Yuppie Puppies - NOT

Aye Mates,
Did a road trip with TRAD and LEXIE yesterday to the "BIG CITY" at a virtual Yuppie Mecca. I'am not one for big shopping venues and there's not a store on these "training grounds" that would hold me interest for more than a nanosecond. Training grounds ye might be wondering??? I like using these venues as they are rife with distraction of all sorts, crying babies, smells of food, traffic noises, other dogs, people, people, and more people (none of them adorned in camo like meself), likely that makes some o' them nervous and leaves me wondering when the SWAT TEAM is going to come take me down. "Take me, just don't hurt me dogs". In reality, there are many K9 friendly establishments that welcome dogs into their stores Surprisingly, two are less than welcoming to FIDO, that leaving me scratching me head and LL and Eddie rolling in their graves, those once revered bastions of outdoors folks now catering to the suburban masses.

All said, the trips I make to this venue are well worth the 45 minute journey for the benefits gained in working obedience in this "real world" (not really) land of distraction. Both TRAD and LEXIE are held to the same high standards that they live by in the woods, swamps, cover plots, etc., where we normally work though pheasant and ducks are sorely absent, that being rather disconcerting for the bird driven duo. Birds lacking, I still make the trip fun for the retrievers and allow them to meet with the many fans they instantly attract as dogs of high level obedience skills. A lady just yesterday said of LEXIE - "that dog behaves better than my kid". I just smiled and said "thank ye M'am". Folks are truly baffled whence they see what these dogs are capable of with solid training and consistency in holding them to the standards they have been trained to. For the dogs I train, those standards are a way of life and they truly enjoy the structure it provides for them.

We won't ever be shooting any "live flyers" at this venue, surely that might cause some to choke on their scones or spill their cappuccino. We will however continue to train for obedience under distraction on these special training grounds and reap the benefits of generalizing the skill sets imparted in our beloved REAL WORLD - (the natural one).

Cheers,
THE DOG WHISTLER

TRAD and LEXIE - "Where's the birds"?

Yep. Great idea. It looks like it was a beautiful day. I have a problem with Rocket Dog when I do this. She will be FABULOUS, indeed, immaculate with her obedience... until the nearest person makes eye-contact, reaches for her and says... "ooooh, what a sweeeeeet doggie." She loses it and it's as if I am not even there. Which puts me in a bind. I usually say something like... "oh, I'm so sorry my dog is misbehaving I'll just take her over there..." and we heel quickly away.

So, I put a very official looking harness on her. It only says "In Training" on it. I'm not representing her as a service dog or going anywhere that dogs would otherwise not be allowed. When she's in her little uniform, people leave her alone and she her behavior is perfect.

The other reason I like what you're doing. It is almost like an ambassadorship for the land of trained and civilized dogdom. Maybe it will inspire someone to work with their misbehaving mutt.

I try to get mine out in public 2 or 3 times a week. We were at Lowes this past Saturday buying paint, and had the dogs with us. While we were waiting for the pain to be mixed I was doing signals exercises with Brooks. People were amazed at how well he was doing, especially when they found out he was only a year old. At one point he was sitting in the main aisle on a stay with me about 10 feet away, people walking past him and he kept his focus (mostly) on me. People just grinned ear to ear.

Mike I've had a few people ask me if I could train their kids!

Barry ditto here on training the kids ... I had a woman with two kids in a carriage stop and ask to trade me straight up - CASSIE for her two children. She said, "if you can train them like her, then I'll be impressed :)"

Nice photos Mike. Of course, its easy to take nice photos of good subjects.

Barry and Jack,
Keep up the good work, it will pay huge dividends.👍

Cheers,
Mikey☘️

Good for you!

I don’t often take mine to stores as there aren’t many nearby that allow dogs (even our Home Depot doesn’t, although many other locations do). I do get many compliments on how well behaved mine are out in the park or if we take them into Princeton to stroll around, and I do think it is great for people to see what well-trained dogs can be like. Gives other dog owners something to aspire to, and people who don’t generally like dogs less reason to want them banned.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Annette47

Good for you!

I don’t often take mine to stores as there aren’t many nearby that allow dogs (even our Home Depot doesn’t, although many other locations do). I do get many compliments on how well behaved mine are out in the park or if we take them into Princeton to stroll around, and I do think it is great for people to see what well-trained dogs can be like. Gives other dog owners something to aspire to, and people who don’t generally like dogs less reason to want them banned.

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Good points made Annette. I took TRAD to a meeting I attended at Cabela's last night and had him carry a purchase we made up to the register, the staff and customers loved it.👍

Mikey☘️

Thank you for a truly good chuckle.

I try to search out unusual circumstances for Archie. One of the best was when our street was being ground down and repaved. Sounds, vibrations, smells. Don't forget your local fire station, police station. May not sound too challenging but the different uniforms/looks. At a recent local fire station expo a fire marshal told me he has had dogs run back into burning houses with a fireman in full gear is approaching. The more a dog gets used to these new sights and sounds, the better.

BTW, the same fireman told me kids have been known to hide in a burning house because of the "monster" coming in. That's why they hold the public invited expos.