It’s a great approach to strengthen your relationship while teaching your dog respect. Since 2014, Mary Peters of Seattle, Washington, has been training with Secret, an Australian shepherd. When they first started, Mary was just 16 years old, and this very intelligent, athletic animal responded well to her incentive and clicker training.
In 2016, Mary brought Secret to spend Christmas with her grandparents in Sioux City, Iowa. While they were there, they enjoyed some wintertime amusement at the neighborhood sledding hill. The dog parent brought the dog along and showed Secret the ropes since she felt it could be interesting for Secret to try sledding. Secret could pull her sled uphill and slide down on it, she reasoned, since she had previously taught the dog how to skateboard.
@my_aussie_gal Always🌈
Every technique is typically broken down into manageable chunks that Secret may master one at a time, Mary added. For instance, when we went sledding, I would give her a treat if she stayed in the sled for a longer period after we practiced just hopping on (she would typically just hop right back out).
@my_aussie_gal J e n g a ❤️🐶
♬ Mission Impossible Theme (Movie Trailer Mix) – Dominik Hauser
Mary claims that Secret enjoyed herself immensely while sledding and that the dog “probably slid down that slope 50 times.”
Mary posted the video to Instagram, where it quickly gained popularity. Secret and Mary gained a ton of new fans as a result of that and other videos. Currently, they have over 1 million followers who are eager to see what amazing feats this dog will accomplish next!
Their labor of love has paid off in spades. These are the top ten Secret abilities. There doesn’t appear to be anything that Secret can’t learn. What an incredible connection these two have!