More work needed

I decided to work Shaman in harness yesterday. It was familiar territory as we went to the grocery store. We have been to this store and worked this route many times now, although this was the first time in harness. I had my cane with me in case I needed it. The trip going was pretty good, as he only got distracted once at a loose dog. He did not bark at any of the dogs that were barking at him from their yards. I was thinking, this as really good. He stopped at all of the right places, and took me around several parked cars. He was good in the store. On the way home was where we had trouble. Every thing was going fine, until a young boy threw a foot ball to another boy in the street and the ball hit Shaman. He balked and ran me into the curb with my wheelchair. I got him calmed down and the boy said he was sorry. We continued on but Shaman seemed a little distracted, as if he expected it to happen again. He started to whine at the barking dogs and he barked and lunged at a loose dog that came out of it's yard after us. The owner of the loose dog called it back into the yard, but I had a hard time getting Shaman calmed down. I had to use my cane to get the rest of the way home. We need more work with loose dogs and other barking dogs. It has been hard for me as I have had to do most of the training on this dog. Nick has gone back to collage and he has not been able to work with Shaman as much as I would like. I will continue to work him in harness, in familiar areas and keep my cane handy. I am going to take him to the local dog park to see if that helps with his dog distractions. I must remember that he is still a young dog and be more prepared for these distractions. Some times I forget that he is still so young (11 months) because he is so good most of the time. This is teaching me patience also. To be continued................