Two steps forward, one step back

Lest you think life with Bella has been all unicorns and rainbows since we started her on the 5-pronged approach recommended by Dr. Dodman including medications and her Agility for Reactive Dogs class in the Fall of 2011, life just never really seems to go in a particularly straight line.

Even while we were making progress training Bella over the various agility obstacles, and she was taking her prescribed medications, eating a low(er) protein diet and getting as much exercise as we could work into our schedule, in January/February 2012, Bella started showing signs of increased anxiety at home again. She began darting from the room at the slightest sound, not sleeping through the night and becoming even more frantic about storms and unexpected events.

What? Me, worry?

Things came to a head in February culminating in 2 events that made us realize not all was well in the state of Bella:

• First, Bella and Jan had another scuffle in February. I called Dr. D.s' office immediately but it would be April before we could get back in to see him for a follow-up.


• Then, a week or so later, we learned how quickly things can turn south in a classroom full of reactive dogs.

In the early days of class, our trainer, Carolyn, would have us walk the dogs around the room in a parade route fashion - each dog staying appropriately distanced behind the next to keep them under threshold. The idea was for the person following to be responsible for maintaining the distance behind the dog in front. But sometimes the dogs have other ideas.

Bella had been toodling right along in class for a couple of months when one night, while she was stalled admiring the alluring aroma of classmate Elmo's mat, classmate Willie decided to trot his way over the dog walk heading straight towards Bella at a pretty good and noisy clip. I, sadly without eyes in the back of my head, was watching Elmo in front of us and missed the signals Bella was most certainly sending me before she blew up like a mad dog in Willie's direction behind me. Hrumph.

Landing solidly on one of my knees and following that with my face, the best I could do was hold on (and pray I hadn't just broken my knee). Bella continued to lunge and growl at the end of the leash and Willie gave his owner a good tussle mimicking Bella's behavior back at her. It took a moment for everyone to realize I wasn't able to get up and suddenly Jan and Carolyn sprang between the dogs - Jan getting Bella back under control and Carolyn helping Willie's owner handle him and herd him back to his mat.

Sweet little Elmo remained rather oblivious to the whole encounter as he was now on the opposite side of the room.

Still not quite calm but getting better.

The trick that salvaged this situation was the the double leashes we use on the dogs in class and Carolyn's requirement that we wrap the loop end of both around our wrists. In my case, I often push the loop up over my elbow since my hands are small and I worry that the loops will slip over and out of my hand.

That practice may have sent me sprawling but it saved Bella from breaking free of my grasp and getting to Willie which would have been a disaster. (Willie had previously been attacked by another dog IN a training class. No wonder the poor guy has reactivity issues.)

The mark of a good teacher, in my mind, is the ability to read a situation, understand the needs and motivations of her students and change her teaching methods if and when they're not working for any individual. Carolyn is a very good teacher. And she has made several modifications to her approach in teaching us and helping our dogs over the life of our class.

After Bella's little outburst, Carolyn stopped having us walk around together in a circle and had us all line up along the same wall. Baby gates and sheets separating the dogs so they couldn't see each other at all except during controlled warm-up periods. Over time, as the dogs got better at that, we started working them on some of the obstacles during the warm-up sessions, first one dog at a time, then two and finally the whole class working together at the same time.

Bonding over treats and training.

So while we waited to get in to see Dr. D and get his recommendations for Bella's continuing anxiety, it was a great relief to be able to rely on Carolyn's experience and advice on how to keep working on Bella's reactivity and improve her relationship with Jan through the classes.

Jan and I learned we need to take turns as Bella's handler each week. Improving Jan's relationship with her is our highest priority but at the same time, we can't have mine suffer as a result. We could end up having the same problem but just reversing to whom it's directed. Everyone has a role to play in helping Bella heal and we each have to be a part of the solution if this is going to work.

Thank you, daddy, for teaching me.

Jan and Bella's relationship has improved over time and with a great deal of effort and patience. I am fortunate to have married the most amazing man in the world, one who clearly never gives up on those he loves. Bella surely is one lucky girl.

Overcoming "Obstacles"

Agility obstacles, in this case.

We've learned a lot about Bella in the last year and a half. Probably more than we learned in the first 3 years she lived with us. One thing we've learned is that her reactivity to other dogs is wholly directed by her fear of them.

