Progress has been slower this week… It is becoming apparent that cars and people other than the ones she sees regularly are going to be the toughest hurdles to clear for Miss Luna. That being said we had many ups and a few downs this week so let’s get right to the week that was ????

 

Field trips:

A two-hour visit to my mom’s without me! I had to run errands so I left Luna with my mom, her dog (Dobbie) and her cat (Trouble) She settled right in and played with Dobbie and was trying to get attention from my mom! Not sure that Luna will ever be a great friend of the cat… But safe to say she tried and the cat was having none of it ????

 

We made two trips to PetSmart and in both cases, she did great! No pulling at all and way better with people… Now don’t misunderstand me she is still not taking treats from strangers and does still avoid but the fact she is walking great and not locking up when she sees strangers is huge. She even took treats from a trainer friend of mine at PetSmart (Thanks Ashley) but it did take about 10 minutes of taking her treats off the ground before she would (work slow)

Both trips to PetSmart also included walks in the parking lot (the way outside edges of the parking lot) so that we can get used to being around cars… again if we are at distances she is comfortable with she is not pulling and walking great with me but still not taking treats when there are cars or strange people around!

 

Almost forgot we did make a trip to Starbucks and we sat out on the grass and Dad enjoyed his White Chocolate and Luna enjoyed some whipped cream, but the cars and people were still hard but we will keep working!!!

Feeding and treats:

Luna is a super-fast eater and I want to nip that habit asap so we bought her a slowdown bowl… As you can see from the picture it has lots of nooks and crannies that hold food and keep dogs from woofing down their food… I have also along with the hand feeding started feeding Luna one time a day in the bowl outside her crate so she adds something new to her routine!

 

I also had several hand feeding sessions with all the dogs so that Luna can better become part of the team and so that she learns some patience each dog gets a treat and then to the next one. Keep in mind this is 3-4 weeks of getting used to each other before adding high value food and treats to a communal idea. But as the pictures show it is working great and I think the confidence of the other dogs rubs off on Miss Luna!

 

My Baseball cap ☹ well I decided to test Miss Luna and leave her out with the other dogs while I took a shower and well one of my favorite Kiss Dog training hats has, well become a work hat (due to the bent bill and teeth marks) Look the only way to gauge how much you can trust a dog is to test the dog but Mikey failed the dog proofing test and my hat paid the price ???? I share this and the other whoopsies so that you can see that even us smart dog trainers screw up every now and then….

 

Finally, we did at least daily and sometime multiple car rides each day. Sometimes taking the boys to school… Sometimes to the bank and of course on all the field trips… Getting a dog used to being in the car is important. The only issues I have had is when folks are right next to the car, she does growl a little bit and runs to the other side of the car. I do not correct her for this and allow her to move and simply with a calm voice tell her she is fine… I expect this to subside as my work around people continues and she gets more comfortable with people!

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