ShaZAM! I have to go into town to run errands, so I take Stitch. I put her in a crate that fit her a month ago, with a handful of kibble. There’s a little fussing, and I’m hoping I will be able to carry her around in a pet store a bit without her having a heart attack.
We get to the store, and I carry her in. She has a tiny quiver. I find an empty aisle and put her down. She turns to look at me, c/t. She looks harder, c/t. Hey, wait a second here, my puppy is WORKING. I ask her to Sit, she does. Down, she does. Princess Paw, yes. Sore Paw, yes. We start walking. I didn’t think it was possible to be totally excited about looking at new things and totally keeping the leash loose at the same time, but that’s what I’m getting. LOTS of clicks, lots of exploring. We walk from aisle to aisle, she’s checking in, getting clicks. We stop every now and then and do more Sit and Down. The only time the leash tightens is when she goes ripping off after a person BUT the tightening is light and very brief – more an “oops, I thought YOU’d like to chase those kids too!” rather than any attempt to make me go in that direction. She DOES get to meet some people, and likes that very much. She has one moment with them when she thinks maybe it would be more fun to go off down the… oh, we’re staying? How about I give you a Sit way over here? So she gets clicked for a couple more Sits and Downs, then she decides they’re OK again and goes visiting. We walk on a loose lead out of the store. Wow! WAY more than I expected. Ee hah!
We get out of the car once more in a huge parking lot and go for a loose leash walk, very nice, and do some more Sit and Down. Tiny crate whining on the way home.