Two things get my dog, Hazel, REALLY excited (and barking):

– Little kids screaming and running.

– Skateboards.

One day I decided to work on training her out of getting excited by those things.

I grabbed treats, her e-collar, and poop bags, and we set out in search of skateboards and screaming little kids.

We headed toward the Boise Centre square…and jackpot.

About seven little kids were screaming and running through the water fountain shooting up from the ground.

I adjusted Hazel’s e-collar and put her in a sit-stay.

As soon as she started getting excited by those screaming kids, I corrected her, she settled down, and she got rewarded with a treat.

Things were going great until a young woman, about 20 years old, walked up behind Hazel.

“Hazel! Hazel! Hazel!” she called, seeing Hazel’s name on her collar.

“Hi!” I called to the woman to make her stop saying Hazel’s name (which was interfering with our training).

“Can I pet her?” she asked.

“No, she’s training right now and she needs to pay attention,” I replied.

“Oh, I’ll be really gentle,” she insisted. “I’m really good with dogs.”

“No, she’s in the middle of a training session and really needs to focus on what she needs to do,” I explained again.

“I really love dogs. I just want to pet her,” the woman replied, and stepped forward, reaching toward Hazel.

Refusing to let this total stranger bully me about my dog, I moved between her and Hazel and told her no again.

That’s when she blew up at me! All because I didn’t want her to pet MY dog right then!

To top it all off, she STILL wouldn’t leave us alone until I started ignoring her, at which point she FINALLY stormed off in a huff.

I gotta say, this woman reminded me of a food pusher.

I told her no twice, and she did NOT wanna hear it. All she cared about is what SHE wanted.

Same deal with food pushers. They care about what THEY want, not what’s actually best for you.

I’m not saying they never have good intentions when they push food, but like this young woman, they’re still so fixated on what they think is best that they don’t hear you when you say no.

Stand up for yourself, because the alternative is to betray yourself by caving into their demands.

Doing that is never gonna help you get or keep the weight off.

Don’t let the food pushers win.

Take a stand for YOU.