Day Eight -- Out on the Town

We've been working hard on our skills, slowly increasing the level of distraction. Now it's time to put our skills to the test and practice them in real life. Going to a local pet supply store gives us opportunities to practice skills in a new environment with added distractions. I know going in that the things she does so effortlessly in low to moderate distracting environments, will be more of a struggle for her here. We head in prepared to work hard and we have lost of tasty treats on hand to reward her good behavior. We start out on the sidewalk just working on attention. This are very basic skills for her but it will be difficult in this environment. Doing this ahead of time will help her to be more in tune with me before we even walk in the door.

All the employees are happy to help us with greetings. She is a ROCK STAR and holds all her sits through her greetings.

Every once in a while she gets a treat for her spectacular greetings so we can reinforce that behavior.

We also make sure she meets a wide variety of people. This will help her to learn that the rules hold true for everyone...she sits for greetings for the first person AND she sits for greetings for the next person. Soon she will be able to generalize that and she will know that you sit for greetings for EVERYONE.

And maybe she can sneak in a kiss while she's at it.

Treats aren't needed for each greeting, just really difficult greetings. Other times you can use the greeting itself as the reward. She's happy to get some additional love.

The best compliment in a greeting is when the other person says, "She just wants to look at you, she doesn't care about me." It is great when your dog is more concerned about checking in with you during a greeting and less distracted by the other person.

You have to be prepared when you are in an environment like this for unexpected distractions. Sometimes it's necessary to pull off to the side and work on attention a little farther away. Like maybe when a cute little dog comes into the store.

If pulling off to the side doesn't work, than backing away while calling her to come will help her redirect her attention back on you and make it a bit more exciting to be with you.

When it's quiet again, it's nice to be able to practice basic obedience commands so she gets use to being responsive in a variety of situations. Busy day today! We may have to come back soon and see how she does with a little more practice.