Day 5: Taking it on the Town

Today was a big training day for Sage. I took her to Florence to work on her leash training, as well as have some R&R in beautiful places - like Honeyman Park and along the Siuslaw river. My assistant Debbie came along too, and thanks to her we have plenty of photos to document our efforts.

The first training challenge of the day was crate training just in case you ever need that for her. Starting with a crate in the car is often a relatively quick and painless way to help a dog get used to being in a crate. Sage wasn't very happy in the car - although I put her bed in it to make her comfy, she panted most of the way to Florence and wouldn't lie down.  Happily by the end of the day it was a very different story (more about that later!)

First stop was Honeyman park where there are beautiful lakes and trails. Because we were going to be working in distracting situations I used a Freedom Harness instead of Sage's harness. It fits her better and gives better control with less friction under the armpits.

All that panting makes a dog thirsty

 The foundation work we had done previously was clearly in place - and if she pulled we went back to those techniques to remind her what to do. For the most part Sage did really well in this new environment.

 We found a flight of steps and made good use of them (dogs often surge up or down stairs if they aren't taught to walk at heel). Sage did well with this and was soon goign up and down very calmly.

What a good girl!

 Next we had to load up to drive to another part of town. I waited with Sage and let her make a choice to get in or not. She jumped right in!

When asked to Sit and Down, she did! I closed the crate door and she remained relaxed. No panting or other signs of stress.

I am a dignified dog, even in a cage.

Next we went across town a little way to do some errands. Sage went to True Value, Pro Lumber, and Florence Pharmacy. She did a lot of Sit to Say Hi practice, and got lots of praise for not jumping and sitting calmly while she was being petted. She also lay down patiently in the aisle when she had to wait for a while.

After this, we went to a café for lunch. I left Sage in the car right outside the café, and checked back in a couple of minutes to be sure she was OK. She was already asleep. Awesome! So I left her there while we ate lunch, then got her out at the end, so she could have a drink and practice Café Manners. She was restless at first but settled down with a little help.

 There were two children at a nearby table, and Sage was happy to practice polite greetings with them. First she had to Sit facing me while I fed her treats to be sure she didn't get too excited or push her nose in the little girl's face while she was petting Sage on the back and shoulder.

Lily meets Sage

 Then Lily's mom and brother came along too to say hi. Sage was very good with both of them.

 I made sure that if Sage really had to kiss someone in the face, it was going to be me!

After our outdoor café party, we went to Old Town for leash walking practice in a very distracting place. People, dogs, cars, crows, pigeons, all sorts of smells, surfaces, traffic, etc. Sage was pretty distracted at first. She pulled and sniffed and generally needed a lot of help to stay focused and beside me.

Sage can pull quite hard even in a harness, so training techniques become particularly important. She needs to learn what to do, not just be prevented from pulling by a piece of equipment. Today we saw the limits of what she can do, as well as how much she has already learned.

Any dog she saw grabbed her attention.

 We made a lot of directional changes, since she wasn't interested in treats in this type of environment. No pulling allowed - as soon as she tried to go forward without me, I would turn across her body, or do a U Turn, or back up.

This is focused and tiring work, so I also gave her frequent sniff breaks.

Sometimes she did better than others!

 She especially loved sitting nicely to be petted - by anyone!

Sage was a big hit when she dropped in on this group of diners, by invitation.

 Walking went more smoothly for a while, then she lost focus again, so we took a break on the river beach.

Sniff walk on the beach

Tossing in some recall practice.

Beach agility

Checking out the wavelets

 Car parks are good places to do some focused walking, so we did some drills up and down the parking bay lines.  This helped her to remember what to do, and to settle down in a new place.

Then we moved on to the main street - again, new sensations took over her brain for a while, but then she settled down and walked well again.

 We went to a store called Raining Cats and Dogs, and met a friendly store owner who gave her some special treats.

A large excited dog was just outside the entry to the store. Sage stared at him intently, and needed help not to drag me towards him.

 I was able to redirect her and she settled as soon as the dog left, but it was clear that she needs more work learning to relax and ignore unknown dogs.

Sage recovers her composure.

 Outside the store we met another little girl who asked politely if she could pet her. Sage was happy to oblige.

By now, Sage was getting tired and overloaded, so it was time to go back to the car.

We drove back to Yachats and stopped outside a store, where I did an errand. Then I then sat in the car for a while answering phone calls. Sage slept the whole time, completely relaxed and comfortable- and probably tired out as well. Very different to how she was first thing this morning!

This was a big day for Sage. We upped the level of difficulty considerably, and as to be expected, she didn't do as well with her leash walking as she did in an easier environment. But she also did really well in many ways  - some excellent walking in some places, polite greetings, calm behavior in stores and around children. Our next training steps will be to spend more time in various town settings  - enough time for her to get  comfortable and able to focus and walk nicely, before moving on to the next one. We also need to work on her ability to ignore unfamiliar dogs.

As soon as she got home Sage had a big dinner and passed out on her bed. She is dreaming happily beside me, making small barks and snoring every so often. Lots to process from her big day out!
You are a super dog, Sage! Thanks for all your hard work today! You did great!!