Training

My Saturday morning trainings are really quite fun. I get to see a lot of dogs and some are friends from the dog park. There are only eight in my class, but there are three classes, so there is a lot of coming and going before and after class. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to play with each other even though our humans get to talk and laugh with one another.

Some people call our classes "Dog Training" but it is as much the training of our humans as it is of us. MFM and I work quite well together because I am so smart. I pay attention most of the time but have to admit I am easily distracted. I also get tired from constantly trying to figure out what I am supposed to do. There are so many smells and so much activity, that I really want to just be left alone to explore it all.

In spite of everything, I have learned a lot. I can sit, stay,  lie down on all fours, come when called (well, most of the time), and try to sit and behave when another dog or person walks by. I answer to my name and am learning that I cannot play during class, although I do occasionally find a nice stick to carry around and chew on. At home I can also fetch and wait. I sit and wait to be invited to enter the car or house and even wait to be invited to eat although it is right there in front of me. I think I am a pretty good fellow and making MFM happy is, usually, foremost in my mind. Now she is teaching me to shake hands.

My last class was a REAL challenge. I am now learning to walk right beside MFM and learn to turn when she turns. I would rather sniff and smell. I had learned how to work in the sniff 'n smell on our long morning walks. I would run ahead of MFM for the length of the leash, stop for a sniff 'n smell, then just before she got past me far enough to pull on the leash, I would run ahead again. It worked well for me! I enjoyed the fragrances and sometimes had time to pick something up to taste - an acorn, a clod of dirt, a stick, or (my favorite) a leaf. Now, that is very limited and I have to keep up when she is training us. Now, I have to "heel" or, as she puts it, "knee" since she thinks we might need to be even firmer on the training later. The good thing about it all is that I get TREATS!

No class this week but we learn something new next week. I can hardly wait.....