I began training Anderson Cooper the latter half of December 2019. She's been making progress slowly but surely. Because she has a naturally bossy personality, she is a bit fussy in the car. She will whine and then look at me as if to say, "I want out of here. I know you heard me."
I hear her, but all in all, she's making progress riding in the car, too. She's fully in the "I'm afraid, but I like it" stage. On our walks we do a lot of just sitting so that she can look around and smell the air. She clings to me for dear life as I carry her through the park, but I put her down every so often and encourage her to walk to me. She does a low-to-the-ground slink, so that's progress, too.
And then came yesterday. We had a reprieve from the low 50s weather of late and the sun was fully out. It felt like it was 70 degrees in the sun and, well, it brought out the explorer in Anderson. I put her down,and for about 6 feet or so, she did the low to the ground thing, and then, stood up and started exploring! I was overjoyed...I know the good weather had a lot to do with it as she gets cold really easily, but there's also the light-switch nature of leash training. You don't see any progress for days on end and then one day, out of the blue, they make a major leap. That feels like it just happened.
I will be taking her out again today so we'll see if it sticks. It's not as warm as yesterday, but the sun is out and it's pretty pleasant. After yesterday's walk, I'm thinking she's going to give Gloria a run for her money sooner than expected. Fingers crossed!