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June 25, 2014

Puppy 101: Puppy Class, Week Two

We had our second puppy class on Monday and Penny played the part of reluctant student quite well. “But dad, I don’t wanna go!” From the looks of things, Penny wasn’t the only stubborn student. ” I am a big, strong mastiff! Puny human,
We had our second puppy class on Monday and Penny played the part of reluctant student quite well.Rhodesian Ridgeback, puppy, marking our territory, dog blog, adventure

“But dad, I don’t wanna go!”

From the looks of things, Penny wasn’t the only stubborn student.

Rhodesian Ridgeback, puppy, marking our territory, dog blog, adventure

” I am a big, strong mastiff! Puny human, you can’t make me go to class…oh wait, yes you can.”

At home I’ve taught Penny (with wildly varying degrees of success) the commands “sit,” “down,” “stay,” “here,” “take it” and “leave it.” Class this week provided a highly distracting environment and structured time to strengthen Penny’s attention and my consistency.

More importantly, I would argue, the class gives Penny invaluable socialization training. Currently, Penny only has two settings: “off” and “wrecking ball.” It showed at class – see if you can follow the Penny-blur.

Rhodesian Ridgeback, puppy, marking our territory, dog blog, adventure

At the center of every romp, there was Penny, causing mayhem

With Eko, Penny shows no restraint. Despite Penny’s constant barrages, Eko is relaxed because, at will, he can choose to ignore or overpower his little sister. Therefore at home, Penny does not learn the proper feedback loop for good dog manners.

The socialization portion of class is so key because Penny’s fellow pups display a range of responses which will help Penny learn all the cues dogs learn to communicate with one another. Even after just one class, Penny learned which dogs were interested in playing and which dogs were not. It may seem like a simple lesson, but it’s an invaluable one for every pup to learn.

Rhodesian Ridgeback, puppy, marking our territory, dog blog, adventure

“School is fun!”

Penny must have looked ahead in the textbook because even though I haven’t taught her how to play dead, this is how I found her on the futon after class.

Rhodesian Ridgeback, puppy, marking our territory, dog blog, adventure

Even a one dog wrecking crew needs her beauty sleep

She’s not quite Miss Manners, but Penny’s getting there. Slowly, but getting there!

Comments for Puppy 101: Puppy Class, Week Two

  1. yes, school is fun! The Mastiff reminds me of my mom, her momma had to do the same on her first day :o)

  2. Emmadog says:

    Just remember, Penny…in obedience one, Bailie went from being the class clown, destined to fail to being one of the best students in her class. There is nothing wrong with a bit of disobedience and embarrassing your parent totally according to Bailie. Actually, in the end it backfired on her as it gave Mom real drive to prove Bailie could do it. Enjoy being a goofy pup as much as you can.

  3. Victoria says:

    She is so hilarious – Eko must be exhausted daily by her – he is probably thinking “Will what were you thinking?” – at least some of the time! She is so adorable and a little energizer bunny.

  4. Elyse says:

    I was thinking about Penny as I drove to work this morning. She really is not molding herself into the role as the typical second dog, is she!

    Shhhhh…we expect to be getting our puppy on Saturday if all goes well. I can’t wait!

  5. meANXIETYme says:

    Love that wrecking ball!

  6. Carrie Ord says:

    If Penny was a 15 year old girl she would KILL you for posting that last picture…”Daaaaaaad, I hate you!!!”

  7. Marcela says:

    Lol. Adorable Penny. She looks so happy and tired. The best combo.

  8. Kyla says:

    Penny, you’re doing a good job of conditioning your Dad.

  9. Gabi says:

    That mastiff is hilarious. Sounds like puppy class is going well! And yes, I agree that the socialization part is the most important part of puppy class. Very important for them to learn how to play with different kinds of dogs.

  10. Jorie says:

    Hahaha I love the after class photo of Penny. Nothing like a good romp with fellow canines to completely tucker ’em out. No matter how far I take Winnie on a walk, or how long we play fetch, a solid 30-minute romp with another dog has her zonked for the rest of the evening!

    Also, are you taking her to Anything is Pawsible? It looks like a similar room! That’s where we took Winnie too 🙂

  11. pawedblog says:

    Aww she’s doing great by the looks of it… and most importantly enjoying herself, that helps her to take things in.
    Love the photos and the one with the reluctant Mastiff student had me giggling!
    Hugs, Carrie and pups x

  12. ThatJenK says:

    Who doesn’t love the craziness of puppy play time!? Looks like you’ve found a good program for her to learn all the important stuff!

  13. Oh, Penny! Of course you need a nap after all that playing. I only went to school when I was 3 years old – when Mom rescued me. She hoped an old dog could learn new tricks. And I did!

    Love and licks,
    Cupcake

  14. harrispen says:

    You should have made the background music to that clip the refrain from Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball.

    Cindy

  15. she was wiped out! Her and Gambler would like to be wrecking crews together.

  16. fozziemum says:

    Hahaahah oh bless her cotton socks..i could smooch that face til the cows came home 🙂 you know some dogs..not mentioning any names…DOC have only those two speeds..energizer bunny and out for the count….I am sure Penny will soon have found a few more gears to use….in the mean time you go girl keep em on their toes at school 🙂 🙂 hugs Fozziemum x

  17. Thanks Will…now we can’t get the image of Penny straddling a wrecking ball a-la Miley Cyrus out of our heads…mom’s even got the giggles!
    Wally & Sammy

  18. So fun to watch your journey with Penny!

    It almost makes me want to sign up for another obedience class with my dogs.

  19. Julia M says:

    That grin. Too cute for words, it’s killing me! 😛

  20. Penny is so energetic 🙂

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