Puppy School Dropout

If Frankie Avalon was around today he would be singing to us instead of Frenchy.  You heard that correct, we are Puppy School Dropouts.

Last night we drove an hour to go to a recommended puppy school and when we arrived I was already a little worried.  This was a 'puppy' class and while there were certainly a few puppies there were also plenty of adolescent and older dogs as well.  The other thing was that there were no less than 12 other dogs and up to 20 people milling around waiting for the class to start.  Ladi is very social with people and likes to meet & greet, we made sure of that.  But also she rarely sees that many dogs in one place.  So right after we arrive the teacher tells us all to find a chair and sit 6 feet apart from one another in a circle, dogs not allowed to be closer than 3 feet nose to nose.  She then spends 15 minutes telling us about her own dogs, methods, next weeks class, homework etc.  Poor Ladi made it all of 5 minutes of being calm before she started to get all antsy about the lady standing next to us talking all loud.  She wanted nothing more than to meet other dogs and people, so she gets upset.  Another 10 minutes of this and she is struggling to get away and do anything but sit still at my feet.  Now let me say that although we had been in the car for an hour, we had spent all morning running around getting the 'YaYa's' out.  By now it's embarrassing.

Our first project is to walk on a leash, something we already do.  I was told to use the term 'Let's Go' and pump treats down the dogs mouth every time she followed me.  When Teacher came to ask how we were doing I told her I already use the words 'come on' and she told me in no uncertain terms that I should use 'Let's Go' instead as to not confuse my puppy when it was time to introduce 'Come' to her vocabulary.  Now call me old fashioned but maybe I get to determine what words I use to call my dog.  Also every time I say Let's Go! all I can think of is Brandon and the idiots that have that expression all over the back of their lifted Dodge 3500 Dually MegaCab.

My excitable dog

Well, it only got worse from there.  Ladi was strangling herself trying to just get to meet one other dog or person, and I was wondering why I needed to bring string cheese to the next meeting.  The answer, "It's a high value treat for training purposes".  She also said we would know if our dog was lactose intolerant if after eating the cheese they vomited or had diarrhea.  Good system!  We did not make it to part three of the training which was fine.  We already know how to sit and look at me anyway.

I decided to call it quits right then and we left early.  Me upset that I didn't do my due dilligence and research the class better and sad Ladi who only wanted to make one friend out of bunches of dogs.  (She seemed to have a crush on the French Bulldog next to us)  I'm guessing that people thought she was a high strung out of control puppy but the second we got in the car and pulled out she was fast asleep.  Slept all the way home.  Next time we will look for a trainer who works with duck dogs only and has a meet & greet and maybe even a class size more like Green Mountain College and less like the University Of Phoenix.

GBCH