Public training begins

July 29th, was the second day of intensive public access training, no that does NOT mean that Selik  went around wearing a red vest that said 'service dog in training' I simply mean that we were in a dog friendly area (Leavenworth WA to be precise) we were on a 2 day trip, Selik's first trip for more than a hour in the car.

When we reached our destination I took Selik to go relieve himself. Lucky for us he only goes on command (most of the time anyway) and he is very picky about his footing. It must be soft and not dusty or muddy (one of his quirks I guess)  He was pretty worked up after the long car ride, although we did have breaks at a couple of rest stops, I knew he still had to eliminate, as he is still a puppy and puppies ALWAYS have to go. So we walked over to a shady spot of grass and I told him to go (our elimination words are 'Go On' as I often used to get embarrassed saying 'Go Potty!' ) It took about 10 minutes of sniffing and sniffing and sniffing before he went, but it was EXTREMELY important that he went before we entered our hotel.
  We got settled into our room which was after a long steep but wide stair case (we were in a very nice old hotel however there were no elevators which was a bummer because I wanted to work on that with him again).  Now Selik has always found it fun to go up and down stairs, marching up then confidently, stepping way too high for each step and prancing happily.  This gave me a awesome opportunity to work on his 'drive' skill. This skill will be extremely handy for my balance issues because he can help pull me up the stairs in a forward movement. We also worked on our 'brace' skill which when walking down stairs he goes slightly behind me and puts strain and let's me use the leash as a balance.
  While walking around the town it was an amazing experience and training opportunity for Selik. It was a Saturday and there were so many people speaking different languages, walking dogs big and small, pushing wheelchairs and strollers. Now you are probably thinking that our situation would be the same if we were walking through a park, but the difference if that there were HUGE crowds of people, and at times we would  have to wait to even move.
  Not many of the stores allowed dogs but there were a few very close to a specialty dog store that did. We took that opportunity and went in them working on public etiquette.  There was also a outdoor art show and live music that we got to attend with Selik. Over all, in stores and public places, he is very well mannered.  We had many compliments on how well behaved he was for his age. 
  When it came time to turn in for the night Selik went into his collapsible travel crate.  I won't lie, he had a hard time going to sleep, the hotel was right next to a bar that had live music playing loudly till 2 am and people started screaming outside around 4 am. My aunt who was with us exclaimed that it was louder than Las Vegas at night. 

  The second day went a lot like the first.  Busy streets, stores, people and kids stopping to pet the 'puppy' either with a warning or not.  Selik handled the attention very well.  Paying attention to me, but still being affectionate towards his admirers, licking their hands and being patient with the little ones. 
  Before heading back we went to a restaurant with outdoor seating and worked on restaurant manners.  He did very well and did not create any sort of disturbance.
Over all, our months of intensive training on obedience and socialization really proved to pay off by this trip.  I think he is ready to be introduced to the public as a SDIT (service dog in training)