We practiced for the first time ever in the lot today. I will not increase any of the criteria except for sit/stay. He is VERY distracted out there. He know there could be dogs, bikes, kids running, etc. out there. He was obviously distracted, but managed to get every trial in between rounds of scanning the area. Nothing took more than two minutes, which is a good sign, but I'd like to get those times down before we move on. Eye contact, Targeting the hand, and Park it all took the full two minutes. Gotcha is getting really good, and sit/stay wasn't too bad at 90 seconds. We used a mixture of Zukes & TOTs. Considering I didn't get out the cheese or peanut butter, he really did do well. He even ignored the bicycle not 20 feet from us.
After we got through our trials, we went for a short walk. Every time he pulls, I stop, and he is required to look me in the eye and come to me to get a treat before we move on. He's getting much quicker at this. I often reward with the desired sniffing in addition to or instead of the treat. However, when we were walking today, there was a lady at the bus stop that we see frequently. He was whining to go meet her. We crossed Washington street, and I asked the lady from a distance if she would pet the dog. Went through the usual explanation, and she agreed. We then went closer to the tire shop (LOTS of noises there). Yesterday, John asked them if we could come visit. Charlie's not ready for the noises close up, but now we can start oozing that way so he gets more exposed to big noises. On the way back, he actually offered a few moments of true healing, and lots of praise and a handful of food while we walked. Got to LOVE this dog. He can eat and walk at the same time!!!!
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