Mom and I went practice walking at stores again. She took me to the home store we visited last week. This time, she got a cart and did a little shopping. I did a super job staying right beside her. Trainer lady had taught her to get my attention right before exiting a side isle into a larger main isle. She treated me intermittently and I am getting the hang of it! The workers are all very nice and everyone smiles at me, even the guys driving the fork lifts. I feel pretty comfortable in this kind of store now. This was my first time going through a check out. I sat very nicely while waiting in line and while the lady scanned mom's items. The lady almost petted me but pulled back just as mom asked her not to. As long as people ignore me I don't get excited and stay focused. When we got to the end of the checkout lane, mom dropped an item and asked me to pick it up, so I did. Funny thing, she dropped another item when she was putting her coat on and I had to help her again! There were several people creating distraction so she thinks I did an awesome job.
Next, we went to the mall we visited last week. I was much more relaxed since I had been there before. The elevator didn't scare me this time and I sat very nicely next to a lady in a wheelchair. It was pretty crowded and some people even bumped into me, so I started leaning into mom when there were more people around. One little girl and her mom commented that I was the third working dog they had seen that day! The parents are very good about telling their kids they can't pet me, but some seniors came up and wanted to learn all about me. They didn't understand much about autism and mostly wanted to talk about the therapy dogs that visited their senior center. I sat quietly while they talked but was glad when mom said we needed to keep walking. We even walked through a food court because mom wanted to visit the restroom. I really like the mall and didn't want to go home but mom ignored my request to stay (pulling and looking back). I showed her though - I refused to put my paws up to get into the car so she had to heave all 60 pounds of me into the tailgate! But I forgave her by the time we got home and took a long nap.
Next, we went to the mall we visited last week. I was much more relaxed since I had been there before. The elevator didn't scare me this time and I sat very nicely next to a lady in a wheelchair. It was pretty crowded and some people even bumped into me, so I started leaning into mom when there were more people around. One little girl and her mom commented that I was the third working dog they had seen that day! The parents are very good about telling their kids they can't pet me, but some seniors came up and wanted to learn all about me. They didn't understand much about autism and mostly wanted to talk about the therapy dogs that visited their senior center. I sat quietly while they talked but was glad when mom said we needed to keep walking. We even walked through a food court because mom wanted to visit the restroom. I really like the mall and didn't want to go home but mom ignored my request to stay (pulling and looking back). I showed her though - I refused to put my paws up to get into the car so she had to heave all 60 pounds of me into the tailgate! But I forgave her by the time we got home and took a long nap.
RSS Feed