Today's Victories

It's just past noon and Isaac and I have had some great experiences already today.

Of course, the day started with him spilling my coffee, which was my fault because I put it on a nightstand where he could bump it, and it got on one of Mike's books and he was a bit unhappy about it, so I felt that the day was off to a poor start.  But it did get better.

Isaac and I went to the thrift store to get some stuffed toys, since he killed the two he had last night.  Totally gutted them.  I figured we could find some cheap ones at the thrift store, plus I wanted to look for some jeans and shirts.  The thrift store, as you might imagine, is full of things that smell.  Isaac did really, really well.  Twice I had to tell him to stop sniffing merchandise and once I had to tell him not to sniff another shopper.  Otherwise, he was perfect.  And I pushed the cart and carried my purse and looked at items and everything, all with just two hands.

When we got home, we went for a walk up to the mailbox.  Isaac is doing better about not pulling on the leash when we walk.  On the way home, I spotted a cat up ahead and I saw it before he did.  I got a good grip on the leash, then instructed him to "watch me," giving him a treat when he did.  We need to practice "watch me" some more, I think.  But he did look at me when I told him to, and when he finally did see the cat and started to pull on the leash, I was prepared for him.  I corrected him immediately and told him to "watch me," and he did, and I gave him another treat.  Meanwhile, the cat sauntered away, so we could finish our walk without him trying to catch the cat.  That is such great progress for us.