We Had a Great Day on Saturday!

When I got Delilah almost a year ago, she was a very fearful little dog.  At first she was shut down and quiet and didn't want to leave the house.  Then she became a little more comfortable and found her voice and became reactive to strangers.  A stereotypical yappy little dog.  We've been doing a lot of work on that.  We've taken training classes, worked on counter conditioning, LAT, socialization, conditioned relaxation, and basic obedience and this past weekend was a reflection on the progress she's made!  Last fall I couldn't even walk her without her yapping at everyone who walked past.  We couldn't walk down Church Street at all because it was so overwhelming for her.  We did a lot of work over the winter and it's starting to show now that it's nice out and we can take her places!

This past Saturday Sam had to go to the bank and we decided to all walk there together (TD Bank is dog friendly).  We walked down Church St. (always busy on a Saturday morning), through the Farmer's Market (crowded with people and dogs), and into the bank where she sat next to me and gave me her full attention the entire time.  I had brought her breakfast mixed with some hot dogs and rewarded her for being quiet, looking at strangers, and looking at me.  She was SO good!  She even got a big dog treat from the bank!

Then on the way home we walked around the Farmer's Market.  While Sam was in line to get some local root beer, Delilah and I went to a vendor selling organic dog treats (Vermont Dog Eats).  She was very excited to be able to try a few samples and seemed to really enjoy them- she started scouring the ground licking up crumbs that other dogs must have missed.  Really simple, healthy ingredients and a portion of the profits are donated to local rescues and animal welfare organizations.  We're definitely going to go back and buy some once we've recovered from the move.

We walked up Church St on the way home and she was great despite all of the strange people.  She jumped on a rock and a couple of people came over wanting to visit her.  I told them not to touch her but they could see if she wanted to come to them.  She crept over, sniffing and wagging her little tail.  She was nervous but curious.  Then she started kissing the woman's hand!  She's come such a long way.  She still has issues with strangers and especially in indoor areas but she has gotten so much better over the past 10 months!  I was so proud of her.

Look At That at the Farmer's Market

Hanging out on Church St.