One for the books

A few days ago, Aidan, G, and I returned to Barnes & Noble—this time without Connie. It was far more crowded than it had been during our training session from a couple months ago, which gave G many more opportunities to become distracted. I know I’ve mentioned before that I think G always tries to impress Connie when she’s around. Her perspective is that I’m more confident in her presence, which translates into how I handle the dog. Perhaps somewhere between lies the truth. 

My general observation from our recent experiences is that G seems to have a harder time staying on task while outside but does decently well indoors. This could very well be because the outdoors can be sensory overload to a dog with all the different smells that are carried with the wind. Supporting my theory, the only real challenges we had with G during this outing happened as we walked toward the store entrance and when we exited.

As we made our way through the parking lot, G wanted to linger and investigate anything and everything he saw on the ground. This meant I would have to tug on his leash a little bit to get him moving again. He also made a point to stop and pee on a concrete post—although I really had no issue with this, thinking that it was better to get his business done out here rather than inside the store. None of his behavior at this point was really problematic. I just kept trying to get his attention as we walked, rewarding him with a treat whenever he looked up at me. This was something that Connie had instructed me to do to get him acclimated to the idea that only the best things come from me, so it’s worth it to pay attention. 

Once inside Barnes & Noble, he was definitely curious about all the customers milling about. But, even so, he walked faithfully by my side, sat or laid down when commanded to, and stayed in his spot as directed—even when I would walk away as far as the leash would take me. (This is one of the tasks we’ll have to successfully accomplish together as part of our certification.) There was only one time when he darted in front of me as we wandered through the different sections. A woman was perusing some books, and, for some reason, G felt compelled to go sniff her legs. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to mind and was very gracious as I apologized for his behavior.

It really is rather interesting the amount of attention that a service dog draws. While no one approached us or tried to interact directly with G, we heard plenty of comments. Especially from passing mothers explaining to their children about working dogs and how his vest indicated an “on duty” status. And, of course, we heard a few remarks regarding what a handsome boy he is. 

But not everyone we encountered seemed as enamored. While we were at the register paying for our books, an older woman who was waiting behind us glared at G with obvious disdain. He was in a down position next to me, wagging his tail in glee whenever she would make eye contact, which must have been often. Aidan and I were perplexed by her disapproving glances since we weren’t intruding in her space in any way, nor was G doing anything disruptive. She was clearly impatient with waiting and barked at our cashier to get someone else there to help her. Pronto. We don’t know her story, so we can’t speculate on why she seemed so annoyed by our presence. Maybe there was an article in the magazine she just purchased that she simply couldn’t wait to read. Or perhaps she was allergic to dogs. I’m just grateful she chose not to engage with us or vocalize any of her negative feelings.

Once we exited the store and started to make our way to the parking lot, I was jerked back rather forcefully as G tried to check out a couple who were walking behind us. I had to stop abruptly in my tracks but, fortunately, was not thrown off balance. I gave G a leash correction and verbally reprimanded him, but I can’t say for sure if it even registered with him. I think we must have amused the couple, who chuckled a bit as they walked past.

Reflecting on the entire experience, Aidan and I gave G a score of 7/8 out of 10, which is pretty darn good considering this was his first time in a busy store without a PAWS rep. I’m pretty certain that if I could manage these outings on a more regular basis, G would only get better and better.