This past week, we took our Preschoolers to the pet store. This was a BIG outing and a big deal for the three puppies who came with us. They spent a long, single training session working on attention, loose leash walking, sits and downs - all in a bustling, noisy, and delicious smelling store - with people and food and animals all around them. The puppies were of varying ages, between 4 and 6 months old, but all three of them did phenomenally and had a successful and happy socialization and behavior outing.
How did we get here? What I can tell you is that we did not take unknown puppies, bring them straight to a pet store, and hustle them into the door. This was a process - one that was different for each of the pups involved.
First, there was Gari. As you might have read, this was graduation day for our sweet German Shepherd girl. For Gari, everything about this outing could have easily been a trigger for barking, growling, lunging, snapping - just a few short weeks ago. Our process with training Gari was very slow and methodical. In her first sessions, Gari was only asked to be out for short periods of time with lots of breaks for rest and recovery. We made sure her first sessions were in fenced yards where she could be dragging a leash, so she could gain as much distance from us - new people - as the other dogs, and anything else she was concerned about. She could explore the world at her own pace. When we took her for walks, it was in open fields where we could again let her be out on a long leash at a comfortable distance, and where we could see any new people or dogs coming. Her interactions with the other puppies were either very short while in the fenced in yards, or sniffing between fences when she was on a leash and might feel more vulnerable. It was in fields like these that we first started having closer indirect interactions with dogs - letting her come and practice settling with other puppies nearby, both leashed without any options for direct interaction.
Once she was able to comfortably settle with the other puppies, we moved those same activities to fenced in yards and asking her to settle off leash with one other puppy. After she was able to settle calmly, she was then allowed to play - first with just one puppy at a time, and then in subsequent sessions adding additional pups. Clover has been one of her best buddies from early on. After she would play with Clover, they also were often the pair we would leash up and practice manners in each other’s presence, especially as we started walking again in new environments. This way, Gari learned that other puppies and other distractions were nothing to be concerned about, and also something she could focus on learning around. Her first trip to a pet store was with Clover and on her own, in short bursts with lots of play breaks.
Clover, the Sheepdog/Poodle mix, has long since overcome her initial concerns about other dogs and people. Her family’s hard work and her consistent attendance at socialization sessions and preschool has made her quite the ambassador for all the other puppies. However, Miss Clover can still be very concerned about new noises and occasionally new environments. For that reason, her introduction to those things was slow as well. On walks, especially in neighborhoods with a lot of car noises, Gari was her emotional support just as much as she returned the favor. And we would listen to her responses to those triggers and offer her the safety of a yard or a quiet park when she made it clear she was done. During training, we’ve focused not just on manners with her but on relying on her person in uncertain situations and looking to them to get her to a place that feels safer. Clover did well in her first pet store excursion, but like Gari, did only short bursts in the building with lots of breaks and play time in between.
Lastly, my buddy Arlo came to the pet store. Arlo is a cattle dog mix, which is not usually what you’d associate with a sensitive soul, but he has one! He has been showing a little worry about new people in certain situations, and also can be easily distracted by scents or sights around him. With Arlo, his preschool sessions thus far have been focused on building comfort and confidence in a variety of locations, and working on polite loose leash walking.
This week we wanted to prepare all the puppies for a successful pet store outing that would last longer and be a little more crowded and busy than the previous store we went to. They had a chance to get their energy out with a long play session, time in and out of the pool and running around the yard with each other, and then some time to decompress in kennels before we went out. When we got to the pet store, we worked them with different activities and kept things moving with lots of reinforcement for good behavior. We kept them away from people until they could handle walking near them and were acclimated to a new place.
Lastly and most important, we didn’t push it. When we started seeing slower responses, we left while they were still behaving generally well - we didn’t ask more from them than what they were able to give to us.
This wouldn’t be possible without our amazing puppy parents. Preparing puppies for busy socialization outings - or adult dogs for anything they might find overwhelming - means knowing the dog you have in front of you and progressing at their pace, setting them up for success along the way. Sometimes that means steps forward are tiny, and sometimes it means taking breaks to step back to give our dogs and ourselves a chance to regroup. But it also means that when you take that final step to meet your goal, the result can be seamless.
