Bu (Even Sweets Granting Pleasure, 9.2.2006)
Bu is another very special dog... She was a really strange puppy already at 7 weeks, when I first met her - not reacting at all to people’s voice or to excitement in a voice, she also didn’t follow, but just went off sniffing around. She showed no interest in communicating with the rest of the world, showed no prey or food drive and no wish to be with you. But since she had 19 great older sister&brothers, I was guessing it can't be that bad...
I was wrong. I'm now sure she is heavily autistic and we sure had very, very hard beginning and the only way to get to her was with a clicker - the mechanic simplicity of a click gave her confidence and me a possibility to communicate with her. She proved to be a quick learner and great listener, making her my most reliable dog ever, running more clean runs as any other of my dogs. But she still has difficulties understanding anything above click&treat - feelings were always a big mystery for her... - Very different from all other dogs I know and yet so sweet. So willing to do everything right and obsessed with perfection.
Never setting a foot wrong and expecting the same from me, she was the best handling teacher I could imagine. Definitely a perfect teacher and a dog you can always count on. Thank you Bu for being the dog you are!
