Yesterday evening we took Skye with us when we went to the shops. First we went to a Pet Shop, and as Skye can sometimes be challenging in Pet Shops, I wasn't sure how she would behave. Skye finds all the gerbils, hamsters and other small animals extremely distracting, and she seems to have taken a step backwards with her pet shop behavior recently. We go to pet shops often, so we've had plenty of opportunities to practice. I had some tasty treats in my pocket for her, and was hoping these would help!
At first she was reluctant to enter the shop, but with some encouragement she came in. She was fine, until she noticed the rabbits! Her instant response was to try and pull me over to say hello, however I decided to turn and walk in the other direction and I was firm with her so she followed me. After this she was fine, though at some points she was still keen to get over to the rabbits/hamsters/gerbils/guinea pigs etc. The man from the pet shop gave her a treat and she was really pleased. Then she didn't want to leave!
Next up we went to the toy shop, and Skye soon spotted the tennis balls! I gave her a clear "leave it" and she looked at me, at which point I gave her a treat and kept walking past. What I thought might be an issue wasn't actually that bad!
Then there was the food shop and Skye seems to know to ignore the food, though she did find the sausages tempting - but I used a treat to steer her past them. When she walked along nicely at my side I gave her a treat. The other day we met up with Sophie from AADI and she advised me to give Skye her treats from my left hand when she's walking so that she doesn't end up crossing over me to get to her treat. This actually works much better and makes perfect sense. She waits patiently at the till, and I was pleased with her behaviour.
At the van she jumped in no problem, and cuddled up to Amber. They really love each other...!!
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