Dogs, Yoga and Other Marvelous Achievements

By Joni Johnson

Thanks to Janet And Jerre Scott, many of us were first introduced to Secret, the 6-year-old Australian Shepherd that was taking the world by storm in 2021, with the video on dog and human yoga poses.
https://youtu.be/Pr2oknKr0WQ

She belonged to Mary Peters, a resident of Bellingham, Washington, who was also taking the world by storm. Unbeknownst to many, Mary had been diagnosed on the autism spectrum and Secret was her therapy dog. Mary found Secret as a puppy in Scio, Oregon, and Mary started her Instagram account in 2015 at the age of 14, just a few months after Secret was born. Mary chose an Australian shepherd because they are known to have a strong work drive and, according to the American Kennel Club, they are remarkably intelligent, quite capable of hoodwinking an unsuspecting novice owner, and a brainy and tireless trainable partner for work or sport.
The reason I say that Mary was taking the world by storm is that she had over a million followers and had been interviewed everywhere including Newsweek. As someone on the autism spectrum, Mary trained Secret to help her negotiate difficult situations. Therapy dogs do a great deal to help people of all ages feel socially and emotionally secure.

Sadly, Secret passed away after a battle with Leukemia in 2022. But Mary was able to find another wonderful Australian Shepherd puppy named Promise, and this year Promise attended Mary’s graduation from the University of Washington with a major in Japanese. Check on the videos at the end of the article that include Promise.

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There are three types of dogs recommended for people with Autism. One is a companion dog, a second is a therapy dog, and the third and most strenuously trained is a service dog. For more information go to: https://www.autismspeaks.org/expert-opinion/service-dog-or-therapy-dog-which-best-child-autism
According to Loyalty Service Dogs, autism service dogs can help in many ways. Examples include tethering, deep pressure therapy, acting as a deterrent for self-harm, calming tantrums and meltdowns, acting as an anchor to help with bolting, confidence building, and more.
One parent described her experience after having a trained autism therapy dog for her daughter. “I have slept through the night almost every single night since we got him, because Clara is calm and sleeping! This is such a huge change in our lives, I’m not even sure how to describe it, except to say that Clara is awake and cheerful when I come to get her in the morning!”
Mary said that when she started her Instagram account, she hoped her followers might help her with some teaching tips. She spent a year training Secret as a therapy dog. Then the training took off.

Mary uses a method called progressive reinforcement, a term created by San Diego-based dog trainer Emily Larlham. If you visit her YouTube channel, “Kikopup,” you will find more than 350 free in-depth dog training tutorials. “Progressive reinforcement is positive-oriented training without the use of physical or psychological intimidation,” Mary explains. “For example, I reward Secret’s desirable behavior and prevent unwanted behavior.” Each time Secret completes a trick or something new, Mary gives her a treat. She says it would take too long to explain how she trains Secret for complicated tricks such as playing piano or sledding, but Mary generally trains in very small, incremental steps over time to teach Secret a new skill.
From what I gather, Secret first started learning to paint because Mary found a video on Instagram of a dog who could paint. From there it has morphed into yoga, skate boarding, sledding, Irish jigs, vacuuming, doing the laundry and then hanging up the dry shirts, and much much more. I thought her painting was extraordinary for a dog and even for many of the humans I know.

In 2019, Mary taught Secret to play Jenga which is a game where each person must extract a piece of a wooden pyramid without causing the pyramid to fall. Check out the video of her ability to concentrate and her knowledge of the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kl3Y82qRDg

One of the amazing features of the bond that Secret and Mary have is Secret’s willingness to fall backwards into Mary’s outstretched arms even from a significant height. This shows the incredible faith and trust that Secret has for her human. Falling backwards is very difficult for most people, let alone for a dog, because you can’t explain to them that you will be there to catch them. In one of her video posts she wrote, “You need to show them that in everything you do, not just when they are physically falling. Secret trusts that I will catch her, but more importantly, she trusts that I will be there for her in every aspect of life.”

That kind of relationship is a very special one but not easy to duplicate. However, watching videos of her new puppy, we realize that it is possible. How lucky we would all be if we had someone like that in our life. Or if we were there for someone in that way. It really is an inspiration.

Here is a clip of Promise joining the clean up crew for earth day.
https://www.instagram.com/my_aussie_gal/reel/C6FqScxrBKP/?hl=en
And for those who want more dog stuff, this is a lovely reel about Promise and her great, great life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Nar_4c9kwU&t=304s