Embarassment. Adam and I were both good kids growing up, both of us had decent grades, and were not known to cause much trouble in school. These attributes did not translate to our pet during his first two weeks of Beginner Dog School.
Ever since we found out we were pregnant, I have been insistant that Wally join a class to learn socialization with other people and dogs. My hope is that I can walk baby in the stroller and dog on the leash without the worry of being pulled when other dogs cross our path. This is a pipe dream. Wally is, per Stina the instructor, 'high anxiety around other dogs and people'. Which leads to our last two Tuesday nights spent at the local PetSmart Dog Training Beginner sessions. Wally walks in, tail wagging, crazy in love with all other 5 dogs (and thier owners) in class. He cannot sit down during the entire 60 minutes, as he cannot wag tail and pull towards his classmates while sitting. Adam kept him on a tight leash the entire time.
Wally was so excited that he threw up when we got home.
High Anxiety.
2nd Class. Wally, a fierce lover of all foods will not accept treats while in training, as he is too busy looking at his classmates. But, for the record, does sit down for a few seconds occasionally to rest.
High Anxiety.
Halfway through class, the dreaded words are uttered: "Can We Talk After Class?" These words were accepted whole heartedly by the hubby and I, but both of us are in disbelief - our little puppy dog has to stay over to talk with teacher? It can't be!
The end result is that our instructor has been kind enough to take Wally in private instruction for no extra charge, as the other dogs are just too much excitement for him to handle. Not a terrible event (and actually a better time for our schedule), but, nonetheless, he was expelled.
Where did we go wrong? I thought we raised a perfectly normal pet - he sits and shakes on command (most times :)) and has never growled at a soul. A pet only his parents could love I suppose. I only hope that this event does not carry over into reality with baby, that would put me in high anxiety.
2 comments:
Maggie, best thing we ever did was get a play baby. We held it, talked to it, kissed it, carried it around, placed the baby in the crib and made sure we were holding the baby when we fed the dogs. We also let the dogs sniff the baby often to get used to the smells. The only thing we forgot was the sounds. Syd freaked the first time Erin cried. He ran through the house going nuts but when we brought Erin down to his level and showed him that she stopped crying he was okay. Have fun. Andrea
"Wally was so excited that he threw up when we got home." That line just cracked me up. I think baby training sounds easier than dog training, and my little human boy is a really busy one!
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