# New Locations - What is the goal?



## lw19 (10 mo ago)

Hi! I have a 22 week Vizsla (first time V owner) and am trying to get her accustomed to being comfortable in many new locations that offer new distractions. For example I try to take her to nature preserves where she’ll see an occasional person/dog pass by. I also try to take her to busy parks where many people and dogs are on walks or relaxing. I generally alternate between these two types of settings each day. I also plan to take her to a Cabelas at some point. Not surprisingly, her loose leash walking and general focus/obedience gets worse with such fun, new distractions.

With that said, my 2 questions are:

1) Should I even be doing this? Is it too much, too fast?
2) What should the goals be in these new locations? Should I try to do short formal training sessions in these locations? Or is simply putting her in these new types of locations with new distractions the most important?

Thanks so much for any insight!


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## Viktor’s Dad (12 mo ago)

Hi, we’re at about the same stage. Viktor is 20 weeks and we are now expanding his circle (including in the house). I’m not a trainer but my view is at this age, I want him to experience all these new places as normal and try and model his future behaviour for once he is better able to control himself.

An example is the wooded park near our house where we go at least once a day. When we started there he was all over the place and couldn’t be off lead. Now I trust him off lead for a while until he gets that “I can’t hear you” look in his eyes. Then we buckle up again and continue walking. While he’s off lead we do lots of recall training with his fav salmon treats.









We have also managed to get him to ”sit” with us in the pub (on lead, blanket, lots of treats) for about 45 minutes before he decides he’s done.

In terms of the lunging at people, we did get training help for that. On our walks, as people would pass by we would get him into a sit and treat him to keep him focused on us. And, here’s the important part, he needs to see/take notice of the passerby out of the corner of his eye. So it becomes a “here’s a person, no big deal, I get a treat”. It’s mostly worked but we notice recently it needs a bit more proofing as he’s become more confident.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Yes, your pup should be out and about. As long as she is not put in situations that scare her. It’s also a good time to start a puppy class.
You goal is to have a well socialized dog.
At this age is more about them learning their new world, with very small increments of training thrown in.


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

it is good to take the puppy to different places to learn new situations. In terms of what speed and goals to follow will depend on your pup. If you see whale eyes / fear in new situations, then giving lots of treats / playing with a toy (depending on what is her motivator) to associate the scary new thing with something very positive could be a good answer. If she is curious and wants to go up and sniff new things, let her do it as long as it is safe and does not interfere with others. Eventually you can then introduce the obedience elements you have previously practiced at home under limited distraction like stay, leave it etc.


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## lw19 (10 mo ago)

Thank you all for the great advice! Looks like my expectations are a bit too high and I need to reset myself. Here’s a fun photo of Penny just last night having fun with some birds at the park. I was completely non existent to her in this moment (and quite a few other moments with new dogs, scents and people throughout our time at the park), but sounds like that is completely normal/expected at this point in the socializing process.


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