b'If I was to comfort him while he was in this fearful attitude, I had been waiting for. Not only did he offer a behavior unasked,wouldonlyreinforcefearfulbehaviorwithwhathewould it was a behavior of submission, respect, and acceptance. A truceinterpret as praise. I certainly couldnt bully him into an attitude was being made. of boldness. That would not be boldness but him aggressively He started showing more behaviors that gave me hope defending himself from bullying. Hed had enough of that. licking, playing, wagging his tail, and even looking up duringLittle things would set him on edge. If I simply held him by our walks. I would touch him softly, or scratch him on the head.the collar, he would squint his eyes as if something bad were On a walk one day, he started jumping and playing, if only a forgoingtohappen.Buthedidntfight.Henevergrowledor few moments. He found joy in being a dog. And joy in being.protested.Hehadgivenup. Later that fall, I went overWhat was he afraid of? Might to his run, and when he saw methisbereversedor,asGeorge he stood up, wagged his tail andhad said could happen, was this made eye contact. The patch ofdog really broken? If life is not a color on his left eye had alwaysproblemtobesolved,buta reminded me of the dog in themystery to be lived, would I be OurGangseries.Thatdogsable to solve this mystery? name was Petie. This dog wasDogs have their truth: tasks now ready for his name. Hey,they were bred to perform and Petie. Nice to finally meet you.aptitudes by virtue of their tem-perament and personality. Dogs Postscriptalso have an honesty by living In the early winter, the firstcloser to their truth, without all realcoldfronthadcomethe complications that we peo- throughandthereweregoodplelayerontopofourown scentingconditions.Petiewaslives. Sometimes we can pile on runningatabouthalfspeedso much of the stuff of life that down a tree line with a strongwe lose sight of our own truth; north wind blowing across hisits buried so deep we cant find path, when he hit the scent ofit. Not for a dog. A dogs going birds and slammed onto point. Ilet you know. You just have to stoodbackanddidntsayapay attention. He had been named Justin. word. Peties head and tail liftedBecausethisdogwasnot I never wanted him to and he stood as tall as his legs letready for any formal training, I him. At that moment, he didntdecidedtojustbewithhim hear that name again. needme.Thatmomentwaswithout any demands or expec- between him, his instincts, andtations,andtrytoestablisha the scent. He found more birdsrelationship without fear. If he showed any sign of relaxation or that day, and with each find he ran stronger, pointed, and stoodacceptance, it was my goal to reward that behavior. But I could taller and more confident. He found his passion. That day, run-not correct any unwanted behavior as that might cause him to ning in that field, he had run into his truth. Petie had found hisshut down even further. He needed only encouragement for Attitude. those little signs of hope, and no corrections for any missteps. My friend, Bobby had been there from the beginning. He was aWe spent our time together just walking. No talking. No regular visitor at the training sessions, and together we enjoyedsounds. He was still scared enough just being on a loose lead by watching Petie run in the field. So it was a natural fit that Imy side. I clipped one end of the lead to his collar and the other should give Petie to Bobby and his family.to my belt. I did not want to chance an accidental correction or In the Fall of 2012, Petie, at three years old, was at an ageany kind of action on my part that would cause him to retreat more right to expect mature, gun dog behavior. Petie was nowback into himself. I would not risk losing the trust I was work- gun dog broke, not broken. And he was a winner, placing in theing so hard to gain. ribbons at field events, and qualifying to run at the Regionals.Not talking to him may have seemed unkind by some folks. Bobby got a call from a professional field trialer who wanted toBut this was not so. We speak through our body language and buy Petie and take him to Nationals.our disposition. Actions do speak louder than words. And atti- Bobby said no. Sure, the money wouldve been nice. Buttudes speak louder than words. This was our time to listen to money comes and money goes. Petie stayed put in his now andeach other. His time to show me what and who he was, and forever home. In the mornings, he sits with Bobbys wife as shemine to find out his truth.drinks coffee on the porch. He takes naps in the afternoon withOne day, while putting water in his dish, he came up to the Bobby out back. And he goes hunting with Bobby and his son. fence of his run and licked my fingers. This was a sign of hope I Petie is home. And he is loved. U www.TheNewBarker.com Summer/Fall ~ 2015 THE NEW BARKER 33'