Dog School

Sometimes I need a little more faith and patience. (O.k. maybe more that a little). Last night was week 3 of our Basic Dog Obedience class. When we signed up for this class I thought it would be something that Maddy could be successful at while continuing to build her bond with Bruiser. I knew that with the class starting at 8:15 at night that would be a struggle for me. I don't like to leave the house that late. I am Ms. Morning and have no desire to leave my house past about 4:00 in the afternoon.

The first week of class, Bruiser was the stubborn dog and spent most of the class looking at me trying to figure out what he had done to be brought here. The second week on the way to class he accidentally rolled the window up on his head. (There mass panic, but we all survived). So needless to say last night as we are preparing for class I am doing all I can to stay positive and remembering that this is not about me and is for the greater good.

Each week we have "dog school" homework. Maddy and I have been pretty good about doing it, but honestly we spend more time on the fun homework than the hard stuff.

We arrive at the school without incident (cheers) and get there a good bit early. I put Bruiser in a "settle" which is what got him labeled stubborn the first week and of course he goes right down. Maddy and I discuss the issue we are having with Bruiser not wanting to sit on their surface and on the wood floors at home. After getting a bit of advice we wander off to do our own thing before school starts.

Maddy and I are sitting on the floor with Bruiser waiting for class to start and the darn dog sits right down like he has done it from day one! Maddy gets so excited, she is just beyond happiness. During the class Bruiser (for the most part) is a shining star! He gets 3 "great jobs" from different trainers throughout the class. I looked over at Maddy after the second great job Bruiser got and she is standing there with little tears of happiness running down her face. She told me "Mom, I am so proud of him I have to cry".

At the end of class we learned the spin trick (which will be a good one for Maddy to do with him this week) and then we worked on walking on and around new objects for the dog. Things were going so well at the end of class I let Maddy and Bruiser show the trainer the high-five trick. The trainer even suggested a few other tricks that Maddy and Bruiser could work on.

Seeing Maddy be a proud puppy owner last night made it all worth while. It truly was all about the two of them and my faith and patience was renewed.

Send To Phone