When the weather refuses to act like spring we head to the garden centre! We have had a very cold and snowy winter, and the snow is continuing despite it being spring. Instead of moping around and complaining about the weather we went to visit our local garden centre.

It’s filled with so many gorgeous tropical plants, its bright, and its warm. Everything we needed when yearning for spring.

When shopping with the dogs it is super important that they are comfortable. That is why Laszlo wore his Seeker harness, and I teamed it with the matching leash. The leash made it really easy to navigate the store because of its very convenient traffic handle!

I truly love expanding a simple errand like buying soil into an enriching opportunity for Laszlo. Shopping, while something menial to us, is surprisingly interesting for dogs. They are filled with new smells and textures, which can be very mentally stimulating.

I always let Laszlo sniff around and enjoy the new smells.

I also love to add in training whenever we pop over to the stores. It is a great environment to get controlled practice loose-leash walking, ignoring distractions, and being calm in crowds.

Now neither of those are necessarily Laszlo’s favourite part of our local garden centre… he LOVES the staff. They always get excited to see him and can’t help but say hi, and he lives for it.

There is something very special about putting a smile on people’s faces. I know if I saw a dog walk into my place of work, I’d be overjoyed.

Next time you are running an errand to a pet friendly store, think about taking your dog. It slows you down in the best way. I tend to pause more, notice more details, and tend to be more mindful.

It’s a great change of pace from the usual rush of searching for the item you want and quickly heading out.