We started at the garage with everyone parading in a "forward" line through the tunnel on the first floor, with different dogs getting turns to be the leader in the line and stopping (literally) to practice the "right" command when we got to the end of the tunnel and needed to take a couple of turns to come back. Just to review, when you stop with your puppy, you want to take three paces to slow down to a stop (1-2-3-stop). There's no command given to stop; your puppy is learning that when you slow down, he slows down. Do not have your puppy sit when you stop. Once you are stopped, use "left" or "right" to change direction. ("Left" and "right" are used when you are not moving; "left left" and "right right" are used when you are in motion and want to take the next available turn, as when you are approaching the end of a grocery aisle.)
After burning off a little of the pups' excited energy, it was time to "find the elevator" for a ride. As with all the "find" commands, you want to start using the command when you're about 10 feet away from the object being found. You can repeat the command until you arrive. For an elevator, your target is the buttons. Once you get to the buttons, tap that area with your hand to focus your pup on what she has found, and praise her! Then have the puppy sit. Enter the elevator with "forward in," walk to the back, do a "right about," and have your puppy sit again. When you're ready to exit, say "forward out" and go on your way. Do not have your pup stop and sit after you exit the elevator.
We rode up to the top floor in the garage's glass elevators, where a beautiful view of the bay awaited. (Sorry, no picture.) We then walked to a stairwell to practice "find the steps." Again, this command is used when the target is about 10 feet away and repeated until you get to the handrail. Tap the handrail when you arrive, and praise your pup! Then have your puppy sit at the top of the stairs, with the handrail on your right. When you go down the stairs, say "forward down" (or "forward up" for up). You should also shorten up on the leash, so the puppy is beside you, and slow down your pace. The puppy should walk down (or up) one step at a time and not hop to the bottom at the end. Once you reach the bottom (or top), have your puppy sit. Then use "forward" to go on your way. Here are Karenna and Dawson navigating the BayWalk garage stairs.
Tip: If you have a puppy who always wants to go up or down stairs as fast as possible, that puppy is nervous about being on the stairs, and a leash correction (which will feel like it's pulling the pup away from solid ground) will only add to his anxiety. You can help your pup get comfortable on stairs by standing in the middle of the stairway and letting him freely move up and down as he likes, so he gets a better idea of what stairs are and learns to feel comfortable walking up and down stairs with you at the appropriate pace. Keep in mind that, as with most puppy anxieties, you may need to practice this several times to resolve the issue. And don't forget your happy voice!We continued our journey across the garage to practice "find the elevator" on the other side, rode down to the ground floor, and made our way over to BayWalk. Once there, we found another tunnel where all of us without puppies gave those with puppies a big round of applause. Not only did the raisers deserve it, but it gave them a chance to see how their puppies would react! Then we had one more elevator to practice with, this time without a glass wall. Here I managed to catch Jillian and Bob going up.
The second floor of BayWalk has open railings everywhere overlooking the street and courtyard, so we took the opportunity to have our pups walk along them. David's got his eye on Bruce (not pictured), while Diane walks Berniece, Heather has Mitch, Jennie handles Georgie, and Karenna follows with Dawson.
We had a different type of staircase to practice on in the main courtyard of BayWalk, with quite a few pups and some prospective new raisers coming down together. (That's Betty Jo leading the way with Gabby.)
Then it was off to the movies as we headed into the welcome air conditioning of the Muvico theater. I know everyone was thrilled when I pointed out another flight of stairs to practice on, this one carpeted! There were also arcade games and popcorn smells as we wandered around the concession area, but it was admittedly pretty quiet and clean at 11 in the morning. A couple of puppy accidents also helped remind everyone of the importance of always having busy supplies on hand. We headed into one of the theaters to let our puppies have the movie experience by watching a few previews. (Thanks, Muvico BayWalk!) Here's glow-in-the-dark Bob in eager anticipation for the show to start.
All of the pups did well; none showed an urge to bark at Alvin and the Chipmunks, chew a Muppet, or chase Puss in Boots. We met outside for a few closing announcements, which I'll put in a followup post.
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