Movie Night

The current phase of my internship includes shadowing Miss Rachel, one of the ECAD teachers at another residential facility for at-risk youth.  There are many things I love about this phase of my internship, but the one I love the most is watching Rachel's unbelievable skill with the dogs and the students.  Rachel's gift as a trainer lies in her impeccable timing, her unbelievably high expectations, and her knack for knowing when to let a behavior slide and when to correct it.  Today, I captured the video below, in which Rachel brings her canine students from their outside run into her classroom.  While you can't see this in the video, the dogs are "loose" on an open field, filled with geese (and their poo), people, squirrels, and numerous other temptations.  However, these 8-11 month old dogs are attentive and respectful to their teacher (so much so, that she's stopped needing leashes altogether).  I aspire to be the trainer (and teacher) that Rachel is.



I may not ever achieve Rachel's mastery of training, managing 8 dogs simultaneously, but I think my one and only Mr. Pauly Wog is pretty impressive in his own right.  Here's a video I sloppily put together of Pauly's greatest hits.