Sia, Sia Full of Glee: July Day Six -- Happy 4th of July?

Happy 4th of July? Probably not for dogs. Dogs tend to get very nervous this time of year because of all the loud noises. Even if a dog doesn't show noise phobia now, that can develop later on so we're very careful on how we handle firework sounds today. Sia does not seem overly concerned about them but she is definitely alert to the sounds and a touch more wired right now. We will limit our outside time today (especially in the evening) and I'm not going to make a big deal out of it if we do hear loud noises. I want her to know, without a doubt, that I am not concerned about those sounds and, if I made a big fuss about it, she would likely think I am worried too.

When there wasn't so much commotion going on, we were able to get some work and play done in the sunshine. To get her a little more responsive to her downs in high distraction environments, we work in distracting environments building up in intensity. When she struggled the other day doing a down in a crowd of dogs, I knew we had to backup and do it with a little less intensity. As always, the labs help me out by going into a down every time I say "down" to Sia. She's much more responsive at this level so now I can start to increase the intensity incrementally.

We tested out our work with her sits on an off leash greeting today. I had a person arrive in the back while Sia was off leash so we could see how her greetings were coming along. It was a person she has met before so I anticipated some excitement. But she was actually pretty aloof and did not approach the person for quite a while. When she did approach, she did keep her feet on the ground.