BGC is having their Passionfest this weekend. There are lots of street performers, street foods (healthy thought) and product booths in Bonifacio High Street. Better Dog Behavior Center is also a proud participant. Teacher Elsie invited us to check out the booth at the Pet Zone center. Just in time, we figured out that Bruce's High Street experience is long overdue.
Out of all our dogs, Bruce is the only one who didn't get to go to high street since day 1.
Harvey first experienced High Street the day that Mitch and I got him from the kennel on Nov. 1, 2008. He had no vaccines at that time and he pretty much resembled a full grown rat. It was irresponsible and stupid, but I was an excited dog owner.
Harvey immediately loved High Street. He was an outgoing dog to begin with so it wasn't really a problem. He loves public places. Always curious, playful and friendly. He is also considered a high-energy dog, so most of the times we had to exert our efforts to control his wild side. But he's manageable. And since then, he's been to High Street like hundreds of times.
With Bruce, even if he is considered a low-energy dog, he still does have some spurt of energy with him. With that small energy, he could easily topple tables and create chaos. Ironically, he is the most fearful dog I have ever had. I don't know what happened to him in the early months, but he's really fearful in public places. It took some time and effort for us to bring him out. But with his training sessions in place and his mini-village walks, I think it was about time to do this.
We intended to leave Harvey and Chivas as we wanted him to experience this by himself. We also wanted to gauge his level of stress.
Compared to the first few weeks, I think he is now better. He follows our commands and he walks with us peacefully. He's not scared with elevated platforms and stairs anymore. He doesn't stop and hide. He's not all over the place and wild like Harvey, but he's not as confident and independent as Chivas either. He's somewhere in between. He still gets tense especially if he's walking in crowded areas, but he's fine. If people get inside his space, he doesn't do anything. In fact he just avoids contact. He never got mad. There were some dogs that barked at him and he was the one who wanted to get away. He's not an aggressive dog, that's for sure. But we're working on his fearfulness side. He never barked, never made a tantrum and follows our command if he gets too distracted about something.
All in all, Bruce's high street experience was a success. We got to practice some commands with him while eating dinner. There's no question that Bruce can definitely blend in with the crowd. He accepts humans and dogs, but with a hint of fearfulness that we're still trying to work on.
On our next High Street experience, probably on the days that I'm officially on leave from work (and that's in 2 weeks time), I would make this High Street thing a regular thing. Hopefully by then I could bring Harvey and Chivas with me provided that I have additional support to look after the other dogs.
It would be interesting. We would have an overly adventurous, energetic and friendly dog. An independent, snobbish and obedient dog. And we also have a charming, shy and fearful dog. Their mixes might be different, but their common factor is that they're never aggressive...ever. Together, they can mirror each other's strengths and confidence to make their High Street experience a happy memory.
Out of all our dogs, Bruce is the only one who didn't get to go to high street since day 1.
Harvey first experienced High Street the day that Mitch and I got him from the kennel on Nov. 1, 2008. He had no vaccines at that time and he pretty much resembled a full grown rat. It was irresponsible and stupid, but I was an excited dog owner.
Harvey immediately loved High Street. He was an outgoing dog to begin with so it wasn't really a problem. He loves public places. Always curious, playful and friendly. He is also considered a high-energy dog, so most of the times we had to exert our efforts to control his wild side. But he's manageable. And since then, he's been to High Street like hundreds of times.
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| Coffee Bean HS |
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| Waiting at Marta's Cupcakes |
Chivas also tasted Bonificio High Street on the first day Mitch brought him to us. It was on the day I got home from Hong Kong, April 21, 2012 after a long 4 month assignment. After going to Pet Express to buy some supplies, my cousins from Cebu, my siblings and I trotted to High street with Harvey and Chivas. It was also the perfect opportunity for my cousins to taste Jamba Juice.
Knowing Chivas background, he was naturally fearful, but probably because of his size, energy and temperament, he was such a pleasure to walk with and still is. Out of all the dogs that we have, he is the most hassle-free dog, no fuss dog. He simply follows you around and snobs practically everything.
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| BGC Night |
With Bruce, even if he is considered a low-energy dog, he still does have some spurt of energy with him. With that small energy, he could easily topple tables and create chaos. Ironically, he is the most fearful dog I have ever had. I don't know what happened to him in the early months, but he's really fearful in public places. It took some time and effort for us to bring him out. But with his training sessions in place and his mini-village walks, I think it was about time to do this.
We intended to leave Harvey and Chivas as we wanted him to experience this by himself. We also wanted to gauge his level of stress.
Compared to the first few weeks, I think he is now better. He follows our commands and he walks with us peacefully. He's not scared with elevated platforms and stairs anymore. He doesn't stop and hide. He's not all over the place and wild like Harvey, but he's not as confident and independent as Chivas either. He's somewhere in between. He still gets tense especially if he's walking in crowded areas, but he's fine. If people get inside his space, he doesn't do anything. In fact he just avoids contact. He never got mad. There were some dogs that barked at him and he was the one who wanted to get away. He's not an aggressive dog, that's for sure. But we're working on his fearfulness side. He never barked, never made a tantrum and follows our command if he gets too distracted about something.
All in all, Bruce's high street experience was a success. We got to practice some commands with him while eating dinner. There's no question that Bruce can definitely blend in with the crowd. He accepts humans and dogs, but with a hint of fearfulness that we're still trying to work on.
On our next High Street experience, probably on the days that I'm officially on leave from work (and that's in 2 weeks time), I would make this High Street thing a regular thing. Hopefully by then I could bring Harvey and Chivas with me provided that I have additional support to look after the other dogs.
It would be interesting. We would have an overly adventurous, energetic and friendly dog. An independent, snobbish and obedient dog. And we also have a charming, shy and fearful dog. Their mixes might be different, but their common factor is that they're never aggressive...ever. Together, they can mirror each other's strengths and confidence to make their High Street experience a happy memory.
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