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| Mercy hanging out with her boy |
Although everyone else in our class of December 2010 passed their test on the last day of class, the embarrassing fact is that Mercy and I didn't. Mercy had to get through some issues of her own and so did I.
Ironically, I think that the process of helping Mercy get over her sudden and intense harness phobia may have provided a valuable lesson or two for my son and me.
Lesson #1: Don't give up on someone you love until you have tried every reasonable option.
We were given the option to change dogs, but something told me to give her a chance. She was perfect except for the harness problem and she seemed to love us as much as we did her! So we waited a while longer while the trainer gave her extra time and then we worked with her after she came home. Six months later she passed her test with the dreaded harness and she passed it well.
Lesson #2: Most any fear can be conquered when you have patience, persistence and understanding to help you through it.
Take the time it takes and each tiny step forward will build confidence. Mix something you fear with something you love to help keep your mind from obsessing with worry. In Mercy's case it was tracking. If she got to track Chris right after her harness was on, it took her mind off the initial 'itchy feel'.
For those of you who haven't followed this blog, it has been a year of unbelievable change in Chris. He has gone from being terrified to go to places as ordinary as a grocery store to being able to visit all kinds of new places - especially when his furry friend goes too. We recently went on our first vacation in a long time, to Washington DC and we had the best time ever.
Mercy was good as gold - maybe even better.
