn't know what to expect. This was a brave move for us to take with her. Dakota stood up the entire 13 hours, stiff legged and panicky and breathing hard with a look of sheer torment in her face. For thirteen straight hours Dakota was stiff with panic and fear. There was nothing we could do but keep driving. We stopped many times extra to let her out to pee and every time she'd fight like the dickens to avoid going back in.

Poor Gypsy Rose didn't get a moment's rest because Dakota was on her feet the whole 13 hours.

Bad Dog to Best Friend:
The Transformation of Dakota
Paperback Book (26 Chapters)

We finally arrived at our destination, now what? How would Dakota react to being in a stranger's house with us? We were staying with friends. Would she immediately pee on their rug? Could we trust her loose at night in the bedroom? Could we trust her to be in the house at all, knowing that getting her from the crate to the potty spot could be frought with danger for the carpet? We had no idea what these changes would do to Dakota or how it would affect her training. Would all of her training fly out the door?

We arrived just in time for bed, our friends were already in bed so we were as quiet as we could be and tiptoed. This made it hard to spend time with Dakota to acclimate her after our arrival. I would have liked to have had fun time with her before bed to let her wind down and relax but there was not much I could do. It was bedtime.

Again we opted for giving her a chance and we all piled into the bedroom, two humans and two big dogs. Dakota's crate was ready and waiting in case we needed it and all of our suitcases were piled around the room. We went to bed just like at home with both dogs loose in the bedroom with us. Dakota slept quietly, no accidents, not a peep. But still she was on edge. Dakota was not enjoying the moment.

Bad Dog to Best Friend:
The Transformation of Dakota
Paperback Book (26 Chapters)

The first thing we did after breakfast was take the dogs to the beach. We were on the ocean in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, a beautiful place where the beach stretches for miles. Much of the Outer Banks is a nature preserve and totally unspoiled. The Outer Banks is still a bit wild looking in spite of the big vacation houses. There were no hotels where we were, all the houses were private rentals or local residents like our friends'. We stayed in Rodanthe, the very place the book Nights in Rodanthe was written about. Several of the beach house rentals in Rodanthe are dog friendly. Once we stayed at a beautiful house called Everlasting Moon right on the ocean. This time we stayed with friends about 5 houses back from the beach.

We put a harness on Dakota and off we went to gallivant by the ocean. We took her right to the edge of the ocean where the water could splash on her feet. Dakota was a bit perplexed. This was not what she expected, hmmm, this was kinda fun.

She was with us, her family, in a neat new environment. There wasn't a dog kennel or dog pound in sight and she finally relaxed and embraced the moment. She walked slowly at first in the shifting sand with the water splashing at her legs. We made a big game of everything to send the message to her that we were here for FUN.

Before long Dakota was charging into the waves with gusto letting them wash her back to shore. I had hold of her by harness and leash and knew she was safe in my control. Dakota had a blast. All of the worry and fear washed away from her and she fully embraced this strange new adventure, frolicking and splashing in the big waves and drinking the salty water. Her eyes shined with joy and wonder as we walked down the beach soaking in strange new sights and sounds and smells.

New things were everywhere. There were people and other dogs and seagulls skittering across the sand. Strange smells came in on the breeze and everything became a great adventure, a new world to explore. Dakota danced and pranced and sniffed the wet sand and came nose to nose with a great big crab. It reared up on its heinies and pointed its big claw at her in warning. They faced off for a few moments, eyeing each other in a silent stare before I tugged her leash and we went on our merry way. Dakota was having the time of her life.

Bad Dog to Best Friend:
The Transformation of Dakota
Paperback Book (26 Chapters)

From that moment forward all the fear washed away and she embraced this new thing we were doing. We spent two full days there and she was a model citizen. She was so well behaved that our friends could not believe that we even had a fear. We hadn't once raided the arsenal we'd brought, Dakota spent the whole trip on nothing more than a leash and ordinary harness. She quickly learned the new potty routine and the food routine and the bedtime routine. Not a bark came out of her, not a bad pee pee, not a single moment of disobedience. Dakota was for those days, the perfect dog and the perfect canine guest. We were amazed. Absolutely amazed. We knew we'd worked hard with her for a whole year but you could not call her a perfect model citizen at home, and knowing how afraid she was of change we expected the absolute worst.

All too quickly it was time for the thirteen hour ride back home. The morning started with Dakota in a panic about entering the truck again. But after that first hoist up she settled down and slept all the way home, peacefully, with her head resting on the armrest between our seats. She needed to feel close to us, this gave her peace and comfort so we allowed it. The trip had been a very big step for her.

The ride home went much smoother than the ride there. All the potty stops went quickly. She jumped out on her own, peed on command and climbed back into the truck without assistance and without fear.

We had put all of the bad memories to rest for her. All of her abandonment fears washed far out into the ocean. Hopefully she would remember this trip and in the future embrace the truck as a vehicle for fun and adventure. We have another trip planned soon and look forward to bringing more joy and new experiences to our beloved Dakota. What a good feeling it gives us to bring joy to a dog who started life joyless and unloved.

What an awesome feeling to see the fruits of our very hard work in retraining her. The many months of frustration, the wondering if we'd done the right thing in adopting her, the torment our other dog went through, the torment that WE went through, all of it washed away into the sands by the seashore.

Dakota is well on her way to becoming the Perfect Dog!

Chapter 1 - Training Our Problem Dog
Chapter 2 - Potty Training An Adult Dog
Chapter 3 - Dealing With Dog Chewing Problems
Chapter 4 - Training Your Dog To Be Home Alone
Chapter 5 - Proof That Any Dog Can Be Trained
Chapter 6 - Interviewed for Victoria Stilwell
Chapter 7 - Motivating Your Dog To Honor And Obey You
Follow Dakota on Twitter
Bad Dog to Best Friend: Paperback Book (26 Chapters)

Article copyright 2007 gypsyware.com

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