Our first attempt was largely a disaster. Last Friday (day 10 with the pupper) we attempted to go to dinner in our neighborhood. We have this stretch of restaurants with outdoor patios that allow dogs, so we figured we would try one out. We made sure he was fed and took care of his business before we attempted the adventure. When he seemed set, I grabbed the training treats, and we headed out. It was a mistake.
Friday night is super busy on this particular stretch, and it was a real effort to run Reese through the gauntlet of people we encountered. He was clearly overwhelmed, and it did not help that people were coming up and trying to pet him without asking us or waiting for him to approach them. But, we finally made it to a restaurant and got a table.
At first, he was fine. He sat and then laid down. I did my best to reinforce the behavior - offering praise and treats. Then, I asked the server if he could bring some sort of dish of water for Reese. He obliged by bringing a to-go carton filled with water. At first, Reese seemed appreciative and drank. But, after a couple minutes, he proceeded to knock the makeshift bowl over and tear apart the paper. So, I took that away and tried to move him to the other side of the table where there was less action happening. But, the other side of the table was flanked by large plants that proved too irresistible to leave alone. After a few minutes I found myself having to reach into my dog's mouth and pull out large chunks of leaves and other plant matter. And now matter how hard we tried, we could not get him to leave the plants alone. So, Eddie and I traded him off until I finished my entree, and I ran him home to leave him in the kennel while we finished our evening.
It was clearly too much too soon. So, this week I am working on smaller outings. The other day, I just sat with Reese in front of our building for 10 minutes. And today, we had a major breakthrough: we made it to Peet's!
Peet's is 0.3 miles walking from our apartment. By myself, it takes about 5-7 minutes to walk. With the pup, it took about 20. There was a stop to poop on the steps of the county building. There is tons of grass around, so his choice of location almost felt like a political statement. Then, we got scared by the sounds of some construction in our path, which stopped us dead in our tracks for a few minutes. We also stopped to say hello to a Husky we met along the way. But, we made it. I tied him up outside with a favorite toy and went in when I saw there was no line.
He seemed pretty distressed by my 90 second absence while I got my coffee, but once I came out he settled down. When he sat on his own, he got a treat. As he sat quietly and calmly, he got a treat. He even laid down for a bit, and he got a treat. We were able to sit there pretty well for about 20-30 minutes. Then, it seemed like his little meter ran out. Luckily, my coffee was also gone, so we headed home.
We made it home much faster than we made it to Peet's, and he sacked out from our adventure once we did. I am glad we made the trip. It was a good confidence boost for both of us. With time, I am hopeful we can make our fantasy of dining al fresco with the dog a reality!
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