Xena and I have been asked to come to a local school fair this weekend. Our obedience club has a stall where people pay a gold coin to come and pat the various dogs, take photos etc. Xena, being of good temperament and loving THE PEOPLE, has been suggested by our trainer. Xena would love all the fuss and attention, no doubt about it. But is it a good idea? I'm working hard on her calm around strangers. When I pick Dawn up from school we stand on a street corner on the other side of the road from the school and I c/t for calm as the parents and kids walk past. I haven't even made it to the school gates yet, I'm trying to build up to that because OMG THE PEOPLE. Would going to a school fair and having people fuss over her (we'd be in a fenced off area) just be undoing the work I'm doing?
Gosh, not sure of the answer. I guess that is "flooding"? How lovely of you to be asked It could be a great opportunity.......... Wonder what others reckon?
How long would you have to be there? OUr area had a day long dog fair thing, vendors, displays etc. and I know several people who said no way, sorry, too stressful for their dog and they had to watch like a hawk since it was open to the public and you don't know who might come to it. Your fair sounds more controlled, just a school. I did go to the dog fair thing we had, two years, and there were happy dogs there but the second year the individual display booths were bigger so dogs could be kenneled/crated away from the public for a while. I went with our local rescue group, we had one dog.
We could stay for as long or as little as we like. But then we'd have to walk from the booth back to the car...through a heaving throng of people. Agh, yeah I'm leaning towards no, not a good idea with such an excitable dog. I hadn't thought about getting to and from the stall! But if it would be a positive learning experience for her then would it be worth it? Advice still welcomed
Hi there, A lovely compliment to be asked and I think it has value as an experience for her but I'm recoiling a bit about the £1 a 'stroke' idea ....although I understand the thinking.We get 1 opportunity each year to go to a pet show ,Dexter has very little chance to experience crowds so I bite the bullet and take him along to anything whenever I get the chance.....but I manage it really carefully.We go early and if in company I always say if I'm ready to leave after 5 mins ,I'm leaving! We literally do our own thing and stay at safe distances to not send him Strato ( he's a lot better now he's older) ......you sound like you've got more opportunities to build Xena up to dealing with crowds ....if it was me,I would probably take her early but not be included in the stall and then Volunteer enthusiastically for it next year,she will be just as lovely then x
Aww that's so lovely that she's been asked! Obviously a gorgeous girl But having a dog of a similar age it sounds like my idea of HELL! Stanley and all those people - I think he'd actually explode from all the excitement! And I'd spend my day apologising for him jumping up/accidentally nipping and trying to calm him down But then again.. I don't think Stanleys obedience school would ask him
Bailey has been around children and lots of people from a very early age, one day a week at the rugby club when the mini & juniors are there - however we managed his contact very carefully. Even now though he can last about an hour with all the PEOPLE who just must love him and fuss him, before he needs a break. If there are other dogs around at the same time then the time is shorter! If he is there on a Saturday with the adults he is a lot better - unless my nephew is playing then obviously he should be on the field with him playing ball! Not sure if I would do it to be honest, but what a wonderful compliment to be asked
I think you know Xena best so will know if she can cope and whether it might affect your training. Personally, even though Ella is older than Xena (she's 19 months now), I know this would be too much for her. However I do know labs younger and older than her that would probably be fine. We stuffed up Ella's "socialisation" when she was younger (honestly it's my biggest regret and the thing I would do so differently with another puppy) so I've spent more time on calm around people than anything else. That's just us though and it might not be the same with you and Xena . Let us know what you decide but, either way, it would probably be a great training opportunity to take her there. Even if it's to walk through the crowd or sit and watch from a distance
That's a huge compliment to be asked, you should be so proud of yourself and baby Xena! I loved doing big dog fairs or people fairs with my dog. I'm not much on crowds myself but loved showing off my dog and he was the world's number one party animal and absolutely loved the adoration. We did tons of dog adoption fairs as well where we spent all day in an ex-pen filled with adoptable dogs, Brogan and myself, with Brogan working the crowd. Fond memories. Having said that, I didn't take him when he was younger because he was dog-reactive on leash and knew that while he would love the people he would NOT love the other dogs. So we missed out on the fun stuff until I knew he could handle the exposure to other dogs within the crowd. How this applies to Xena is that I agree with @Emily in that you know Xena best and what would be the best for you and her at this point. The good aspect is that you are not obliged to stay, so if you see her getting stressed (or you get too stressed!) you can indeed whisk her out of there. It would be such a great training and socialisation opportunity if you could manage it, but no guilt if you decide not to. Would love to hear what you decide and how it goes if you decide to attend.
That's a good point. Perhaps you could see how you go and if you feel she's getting a little OTT, you could pull the pin and find somewhere quieter to c&t for calm and end on a positive before going home. Sometimes, as a couple of my friends at training like to point out , I have a tendency to err on the side of caution but every now and then you have to give things a go (within reason of course) as you might surprise yourself
I wouldn't take Betsy to something like this for love nor money! She wouldn't be stressed, she would LOVE it. And yes, it would undo all my 'ignore the humans, humans are boring, look away and keep walking' training. It would be a huge set back. I could take Charlie and he'd probably remain calm(ish) and it wouldn't impact on his training too much now he is 3.5 years, but no way I'd have taken him as a puppy. He would have loved it, and it would have ruined his training.
Thanks for all your advice and thoughts. I slept on it, and have decided to say no. Being part of a "patting a friendly dog" stall is something I'd love to do once she's older and calmer. I know how much I struggle in much less exciting environments than a school fair (getting to and from the car at dog training), so I'm just going to continue working on her calm around strangers. Poor Xena, she'd have been right in her element!
