To The Left

When Cooper was learning how to behave around Andy's wheel chair when it was in motion, we would take advantage of the beautiful warm days to do a little training.  Andy loved helping to train Cooper.   We were training him to walk to the left of Andy's chair.  He was expected to keep his place next to the back wheel.  He learned to watch the front wheel for when we were going to turn.  He was quick to learn.  The worst part of the training was that he wanted to be ahead of the chair so he could see better.  He didn't like the obstructed view.  Cooper's training sessions were fun for Andy, as long as they weren't really long sessions.  He would think it was funny at first to hear all the corrections I was making with Cooper.

If you're getting to know my training style, you know that when the neighborhood dogs would bark in the windows of their houses, I used those distracting times as a training exercise for Cooper. If he turned and stopped walking or tried to bark back at the dog, I would object to his preference so he would understand he was doing the wrong thing.  I would keep walking and expect him to pay close attention to what he was supposed to be doing with us rather than the dogs.  He wasn't allowed to stop and bark back or even investigate.  We would continue on our path and sometimes I would turn a circle with Andy, forcing Cooper to pay attention to the front wheel of Andy's chair.  He came to understand the expectations I had for him.  Within a short time he understood that I wanted him to stay put and mind his own business.  If he could take care of those two things, life became much easier.

Cooper got good at walking in straight lines and keeping his place to the left of Andy's chair, so we added a little challenge to the training.  We got to play a 'Follow The Leader' type of game.  Andy appreciated this because he got a to have a wild ride more like an amusement park than stroll along a neighborhood side street.  I would turn Andy in circles left and right and back to left.  Neighbors would watch us as we joked and pretended that we were getting dizzy.  I was saying, "Woa!  Oh no! The other way! Wooooa!", as if we were going to tip over.  Andy would laugh and Cooper felt the light hearted energy so he was never stressed out during any of this training.  It really was a lot of fun.   Sometimes we would go in the same circle 3 or 4 times then cut directly into a circle in the opposite direction. Cooper skillfully paying close attention to the wheel and seemingly enjoying the challenge.   Andy was proud to help in Cooper's training.  Neighbors would come to see the cute dog if they were outside, and Andy would glow when I explained that we were training Cooper to be a therapy dog.  He was a proud co-trainer. 

Cooper Loves his pal Andy

When we got back to Andy's house, Cooper was usually tired from the emotion and the exercise of training.  He used to love to sit on Andy's lap when he was little.  When he got so big he didn't fit on Andy's lap any more I had to figure out a new way for them to cuddle.  I would sit in a chair and pull Andy's chair up in front of me so our legs were side by side.  Cooper would then lay across my lap with his head on Andy's lap.  Andy enjoyed still being able to hold Cooper.  Cooper was growing up fast, but we tried to enjoy his puppy-hood as much as we could even still.