anastasia: As much as the "average homebuddy" dog loves to please a human being, I can just imagine how much a dog that's being put through actual "training" must want to make you proud. I think it's a great life to give a dog, it gives them purpose and accomplishment. I had a neighbor once who was an undercover narcotics cop with a canine partner. No one (and I do mean no one) could go near his beautiful dog, but the way he trusted that man was an amazing thing to see. I used to tell my neighbor that nothing ever better happen to him, or that dog would be heartbroken, and I believe it would've been. Go You for having the patience, perseverance, and understanding to get Damien to trust you SO much that he would follow you blindly It took me three months just to get mine to come swim with me, this summer I've been trying to get her in a canoe, but I think she somehow knows that the water that far out there is way too deep for her liking