The guy with the orange vest & Coco

Today, just like most days, I was out for a jog with Coco for our morning run / walk.  Towards the end, we went to the usual spot where I do some stretching, near my condo complex lawn area.  On a side, but related note, I've noticed for months now that Coco tends to bark loudly, and one could argue, aggressively, towards construction and city workers, the ones with the orange vests.  Well today once again, we saw the same orange vest city worker raking the leaves near the same area I was stretching.

This guy is unusually calm and cool, yet Coco has barked at him time and again whenever we see him.  Anyhow, while I was stretching, Coco again somehow undid herself from the collar around her neck and started to charge up to this guy.  The guy was simply raking the grass, and looked calm, yet Coco kept bouncing around him, barking loudly away, an unpleasant, uncomfortable scene for anyone, let alone him.

I even went up to the worker, held his rake and kept saying , "its OK" but Coco continued to dodge me and bark at the worker.

My first instinct was to try to grab Coco, and discipline her back at my place (e.g. saying "Bad Dog" or "NO" looking sternly,  or even a light spank).  This is what I have done in the past, and the obedience training I went to as well, thought us that it's best to "correct" our dog in these types of situations, for them to learn.

Well, for better or worse, I couldn't get a hold of Coco as she kept dodging me and barking at the guy.  I gave up and just observed how she would continue.  I knew the guy wasn't in danger at any point though, because Coco is a gentle and loving dog, yet her barks could be misinterpreted, and was definitely uncomforting to hear.

The guy with the rake finally put the rake down, and attempted to call Coco..  Coco, stopped barking and approached the guy, lovingly.  He started petting her , massaging her, and to my surprise, Coco completely accepted it.  In fact, she lied down right in front of him while he was petting away.  It was such a nice site.

Finally, after the guy stopped petting (funny how Coco is consuming city-workers' time), he picked up the rake and started raking again, and Coco did bark a few more times.  But then the guy again, pleasantly said, "it's ok" and even tried to gesture as if he was going to pet her, as he slowly continued to rake.

After a few relatively minor barks, Coco stopped barking and for the first time, looked content and comfortable with this city worker raking away.  At  that moment, I kneeled down, praised Coco from the distance, and watched as she came up to me, eventually getting her collar back on, and regaining some control.

I realize that my immediate reaction is to usually "correct" mistakes , sometimes through disciplinary measures.  But noticed the difference in Coco's behavior when she herself was exposed to this city worker, and received praise from the guy directly.

In the end, I walked back to my place, feeling so much happier that I didn't have to correct Coco, and that she learned through her own experiences.

Moral of this story:

Sometimes its' best you let anyone you love for that matter, learn through own experiences.  Trying to correct their mistakes or attempt to have them learn from what you know as better, doesn't work.   In this case, Coco escaping from the dog collar, and the city guy proactively starting to pet Coco, did the trick.