MaryK
Honored Member
I've experienced a big milestone, yes another, in my short life. Last Sunday I started at Junior Puppy School, my very first step on the road to Academic greatness. Of course needless to say my school is the very best, Positive Reinforcement Training Only, so as you can all imagine I was VERY excited and so looking forward to going. http://www.petdogtraining.com.au Just in case you may want to take a peak or live in Adelaide, South Australia and need a VERY good training school. No, I'm not being paid to advertise either, just wanted to let you all know about my school
It all started the night before when Mom packed my school bag. She put into it a lovely crochet throw, folded in four, for my mat. Then in went some extra treats, just in case, along with my Deer Antler, Rawhide Chew Bones, my Manual (that's really for her, humans need reminding at times of the lessons) and of course, I couldn't leave home without Mr. Caterpillar. The only thing left to do was fill up the trick bag, which Mom did the next morning and oh boy, she knows the way to a puppy's heart.
In my trick bag was, finely chopped apple, sausages (Mom squirmed over those), natural liver treats, celery, carrot and cheese. A good selection for a hard working puppy don't you think?
Then the Big Day arrived! We were all up nice and early, as class starts at 9.am. and, after putting on my Pink Hoodie and my lead, we were ready to drive off. No school bus for me, I was chauffeur driven to school of course. Well I am a Princess.
To say I was excited is somewhat understating matters and to be perfectly frank I was also a little nervous too. This resulted in a desperate need to use the bathroom, so Daddy had to make a pit stop just for me. He pulled over next to a lovely park and I was so carried away by the new surroundings I almost forgot my urgent need to pee! As a result it was a little while before we could set off once more and Mom was worried we may be late. But all was well, we were there in good time.
On arrival I was confronted by something I had never encountered before, a big, long set of concrete steps! Ooooh what was I supposed to do? I stared up at this Mount Everest in dismay, I was very perplexed too, what ever were they? But as always Mom helped me out and with the aid of a treat, I went up Mount Everest with all the aplomb of a veteran stair climber. A Fashionista has to know how to do the 'stair case walk' properly doesn't she?
Oh my, what a sight, here I was finally at School. What happens next I wondered? Do we have to sit ALL the time? Mom said we would do lots of different things, but what?
Well the very first thing we all did, after I had met and greeted some of my classmates, was to have a wonderful 'free run' in the tennis court area. Mom took off my lead as she knew I already had excellent recall, but I didn't want to run around going crazy, I preferred to follow my own drum and have a good sniff, after all someone had to check out the area didn't they?
Then our proper lessons started. We were all under a verandah, the humans sitting on chairs and my classmates and I sitting on our mats. As this was our first lesson, learning 'on your mat' was very important so we always had a 'quiet place' to go too no matter where we were. Easy for me, cuz I already knew that, which earned me an Excellent from our Teacher and a Terrific from her assistant. And, must add, they both absolutely LOVED my Pink Hoodie and said I looked so beautiful. Also, I got slipped an extra treat cuz I was such a good girly, didn't pull or play around or anything untoward, just sat quietly on my mat! Teacher's Pet?
Our Teachers also came around and said 'hello' to us. During this part we had to sit nicely, no jumping up, and apart from one wee small half jump, I remembered what Mom had taught me when meeting and greeting people, SIT all four paws on the ground! Earned me another VERY GOOD GIRL from both Teachers!
The next part of the hour was VERY exciting! We did Agility! Yes AGILITY!!!!!!!! On a lovely grassy oval too! Of course the obstacles were puppy sized but hey, it sure was fun. First I did the weave poles. Teacher said just two at first, and if we could manage more, then to do all four. I did the first two with a lure, easy peasy! And the four - no problems - just a hand signal and I was weaving away like a Pro. O.K. a bit slower than the Champions but hey for a little five months old puppy who's never even seen a weave pole before, I wasn't that slow. In fact my Teacher again said Excellent!
And just in case you think I was totally perfect, have to say that Tunnel was a bit scary at first and it took Mom and the Assistance Teacher to encourage me through but once I realized it wasn't really scary at all, I went through and OVER the little jumps without any hesitation! I did the jumps a little bit before by themselves and no problems, they were just made for moi!
Mom and my Teachers said I'm a 'natural' for Agility! I agree, it was HEAPS of fun!
Next on the list was loose lead walking. For this we moved onto yet another tennis court, and once more I didn't have any problems. Well I have been practicing with my Big Bro Zeus - he's very good at heel work and loose lead walking, so I had fun, fun, fun, and went through all the turns with ease.
Time to wind down a little now, so much for a puppy to learn. So it was back to our mats under the verandah where our humans learned a little about Doggy Massage. Every dog needs a good massage after all that work! Ooooh so lovely having one's own personal Masseuse, aren't I just the luckiest of puppies?
I was sorry to leave, and as I said goodbye to my new friends, I wished I could go to school every single day of the week, not just once a week. *Sigh*, I was a little tired but so very, very happy, it had been a beautiful morning, School is FUN!!!!!!!!!!
Daddy was waiting in the car, he'd taken Big Bro Zeus for a walk in the Gorge area, so he too had had a grand time. Exhausted I climbed onto Mom's lap and fell asleep! Perchance dreaming of next Sunday and Junior Puppy Classes!
