It’s not easy to go as slow as we need to with dogs who lack confidence but the pay-off is so worth the effort. Honey has come such a long way. You should be very proud.

PS – We still catch ourselves luring at times. Our trainer only slaps our hands when we do it with the really scary stuff which is, of course, when we’re more inclined to fall back to it. 😉

Seeing this it’s hard to believe she was ever less confident. She seems so happy to be working with you. You both have come so far and I have no doubt you will eventually reach your goals if you keep at it.

One of the reasons we started agility was to increase Shiva’s confidence so I definitely recommend even just basic backyard practice to anyone. There was a time even Shiva was nervous around different obstacles but you wouldn’t believe it now. At this point she sees everything new as a chance to earn a treat and sometimes it’s a challenge keeping her off of different surfaces – which is a problem all it’s own when it is a table in someone’s house.

Also, I couldn’t resist clicking on your trainer’s website. He sounds like the perfect person for you and Honey. I am so glad you found him!

That is my plan…as soon as I have the time to go for bike rides 🙂 Hopefully I can start working on it when we get back from our honeymoon.

Honey looks like she is having a wonderful time. She’s making such great progress!

I’ve watched many videos on YouTube of dogs in Doggy Rides. Generally, big dogs look anxious while small dogs look pretty comfortable. I suspect it’s not motion sickness per se but that the big dogs are less used to being jostled around. Many small dogs are carried in bags so they get used to that at an early age.

Since it doesn’t appear you’ve done much carrying of Chester and Gretel, they might be having the same discomfort that big dogs do with the notion of being bounced (it’s a pretty bumpy ride compared to a car).

I suspect that if you went back a step and took only a short ride (like 2 feet to start) and rewarded them for being calm, you’d eventually get them comfortable for a long ride.

Gosh, for some reason all the videos crashed today and goofed up our Google Chrome… so, I apologize, we cannot see your progress. The fact that you’re working on these skills, well, Honey you are AMAZING!

Keep up the good work Pamela, Honey will be riding and sailing before you know it!