Sly's first day of errands

Sly has only recently "gone public" and today was the first day I attempted to do errands mixed with training in a variety of places. We did his bi-weekly weight check at the vet's. I love how he walks straight to the scale and sits down on it without having to be directed. Then off to Menards we went. He had never been anywhere that busy and with so many distractions and novel things. He started off a bit bewildered but I was impressed by how quickly he began to understand what I expected of him. We had a nice practice session going up and down the open-backed stairs to the second floor. We repeated it many times until he could maintain a pace identical to mine, regardless of my speed (not something natural for dogs to do). Apparently we were intriguing as I caught a number of people pausing to watch and a few who made nice comments. We ran into Dee and Shirley from the dog club and they were perfect for practicing having people pet him while he remained composed.

Next stop was Petsmart. In addition to working around all the treats and animals, he practiced going in and out of kennels and doghouses, and going to a bed on the floor on command.

We stopped by Country Market for a few dinner items. They are always so nice in there and ask how the dogs are doing. I didn't intend to buy a Christmas tree today, but theirs are always the best and they had a little one that I really liked so we grabbed it. I don't know when it'll actually make it into the living room, but at least it's here. It's currently drinking from a bucket of water in my office, where the temperature is cooler.

After stopping by Janes and replacing her car battery, we headed off to Starbucks so I could do some computer work for the shop. Sly must have been mentally exhausted because he fell asleep pretty quickly. It was chilly by the windows and he curled up in a ball, wedging his face agains the metal window trim. It sure didn't look comfortable, but he stayed in the same position for over an hour so it must not have been too bad.