# Parking lot manners



## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Yes, I would do just that--arrive early so 1. you are calm and 2. you can be a tree all you need to until she calms down. Maizie has been _pulling _this at the dog park lately and that's what I do.


----------



## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Thanks for letting me know your dog loses it outside the dog park. I feel like such a failure at training sometimes. It's so ridiculous how Noelle whirls around like a tornado on a leash. If I get there early enough, I could us penalty yards. Pulling = returning to the car and waiting for eye contact. Also, maybe I could use her no-pull harness to help redirect her attention back on me and take it off when we get to class. 

Be a tree doesn't really get the point across, but maybe pulling gets Noelle the opposite of what she wants might. Then again, she might get frustrated and flip out even worse. 

Parking lots are exciting to Noelle. They mean we're going somewhere exciting. Petsmart! YAY! Class! YAY! As a future service dog, she needs to get this behavior under control. Some of this is 10-month-old puppy/teen silliness. However... Francis heels with me into dog class and she's one day older than Noelle. Sigh. Tame the tornado, what fun.


----------



## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Perhaps throw in a few boring visits where she's just working in the parking lot, so it's not always something exciting?


----------



## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

You know, I was thinking the same thing! There's an abandoned grocery store near me with an empty parking lot. We could park super close and walk five steps to the door, click and treat a ton. Move the car a little more, and do it again. Repeat and repeat. Since nothing interesting will happen inside the building, maybe it will help her break that cycle of being super cranked up in the parking lot. The game is getting to the door together. I'll give that a whirl and see how it goes. Tonight for class, we're gonna get there really early so I have plenty of time to return to the car when she pulls.


----------



## FireStorm (Nov 9, 2013)

Hans used to do that type of behavior every time we got any of the retreiving stuff out or went to our training fields. We call it the "demented kangaroo" because he just bounces around like crazy. 

We just waited him out and wouldn't do anything unless he was being civilized. That works on him because he hates being ignored. It's one of those things - they get frustrated and act even worse before they give up but you have to just commit to waiting for good behavior. 

I also think taking some boring trips is a great idea.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Click-N-Treat you are not failing. You have a young dog who clearly wants to go to school. I think all the suggestions from zooeysmom and FireStorm are in line with ideas I was thinking about.

BTW when I saw the title of your thread I was thinking about drivers in parking lots since I just complained about people and how they behave in parking lots in the pet peeves thread. I came to look here to see what you were talking about, not thinking it would be how Noelle acts there.


----------



## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

lily cd re said:


> Click-N-Treat you are not failing. You have a young dog who clearly wants to go to school. I think all the suggestions from zooeysmom and FireStorm are in line with ideas I was thinking about.


lol - Young or old! Tonka is not to be trusted on parking lots either. As soon as he's out of the car, he's moving! He likes to run on the furthest extent of the retractable. Just running... around... to where, I don't know.

Is it the wide-open spaces? New places? Room to make the big mistakes?


----------



## Caddy (Nov 23, 2014)

Abbey is the same going to class (or anywhere else she likes), in fact she starts in the car as soon as she recognizes where we are headed. Dolly on the other hand is enthusiastic, but controllable, and will still give me her attention. I think I'll try going early too.


----------



## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

click-n-treat: being small myself, i would not want to be on the other end of a lunging dog, no matter how small. i think i might put her back in the car and stand there with my back turned to her until she calms down. she sounds very smart and i'm thinking after a few times she might get it.


----------

