Laurie had a wonderful training session with Lori and her Boston Terrier, Abbie! They had their first session in public at Petsmart.

Lori was in a lot of pain from her medical issues, but she was a trooper and did a super job! Abbie unloaded perfectly, waited at the doors before entering, went up and down all the aisles and stayed in a perfect “heel” position, and never barked even though other dogs barked passing by, and did a wonderful job at staying in a heel when Lori dropped the leash! Abbie was in perfect position when we got the shopping cart, responded to “leave it” when she sniffed too much, and kept her focus on Lori. We did several meet and greets with adults and children, and Abbie was delightful. She loves people! There were some slightly “growly” dogs there, but we asked and did meet and greets with the dogs, and with careful redirection, the dogs were able to do the proper introductions to each other with the usual “hi, can I sniff you to get to know you?” Abbie and Lori and I also practiced sit/stays and down/stays in the back, and Abbie was great. She needs a bit more work on her down/stay, but other than that, this team is truly amazing. When Lori is feeling anxious or in pain, she will ask Abbie for hugs, and Abbie will either jump in her lab if Lori is sitting and hug her with her little legs and kiss her face, or will do it when Lori bends down. They have an amazing, loving bond.