Relax

After a short trip to the mall to see his pal Chloe, Cooper spent the evening with his family. He slept with Mac, tagged along on a few appointments, and observed Mac at swimming lessons. After a busy day he only wanted to nap, but he still had more work to do.

Walking around the neighborhood with family members is generally a relaxing experience. However, if you are constantly worrying about your child "running," a simple walk around the block can be very stressful. Tonight we formally began the training process to alleviate parental stress and transform the walk back into a relaxation exercise.

 Our dog Cooper was officially tethered to Mac for the first time. Based on our previous trials with leash walking we weren't anticipating any issues, but one never knows how a child or canine will react. Initially, Lisa worked Cooper while Mac "assisted"; he was tethered and holding an auxiliary leash. Once we confirmed that Cooper was responding as expected, the leash was transferred to Mac's mom. Lexy walked the pair up and down the block and across streets, commenting that she was actually enjoying herself - feeling safe and secure. Mac never relinquished his hold on the leash and walked side-by-side with Cooper. The tether was only deployed a few times as a result of variation of dog and child velocities.

Our fifteen minute walk was uneventful and relaxing.

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