Today was Errand Day, also known as Monday. Quinn went with us everywhere but did not go into any place we went. She did learn some table manners when we ate outside at Nick’s (a wonderful Greek kinda place with wonderful burgers). She’s been there before but this time, I had her do tasks while still being calm. I “accidentally” dropped my keys several times. She picked them up immediately and loved the chicken from my gyro. She remained in place (against my chair) for most of our time there. She did do some floor surfing (which, really, I’m not opposed to as a SD handler but some handlers believe it is wrong) and scootched around a lot.
We worked on “wait” while the van doors were left open. She’s doing better with the back door being left open but the side door “wait until I say you can come out or not” needs some work. We even left her in the van, windows down, while we went inside the laundromat. I could see the van from where we were. She didn’t even stick her head out!
Her harness I need to do some work on. It needs cleaning and the Velcro replaced. Since it is leather, I’ll have to find someone who can do it. It is plain brown so I’ll need to come up with ways to mark her as a Service Dog. Identification, capes, etc are not necessary according to the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) but nearly everyone has something.
And speaking of the harness, I need to teach her “stand”. It is a body position quite useful for when gear is being put on or the harness adjusted, or whatever!
