Starbucks gift cards! Okay I wouldn’t find Starbucks reinforcing,maybe one for my local pet supply store. Scoop your dog’s poop while out on a walk- here’s a gift card. Take your dog into the store with you- here’s a gift card. Ask if you could pet my dog instead of just grabbing for her- here’s a gift card. It would be a slow movement, but hopefully get people talking.

Becoming a positive reinforcement trainer has made me aware of what goes into a behavior. When I used to use negative reinforcement, I just reacted. Now I think about all the things that might influence a behavior and how I might change them to get the behavior I want. I’m not sure that makes sense, but it has made me more understanding of why animals and people do things.

Interesting that Walmart plays into a lot of these. I’ve been thinking maybe next year before it got hot to see if it would be okay to leave flyers on Walmart customers’ cars telling them about the dangers coming up with summer heat. I was thinking Walmart because I figure not only would you reach a lot of people, but you’d reach a lot who don’t go to pet stores because they can buy what they need there. Maybe even set up a table to aid in educating. We only reach so many people through the Internet, this might reach the rest.

And, in truth, we may very well be right. But rightness isn’t usually what sways someone’s opinion. It’s having a personal experience that challenges their old thinking.

In that sense, maybe that’s the benefit of hearing so many news stories on suffering dogs in hot cars. When people hear stories from their town or the store they also shop in, it probably starts to click in.

There you go again, RD. You always get me thinking. 🙂

Well put. Somehow you managed to put the most important point of a 1000 word post into one short sentence. 🙂

Truth be told, a lot of older people wouldn’t follow modern child care practices either. Times change and not everyone keeps up with the knowledge.

What a terrible story about the vet. I can certainly see how someone comes into an office getting dozens of questions and forgets those two dogs.

Thanks for the update. The more I look into it, the more I realize that Louisiana doesn’t have many animal protection laws. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since we’ve heard cats repeated referred to as “alligator food.”

It appears Louisiana has no such protective laws on the books. 🙁

Good for you, welcoming dogs.

I used to work in an auto parts store in high school which was also dog friendly. After all, what could a dog possibly break in an auto parts store (although I do remember one waggy German Shepherd knocking over a tower of STP). 🙂

Perhaps if you have someone immune to reason, you could offer a small discount or giveaway to the next person bringing his dog into the store with him? 🙂

Let’s hope you never are in the position of seeing a distressed dog.

And again with the Walmart. It keeps coming up. As I’ve noted in an earlier comment reply, it sounds like the best way to save lives is to get WalMart to post warning signs on their doors.

I’ve never shopped at WalMart. But it’s so huge I certainly understand someone going in and getting lost for longer than they expect.