Washburn and I have an exercise we do that trains obedience and patience. We have a Dollar Store nearby and I like to go there for short walks for minor shopping trips and I always bring the dog.
When we get to the store I tie his leash around a pole and snap to make him "sit", and then open my hand wide like a stop, and make him "stay".
The exercise of the sit/stay is that he has to remain in the same place (no standing or moving- lying down is O.K) until I come back and give him the "release" command.
I guess we haven't gone to the store recently, because Washburn and I were out of practise. To any passersby he would have appeared as a perfectly sweet and well behaved dog waiting for his owner to come out of a store, to me however, he was distracted and antsy. I had to leave the checkout line 6 times because he kept standing up. He never pulled on the leash, never tried to get close to people walking by, but he also wasn't listening to the command I had given him.
(one of these instances was NOT his fault at all though) I tie Washburn up where I can see him from the checkout counter and I watch a woman leave the store, head straight for him, shove her hands in his face and bend down for "kisses".
1st- Washburn does not give "kisses". We have allergies in the house and trained him (mostly) out of licking faces to avoid him eating allergens off the street and passing them to us.
2nd- Never put your face in the face of a strange dog! (Also keep your face away out of respect for the animal.)
3rd- Do not approach a tethered strange dog. Unless perhaps the dog is standing wagging his tail and and looking at you happily- but it's still risky.
I ran out of the store because Washburn was backed into a corner, trying to remain in his "sit/stay" while this woman invaded his personal space and tried to coax him out of a command he was trying desperately to follow.
Wash was sitting, his head back as far away from the woman as he could get, eyes wide (a very bad sign), trying to get away without moving from his "stay". I quickly saved him from her by running out of the store saying, "Excuse me! Do not touch my dog. He's in the middle of obedience training."
She looked at me confused, as if to say, "But you weren't even with him."
So I continued, "He has to stay right there until I finish shopping and has to ignore everyone who passes."
Washburn still looked upset, so I released him and praised him for his good behaviour. That helped a little, but he didn't calm down until the woman left. I was watching and never saw her do anything terrible, but Washburn did not like her.
Once she left, Wash went back into a "sit/stay" I went back in line and we left shortly afterwards.
I had many people tell me "He's so well behaved!" "He's such a good dog!" "Wow! He's really well trained." in the store, and in the parking lot, And I have to say I agree. Although it wasn't a perfect exercise ( he got up 6 times), he never barked, never approached a person, never tugged on the leash, and when his space was invaded by a stranger he still listened to my command.
The key to training is patience and consistency. When Washburn stood up, I left my spot in line and calmly went out to re-position him and give him the command again. And again. And again. And again. I didn't get mad at him, I just reinforced my expectation by saying "No." The giving the command again.
It's taken a year and a half to get to this point, and we;re still working on lots of things but it's nice to see improvement.
We also do this at fast food places and I even have him "sit/stay" in glass vestibules at Tim Hortons.
-Brandolyn
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