I am so proud of my girl!

While on my morning walk with Sadie I was in a hurry to get back to the house since my hands were nearly numb from the cold, so I was taking the back trail instead of getting back on the street. We encountered a little dachsund off to the side in the bushes with his owner and Sadie did not bark!! OMG! I couldn't believe it! Ok...I'm still new, so some background might help a little.
Sadie is very protective while on a leash and since we don't have a fenced in yard, she gets a lot of walks. There are tons of dogs around here and there aren't many that Sadie likes when she's on a leash. She's usually okay if she gets to meet them but if not she will bark her head off. She loves all dogs when there's no leash involved! I use a halty harness with her leash to help me keep control of her. Certain dogs will cause her to totally flip out. Anyway, I've been trying different methods to curtail the situation and didn't have much luck. Until recently, I started carrying a little squirt bottle of water everytime I walk her. Each time we came across a situation that caused Sadie alarm she would start her usual antics and I gave her a quick squirt with a command "no bark" and she stopped immediately then I would praise her for not barking. I've been using this method quite successfully for about a month now. It has worked even with the really big dog down the street that Sadie has some beef with. This morning I could not find the squirt bottle. :doh: So I headed off hoping not to encounter anything major. When she saw that little dog she wanted to bark and she could not let herself keep going by without constantly looking back to see where that dog was, BUT she never once barked. I was so proud of her and gave her hugs and rubs and treats!! YAY! :happyhappy: