Training Update #4: Leo at the..... airport! ✈️

Alright, it's Friday, time for the next Leo update.

This time, I took Leo to the Denver International Airport, which is a major hub (and a big airport) in the USA. 🛬

I had to drop my daughter off, so I decided this would be a good training opportunity and take Leo with us.

When we first got into the airport, I started with the regular leash and quickly realized Leo was a little nervous. He did not do anything bad, and he was not trying to back away or panic, but you could tell he was a bit overwhelmed by all the people, the noise, and the announcements.

So I switched back to the leader leash setup.

That helped a lot.

After a few minutes, he became much calmer, and we started walking through some of the busiest areas of the airport on a Friday morning.

We went from baggage claim to check-in to the security area, and overall he did really well.

At one point, when my daughter went to pick up her friend, I thought about going back outside, but then I figured, I already drove about 40 minutes to get there, so I might as well use the opportunity and spend more time training with Leo inside the airport. 🕑

So we went back in and kept going.

One funny part was the escalator.

The first time, he was definitely not sure about it and tried to back away. But the service dog harness has a really solid loop on it, so I was able to lift him and place him properly on the escalator, and once he was on, he was fine.

Later, we used the elevator instead. 🐶😁

We went through some very busy check-in areas, back through baggage claim, and around a lot of people, noise, and movement. People were loud, some were shouting, and Leo stayed pretty calm through all of it. 👌

He also got a lot of smiles from people around us. A lot of people were looking at him like, “service dog, so cute,” which was nice. He has the “do not pet” sticker on, and I was happy that nobody actually tried to pet him. That let him just do his job and stay focused.

So other than the first few minutes, and the first escalator experience, he really did very well.

For a first time in a busy airport, I think he pretty much aced it. 🔟

And Denver International is not exactly a quiet place, especially on a Friday morning.

So overall, I’m really happy with how it went, and I’m very proud of him.

Needless to say, he got a big treat when we were back home! 🍗

Next, we need to honed down sound alerts and start training him to respond to my (full) name.

Stay tuned.....!

Have a great weekend! 🐶💙

Leo & Guy.

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