When they stay a safe distance away, and aren't aggressing toward her, she is perfectly capable of controlling her own reactions towards them. Of course, if they get too close, she's a firm believer in the maxim 'a good offense makes the best defense' and will not hesitate to make overtures to prove to them just how tough and fearsome she is.

Another thing we've learned is that Bella may not be as fearful as she is wary.

Bella's modus operandi is 'run first and ask questions later'.

Bella is afraid of everything. Everything new, that is.

Given enough time, patience and encouragement, Bella doesn't just figure things out, she revels in her accomplishments. This has been especially evident in her approach to agility obstacles.

The first big hurdle we had to tackle before she could do any agility was to get Bella over her fear of sticks and poles. Because really, a dog afraid of poles on an agility course is just a trembling mass seeing monsters at every turn.

So I played a game with her that involved the cardboard innards of a roll of wrapping paper and something akin to dragon slaying.

When I could walk into a room without her fleeing from the cardboard "stick", I moved to putting it on the ground and rewarding her for being in the same room with it. Eventually moving on to making an agility jump out of it. (The process of which you can see here.)

So when we got to agility class, Bella was not seeing monsters everywhere. She was seeing jumps and weave poles and ladders, oh my!

We expected to have to take this approach with every obstacle in the course which is why we were sooooooooooo surprised when within the a month of starting class, she went up and over the A-frame with nary a look back. (November 2011)

Who are you and what did you do with our Bella?

Well, lest we get too carried away by her initial bout of bravery, Bella reminded us that, yes, she is indeed a cautious, scared-y dog and would take her time over several of the remaining obstacles.

We started doing "off-leash sequences" with the dogs in class December 2011. This was really nerve-wracking because we had no idea what to expect from Bella. When it was her turn, the other dogs would be taken out of the room but still, Bella's nervous energy of being in a scary place combined with being off-leash sent her into fits of zoomies that were both adorable and completely embarrassing. (Uh, yeah, let me see if I can corral and catch my dog... Give us a moment, would you?)

We learned the best way to deal with Bella's zoomies was to just ignore her. Although she was so cute and so happy that even Carolyn our trainer had a hard time not smiling over them. But ignoring her worked and eventually Bella came looking to us for approval and we were able to direct her attention back to the task at hand.

We also learned the secret to off-leash work: better treats.

I've mentioned before that we settled on Red Barn Naturals food logs for our work on Bella's reactivity. But to get her to come back out of zoomies, Carolyn suggested we up the ante in the treat department and we knew just what to do.

Bella has always had a fondness for jerky. Of course, given the issues with cheap chicken jerky treats being made in China, we've been making our own for quite some time. And we decided for Bella's off-leash sequences, we could break those jerky treats up into pea-sized pieces and our chicken-addicted dog would follow us anywhere.

You know what? It worked!

As long as we calmly and quietly took Bella's leashes off while bribing, er, tempting her with extra-luscious chicken (or turkey) treats, our little zoomie dog zoomied no longer. Hallelujah!

Of course, she didn't always pay attention and she certainly didn't go over all the obstacles either but we were making progress.

The Big Three

The three scariest obstacles for Bella have always been the dog walk, the tunnel/chute and the teeter-totter.

The Dog Walk:

We started working on the dog walk in November 2011. It turned out to be one of the first obstacles that taught us how to teach Bella to trust us. Because it was so scary to her, we had to be very careful not to "lure" her on it.

We used the "touch" command to get her to focus on a very small feat she knew well in order to take one step forward at a time slowly, deliberately, consciously over the walk. And, lo and behold, only 5 months later, she conquered the dog walk for the very first time. (April 11, 2012) Now she goes over it every chance she gets. And even some chances she doesn't get.

The Chute:

In January 2012, we participated in Something Wagging This Way Comes' "January is Train Your Dog Month" hoping to teach Bella she could survive going through the tunnel and subsequently the chute. (You can watch her progress in a video we made for the event.)

Working with her at home and in class, it was still 3 more months before Bella actually made it all the way through the closed chute on April 27th, 2012. Now we can't get her out of it.

The Teeter-Totter:

Some day I hope to be writing the story of Bella conquering the teeter-totter but, while we are making progress, that obstacle still remains a blip on our horizon.

