Tonight we've had a breakthrough, though. She's doing much better, after 3 weeks of daily training (with my husband now helping out on their outings), she is pulling much less often on the leash. And she is practicing "stop" much more regularly, and looks back at us waiting for direction. Yay!!
I've been reminded how little patience I have during this--and it's only been 3 weeks!! For a girl who's never been leash-walked before, that's nothing; but for us, it's seemed like forever. Sheesh! So a lesson I'm being "trained" on is patience, and to not expect her time-frame to mirror mine. She's very smart, but she's not perfect. I need to give her some grace & learning room, and myself, too, as I've never trained a dog in how to use the leash before.
I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself to be a perfect trainer--which I can't be, but I want results & am impatient to get them. So it's good for me to be reminded that I can't hurry her learning, and that it's ok if I make a mistake during her training--I won't ruin our dog! :)
Here are some pics of her playing with "quacky duck", one of her favorite toys...
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