Due to weather constraints and limited availability of dogs as training partners, much of Lilly’s work is being done in public. In a typical week, I only go to town once, so I’ve begun (again) taking Lilly with me when I run errands. We, then, take a walk on a popular trail and sometimes through downtown Golden as our training ground and as her reward for tagging along. We often have runners pass us or come up from behind. The same with bikes. We also see a fair number of dogs (both on and off leash) and many kids. So, it’s a constant exercise in Sudden Environmental Changes. Here are a few vignettes from recent outings.
Woman on Rollerblades + Dog
There’s a stretch of trail that narrows, with the creek on one side and a fenced-off ball field on the other. I notice a dog taking a potty break to our left as we approach, so we swing wide the other way. I figured we’d have plenty of time to get by before the woman rolled off the opposite direction.
(If you’re catching up, Lilly categorizes rollerblades along with skateboards, scooters, and those @#$@# wheelie shoes. Seeing people unnaturally fast, with noisy things on their feet, freaks Lilly out. We’re working on it, and if she has enough distance, Lilly can sit quietly as people pass, but we need the time and space to adjust.)
So, just as we swing around them, the woman skates off the same direction we’re headed … leaving the steaming pile behind. Before I could offer a bag or think terrible things about her in my head, she grabs a bag from the nearby poop bag dispenser and zooms back past us to pick up her dog’s mess.
I managed to get Lilly off the sidewalk and into a sit on this second pass. So far so good.
We cross over the bridge and head up another trail, only to have the woman, who is now being pulled along quickly by her much-relieved dog, fly past us. As she rumbled across the bridge, again, I managed to get Lilly into a sit and feed her constantly as they zoomed by for the third time.
BUT WAIT, they weren’t done. I start telling Lilly what a brave girl she as we continue on our way, once again well behind the wheeled woman and racing dog. When (you know what’s coming … don’t you?), she TURNS AROUND suddenly and races back toward us, shouting “We can’t decide which way to go” as she once again sees me quickly get Lilly off the trail, etc. etc.
RESULT: Lilly was nervous, but had the wherewithal to SIT-STAY and EAT when I asked, rather than bark, lunge or try to flee.
Man + 3 big dogs on flexi-leashes
Longtime readers know my disdain for flexible leashes, so I gave a man walking three big dogs on flexi-leashes wide berth. They were taking up the whole trail (plus some) anyway, so Lilly and I took a sidetrip into a parking lot, around a big bank of landscaping, then back onto the trail well past the guy and these dogs.
RESULT: As soon as Lilly alerted to the dogs, she began moving her feet faster, licking her lips, and looking at me with a worried face. Lilly settled back into a normal walking pace and posture as we moved wide from the scene.
Busy, Post-Parade Sidewalk
Apparently, there was some sort of holiday parade last Saturday in Golden. Our usual parking lot was packed with horse trailers and a bunch of girls (young and not so young) dressed like Santa’s Saloon Girls. Some of the perfectly groomed horses wore ribbons and even jingle bells. The whole place — the park, the sidewalk, the downtown area — was crawling with kids.
It was a real test of Lilly’s focus, but she did remarkably well. I’m sure the extra noise and people amped her up, but the only true full-on fear reaction she had was to some whirly-bird-style wind things tied to a canopy. There was a chili cookoff going on too, and I guess this participant REALLY wanted to attract attention.
We heeled our way through the crowds, including lots of strollers and a few dogs. She lagged a little here and there, which is a sign of stress, but then I asked her to WALK IT (her dog walk cue) each time we came to any of the flagstone planters that line main street.
RESULT: In this instance, having work to do, helped her ignore the crowds and traffic and whatever.
One of these days, I’ll need to figure out this tipping point where asking her to work helps versus stresses her out.
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