Where yesterday we had to resort to aimless driving through dark neighborhoods, today Saoirse got to go on productive errands to entertain her. We started out easy, stopping at the closest gas station, so I could run in and buy MegaMillions tickets (I mean, the jackpot was huge), and I left her in the car. We were parked by the door, and I had my eye on her the whole time. She did very well. Danced in the seat just a bit, but no panic. Next stop was the pharmacy, and when I told the girls that my puppy was in the car, they insisted she was allowed to come in and say hi. She really enjoyed having three women fawning all over her.
The longest stop was long mostly because of Saoirse. We are running low on puppy food, and I didn't like the kind she had last. (Let's just say this dog sleeps with her head at the foot of the bed, and the smelly end pointed toward my pillow.) So we walked down every aisle, reading ingredient lists, getting frustrated by how many foods contain oatmeal (so not allowing an oatmeal-eating dog to snuggle me!) The store had just gotten a huge shipment of foods, and there were pallets of giant bags of dog food clogging the aisles, and all hands on deck unloading them. It was way too much stimulation for a six month old to handle. She sniffed everything, pulled on the lead, and when we were paid up and heading out, she woofed deeply at a golden retriever. Not cool, child.
We were on a roll, and I wanted to test her on one more situation. I knew it might be scary, but we had to try. We went through the car wash. She started barking when we were pulled up next to other cars in line, waiting for the sensor to read our membership. We circled around so she could see the cars disappearing into the tunnel, and she got quiet and watchful. She tried to hold it together when the sprays started, but the spinning sponges started smacking into the windows, and she lost it. She barked and spun. I hugged her, trying to be soothing, but she was so panicked she put herself into the back seat....while she was still buckled in the front. We had to pull over in the vacuum stalls, to unhook her and let her heart rate come down before heading home. Lesson learned. We Do Not Like Car Wash.
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