“Let’s see what we can do to change her mind,” I said, shaking off my shock. “*You* tell *me* if you think you should quit at the end of today.”

Sue obviously didn’t want to quit. She’d invested time and money and traveled to get to the seminar. She was disheartened, embarrassed, and frustrated, but she wasn’t ready to throw in the towel.

All day, Sue took in every bit of information like a sponge. She took notes, asked good questions, and tried her hardest on every exercise.

We talked about motivation, rewards, and building the dog’s confidence. She learned how her cues were interpreted by her dog, and what she could do to clarify her communication. And she worked. Hard. She followed direction, repeated the exercises, and borrowed my dog to practice with before Murphy got tired of playing.

All day long she dedicated herself to learning the pieces that could help build their relationship, communication, and their teamwork.

On the second-to-last exercise of the day, Murphy took a series of jumps 10 feet away. Not at top speed, not at full height, but also not while glued to her leg. You would have thought she won Nationals by her reaction.

As she was packing up and getting ready to leave, I walked up to her and said “Well?” She looked at me with determination. “I’m not quitting,” she said. Then she laughed. “But I am finding a different instructor.”

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