I had to learn to stand up for myself and my sd as well. I think it's equally important to immediately redirect the person who is distracting your dog to you, for example, as soon as someone says something to my sd, I would immediately jump in and say "Oh, please don't interact with him, he's working right now." and I use the same phrase every single time so it becomes a muscle memory as I too get extremely nervous and forget everything. I also practice this a lot of times with my husband. I wish people would just leave us be.....Oh and I think it's important to remind ourselves that we don't owe people anything, if we don't feel like chatting, we don't have to, just politely tell them that you don't feel well so it might come off as if you are not listening to them (be gracious and polite) and more often than not, they will stop bothering you.
Great video. I hope your health is doing ok. My daughters blue merle was teained by Medical Mutts in Indianapolis IN. Graduated in April 2022. What they recommended is Pepper, or in your case, Astro be in the down position next to the shelf. So image youre reaching over Astro to grab a bath mat. Now for the cashier, Astro would "block" which is stand sideways directly between counter and you. The other option is "cover" which astro is sideways directly behind you. We trained these tasks with a step up platform so Pepper memorized the word with the position desired. Overall it seems like Astro did great. If the paws on the counter was a rare event, I'd shrug it off and not hyper focus on it. Also, being that Astro is a handsome boy, he will always get attention. We're very graceful to people like you. But if someone touches the dog without permission, that's when I got a problem. Our touch policy is always no unless the person is disabled or a small child. Otherwise, we kindly say no. Pepper is 3yrs 2 months. Keep on training without being too demanding off the dog. I have found being chill is what oicked up tasks the most. Also, there is no replacement for time in public. Sometimes, we just let Pepper be in public without asking 10 different things. Coffee shops are great for that time needed. They just need to "be present" in a store for a few hours that why coffee shops are great. For us the thrill is over with wherever we go but not for others. For us, its just another place Pepper has been....whatever. keep up the good work and I hope your health is holding up. Feel free to reach out. We're not trainera nor experts, but know what we know from aussies and Medical Mutts.
I was introduced to your channel by someone I follow on Instagram the other day and I've been loving watching yours and Astros journey! I recently got a 4 month old Australian shepherd and plan on training him to be my sd!
Do you have any tips for off leash training? I live in an apartment and I’m planning on waiting for like 1-2 more months of training my dog to let him try off leash but we don’t have a fence or anything to do that so do you have any advice? Since I know Australian Shepherds are high active dogs and probably get distracted easily and my Pomsky has some traits like that but he gets supper distracted so I don’t want him to run off and I lose him.
Is it ok if I ask why you uses a flexi leash? I know you may have your reasons so I want to ask. I personally would use a shoulder leash that can be used over the shoulder, on my waist, or like a normal leash.
I’m trying to get a service dog for anxiety and ocd, but my parents say I’m creating problems for myself. And a 12 year old shouldn’t need a service dog.
if your parents are against it there is nothing you can do until you move out, a sd should be a last resort please try some other coping mechanisms. I agree that at your age you should probably try looking for some other ways to help your anxiety. /info
Hi astro and his mom!! Can i ask what your opinion is on essa's? And ssd's? Essa- emotional support stuffed animal Ssd- stuffed service dog The hair looks great too!!
