Since when is every public place a zoom zone for kids? Not to date myself, but back in my day we played in our neighborhood, and outings to malls, farmer’s markets and the like were something altogether different. My mom would have never allowed errands to be playtime. Clearly, I notice it more because Lilly reacts to fast-moving objects, but it seems like everywhere we go there are kids zooming by on skateboards, scooters and those wheelie shoes. It’s enough to put an anxious dog over the edge.
Lilly was doing spectacular work on Saturday outside a local mall. We were working on those automatic doors, which really freak her out. We started at quite a distance, and I click/treated her for not reacting to the doors opening and closing. We worked closer and closer, and Lilly did great.
We even walked in and out several times … just into the alcove and back.
Then, we took a break to visit with some tourists who were sitting on benches outside the mall entrance. Lilly did tricks for them. She enjoyed being petted. All in all, it was turning out to be a good outing.
And, then a family approached from behind. I didn’t think much of it until the little girl suddenly picked up speed and rolled by us on her wheelie shoes. One second normal, next second ZOOM!
Lilly freaked out — barking and lunging at the girl.
I try very hard not to obsess, but all this zooming makes our public space training pretty hard.
With skateboards, bikes and scooters, I can usually see or hear them coming and adjust Lilly’s position in hopes of preventing an outburst. There’s even a group of teenage boys we often see on one creekside walking path who dismount their skateboards while passing Lilly. We’ve talked before about Lilly’s fears. They’ve smooched on her and stuff, so when they see us coming, they help out. Now … that’s a pack of good boys.
But, with these darn wheelie shoes, the sudden movement often catches me (and Lilly) by surprise.
And, well, today … I’m a little crabby about it.
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