Rainy Day

Somehow, rain and thunderstorms seems to follow our little puppy class. And if you know what rain and thunderstorms do to a dog’s attention span you also know it isn’t a good thing. Rain always seems to make Larry act all funky. He especially doesn’t like to be outside in it. At our apartment complex, he walks over to where the covered sidewalk and the grass meet and just sticks his backside out when he has to go potty, leaving his head under the dry walkway. You can only guess how the rain makes Larry feel about doing his puppy training. Add that to the fact that Merlin wanted to play and you get a very distracted Larry. But, I’m amazed at his “sit” and “stay.” He even drops his favorite rope chew toy when I give the “leave it” command. He’s getting much better and now catches on more quickly to new tricks. Friends and family have even been commenting on how good he is.

But this week’s homework could prove to be the most challenging yet. I’m supposed to be taking Larry somewhere that he’ll be around other dogs and try to get him to follow my commands despite all the distractions of new things to sniff. I’m nervous but I think it’ll give Larry a little something new. Maybe it’ll at least tire him out and he’ll stop destroying his toys, like the tennis ball he ate last week. He actually consumed the tennis ball … and the fuzz out of the middle of his other toy … and a Rolo.

Next week is graduation! Check back for class photos!