Our trainer, Carolyn remarked to us at one point that once Bella figures out she can do something, she just can't get enough of it. She's no longer afraid of it and pushes herself faster and higher and harder each time. And she never looks back.

As we thought about that, we realized it is something has always been true. From the very earliest days when we first brought Bella home and she conquered "The Stairs", she has been obviously and noticeably proud of her accomplishments - relishing in them and showing off to all who will watch.

This makes her very different from a lot of scared-y dogs and I wonder if we'd be more correct in calling her cautious than calling her fearful? But then she turns in to a quivering heap on the floor at the vet's office or crumbles at the sound of snow falling off the roof and I think "No. No, fearful's good. Fearful's accurate." Feisty and ferocious in her own way at times but maybe where Bella comes from, fearful was life-skill well-learned. It's that combination of traits that has made her both a joy to train and a challenge to teach.

But with every accomplishment, she learns to trust both her own abilities and our steadfastness.

She is growing in to a beautiful, strong, loving dog and watching her transformation has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

Wordless Wednesday 79 - Is it my turn yet?

Seriously, Bella, falling asleep in Agility for Reactive Dogs class? You've come a long way, baby.

---

Reactive agility: An interview with the dog

Today we have a very special event here on the blog: we're interviewing Bella herself to get her thoughts on our agility for reactive dogs class.

So, Bella, what did you think of your first day of class?

Well, at first, I was a little scared to go in because I remembered being at this place before. And while the teacher back then probably knew an awful lot about reactive dogs, he didn't seem to care too much about me being a scared-y dog and he got mad at me and my humans a lot.

But mom gave me lots of hot dog slices to get me inside the building this time and once she set down my towel, I knew I was stuck there.

To be honest, it only got worse when the first dog to come into the class with us was a black Labrador named Willie who looked just like the neighbor's dog who bullies me in my own yard! Geez mom, what are you trying to do - scare me to death?

I'm watching you, Willie.

But this black dog went and laid down on his own towel a long ways away from me so I tried to relax and pay attention to mom and dad. Every now and then Willie would get mad at me or I'd get upset about him but when that happened, hot dogs rained from the sky in front of me and I forgot all about the big scary dog at the other end of the room. Willie forgot about me sometimes, too.

Wow - that must have been pretty scary. Did you just hang out on your towel the whole time you were there?

Oh no, at first I thought that was all we were going to do but then we got to get up and walk around a little. Mom and dad kept giving me treats for ignoring Willie while we walked back and forth across the room.

But the best part was when the teacher put a jump in front of us and tried to teach mom and dad different ways to lead me over the jump. She called it front- and back-crosses and oh, was that good for a laugh.

For me it was a little hard to concentrate on going over the jump with the big black scary at the other end of the room and sometimes I would stare at him a little too long getting more and more nervous. But then mom would shove a hot dog at my nose. Oh yeah, nothing like the smell of a cold, slimy hot dog to get your attention.

Class - the long view, with classmates.

So we walked around a little and jumped a little and then we went back to our towels.

The teacher told us she was going to have us each try some of the obstacles and it would be real hard on the dog left sitting at their towel because there was going to be a lot of noise and excitement. But we had to learn to be real calm while all that went on around us. Boy, it was hard but mom and dad just kept giving me hot dogs while the big, black Labrador had a go.

Then it was my turn and I'm pretty sure I shocked the shi---nola out of mom and dad when I got to the A-frame and went right up and over! Hahaha. Every now and then I like to change things up and take something they think is going to be real hard for me and make it look easy. Gotta keep 'em guessing, you know?

So yeah, I did the A-frame on the first try. And then I did it again. And again. And again. And I even did it one last time when they tried to get me to go back to my towel just for good measure. Sorry mom.

That's okay, Bella, we were very proud to see you having so much fun. So, tell the people, did you do all the other obstacles just as easily that first day?

Hahahahahaha! Oh, gracious no. Have you met me?

But Willie, the big show-off, pretty nearly did. I don't think it took him more than a couple of tries to master the teeter-totter even. I don't think he's as a-scared of stuff as I am. I think he's just real scared of other dogs.

Willie

And I probably didn't help that time he got too close to me when we were walking around the room and I pulled mom over lunging and barking at him. Sorry about that, pal. (Okay so we're never gonna be "pals" but we can kind of exist in the same room together now without acting like we're going to tear each other apart now.)