All Ready For School. Just About To Get Out Of The Car!
Relaxing In The Sun After My Big Day! (Dad please mow the grass - no excuses!)
Strolling Through The Garden!
And another just for luck!
It all started the night before when Mom packed my school bag. She put into it a lovely crochet throw, folded in four, for my mat. Then in went some extra treats, just in case, along with my Deer Antler, Rawhide Chew Bones, my Manual (that's really for her, humans need reminding at times of the lessons) and of course, I couldn't leave home without Mr. Caterpillar. The only thing left to do was fill up the trick bag, which Mom did the next morning and oh boy, she knows the way to a puppy's heart.
In my trick bag was, finely chopped apple, sausages (Mom squirmed over those), natural liver treats, celery, carrot and cheese. A good selection for a hard working puppy don't you think?
Then the Big Day arrived! We were all up nice and early, as class starts at 9.am. and, after putting on my Pink Hoodie and my lead, we were ready to drive off. No school bus for me, I was chauffeur driven to school of course. Well I am a Princess.
To say I was excited is somewhat understating matters and to be perfectly frank I was also a little nervous too. This resulted in a desperate need to use the bathroom, so Daddy had to make a pit stop just for me. He pulled over next to a lovely park and I was so carried away by the new surroundings I almost forgot my urgent need to pee! As a result it was a little while before we could set off once more and Mom was worried we may be late. But all was well, we were there in good time.
On arrival I was confronted by something I had never encountered before, a big, long set of concrete steps! Ooooh what was I supposed to do? I stared up at this Mount Everest in dismay, I was very perplexed too, what ever were they? But as always Mom helped me out and with the aid of a treat, I went up Mount Everest with all the aplomb of a veteran stair climber. A Fashionista has to know how to do the 'stair case walk' properly doesn't she?
Oh my, what a sight, here I was finally at School. What happens next I wondered? Do we have to sit ALL the time? Mom said we would do lots of different things, but what?
Well the very first thing we all did, after I had met and greeted some of my classmates, was to have a wonderful 'free run' in the tennis court area. Mom took off my lead as she knew I already had excellent recall, but I didn't want to run around going crazy, I preferred to follow my own drum and have a good sniff, after all someone had to check out the area didn't they?
Then our proper lessons started. We were all under a verandah, the humans sitting on chairs and my classmates and I sitting on our mats. As this was our first lesson, learning 'on your mat' was very important so we always had a 'quiet place' to go too no matter where we were. Easy for me, cuz I already knew that, which earned me an Excellent from our Teacher and a Terrific from her assistant. And, must add, they both absolutely LOVED my Pink Hoodie and said I looked so beautiful. Also, I got slipped an extra treat cuz I was such a good girly, didn't pull or play around or anything untoward, just sat quietly on my mat! Teacher's Pet?
Our Teachers also came around and said 'hello' to us. During this part we had to sit nicely, no jumping up, and apart from one wee small half jump, I remembered what Mom had taught me when meeting and greeting people, SIT all four paws on the ground! Earned me another VERY GOOD GIRL from both Teachers!
The next part of the hour was VERY exciting! We did Agility! Yes AGILITY!!!!!!!! On a lovely grassy oval too! Of course the obstacles were puppy sized but hey, it sure was fun. First I did the weave poles. Teacher said just two at first, and if we could manage more, then to do all four. I did the first two with a lure, easy peasy! And the four - no problems - just a hand signal and I was weaving away like a Pro. O.K. a bit slower than the Champions but hey for a little five months old puppy who's never even seen a weave pole before, I wasn't that slow. In fact my Teacher again said Excellent!
And just in case you think I was totally perfect, have to say that Tunnel was a bit scary at first and it took Mom and the Assistance Teacher to encourage me through but once I realized it wasn't really scary at all, I went through and OVER the little jumps without any hesitation! I did the jumps a little bit before by themselves and no problems, they were just made for moi!
Mom and my Teachers said I'm a 'natural' for Agility! I agree, it was HEAPS of fun!
Next on the list was loose lead walking. For this we moved onto yet another tennis court, and once more I didn't have any problems. Well I have been practicing with my Big Bro Zeus - he's very good at heel work and loose lead walking, so I had fun, fun, fun, and went through all the turns with ease.
Time to wind down a little now, so much for a puppy to learn. So it was back to our mats under the verandah where our humans learned a little about Doggy Massage. Every dog needs a good massage after all that work! Ooooh so lovely having one's own personal Masseuse, aren't I just the luckiest of puppies?
I was sorry to leave, and as I said goodbye to my new friends, I wished I could go to school every single day of the week, not just once a week. *Sigh*, I was a little tired but so very, very happy, it had been a beautiful morning, School is FUN!!!!!!!!!!
Daddy was waiting in the car, he'd taken Big Bro Zeus for a walk in the Gorge area, so he too had had a grand time. Exhausted I climbed onto Mom's lap and fell asleep! Perchance dreaming of next Sunday and Junior Puppy Classes!
All Ready For School. Just About To Get Out Of The Car!
Relaxing In The Sun After My Big Day! (Dad please mow the grass - no excuses!)
Strolling Through The Garden!
And another just for luck!
