If you asked me, I’d say Honey had poor rear leg awareness.
But I took out my clicker and she did this:
And if you asked me if Honey would ever learn to climb a ladder, I’d say, “No way.”
But then she did this:
On her own. Without me asking her to.
Maybe I’ve been underestimating this dog.
I wonder how many more steps she has in her?
How Long Should You Train Your Dog
Wow! That’s a dog that wants to get on board with things! Very impressive!
Thanks for suggesting the ladder, Margaret. She took to it right away.
Good on you Honey! You’ll be a well-rounded sailor in no time!
No way ~ go, Honey!!!! I did some ladder work with my pups as well this week…I figured might as well use the ladder for something other than just exchanging air filters 😉
And I bet the pups had a lot more fun than the air filters did. 🙂
HA! You bet 😉
I think you are going to be even more surprised once you get on the boat. She will adapt more than you think.
I think you’re right, Mary. When we took her sailing for the first time I worried when the boat heeled suddenly in a freshening breeze. But she just slid onto the cockpit floor (luckily I cushioned it before we set out), looked up with surprise, and hopped onto the seat on the lower side.
I’m beginning to wonder if someone switched my formerly timid girl with a new golden.
I think most dogs love to be challenged and to try new things (within reason, of course). Way to go, Honey!
Everyone (dog and human) who was raised with a sense of security DOES like learning and challenges. Luckily, even those who didn’t get the best start in life can build up their challenge muscles.
Thanks for cheering Honey on. I’m really proud of her.
Well done Honey!
Honey knows more that you think. She knows her life’s about to change, so she’s getting onboard #punintended
OMD, why didn’t I think that setting sail would result in all kinds of punny hashtags? I would have done it years ago. #puns4sail
Honey is so beautiful! She looks like she just wants to climb right up that latter! We’re getting a golden girl as well, which is why we started http://www.raebyday.wordpress.com! I’m glad to have found your site for tips you have with your golden! 🙂
You have a wonderful time ahead of you along with lots of blogging inspiration. I’ve been writing about our adventures with Honey for over 5 years. 🙂
I’m betting that Honey takes over as captain of the boat and you and Mike will just be lowly deckhands,
Wait, isn’t she the captain? 🙂
She is a brave girl with good intuition!
Yay, Honey! My aunt has a tiny spiral staircase at her house – so far I haven’t been able to get the Ginger Sisters to go up it, but maybe next time we visit we will get that first step!
A spiral staircase would certainly challenge Honey. Especially if it’s noisy metal or wood.
If you could convince your aunt to put some sticky carpet on her steps maybe the girls would give it a shot? 🙂
Like we said in an earlier post – and the comments – our own doubts about what our dogs see themselves capable of sometimes get in the way of them actually doing it “for” us. And, when they do do it, we are totally surprised. And find ourselves wondering what else they could do if we gave them the chance.
From the Husband:
Working from this theory, I’ve been sitting Honey in front of an open copy of our financial management software in the hope that she would teach herself accounting. No results yet.
You are TOO funny, Mike!
It looks like Honey has decided to show you just how smart and “rear paw aware” she is!
Yeah, maybe my girl is more motivated by making me look dumb for doubting her than she is by treats. 🙂
That’s awesome!
She wants to make sure she’s ready for the big adventure!
That’s pretty amazing. I’m pretty sure our dog Ruby would not be able to figure out a ladder. However, our cat Rosie might.
Wow – that’s impressive! Rita is very afraid of rattly type “big scary” things like ladders. Pretty sure it would take me years of training to get her to do that!
Hooray Honey! Good Girl! You rocked it!
Great job, Honey!
Smart dog, that!
We think dogs are very smart. Our people just need to find a way to communicate what they want and make it matter to us. Looks like Honey is there!
Oops, I should have read ahead before commenting on the making your dog more agile post. 🙂
Good job Pamela and good job Honey!
Go Honey! She is very inspiring, and I agree with the other comment made on how much dogs truly do love to be challenged. Thank you for sharing Honey’s adventures!
Very impressive. Sam would give me that soulful “help me” look and I’d have to carry him. Alas, I don’t think he’s cut out to be a boat dog. Honey has proven again she will be fine. 🙂