Spur: Training the Beast, Part 16

Trip to Petco, May 31


Not having met our 5 person stranger quota, when I got home from work, Doug asked what was for dinner. I told him we needed to run up to Petco so Spur could meet two more strangers. When we got in the car, I realized that what Doug had thought to be doggie treats was actually a package of kitty treats. So, the plan was, when we got to the Petco, Doug would practice some heeling in the parking lot while I ran in to get some cat food and a package of doggie treats. When I came out with the goods, I headed straight for the car. Doug was practicing a heel and walked Spur right by me, keeping his attention so Spur wouldn’t come toward me as I passed. It really was beautiful!

I put the cat food in the trunk and opened the dog treats. We walked back up toward the front entrance of the store. Doug and Spur stopped in a grassy median in the parking lot, closest to the entrance. As I spotted people, I’d call out, “Do you like dogs?” If they said, “Yes,” I continued, “My dog doesn’t like people and we’re trying to train him. Do you have a moment to help us out?” Everyone I asked was willing to help. I’d tell them not to look at my dog, and to ignore him if he barked. “Just stand straight and throw this treat at him.” I think Spur “OOF’d at one or two, but didn’t do his normal crazy, frenzied barking. When the groomer came out for her smoke break I asked her, too. I figured she’d had a lot of experience with shy, crazy dogs. She ignored my plea to stand and throw; she bent over and held the treat in a flat hand. Spur took it from her and backed up quickly. As she stood and talked with us more, Spur approached her again to sniff for more treats. I gave her more and she offered them to Spur. He was getting much more comfortable about sniffing people out to see if they had food. It was a slow night at the Petco, but I was able to get 5 people to throw (or hand) food at Spur! What PROGRESS!!! We were feeling confident, and since the store wasn’t busy, we decided to try to venture in with Spur. We found the (replacement) beehive with squeaky bees was on sale. We decided he’d done such a great job, he’d earned it. When we got to the checkout, the girl at the register remembered Spur from his last trip in and how he’d gone off on one of the store managers. She was able to feed Spur some treats and remarked on his progress. When we left the store, there were a few more people I could have asked to throw food at Spur, but we wanted to end on a good note…

We also stopped at the gas station to fill Doug’s tank, get a soda and a couple of soft pretzels. Spur hasn’t had a lot of good luck at gas stations, so while Doug filled the tank, I held Spur’s remote and tried to re-direct and distract him with treats. Another vehicle had a small yappy dog and Spur heard it. He didn’t immediately bark, but I was ready. He began to focus his sight on a man filling his car in front of us. As he began to really focus, I nicked him once. He barked once so I nicked him again and he barked one more time. That was it, so I didn’t tap anymore. And really, I don’t know if he barked because he was going to bark anyway, or if he barked because I tapped his remote. When Doug finished filling the tank, we pulled up to the convenience store for that soda and pretzels. I went in for those and Doug said Spur didn’t bark at anyone while I was in the store. What a GREAT night! What progress!!! I’m still skeptical, but I hope we’ve turned a corner!