Anyway no, I didn't do all the obstacles that first day. But I started to learn about them and mom and dad learned a lot about how to teach me to not be scared of them.

Dad went home and made me some of the obstacles to practice on and what he couldn't make, he got mom for Christmas. Mom's going to talk about a couple of the more difficult things we tackled in the coming weeks because she says she has "stories". (I think that means she's going to make fun of me but whatever, I know I rock.)

Do you have any other classmates besides Willie? What are they are like?

I've had two other classmates at times:

• Deja was a pretty pit bull who hung out with us for a few weeks. But I don't think she was as loco as the rest of us so she stopped coming after a time.

• And then we have the handsome-est Miniature American Eskimo dog named Elmo who comes to class when he can. Sometimes Elmo and I trade crushes on each other. He's even more scared-y than I am but I don't think I've ever seen him be reactive. He loves his mom, Rebecca - a lot. You can tell 'cause he's always watching her. Not like me - I sometimes forget mom and dad are there when I'm off sniffing something extra-specially good.

Elmo

How about your teacher? Do you like her? You don't usually like people as a rule...

Yeah, Carolyn's okay. I like her 'cause she doesn't try to touch me. She lets me sniff her and still doesn't even try to pet me! I didn't think you hu-folks had it in you to be so close to me and not try to touch me. My teacher also teaches other teachers so we had Lisa come and work with us for a while. I really liked her - she smelled like super good treats.

So all in all your class sounds pretty awesome...?

Yeah, you know it turned out okay. I wasn't even on my new special medicine when I first signed up and going to class made me feel a little better about things. All that thinking and behaving and learning new stuff was pretty exhausting so I was too tired to worry (too much) about flies in the closet or pine cones dropping on the roof.

In fact, for a while I loved it so much that I'd do zoomies once I got in the classroom. No, it was not very dignified but I was back in class where I got to climb the A-frame, get all sorts of attention and eat a couple of pounds of hot dogs! What's not to love? (From the hu-mom - Bella exaggerates somewhat about the amount of hot dogs... Somewhat.)

Well thank you, Bella, for your time tonight. Mom was wondering how she was going to share your side of this adventure.

---

Bella LOVES her class. It has been a lot of effort, a lot of time and a lot of adjustments along the way but she has come so far from her first days. And it shows in her behavior at home. This is a dog that loves to learn and we do her a disservice when we forget that.

Thanks for visiting. Hope you enjoyed our little interview.

The "Agility" part of Agility for Reactive Dogs class

Last week I started telling the story of Bella's "Agility for Reactive Dogs" class focusing on some very basic considerations for handling reactive dogs in a classroom setting. Today, I'm going to talk about the first steps of the agility part of the class.

The class breaks down into two sections: reactivity training and agility training. But the agility training part, at least for us, breaks down into 2 further areas of concentration: the reactive part and the scared-y dog part.

The "reactive" part:

In the very earliest days of the class, we handled the reactivity part of our training in one of two ways. We'd click and treat positive interactions with the other dogs (and by interactions, I'm just talking about a glance or vague interest in the other dog.) And we'd divert and distract when the interaction was not so positive. If Bella "reacted" to another dog, we could retreat from the scene (divert) or throw a handful of treats on the floor in front of her (distract).

Initially, each dog worked on an obstacle at one end of the room while the other dogs wait calmly, or not, on their "mats". It's one thing to be calm and composed when in the same room with another dog but staying that way when they're running and jumping and making noise is a much more difficult task to achieve.

Baby gates covered with sheets provide a means of shielding the dogs from one another entirely if tensions erupt. But the classroom is very large and the dogs generally remain far enough apart to keep them under threshold for most of the time.

If the dog on the mat begins to get too aroused, click/treat or divert/distract. The dog learning the obstacle is generally too involved in what they're doing to pay a whole lot of attention to the other dogs. That's what makes agility such a fabulous tool for teaching/training reactive dogs.

The "scared-y dog" angle:

It can be argued that most reactive dogs are scared-y dogs. They are "reacting" to something that frightens/bothers/distresses them. But there's another kind of scared-y dog like Bella whose MO (modus operandi) is run first, ask questions later. She's pretty much afraid of everything new and teaching her not to be afraid is an art and science unto itself.

