Sent to the principal's office

This week, I was very excited to discover we’d be learning the “leave it” command during class since the “it” is typically my socks, my dinner, my mail and, especially, my favorite Rainbow flip-flops. But, we started out by showing the trainers and the entire class our best “sit.” Larry did very well. Everyone even clapped for him and told me how much he’d seemed to have calmed down. Later, I realized Larry’s calm demeanor was due to something else he’d brought to class – his attitude.

When it was time for one of the trainers to demonstrate the “drop it” command, they chose Larry to give it the first try. I was excited that they chose him because I thought that must have meant he was doing well. Enter the attitude. Suddenly, in front of the entire class, Larry refused to do anything the trainer told him. She tried using his favorite liver treats and even those didn’t seem to interest him. So Pepper kindly stepped in and Larry and I sulked off to the back of the class. I tried to practice the trick with Larry and he got it four or five times before walking away to sniff the grass having completely lost interest.

During break, Larry continued to have his surly attitude. He went over to Merlin only to steal a few sips from his water bowl. When Pepper came to say “hello” he finally started to play. But, when Larry took a few chews of Pepper’s leg, I’d had it with him. Now he was just being rude. When break came to a close we worked more on loose-leash walking. Larry was a disaster. He pulled on the leash and ran around until our trainer, Fran, came over and took control. I put my head in my hands as even Fran has a hard time with him. When class was over I packed Larry and his attitude in the car and headed home.

Later, I tried the commands again. “Leave it” was far more interesting this time around and he sat like an all-star. Loose-leash walking … let’s just say I’ll have to consult Fran on this one.

My disruptive dog

It’s official. Larry has learned how to sit. But I’ve now realized that I could teach him practically anything if it included a yummy treat afterwards. Now anytime I have a treat in my hand, he just sits in anticipation of eating it. I don’t even have to give the command. The only problem here is that he won’t sit without a treat. Just this morning, I tried to make him sit so I could take off his leash. It wasn’t happening. He looked up at me with his big brown eyes as if to say “I don’t smell a treat, I’m no dummy.”

But, obviously, class is going well. Larry is a fast learner and very sociable … maybe too sociable. I think if he got a report card he’d have all A’s but in the comments box “Talks during class.” He just makes these happy play noises. One of our trainers, Fran Iwanicki, actually paused class because Larry was trying to play with Merlin and was being noisy and disruptive. While this just makes Larry look cute it makes me look like a bad mommy. So I stood there all embarrassed while Larry continued to play and Fran just gave up.

Larry and Merlin seem to have hit it off. As soon as Merlin comes to class Larry gets really excited and has to go play with him immediately. Then, when Merlin leaves, Larry whines. Merlin may be about half Larry’s size but he’s scrappy. When they first met, Larry went to introduce himself and Merlin just swatted him across the nose. They’ve been best friends ever since. Merlin has even learned to go potty on command, just like Larry. Whenever Merlin plays with another dog Larry sits there looking dejected and confused. This is probably why I got upset when Pepper’s mom announced that Merlin and Pepper had really hit it off. “But Larry is Merlin’s best friend!” I wanted to say. I held back in order to set a good example for Larry.

The first day of school

When my husband, Jake, and I first got married, we decided we’d wait to get a dog. We wanted to get settled into our routine and get our own place. But our opposite work schedules started getting to me and I was lonely sitting around the house. I thought maybe it was time just to see what kind of dogs were out there. Then, I saw Larry.

It was love at first sight when Larry’s picture came up on Watauga Humane Society’s Web site. On my very next day off, I drove up to Boone, N.C. and brought him home. Now, four months later, he’s just as cute as the day I first picked him up. He’s even cute when he barks for 20 minutes straight and when he escapes out our apartment door and refuses to be corralled. What isn’t cute is Jake diving in front of the oncoming car to save him. So it’s time – time for Larry to go to puppy school. I enrolled him in doggie basic training and we went to our very first class Tuesday night in Mooresville. I was nervous. Larry was not.

Due to the rainy weather, Larry was one of just four dogs to show up. He made friends with Stanley, Merlin and Pepper while we parents filled out some paperwork. When we all went around and talked about our dogs’ problems, we parents all seemed relieved to know our dog wasn’t the only one with issues. In fact, we’re all in the same boat as parents with young, only-dogs who all think they’re humans. Afterwards, we learned our first command, which just gets the dog to pay attention, and got our homework – lots of practice.

Larry ended up doing well and I got over being nervous. In fact, everyone was very impressed with Larry’s potty skills. He can go on command. I rewarded him with a trip to PetSmart and he crashed on the couch as soon as we got home. But we still have five more weeks to go. Wish us luck!