PUPPY TRAIN BLOG

Last Saturday Candy did much better at training, she is starting to settle in.  On the way to training, I needed to make a stop at Pets Mart for dog food.  I decided even though it would make me a bit late, it was worth it for Candy to be taken inside the store.  Pets Mart is a great place to take a dog with you for extra socialization.  I normally do this with pups and would recommend people expose your pups to this.  I will normally expose them at about 4 to 6 months of age.  Candy did have her hair up about 50% of the time while we were in the store, with tiny breeds pulling out on leash yapping and excited, she wasn’t quite sure what to think of this place.  She was good and stayed with me, not pulling to get away from the area.  She did settle down as I totally ignored her and made her walk with me and the cart, as I ignored the yapping of the little dogs.

Pets Mart can be a good training place to help social behavior.  Remember to not praise or pet your pup/dog unless they are in a calm state, under control, and to keep them moving until you see the calm state.

Once her hair was down and calm we headed towards the checkout.  By the time we were waiting in line, there were people in front and back of us and she did well, so much so that the people behind us made a comment about how well behaved she was.    Well they hadn’t seen her at the beginning, but I was watchfull even though ignoring her insecurities.  I was not about to head to the checkout till the hair went down, so continued moving through isles keeping her on the side away from others for the time being, not allowing her to get close to any dog or person till she did.  She needed to pay attention to me, not others in the store, I kept the leash short having her heel beside me.  The people in line ask if they could pet her, I said yes because she was in a calm state, or I would have told them NO and explained that it would be praising a bad state of mind.  Once I had even noticed Candy had calmed down (hair down) I did say to her, “that’s it” and pet her in the store.  Candy needs more of this and I will take her with me when I shop there again.