What a WONDERFUL training session Laurie had with Nette, who has mobility issues and anxiety due to a stroke, and her beautiful SDIT, Ella!
Nette has just been doing a wonderful job training Ella between sessions. Ella knows all the basics – sit, down, stay, come, controlled load and unload, wait, and heel. She stays by Nette’s side and is of great comfort to her. Nette is beginning to take Ella out more and more, and her comfort level going out is increasing as she becomes more confident in Ella’s training.
We went to Costco and worked on training with electric cart, with Ella safely tied to it in a perfect heel position near Nette. We did sharp turns slowly so that Ella could get used to maneuvering alongside the electric cart safely and confidently. She learned SO quickly! It is helpful for Nette to know she can use the electric carts because sometimes her balance is off due to the strokes. We also walker Ella through the various sections of Costco, like the meat and bakery, and she did wonderful “leave its”. We also worked on Ella’s stay and come since we had an audience! Everyone was in love with beautiful Ella! We practiced staying focused while doing these tasks even with people watching, and Nette stayed calm and focused, which helped Ella . They have such a beautiful bond, and Nette is so compassionate and loving toward Ella – it’s truly beautiful to watch.
Nette sent me the following update on Ella!
“Just wanted to give you update on Ella. She turned one last week – can’t believe it! We are still working on meet and greets; she still gets really excited and forgets to stay sitting, but it’s more with kids than adults. Several weeks ago, I started teaching Ella the command: “take me to the car”. I would pick random times to suddenly stop and give the command, walk out to the car, and then give her treats. My purpose for this is that sometimes I become very panic-stricken if I am in a crowd and disoriented. I thought this might help me feel a little more confident about trying new places. In addition, my mobility is becoming more limited and I am spending more time in wheelchairs and electric carts.
Anyway, today was not a training exercise – but something triggered a panic attack in me, and I asked Ella to take me to the car – and she did it!! Usually, she looks back at me for assurance – but it seemed like she knew this was different. It’s a small thing, but it feels very empowering.”
NETTE – WHAT CLEVER AND HELPFUL TRAINING YOU ARE ADDING TO THE BASICS TO HELP YOU! WHAT ELLA DID BY TAKING YOU TO THE CAR IS NOT A SMALL THING – IT IS A HUGE TRIUMPH FOR BOTH YOU AND ELLA, AND IT SHOULD FEEL EMPOWERING! I HOPE YOU ARE FEELING MORE AND MORE CONFIDENT AND ASSURED THAT ELLA CAN DO HER JOB WHENEVER YOU NEED IT – AND THE FACT THAT SHE DID NOT LOOK BACK FOR ASSURANCE BUT JUST DID WHAT SHE HAD TO IS A HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT. SO PROUD OF YOU!!!
I added this other quote from Nette’s FB page. It describes her and her husband to a tee.