First Exposures

During Faro's first afternoon yesterday, we took things easy and just played ball in the front garden for short bursts and had him get used to returning to his crate afterwards.

Today, we took him on a real challenge and walked him to school with Lucian for the first time. It might become a regular occurence as it is a good way to expose him to lots of new things - but we might mis a day sometimes so that we do not create a routine. We are trying to discourage Faro from anticipating what might happen next so we need to change things up all the time.

First off - what a star on the leash! He has not done enough collar & lead work up until now so I expected him to stop dead and pull back, but he was a pro. I was very impressed.
I did correct him if he tried to cross me or pull forward, stop to sniff etc and he responded easily. He stopped at roads or whenever I just stopped for the sake of it and usually he just sat next to me awaiting instruction! All it took was for me to purposefully start to walk and he was up like a shot, continuing on nicely.

We were told he might also freak out around cars as it is not something he has seen much of. We have to walk along and cross a busy road on the way to school and he was just brill. He walked alongside the cars whizzing past and paid more attention to the people he saw in their driveways than he did the passing vehicles.

He has a lovely deep woof and barks twice to alert me if he sees a cat, a bird or hears a dog behind a fence. I have encouraged this and praised him because he seems nice and confident about it. Any sign of fear or if he is a bit reprehensive, I make sure to disapprove it.

I want to build his confidence so used meeting two dogs to help me. One was Ben, an elderly local dog who can often be found sitting on the path. Faro barked at Ben from the opposite side of the road so I made him cross over and approach, instead of avoiding. Faro was a little unsure so I made him walk right up to Ben to meet him but unfortunately, Ben decided he did not want to meet this big hulk of a pup so he dashed off to his own garden!

At the school, we asked a staffie owner if Faro could meet her but the Staff barked at him quite a lot which made him stand back. I had him sit near the barking dog until he felt relaxed but did not push the issue of them actually meeting. 

Of course Faro met a tonne of strangers at the school, all of whom immediately crowded him and fussed him all over. He sat and looked as if he very much enjoyed the experience which was fab.

It is quite tiring staying in tune with him but it is quite good because it teaches me just how much concentration all of this takes for the poor puppy!

I wanted to try to list all the things that Faro experienced. He was so switched on that he was like a sponge and seemed to absorb every sight, scent and sound.

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So here are some of the things Faro got to experience during his first walk today:

Walking on a slack lead and being checked (with me)
Walking ahead and allowed to have a good sniff at will (with Jay)
Crossing both quiet and busy roads
Walking on Grass
Walking on tarmac
Walking up a long flight of steps
Cat sat on wall
Cat crossing road
Passive dog sat on side of road
Excited dog being walked
Excited dog being held on lead which barked
Dogs behind fences in gardens
Birds
Excited children stroking
Lots of strangers either walking by or stopping to talk
Walking next to a road with lots of traffic
Using a zebra crossing
Walking around a new area
Returning to a familiar area
Finally, taking a drink then returning immediately to crate.


Phew! That was just on one little morning walk!

We think Faro is a star in the making - he is extremely adaptable, smart, quick learning, high energy and his confidence is flourishing.