Most dogs have their funny quirks and fears. Some might avoid the vacuum while others stay far away from certain household objects. It doesn't have to make sense for them to feel scared. One Blue Heeler named Han used to be terrified of skateboards—until now. This angel boy not only got past it, but now he's a master skater to boot!
A recent Instagram video posted by @heelerpoint shows the talented pup learning how to overcome his fear of the skateboard and it's truly inspirational. Watch his journey!
"Out of all the 103 tricks that Han knows, this is by far the one I am most proud of," the caption begins, as Han's Mom offers him a treat to put his paw on the skateboard. "The starting point in the video also isn’t the true starting point of this trick. As a puppy and young dog, Han was highly reactive to skateboarders."
She explains it took a year to help sweet "Han to stop reacting to skateboards."
"I then tried to get him to place just his front paws on one and the board movement on pavement made him very nervous," she continues. "So we tried on grass, and I got him to place his two front paws on it and I kind of gave up there with it. Figuring it was a huge achievement to have him not reactive to them anymore and confident enough to sort of stand on one himself when it wasn’t moving."
The story moves forward5 years when Mom decided to put the effort in to teach Han the trick. She wanted to teach him "to ride the board on flat ground, and stay on it with the momentum from initially getting on it."
She said Han blew her "expectations out of the water with learning to truly kick and push the board forward on his own to keep momentum while riding," adding he started doing ramps, too.
"It really blows my mind to think about the true years long journey of this trick from reactivity to skating down ramps at the park!" she concludes. "Never give up on trying to teach your dog new things!"
Han turning fear into power is something we can all learn from and many people agree.
"You win at the internet with this one," a person wrote.
"I love the story behind this, too! Turning a trigger into a really cool trick!" another said.
"He never fails to blow my mind right to outer space," another added.
Han is a special boy who, no doubt, will continue perfecting his new skate skills like the rockstar he is!
Related: Blue Heeler Puppy Getting Hold of an Oven Mitt Has the World in Stitches
Blue Heelers Are Among the Most Intelligent Breeds
Though testing on intelligence is subjective, Blue Heelers—aka Australian Cattle dogs —have been deemed one of the top 10 smartest breeds. Dogster suggests this could be because the breed is easy to train and they have high levels of energy. This means they need a lot of physical and mental stimulation to dissuade destructive behaviors but are smart enough to pick up what you're throwing down.
With proper training—like how to use a skateboard— Heelers can be the most devoted pups with lots of hidden talents. They just need patient pet parents to help bring it out of them! Look at where Han started and where he is now. If he did it, your dog can, too!
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