Chill Out

I took Stella for a visit to a client’s office this week.  We had not been there for quite some time and she was beautifully behaved.  My client was very impressed with her as she greeted appropriately with her feet on the floor and happily ran through some of her tricks.  We got a lot of “I can’t believe how good she is” etc. and comparisons to another young “out of control” dog that is owned by an office in the same complex.

I am very lucky to be able to take my dogs to various clients occasionally while I work.  It makes scheduling busy days easier when I need to go to dog classes or other dog related appointments.  Both dogs have done this since a young age so have learned to just chill out while I am working.  Stella is still a pup so I usually tether her to me or my desk to keep her from getting into trouble but she has learned to mostly just curl up and sleep or entertain herself with a chew.  Calm behaviours and a good "off switch" are super important life skills that a lot of people underestimate.  Dogs and especially puppies need to learn that although there is lots of time for fun there are also times to chill out.  It's not fancy fun training stuff but it sure can make life a lot easier.

My dogs aren’t perfect and I am far from a perfect dog owner but generally my dogs have good people and environmental social skills.  I have also gained a bit of wisdom and make some better choices about when to just leave them home.   I know that is not always an easy task when people have fearful or otherwise challenging dogs.  We dog owners face many “dog haters” and rules and regulations in today’s world and if we provide well behaved dog citizens then perhaps we might prevent even more of those awful restrictions.

Here is a little video of Stella working on some of the fun training stuff :o).

I am headed to clicker expo this weekend.  So excited!