Puppy Class 1: Meet and Greet and Puppy Treats

When we got Danny, we decided that we would start him off on the right foot, and promptly signed him up for 4 sessions of puppy class with PuppyLove. We decided on a group class so he would meet other puppies and get some solid play time in.

Let's face it, we're pretty boring to play with. The moment he starts nipping or scratching, we go NO and walk off. It's happened so often he was beginning to think his name was Dannyno.

Anyway, he had his first official class on Saturday. He has 3 classmates: a cocker spaniel, a poodle and the smallest, cutest silky terrier.

It was the first time he has seen other dogs since his pet shop days but, according to the trainer, he still has good manners.

Step 1: Everybody sniff the front
"How y'all doing?"

Step 2: Everybody sniff the back

"Ooh! You had slippers for supper! Yum!"

Step 3: Run around and drive the humans crazy

The poodle's Coco, and she's Danny's best friend in class.

We also learnt how to get them to sit and teach them their names, or in Danny's case, unteach him his name. PuppyLove's methods all involve positive reinforcement which mean lots of treats. Danny like!

Actually Danny like a bit too much. Every other puppy was sitting patiently on their owner's lap waiting their turn to practice. But Danny was determined to sample every treat in the house. It took all I had to hold him steady, and it drove him absolutely mad when other dogs didn't get to their treat fast enough.

The worst was when Coco drop her treat right by my foot, and I refused to let him have it.

By the end of the session, Danny was pooped. It was first time he sat quietly anywhere. You wouldn't have known there was a dog around.

After 10 minutes in the car....

After 20 minutes...

ZZzzzz.....