Destination Obedience Class

Like us, dogs have their good days and their bad. They go through periods where they’re extra active, or just plain bratty. It was a ‘just plain bratty’ period, lasting a whole week, that made me decide to take Michele’s advice and sign us up for some dog training classes. How many times can one dog give you the finger to your face before you decide it’s time for change. I figured the additional structure was just what we needed. When I called Michele, her response was, “What took you so long?” I knew we would go at some time, I just needed to find the right time. So that was it, we would be starting in the next adult obedience classes.

For the few weeks before classes started I kept telling Chili we were going back to school, it would be different this time, and she was going to be a very good girl. I wanted to set us up for success. I believe in the power of positive energy and thoughts, and how it can shape and influence a situation. It doesn’t work all the time though. Sometimes there are just things or people out there with a different agenda and a greater influence that steer things in a different direction. In the meantime, in my little world, I was doing my part to positively influence our first class. The nice side effect of doing this is that you change the way you do things to help achieve the desired result. I was being much more disciplined with Chili and she was being much more obedient.

As luck would have it, on the night of our first class there had been a few accidents on the road and the usual half hour commute home took an hour and 45 minutes. That left me rushing around the house with just a half hour to feed Chili, get a quick bite for myself, change, grab some treats for class, and fly out the door. As you can imagine, I’m nowhere near calm, and you know that Chili was feeling my anxious energy. I started doing some deep breathing in the truck as we drove to class and told Chili again that we were heading to class and she was going to be a very good girl. Next thing I know, out of the corner of my eye, I see a big paw come down beside me as she attempts to push her way into the front seat. I take another deep breath and calmly tell her to ‘back’. Amazingly enough she listened and settled herself into the back seat.

As we pulled up in front of Connective Training, there were 2 big dogs making their way into the yard. This could set the tone for the whole class. Usually, when Chili is in the truck and sees a dog, she barks and lunges at the windows like a crazed beast. This time, all she did was make a little whimper, I told her to ‘leave it’ and that was it. I did our usual unloading ritual out of the truck. This means that she has to maintain a sit while I open the back hatch and put the lead on her, and then she jumps out when I give the command. We walk into the yard where there are a few other dogs waiting as another class was just ending. Things were going well. Chili stayed calm as the other dogs walked by us out of their class and then we entered.

As soon as we enter the facility, Chili starts getting rambunctious. I’m not surprised; there are a lot of smells from other dogs, people, and treats. She’s likely also anticipating that something is about to happen, which it was. Although I’m certain she was hoping for playtime instead of work time. So this was it, the beginning of being back in class.