Out and About: Training with your dog
One of the best ways to kill all the hype about bully breeds is to prove people wrong! Yeah, you can tell people you have a sweet pit bull at home, but why not show them?
Last weekend, LaLa, Deb, and I set out on an adventure with our dogs to work on training in public and to shop. While I can admit I got a little carried away with my purchases, a majority of it was for the Roundup! While we did our shopping we put our dogs in a down or a stay and walked away from them to poke around (nearby of course).
The best thing about going out with your well-mannered dog is that people constantly stop you to ask about them. Poor Deb's always on repeat about what happened to Jet's missing leg... For those of you who haven't heard the story, Jet was a Renton city stray. He was found with a broken elbow that hadn't healed right, so they just took it off. Once I tell people Cow's deaf, I'm always asked if she's always been like that or if someone did something mean to her. 
I tell them Cow's story of being a breeder's tossed out puppy cause of her hearing impairment and that always gets some horrific gasps. "How could someone do that?!"
Our adventured led us to Denny's Pet World in Kirkland where I got a couple of the toys for the Roundup. While we were there Cow was extremely upset about the bird displays. I think birds are the bane of her existence... She can't catch them to give them a good sniff, and I think this breaks her heart.
All 3 of the dogs behaved extremely well while we were there. They got a lot of compliments about how good they were! And even treats!
After Denny's we hunted down some lunch that we could bring the dogs to. We ended up going to Mongolian Grill where we enjoyed our meal outside with the pups in the shade! The table we picked was right next to the front door of Taco Del Mar, and the dogs remained stationary while people went in and out. It's always a sour reminder that we have "vicious dogs" when people cowered from them as they walked out of the restaurant. A couple moms with strollers looked a little panic stricken when Jet got up to let them roll into the door. He was only being polite!
After we ate, we poked around in Molbak's Nursery. The dogs got quite a bit of attention from kids and adults alike! We made the dogs relax while we tried backpacks on them, only to be interrupted every 2 minutes by yet another passerby.
It's important to take your dog out often to get them used to it! Ever wonder why dogs are so excited and freaking out on leash? It's because they don't get to do it enough, so it becomes an over-stimulant. The same goes for everything else... Meeting new dogs, fence aggression, jumping on people... It's all things that need to be done again and again to get them used to it. That way, the next time you go out with your pup they're thinking Yay! Another day out with mom! Same old same old instead of OMG I NEVER GET TO DO THIS! WHATS THAT PERSON DOING OVER THERE?! WHATS THAT IN THE SKY?! The key to a mellow dog is making everything you do a normal activity.
It's really refreshing to go out with your dog and have them behave in a socially expected way. It makes YOU look good because you have a well-behaved dog, and it makes your DOG look good because they aren't getting yelled at. It also makes the BREED look good because it dampens the stereotype that all pit bulls are vicious people eaters.
May 21st, 2010 - 12:37
Loved it!