Robbie, Ella and I went on a short road trip Sunday. We traveled up to visit Kathy and her shelties and to see how Charlie, Kathy’s new foster, was doing. It was a beautiful day for it!
Before we left, Robbie and I did a little training. He touched my hand with no lure, did a few downs with no lures and sat (slowly). Gosh, we really need to work on the speed of his sit!
Then we piled into the car. We stopped at Petco for some styptic powder before we got to Kathy’s. R&E accompanied me into the store. Ella has been in big box pet stores on many occasions and she handled the visit quite well. She looked around, took treats from me, and was not really scared.
Robbie, on the other hand, was over threshold – he wouldn’t take treats. But, even though he wouldn’t take treats, he was very interested in the sights and smells. It was just after the store opened for the day, so there were very few customers and no one bothered us. Robbie followed Ella’s lead but his tail was slightly tucked and he was quite happy to leave once we cashed out.
Before we left, Robbie and I did a little training. He touched my hand with no lure, did a few downs with no lures and sat (slowly). Gosh, we really need to work on the speed of his sit!
Then we piled into the car. We stopped at Petco for some styptic powder before we got to Kathy’s. R&E accompanied me into the store. Ella has been in big box pet stores on many occasions and she handled the visit quite well. She looked around, took treats from me, and was not really scared.
Robbie, on the other hand, was over threshold – he wouldn’t take treats. But, even though he wouldn’t take treats, he was very interested in the sights and smells. It was just after the store opened for the day, so there were very few customers and no one bothered us. Robbie followed Ella’s lead but his tail was slightly tucked and he was quite happy to leave once we cashed out.
At Kathy's, Ella and Robbie stayed in the car while I went inside and helped with nails and grooming. Everyone had their nails trimmed and everyone behaved quite well. Charlie was a bit standoffish, but he willing took treats from me when I sat next to him on the couch. He will make a fine sheltie for someone!
Then Kathy let her dogs out into the fenced in area and everyone had a barkfest – Robbie and Ella decided that they wanted to be in the car (on the other side of the fence). This, plus the pet store, made Robbie a little more reactive that day.
We went home and I did a few chores and then we all had a nice nap.
For dinner, we went to my mother’s house and my nieces came, too. Robbie reacts to my nieces by barking at them. He reacts when they move quickly and when they are noisy. If they sit quietly, he ignores them.
Then Kathy let her dogs out into the fenced in area and everyone had a barkfest – Robbie and Ella decided that they wanted to be in the car (on the other side of the fence). This, plus the pet store, made Robbie a little more reactive that day.
We went home and I did a few chores and then we all had a nice nap.
For dinner, we went to my mother’s house and my nieces came, too. Robbie reacts to my nieces by barking at them. He reacts when they move quickly and when they are noisy. If they sit quietly, he ignores them.
Robbie and I did some training so that he would not bark at the girls while they moved around and the girls were quite good about moving slowly when they were in the room with him.
Most of the time, Robbie and I stayed in the kitchen and the girls stayed in the living room with their grandfather. This kept two rooms between us and was just enough so that Robbie could focus on me while we trained. When Robbie turned his head in the direction of the living room (he was focusing on the noise they were making), I clicked and treated him. We did this for about 15 minutes while my mom and sister finished getting dinner ready.
Robbie barked once or twice at my oldest niece before we sat down to dinner, but responded nicely to me (he came for a treat when I clicked him for not barking) and then he laid quietly in the corner while everyone ate. He was given treats for this nice behavior.
Most of the time, Robbie and I stayed in the kitchen and the girls stayed in the living room with their grandfather. This kept two rooms between us and was just enough so that Robbie could focus on me while we trained. When Robbie turned his head in the direction of the living room (he was focusing on the noise they were making), I clicked and treated him. We did this for about 15 minutes while my mom and sister finished getting dinner ready.
Robbie barked once or twice at my oldest niece before we sat down to dinner, but responded nicely to me (he came for a treat when I clicked him for not barking) and then he laid quietly in the corner while everyone ate. He was given treats for this nice behavior.
We left soon after dinner so he was only exposed to the girls for a short amount of time. He did really well with this and I was pleased with his progress. And, I was pleased with how well the girls did, too!
While this was not the ideal training set up, I managed to make it work well for all of us. It took a lot of concentration on my part and I would not make all the sessions like this, but it did give me a good idea of where Robbie’s threshold was for the girls.
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