More socialization - part 1

Thursday morning Balboa, D and I stopped over at our local independent pet store - D needed a fleece pull over and Balboa got to go along for more socialization!  As you will see both boys did amazing and as I said the other day, just watching how your dog is responding gives you a idea of how they are doing in a new situation.

Balboa waiting patiently before heading out

First stop, check out the boats in the water - with the wind and rain there was lots of noise and smells.  As you can see, no problem!

We arrived at the store and there were no other customers.  I let the store folks know that both boys needed space due to confidence and socialization issues.  You can see both D and Balboa are slightly stressed as the each do a shake off.  The store guy was awesome - you can see his feet here, he's just going about his business and letting the dogs sort all of this out.

D was way more into getting a treat and Balboa was working on getting close to this nice store guy!

I asked if I could let the boys loose (I brought a belly band for Balboa just in case) and as you can see they had a great time.  Balboa didn't need the band but, I wanted to be respectful to the store if he tried to mark or submissive urinate which he does do from time to time which is anxiety based.  Balboa does a lot of checking in which is great.  They decided that guy has some good treats!

Watch Balboa and look at his tail - nice and relaxed, having a really good experience.  He on his own went and checked out the store guy and then moved off on his own - good boy.

Both boys really liked the store people and you can see they liked that they kept getting a yummy treat!  Balboa took the treat and then did a shake off.  He's doing great and not going over threshold and clearly isn't shutting down.

Balboa checking stuff out

Watching the store people from afar

Captivated by the noise of the automatic water bowl

Balboa did way better than I expected - having a positive experience the night before in a new environment I think helped a lot with Balboa feeling more comfortable with this new place

Balboa picked out his Christmas gift!

D found his gift as well and D is sporting his new feece!