New Places

Rex had some new experiences since my last update. We went to two different Goodwill stores. The first was very crowded, but I was able to keep him somewhat focused on me with reminders. The second store wasn't quite so busy and had a little more maneuvering room. He did quite well there.

We had another training outing with friends. Our little group is now up to four. Working alongside the other dogs and handlers is great for him. He's really interested when he sees other dogs, so walking and training with our friends is helping him learn to relax and focus around other dogs.

He also had his first trips to Walmart. The first was during the week and the store wasn't terribly busy. I was able to go in and get the hair ties I needed (Sizzle steals and eats them). They only had two checkout lanes open, so we had to wait in line for awhile, but Rex did a nice job waiting.

The second trip was on the weekend, and although the parking lot wasn't terribly full as we pulled in, it seemed half the town pulled in with us. Inside it was really busy. We encountered tons of people, carts, pallet movers and a kid bouncing a ball twice. It was a lot for Rex to handle, and in hindsight, it was too much too soon. He did okay, but he was really distracted, and it was stressful for both of us.

On another day Rex had his first introduction to walking with a shopping cart. This was at the Tractor Supply where he's very comfortable. I actually needed the cart to carry a couple of things. He did a terrific job with it!

A third visit to WalMart went well. I need to grab another ice pack for keeping treats cool on the go. I kept it short and to the point. Just enough to let Rex have a calmer Walmart experience. He was somewhat distracted but still did well.

We worked heeling and manners at Lowes hardware again, and he worked very nicely for me. Many of the employees comment on how he's improving or ask how he's coming along. I love that!

We also visited Home Depot again to train. He did a super job. I even felt confident enough to purchase a houseplant. Normally I wouldn't chance a hard to carry item like a hanging plant while I'm training him.

I needed to pick up a prescription from my doctor's office on Wednesday. We got lucky and had to wait a bit. Yes! That was lucky. I was really pleased to be able to sit and just let Rex lay down and get used to the waiting room and the staff. My doctor even came out to meet him and say hello.

Afterwards we stopped at the pharmacy to fill the prescription. While there we got in some heeling work as well as distracting people work. I noticed that Rex did a great job ignoring the merchandise too.

Finally, we stopped in at WalMart again. I planned to let Rex determine what we did and how long we stayed. I upped the usual reinforcement schedule wanting to make this a fun and stress-free (as much as possible) visit. He did a great job, giving me wonderful attention and heeling. We were able to walk around a lot, just enjoying looking at the different merchandise. We even ventured into the grocery section, and he was wonderful!

We've had a couple of days off, but today we'll meet up with friends again for our training walk. 

Until the next update...