Ice cream social

After missing last week’s class for a vacation, Larry was more than ready to get back to his friends this week. Merlin even sent Larry an e-mail telling him all about the homework he missed. This week, we all huddled under the park’s picnic shelter as a heavy rain fell, which seemed to distract all the puppies from going over everything we’d learned up until this point. So, with the puppies more interested in the rain and playing, we took a break. Our trainer brought special doggie ice cream for the pups. The flavor was only explained as “original” so we all wondered what dog ice cream tasted like. When I was “double dog dared” to taste it, I had to give it a lick. From now on, I promise to trust the “Not for humans!” warning label. But Larry loved it! I tried to explain brain freezes to him so he’d stop eating so fast but it somehow got lost in translation.

We allowed the puppies to get out their playtime before starting back to work while all the parents chatted. For us, class has become a kind of puppy-parent support group. We discuss our best tips for teething and potty training and all get relieved when we learn our puppy isn’t the only one with a certain weird habit. Then, we got back to the “stay” command which Larry is picking up on very well. He always tries as hard as he can to sit still but he’s so excited about the upcoming treat that it’s difficult for his little attention span. But, “leave it” is, by far, my favorite command. After a rocky start, he’s gotten much better and will even drop his beloved tennis ball. I tried to use this to teach him to fetch but, overall, Larry just doesn’t understand why I continue to throw his toy. After he retrieves it a few times, I throw it and he gives me these “Why did you do that? It’s annoying!” looks. He far prefers to sit unhindered on the snuggly chair with his blanket to play with the tennis ball.

By next week, Larry must be able to “sit” while I walk about 30 feet away from him. I anticipate lots of homework time.