While some of the other dogs worked on mastering their reactivity by learning new obstacles, we worked on Bella's reactivity while trying to get her to just be comfortable near an obstacle.

One of the easier obstacles for most dogs is the jump. Dogs generally like to jump, they instinctively know how to and it's something they've probably encountered in their world outside of class.

Except for Bella. Luckily, we had anticipated she might have some issues about sticks and poles and other agility stuff so we had begun working on the "jump" obstacle months before we signed up for the class. In fact, we started by simply placing a stick on the floor and asking her to step over it. Yeah. For realz.

Learning as we go.

One of the first things we learned about agility was the difference between "luring" and "shaping".

When you lure a dog to do something, you're tempting them to perform a behavior they may or may not want to do with the reward of something they really desire. It works with lots of things, especially things that aren't terrifically scary.

Alternatively, shaping a dog to do a particular behavior involves rewarding them whenever they do something close to what you want them to do. Where a lure instigates a specific behavior, shaping reinforces a behavior offered by the dog. As such, there's less pressure and the dog's focus is more on the behavior you want them to learn than on the reward.

With shaping, the dog is trying to figure out what you want them to do, they are engaged and thinking and that makes it especially useful when trying to work with a dog on really scary things.

Luring a dog on a particularly intimidating obstacle could have the dog so focused on a reward that they don't realize where they are. And if they suddenly 'notice' that they're on something really scary, it could frighten them to the point of sabotaging the reward entirely. They could associate the reward with the big scary. They could also associate YOU with the big scary. Not cool.

Shaping a dog on a really scary obstacle allows them to focus on the obstacle and learn how to approach it. If they choose not to approach it, there is no punishment but if they do choose to do so there is a reward and therefore, a positive association is made with the obstacle.

Luring and shaping both have their place in agility training at least for us. But we stick to shaping for the scariest of obstacles.

The anatomy of a jump

The video below probably shows a lot of the wrong ways to do things. Much of it was shot before we started class and learned the correct way so you'll see luring and a pretty stressed out dog in some parts. My aim with Bella is always to make a 'game' of things and that's what I was trying to do with the jump. It worked and it's not the worst mistake I could have made but I've learned better ways to do things since.

Here's a quick recap of what it took to teach Bella to "jump".




The clips used in the video span the date range of 3/2011 to 8/2012. That's a year and a half. Working with fearful dogs isn't glamorous or exciting and it doesn't happen overnight. But I think you'll agree, the pay-off is spectacular. I've never been more proud of what we have all accomplished.

---

The music used in the video is "Trip the Light" byt Garry Schyman. I loved it, bought it and hope no one arrests me for it. If you like it, you can purchase it on Amazon or iTunes.

---

Agility for Reactive Dogs...

...and their spectacularly coordinated humans. (Uh, that would not be us, by the way.)

It's been a while since we've talked about the goings-on in Bella's life. But we are back and ready to talk about one of the most exciting and helpful activities we've undertaken in all our time with Bella.

October 12, 2011.

A day that changed Bella's life. The day we attended her first "Agility for Reactive Dogs" class at the "Dogs' Learning Center" located right here in our own hometown.

Having a forward-thinking, innovative training center not more than a few miles away from our house has been an incredible boon in our life with Bella.

Having access to a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA CTP) and Faculty Instructor with years of experience in agility as well as reactive dogs has been an absolute god-send.

Having two left-feet has been... Well, okay, yeah, that, not so much.

A note that came from our soon-to-be trainer, Carolyn, about our first class should have sent red flags a-fluttering and Robot arms a-flailing ("Danger Will Robinson!"):

Class will be run as a reactive class. Bring a mat for relaxed downs. We will gate/sheet as needed, use distance, etc.

Dogs should be on a head collar or front clip harness and another piece of equipment such as a martingale collar. With 2 leads or a lead clipped to both.

Bring lots! of small treats, clickers, mats, water/bowl.

Feels a little like this.

So just in case you didn't catch that, that's one dog, two leashes, a clicker and treats.

And we're going to take all of that and try to teach our reactive, scared-y dog to manage all the obstacles around an agility course while other reactive dogs try to behave themselves nearby?

Alright-y then.

In the year+ that we have been doing this, I am proud to say Bella has only sent me into face-plant territory once. We have, however, knocked over jump poles, gotten tangled in the weaves and tripped over each other with fair frequency.

