Dar's First Puppy Training Night

[ArtGypsy]

Well, the first half of the evening was kinda miserable. First, I got there ten minutes early, which was DUMB, *however punctual*, because what do ya do with your dog EARLY? He just wanted to get out of the car and play.......it was raining outside..........and he went 'crazy' at the window when the last class started getting out.

oh.....and right before THAT, I wasn't sure if I was 'really' early, or if I was just one of the 7:00 folks who got there after the REALLY PUNCTUAL folks, so I went to open the car door to go in and see, and BOLT, went Dar, trying to scooch past me as I was stepping down from my 4-runner. HOLY COW.....


Of course, the 4-runner has huge tires, and here I am, all 107 pounds ((OH ALRIGHT. 11O POUNDS. bitches )) trying to SMOOSH Dar Back UP INTO THE CAR, IN THE RAIN, and SLAM the door shut with Both Hands......trying not to slip in the Mud.

Oh GOOOOOD. if there was ANYBODY watching the Crazy lady trying to get OUT of the car at Puppy Training Class, they surely thought I had to be an advertising prop.
MUCH TOO Lucille-Ball-Perfect.........lemme tell ya!!!!!!


When class finally started, 10 minutes after 7, Dar STRAINED AND PULLED at that leash to play with every single other dog---sure, he'd do a 'sit' for me.(while I HISSED IT IN HIS EAR)),,muttering something about''''wait til i get you home'''....

Finally after a half an hour of this, the instructor had finished working with getting dogs fitted with the right kinds of collars and such........and then spent a good deal of time talking about the two adoptable doggies in class. I finally just said, "I don't think I can stay any longer. I just can't hold him anymore."..
My hands were Red and my Muscles were exhausted.

She asked if we wanted to try a gentle leader, and I thought "sure', Cause it was either THAT, or I ask one of the women if they'd let one of their hunky hubbies hold my dog FOR me.........ha ha ...

Dar did really well with the Gentle Leader. Of course he wasn't THRILLED with it,,,,,,,,,,,but it did work miracles at calming him down............that and I think he was exhausted too!!

Over all< it went really well.
We got a lot of hand outs about stuff I already knew,,,,,,,,,,stuff I figured was wrong and I do anyway..(like let him sleep with me)..........

but ..........we'll work this week, and back we go next Tuesday!!

Jody

[madremissy]

You crack me up!

[Jenn]

You crack me up!

Me too,

I hope you have a better experience next week!

[Hundilein]

Jody, your description was perfect, I could picture everything in my mind. You crack me up. I'm sorry you had so much trouble with Dar at class. It would have been nice if the trainer had pulled out the gentle leader at the very beginning.

[hugapitbull]

That visual is priceless. I can picture Trouble at that age, I think Dar must be her twin. She was hell on wheels, and so hyper she was just about unmanageable. Look at the bright side, at 9 1/2 she's so mellow it is unbelievable. You would not think she is even the same dog

[pitbullmamaliz]

Jody, thank you for a great laugh this morning! That was priceless!

We got a lot of hand outs about stuff I already knew,,,,,,,,,,stuff I figured was wrong and I do anyway..(like let him sleep with me)..........

Take this with a grain of salt - a lot of people swear that if your dog sleeps with you, gets on the furniture without permission and/or goes through doorways before you that they are planning a coup on the household. If he has attitude problems that's one thing, but if not, don't stress too much.

[fenella]

That is too funny. Murphy was exactly the same way (Erin can vouch for that). I had a miserable time...he pulled like a freight train. My hands were very red and sore. The front-clip harness worked well for me. Now he doesn't even pull on his flat collar...unless there is something REALLY interesting to go see. Even then, I can call him back from it.
One thing I learned from Sarah Wilson...if the dog is pulling, don't pull back...it'll just make them pull harder. Instead, you can "pump" the leash by squeezing your hand (not jerking it, just small pulses). They can't pull against constant pressure, and will sometimes give to the annoying pumping.
Erin taught me to click for a loose leash, which eventually trained him not to pull at all.

I love your stories!