The social quest continues

Piper continues her quest for social skills. On 7/30 we visited Petsmart and Barnes and Noble. Piper has been to Petsmart often and she was great this time. Until a young boy tried to pound, um... I mean pet her on the head. She doesn't like that from anyone. She backed away and the boy thought she was mean. Of course, his mother didn't correct him and also didn't give him any guidance as to how to approach a dog. The situation was remedied by giving the boy a treat to give to Piper. Piper graciously and gently took the treat and I thanked the boy.

Off we went across the street to Barnes and Noble. That is where the drama returned. Piper was complaining and shaking when we parked the car. She had never been to this area before and obviously I have stumbled upon her Achilles heel. So we got out of the car, thankfully Piper is mild mannered and small enough to lift. We slowly walked around the car and she was allowed to sniff and get used to the area. She was improving until we passed a trash can with a liner that was blowing in the wind. Piper lost her mind. It was like the can was going to kill her. We continued walking and she relaxed once she was out of striking range from that monster trash can. We made it to the front of the store and were able to train. Piper was back to her old self and did a great job with attention and sit-stays. I was impressed. When we passed the trash can to leave, she didn't even notice it.

Now that I know her issue, we will be hitting the town looking for new places to challenge her.

I am open for suggestions!