Underexposed Doodle Puppies Practice Obedience At 1st Visit To Store

Baby Rosie and her cousin, Theo, had their very 1st store experience at Lowes, to test all of their newly learned obedience out in a real world environment! Rosie has lived in a protective bubble for the first 5 months of her development due to ill advice from her vet. Because of that, she is seriously underexposed, and everything is new and cause for concern! So now, we are starting her exposure to the real world!

I LOVE the second week of training! We get to test all of a dog’s newfound skills in the real world to see where we still may need some additional work. And for these two kiddos, it’s just going to be a matter of controlled exposure with no interaction.

Boy what a difference a few days makes with them! From being willfully defiant at the start, fearful of just about everything, & completely driven by their own desires a few days ago, to now holding command while new and unfamiliar triggers are presented!

How awesome is it to have a dog that is completely unafraid of strangers! Well, Theo & Rosie are not exempt from this! Add to that, EVERYONE wants to say hi to these cutie-patooties! With that, comes an impulse to greet every passerby! When a dog is allowed to do so, and then is rewarded with baby talk and affection, guess what happens? Yep, an intensification of the same, and more disconnect - devaluing any sense of leadership we may have been trying to establish. Instead, we are teaching both puppies to ignore the public, and to hold their handler in the highest regard. Demanding focus on our walks, and passing by strangers, is how they will learn to look to their person for guidance and instruction, and our adventures outside of the house remain controlled and hassle free!

Stay tuned for more from these pups in our Stories!