And by "we", I mean me. The dog is fine, it's her owner who can't walk in a straight line.

(As for the other half of the human equation, let's just say that while Jan is considerably more coordinated than I, that's hardly setting a high bar.)

Reactive dog class basics.

Let's talk about some of the very most fundamental basics of reactive dog classes. I'm going to assume most of my readers have never attended a reactive dogs class or an agility class so please don't be offended if you already know all about this stuff.

A prerequisite for the "Agility for Reactive Dogs" class is that everyone must have attended a beginner class for reactive dog handling. We had and while we found out later that much of what we thought we learned in that beginner class was not quite right, it left us familiar at least with the terminology, the setting and how to enter and exit the building.

And the very first thing you learn in a beginner reactive dogs class is that reactive dogs class begins before you're even in the class. Because it's not like you can just go strolling into the building like you have a normal dog or something.

Negotiating the parking lot.

Nervously watching another dog on the dog walk.

Bella still has issues when she sees dogs while she's in the car, so we always park as far from the entrance to the building as possible. This is in an attempt to keep her "under threshold" as she watches people and pets come and go.

But basically there is no point at which Bella is not in full-blown panic mode about other dogs while she is in the car so we try to get her out of it as soon as possible when we arrive. If she's out of the car, her reactivity is less and she has something else distracting to do (sniff, pee, sniff, pee, sniff, pee and sniff some more...)

But the deal is - from the moment we arrive in the parking lot until we're driving home after class, every time Bella sees a dog and doesn't react like a snarling lunatic, she gets a treat.

Getting in the building.

Yup, there's a process for that. We wait outside while the class before us ends and the owners get their reactive dogs back in their cars and then we are called in. One dog at a time.

Again, class is already in session even when you're just entering the building. See a dog? Click, treat. Walking nicely? Click, treat. Go ballistic? Divert and distract. (We'll explain that in subsequent posts.)

Getting settled.

With reactive dogs, we use mats/towels to give the dog a place to associate as their home base, their "safe space". So while we're getting settled and stuff unpacked, Bella is asked to 'go to her mat' and is rewarded for sitting quietly. Lots of clicks and treats. If she can relax to the point of resting on one hip, she gets lots and lots of treats.

The atmosphere in the room is one of calm. Everyone speaks just loudly enough to be heard. And we all try very hard to get in and the dogs settled as quickly as possible without appearing rushed or getting the dogs too excited.

What's in it for me?

Not all dogs in a reactive dogs class have the same level of fear or a fear of the same things. Bella's pervasive fear of everything "unknown" meant we had to first get her to associate going to class as a good thing before we could ever address her fear of other dogs or the agility obstacles.

In the earliest days of class, we just stuffed Bella full of treats throughout the entire class. As long as she wasn't wigging out, she got treats. But to turn fear into enthusiasm, those had to be some mighty tasty treats.

In fact, the treats have to be something that the dog values more than she fears 'the big scary'.

We've tried everything from hot dogs to chicken to cheese and just about every training treat on the market. We've finally settled on Red Barn Naturals food roll that we chop into pea-sized pieces. They're soft and moist, which we find means they don't get stuck in Bella's throat quite as much as dry treats, and they're slightly less slimy than some of the other food logs we have tried.

(We do have another trick up our sleeve of an even more highly valued treat but we didn't need/learn about that until later in the course... Stick with me, we'll get there.)

With so much good food and all the attention she could ever desire, Bella was sold on class after the very first night. That she got to learn and jump was just a bonus. In fact, as time went on we had to work to calm her down, she was so excited to be going to class. Good grief. "If it's not one thing, it's another..."

---

So that's the (very) basics of the reactive dog part of our class. I'll talk more about the agility part of class next time.

I really struggled to write this post because I can come at the subject of this class from so many different angles - the reactive dog, the fearful dog, clicker training, agility training or even the role medication has played. If there's any aspect of it you'd like to hear more about, don't hesitate to let me know in the comments.

Understanding that I'm not a trainer and addressing fearful, reactive or aggressive dogs is way above my pay grade, I will share with you what we've learned and offer lots of Bella stories along the way. This class has probably been the most influential activity we have pursued for Bella's mental health and the rewards have been absolutely inspiring. I hope you'll find our journey interesting as well.

---