Day Eight -- Out on the Town

Luna had a full today (as if the other days weren't full...).

We were heading out for an outing so I wanted to make sure she was pretty well exercised before we go. Even if your puppy is perfect at everything at home, that doesn't mean that's going to be the case once she's in a new environment with a lot of different distractions. But we'll be prepared...

Luna has had plenty of socialization with new dogs and new people so now it's time to try our skills in a new environment.

But first, we have to work on our extreme cuteness so we will get lots of practice greeting new people. No problem there...

Knowing that there are a lot of distractions here, we came prepared. In addition to the new environment, new people, and new dogs, there are also toys...

And snacks!!! Luna's favorite. Not to worry, Luna, we have snacks for you. If she is really distracted and can't pay attention to me, I know there are several things I can do to help her out.

I can spend time before we go into the store working on attention. I could also stop moving about the store and work on attention instead. Sometimes it's easier for the puppy if you take the element of movement out of the equation.

I can increase my rate of reinforcement (how often I am giving her food rewards for paying attention or walking next to me). I could also increase the value of the treat I am giving her (maybe it's time to break out the string cheese). I can also get some distance away from the distraction. It helps, too, if I get her attention long before we are upon the distraction. It's much more difficult to get her attention back when she's already at the end of the leash visiting with another dog or checking out those bags of treats.

Our cuteness factor paid off! Lots of people wanted to visit. She forgot momentarily when we first arrived how to do her greetings. That happens when there is an added level of excitement. So I'm prepared with extra treats to help her out. It takes no time at all before her greetings are just as good as they are at home. She was even able to show off her "down" for the store employees.

It takes a lot out of a pup to go into public places like that which is one of the reasons we ease them into it. Even with the other dogs playing all around her, she still wanted to snooze after our outing.

Luckily her friends joined her after a bit. It's always nice to have friends to nap with.

A little bit of rest will help her to work on that cuteness factor. She clearly doesn't need to work on that too hard...