Teenager

I can't complain about this puppy.  Really.  I do not like to compare Dante and Moray, but at 9 1/2 months old Moray has nothing on the level of Teenage Sass that Dante produced.  And I know I can't just judge off of two different dogs, but I have seen my fair share of adolescent puppies when I was a sitter for Guiding Eyes, and this puppy has a special level of sweetness.

Which brings us back to Moray.  He really is one of the sweetest, mellowest pups I have seen.  If I had to describe him in one word, it would be JOYFUL.  There is not one hint of rebellion in him, he just loves to please and spread his joy with a helicopter-tail and the handle of his drag leash in his mouth.

But alas, Moray is not without his faults.  While rebelling or blowing me off has not yet crossed his mind, somewhere in the last month or so Moray has decided to forget how to walk on a loose leash.  Needless to say, most of our training time and outings have been focusing on walking nicely.  

This weekend we headed to the outdoor mall.  We walked the entire perimeter of the mall, and walked through one store.  

 Apparently, everyone else in town had the same idea to walk their dog at the mall on an unusually warm day.  There were several dogs there.  A few little dogs we managed to avoid, and a Great Dane that Moray walked right past.

Moray worked almost all of it without his gentle leader on.  I did put the gentle leader on him for the last ten minutes or so.  We were just coming up to the Dane, and there were quite a few people stopped to pet him.  Moray has not really worked with a lot of other dogs outside of puppy class, and I didn't know what to expect from this dog's owner, so I thought I would rather be certain Moray was under control since there was no way around walking right past them.  I shouldn't have worried, because while the other dog strained at his leash to greet Moray, my little guy looked at him, but walked right past and checked in with me.

I had several requests to pet Moray, and while I usually allow minimal petting if Moray is doing well and I have the time to stop, I did not want to interrupt Moray and throw him off his good, focused streak, so I said no to all of it.  I think there were several people who were annoyed at me for saying no, especially when other pet owners were letting them pet their dogs.  But, it comes with the territory of puppy raising, and while education and PR is part of this volunteer gig, my main responsibility is Moray's success, not being a people-pleaser.

After a quick "Hurry" and water break, we headed in to Barnes and Noble so I could accomplish some studying.  Moray slept hard while I worked.  A successful outing under our belts, and hopefully some reminding of the rules drilled into Moray's head!