Wedding bells and 18 hours in a car

So, a week ago Kayla and I packed our bags and headed to the land of Cleve. Otherwise known as Cleveland, Ohio. Also known as place I used to spend my misspent youth. Cleveland houses Pit Bull Zen and we were given a chance to take some classes, spend time with friends and their dogs and get some much needed vacation time in. So we drove 9 hours to my parents and crashed for a couple hours before heading into town to walk with the Pit Bull Zen.

Zen walks are always magical for me. I see dogs who are normally scared or shy transform and walk along proudly or in my case calmly with the people and dogs. The last time I walked my own dog, Greyson, it started off a little rocky (he paw slapped a blind dog in the face) and then walked next to the same dog with no problems. There's a reason walks are a "no leash greetings" zone.

This walk was magical for me for another reason though. Her name is Polly. I know her foster mom through Facebook. Hope has done amazing things with Polly and while Polly still has a ways to go, they took a chance and came to the walk. Now, Polly has never met me. She is still very nervous around new people but this was the end result of our meeting.

 Yep, that is a Polly on a leash with me holding it and the leash is loose. When we would start getting too close to the other dogs she would shy away and start to move in the other direction. I would stop, let her sniff and happily say "Let's go!" and off we would go again. She only started eating my treats at the end when we were all wore out and sitting in the grass. 

And here we are sitting in the grass! And look, there is another dog, Inara, within feet from us and Polly is too tired to care. (That and the turkey sausage that I lured her with.) So yes, the Pit Bull Zen walks are magical. And, you can read Polly's journey by visiting her mom's blog! 

So, in two days we saw dogs, worked with dogs, learned from Laurie Schlossnagle with Side By Side Dog Training, did some PBZ accounting, Kayla got to attend CLASS with Calvin (who wilted like the delicate flower he is from the heat), and saw two new PhD's for CLASS earned. Oh, and we drove 18 hours in there somewhere. Was a whirlwind weekend. Lots was learned, lots was done, and the best part of the weekend for me was meeting this guy...

BonZai!! Bonzai was one of the "27" who were taken into custody when they were found in Collin Rand's home in December of 2011. He was adopted by my friend Sandy Smith and while she fostered him for Pitty Love Rescue, Sandy fell in love and became a foster failure. I can't blame her after meeting him. He climbed right into my lap and licked me and licked me. I didn't mind one bit. When I went to thank Sandy for loving him I started to tear up. Watching his progress from a far has been amazing. He has made leaps and bounds. Sandy has used Positive Reinforcement with him and Bonzai had no problem welcoming Kayla and I into his home and showing us love while we loved on him. Again, thank you Sandy for loving him! And thank you Cleveland Police Department for acting on a tip! 

Well, the weekend was over and we came home safe and sound. While we were in Cleveland though Kayla decided that it was finally time to get married to her fiance of quite a while. Kayla's pit mix, Cupcake, was one of the first reactive dogs other than Greyson I worked with. I still remember meeting them in the park and we were just going to walk our dogs and see how it went. I couldn't get within eyesight of Cupcake without the lunging and barking happening. In the past year I've watched an amazing transformation happen. 

Through positive reinforcement and BAT, we were able to have Cupcake at Kayla's wedding. A dog who in the past was so human reactive you would think she was trying to eat your face off was able to flip on her back and ask for belly rubs from the guests. Her trigger which has always been males, no problem! Teenagers who normally terrifies her, no problem! Kayla has busted her butt working with Cupcake and following every crazy idea I've thrown at her and this is the result...

In the middle of the park, surrounded by strangers and things that have always been her triggers, she was calm and she was excellent. (I'm sure Kayla would appreciate if I mentioned the black lab, Sasha, has always suffered from Mange and skin allergies. She has been having a flare up and she looks 100 times better than she had in the past.)

I have to say I'm highly impressed with Kayla's drive to succeed with not just her own dogs. Kayla also finds feral kittens and brings them home, socializes them, gets them spayed and neutered and then finds them wonderful and amazing homes. It was suggested on my Facebook page that this was a wedding for a dog and a cat. Nope, Kayla just happens to give her heart to every animal she helps. While I can't bring another animal in my home because of Greyson's reactivity Kayla makes up for that by seeking out the feral strays in her area. AND she starts classes shortly with Dognostics for Professional Dog Training. Kudos to you Kayla and ignore the people who just want to rain on your parade. 

In closing I leave you a picture of Greyson. Greyson doesn't play well with most people but this picture means a lot to me. A reactive dog taking his toy to a child to ask for play. This is a first for Greyson. And while I am proud, I am still vigilant as any parent should be with a dog and a child.