Mac, Mounds, Mall

Wednesday morning Cooper and I met Mac and his dad at the Childrens' Hospital for a visit with the Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) doctor. However, my presence was deemed unnecessary, so I waited downstairs and listened to piano music. It was a good opportunity for Mac's dad to practice handling a canine and child, without puppy raiser support. In our debrief it was reported that Cooper behaved well, Mac was cooperative, and Russ enjoyed the visit. The doctor added that this was Mac's best visit; deserved or not Cooper gets all the credit.

In the afternoon, we checked in with Chloe. After his regular feeding of Kix cereal (partially by hand) and water, Cooper led our group to Mounds. This was our first joint car trip with Cooper lying at Chloe's feet. We walked the aisles getting comfortable waiting for a "new" dog to enter. After fifteen minutes another canine entered the store as we were milling around the entrance - not as we planned, but life happens and we keep moving forward. She is not comfortable with other dogs, so we will try to add Monte to the equation on Friday.

The autism assistance dogs have been meeting every Wednesday night at the mall. This week we continued with the basics SIT, DOWN, STAY with the addition of an elevator ride and exposure to the escalator platform. I also provided the group with a poor demonstration of BACKing up.

After class, Lexy worked Cooper through a mock Canine Good Citizen test to acclimate her to the procedure. The team performed well and should have no trouble passing the test. Then it was time for dinner which I had brought with me. After some poor recalls recently, we decided to provide some re-training. We practiced RECALLs for hand fulls of dinner in the mall. It's amazing (not really) how much quicker he responds to DOWN and COME when I have a bag full of food. The food eliminated all the other distractions. Unfortunately, treats are not allowed for the CGC test.