Things he has really learned:
– when Syn says something, salute.
– when Stitch says something, pretend to comply for half a second and then go back to what you were doing.
– usually good stuff when Sue calls.
– always good stuff when Ron is in the kitchen.
– a 40 pound puppy can still perch on the back of a recliner without tipping it over. As long as Stitch is trying to sleep in it.
– rocks are better than toys.
– you can back into a lake until your butt floats. How cool is that!
– you can walk into a lake until your chest floats. NOT cool.
– a wet puppy is a VERY happy puppy. Especially when there’s really tall pasture grass to roll in.
– NO!
What he sort of knows:
– sit.
– come.
– down.
– walk on a loose leash.
– don’t run out the door just because it’s opening.
– don’t stick your head in the refrigerator.
– don’t jump in people’s laps and try to eat their food before it gets to their mouths.
– how to trot.
– concentrated urine makes Sue happy for some reason.
– don’t eat electric cords. Or chairs. Or shoes. Or plants. Or the harness you’re wearing. Or coyote poop.
– llamas are Very Very Tall.
– don’t run in front of the Gator.
– sit quietly when you’re in a Gator. Like a car.
What he’ll know in three days:
– 45 pound puppies can’t sit on the back of recliners even if Stitch AND Syn are lying on the seat.
_________________
This morning he did five bumper retrieves out of the dugout. He had a really good time and even anticipated the last one – but if it goes deeper than butt-floating depth, Syn is gonna have to get it.
This afternoon he got his Man Bark. Not a whine, not a puppy yip. This is a windows-rattling bad-word-swearing I-am-Schnauzer-hear-me-roar bark. Then he realized Ron had come in the front door and was a little embarrassed.
He was NOT, however, embarrassed when he tried it out again on a noisy rude adult Airedale coming in for the next class as we were leaving. When the Airedale bellowed he had a brief moment of “oops, did I do something wrong?” followed immediately by a rousing speech about the Airedale’s ancestry, genitalia (or lack thereof), and personal hygiene. He and I will be having Discussions about the correct use of this Weapon of Mass Disruption as the weeks go by! I think next week we’ll get out of class early, sit in the parking lot watching the adults go by, and introduce Spider to his new “this noisy rude peasant is beneath our notice” attitude.
Speaking of class, we had another good one. This week we had toys and a can of juicy dog food scattered around the room. The dog food was a tough Zen project, but the toys were pretty easy.
Then we did some work on Go To Mat and going around a pylon. Third time around he knew exactly what he was doing. As I increased distance he did the same circle but in between the pylon and me a couple of times, but when he didn’t get a click for that, he went back right away and fixed it.
He met more people that he liked and sniffed a lot of other puppies. Our side of the room is old home week – we were in the middle of a PWD, a Mini Schnauzer cross, and a Bouvier.
Since one wall is entirely mirrors, when we were tired of doing GTM we practised some free stacking and stretching – holy moly he is a pretty boy! Brought a little tear to my eye.