Zooka's 19th month, November 2020, was focused mainly on getting out in public more (safely) and working on getting more comfortable loading up in the van to go places.

His two main nemeses these days are: the van (getting in it) and slippery floors. Those were our two main agenda items this month.

Zooka has struggled with loading up in our van to go places since the spring. When things were shut down due to covid, we didn't go any fun places for a while. However, that was also when he injured his foot and had to go to the vet a number of times for getting it checked out and follow up appointments for laser therapy. Since things were shut down and we could not go in, he was in the vet clinic several times without us. Since then, he has NOT wanted to get in the van to go anywhere.

Since things opened up a bit more in May, we have been going lots of fun places. Hiking in the mountains. Walks at local parks. Exploring at the Outlets in Castle Rock and Murdoch's and other places. All places he enjoys exploring and sniffing and walking and watching. But still he worries about getting in the van.

I worked a lot this month on going out to the van, working around it, getting in and out without going anywhere. . . My goal always is for him to voluntarily get in. I could force him if I needed to get him somewhere, but that would only make it harder to get him in each time. Rather, my goal is to take my time and shape the behavior I want. And to pay well for it.

To get more comfortable getting in the van, we practice Touch (nose target) and Paws Up and other things that should be fun but that can help us accomplish our goal. We do Touch near the van, then past the van, the back the other way, then at the entrance to the van, then away again, then in the van. We work toward getting into the van but we do not always move in a straight line toward getting in. We do lots of back and forth.

We also do Paws Up on the step up into the van. But on the wheel of the trailer parked next to the van. And on other objects nearby. To the van. Away from the van. In the van. Out of the van. Again, lots of back and forth. Sometimes going near or in the van but not always. The van is just one part of the exercises we do.

We have made progress but we still have work to do on getting in the van.

We have also been getting out more places. In September and October we focused more on getting to the mountains to hike and enjoy the fall colors. This month we focused more on going places nearby. Parks for walks, stores for socialization. He did very well for the most part. However, I made the mistake one day at the outlet mall. We went in a dog friendly store. However, the floor was definitely NOT dog friendly. It was slippery. He got very stressed about it.

Since then, we have been other places. We were at the Murdoch's in Highlands Ranch after that and he did just fine. But several days later we went to the Murdoch's in Castle Rock and could not get past the rugs at the entrance and check out. Even though we have been in there several times before with no problem, he decided this time that the floors were way to slippery and he could not move more than a step or two past the rugs before hightailing it back to the rugs.

We ended up scrapping the Murdoch's plan that day and went back to the outlet mall and walked outside only to build back up some confidence. We have more work to do on overcoming his fear of slippery floors.

One morning, as I was getting ready for our daily walk on our property, there was a bunny sitting RIGHT outside the front door. Zooka sat at the window and watched for several minutes while I was getting things organized for our walk. He did not jump on the window sill. He did not bark. He sat. And watched. And quivered with excitement.

When we were ready to head out the door, the bunny was still there. He was in no rush to leave. This should be interesting, I thought. Zooka has been ROCK SOLID on his waiting at the door before we head out for a walk. But, surely the bunny right there will be too much to resist. Right? I was about to find out.

I reminded him to WAIT. Even though I normally don't even say it since it's so routine, I don't have to. I figured a reminder would be helpful given the circumstances. He Sat. He Waited. I opened the door. He held his wait and stared straight at me as he always does, because our Wait includes the expectation that you look to me for permission before being released.

When I said Go, he rushed out the chase the bunny. Now, normally, Go means he just steps through the door and stops right on the other side of the door and waits for me. Once I close the door behind us and say Let's Go, then we both head on the walk together. So, technically, he did not stop on the other side of the door as he should have. But I gave him a pass this time since I knew the bunny was RIGHT THERE. If I really had expected him to stop on the other side of the door, this one time I would have put him on leash.

But since he did such a good job waiting to be released, I gave him the ok to chase the bunny. It was his reward for NOT trying to rush through the door. I was actually pretty happy with how well he did. He really does have excellent self control when he puts the effort in.

So, we do need more work on getting in the van and handling floors he finds slippery (or thinks are slippery) but otherwise, he is doing a really nice job.

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