A few days ago, Mud, Zeke, and I made a trip to Petsmart to get the boys and Mud Christmas presents...(yes, I'm one of those cheesy people who does that. Lol.) Z hasn't been in quite a while---it's very busy and his fear aggression issues make Petsmart visits a challenge. It's very easy to get "trapped" by the crowds on an aisle and not have a clear path out, so he gets incredibly anxious. Because of this, we've stuck to parks with various levels of people/dog traffic to slowly boost his confidence. He's improved so much that I would hate to rush him into a busy store and make him regress. Petsmart was not too busy that day, and Zeke did quite well. He was still very shy and stuck to my hip like glue, but he did visit with a few trainers and several cashiers. He was a bit timid in his approach but did let everyone pet him. =) He was even ambushed by a few of the employees and some nosy dogs, but didn't get out of shape or nervous.
But...the shopping carts had other ideas. Apparently, if they were coming at him or beside him, they were attack carts that were going to run him over. He would walk behind them and walk up to a stationary cart, but once in motion they were quite scary. He did not pitch fits or anything but did shy away and was quite nervous about them.
Mud on the other hand, visited all of her favorite employees and met some new ones. We practiced several of our tricks. I did some double-dog sit stays and various other tricks which helped Z relax.
All in all, the trip went surprisingly well for him, but apparently we have some work to do meeting shopping carts. Poor Zekers. :dogblush:
But...the shopping carts had other ideas. Apparently, if they were coming at him or beside him, they were attack carts that were going to run him over. He would walk behind them and walk up to a stationary cart, but once in motion they were quite scary. He did not pitch fits or anything but did shy away and was quite nervous about them.
Mud on the other hand, visited all of her favorite employees and met some new ones. We practiced several of our tricks. I did some double-dog sit stays and various other tricks which helped Z relax.
All in all, the trip went surprisingly well for him, but apparently we have some work to do meeting shopping carts. Poor Zekers. :dogblush: