Taken in the driveway, before we left. Not at all representative of the trip.
When we got to the parking lot next to the beach, Cecil noticed other dogs milling about before we even let him out of the car. We tried in vain to get him to sit, or look at us, or do *anything* he knows how to do. He wouldn't eat the food we brought to entice him into behaving well, and that's a sure sign that he's scared out of his little puppy mind. It wasn't looking good for a successful adventure.
BUT! Once we got to the actual beach and swapped out his five foot walking leash for his 50 foot Freedom Leash, as we call it, he was in heaven. He must have sniffed every grain of sand on the beach. That, plus, every time he came back to us, he got a piece of cheese (because coming back to us is a GOOOOD THING). Puppy heaven indeed.
Sniff! Sniff-sniff-sniff-sniff-sniff!
The best part, though, was that he did so well meeting all the other dogs. He sniffed them and let them sniff him, rather than freezing up like a little puppy statue. He even ran and played with some of them. Oh, it warmed our hearts to see that. Sadly, we didn't get pictures of that, because we were too busy jumping for joy and high-fiving each other. You think I'm joking, don't you?
By the end of the visit, Cecil had chilled out quite a bit.
"See, I'm being so good. That means more cheese, right?"
I wonder how many adventures it'll take until well-mannered, compliant Cecil joins us from the beginning?
7 comments:
Yeah for a good puppy outing! :) He is adorable
Thanks, Joanna! We were super excited that it went so well. Yeah!!!
It takes time but you will get there. He is adorable!!!
Thanks Kattie! It's a process.... he's tons better than when we got him six months ago, so there's that. I'm going to be so happy, though, when we can bring him places without him getting freaked out. Something to look forward to!
Aw! Good dawg!!! Excellent strategy too.
Hmm, maybe we should try your tactics. Fievel is awful around other dogs, and after a misguided biting incident this weekend, I think he needs a better way to socialize. Sometimes I wish I had gotten him as a puppy.
Thanks, crow! :)
L, we didn't get Cecil as a puppy either -- it's never too late. The Freedom Leash stuff is more to teach him to come back to us, but in terms of socializing, the focus is more on keeping him at a distance where he's able to stay calm and giving him treats as a reward... Then move closer and ask him to stay calm. And repetition: asking for the same sort of control in lots of venues and situations. In one dog school class, it was amazing -- he sat and stayed when a dog walked by, then we moved *ten feet away* and it was like starting from square one. The approach we use comes from the trainer who ran the classes we took him to (caninebehaviorcounseling.com -- she has a few blog posts there) and books by Patricia McConnell. So, so, SO helpful. Good stuff.
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