Today started like any other day for Luko. He was up and fed at 8:00. Had an exercise walk mid morning and some lounging around the living room in the early afternoon. So when I took him out to the Volvo and let him hop into the hatchback he was very excited. We had a minor disagreement about whether or not he should get to sit in the hatch or if he should get to sit in the back seat. After I got him to understand why the hatch was best we set off to his first field trip into town.
We parked behind South Park and spent a while moseying around the park, putting Luko through some of his obedience paces. He had his Thundershirt on and was not acting very anxious.
After doing some obedience in the park we crossed Mass. and walked north. The first couple times we passed someone he tucked his tail but he did not break from the heel. For some reason he really wanted to go into Fuzzy's Taco shop but that was not on the agenda so we moved on. The foot traffic was light at times and would get heavier every once in a while. He did not growl, skirt, bolt, or avoid anyone who passed him. 4 times he reached to sniff someone as they passed. When a large group of young men walked by us I asked Luko to lay down and he did but very slowly. He laid down quietly while the 15 person group walked very close by us.
He did shorten his lip and tuck his tail when a child ran past us from behind. A short lip (not a snarl, just shortening his mouth in what could be described as a pursed lip) is an indication of anxiety or general discomfort with the situation. He did not have any other reaction to the child and as soon as the child passed us Luko relaxed almost immediately. A few young children passed us without the element of surprise and he walked by them peacefully and even reached for one to give a sniff.
We did not push the obedience during this walk. All we did was Heel/Autosit, Down at the left side and one Down from the front. He was on a 6 ft obedience leash and was not allowed to pull.
The plan is to take a field trip again in the next couple days. Tomorrow is going to be spent working on his off leash. He is doing really well in the training room so tomorrow we are going to introduce him to a long line. This will allow us to work on "off leash" outside. The long line gives him 20 ft of mistake making possibilities without actually risking him bolting just yet. We are also going to ask him to do obedience in the training room with the baby doll (which we have named Creepy) crawling around.
He spent 1.5 hours on his placemat today. He tried to get off of it 2 times at the beginning of the exercise but soon he curled up and fell asleep. He loves his bed and feels safe on it.
For the rest of the evening we are going to relax downstairs and possibly toss a rope toy around. Right now he is whining because he wants to come out and play.
We parked behind South Park and spent a while moseying around the park, putting Luko through some of his obedience paces. He had his Thundershirt on and was not acting very anxious.
After doing some obedience in the park we crossed Mass. and walked north. The first couple times we passed someone he tucked his tail but he did not break from the heel. For some reason he really wanted to go into Fuzzy's Taco shop but that was not on the agenda so we moved on. The foot traffic was light at times and would get heavier every once in a while. He did not growl, skirt, bolt, or avoid anyone who passed him. 4 times he reached to sniff someone as they passed. When a large group of young men walked by us I asked Luko to lay down and he did but very slowly. He laid down quietly while the 15 person group walked very close by us.
He did shorten his lip and tuck his tail when a child ran past us from behind. A short lip (not a snarl, just shortening his mouth in what could be described as a pursed lip) is an indication of anxiety or general discomfort with the situation. He did not have any other reaction to the child and as soon as the child passed us Luko relaxed almost immediately. A few young children passed us without the element of surprise and he walked by them peacefully and even reached for one to give a sniff.
We did not push the obedience during this walk. All we did was Heel/Autosit, Down at the left side and one Down from the front. He was on a 6 ft obedience leash and was not allowed to pull.
The plan is to take a field trip again in the next couple days. Tomorrow is going to be spent working on his off leash. He is doing really well in the training room so tomorrow we are going to introduce him to a long line. This will allow us to work on "off leash" outside. The long line gives him 20 ft of mistake making possibilities without actually risking him bolting just yet. We are also going to ask him to do obedience in the training room with the baby doll (which we have named Creepy) crawling around.
He spent 1.5 hours on his placemat today. He tried to get off of it 2 times at the beginning of the exercise but soon he curled up and fell asleep. He loves his bed and feels safe on it.
For the rest of the evening we are going to relax downstairs and possibly toss a rope toy around. Right now he is whining because he wants to come out and play.
Luko is bored of driving.
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