I realized I hadn't done one of these in a while, and since I've been looking around trying to find more info on what to expect for the final classes, I decided I should do a write-up.
The second class was fairly simple. Our dogs knew sit and shake at that point--I think they were a bit ahead of the game, so the new trick we learned was spin. Molly and I had a lot of trouble with that one. To teach it, you're supposed to walk backwards while holding a treat at the dog's shoulder level to guide them through the trick. Well, Molly is so short I have to lean over really far to hold the treat at the right place, and I tend to forget to walk backwards. So she'd sort of spin in place while sitting, but she's supposed to spin while walking. She still doesn't have the knack of that trick quite, but I don't worry about it too much since spin is not a vital skill for a dog to have.
The real breakthrough in week 2 was Molly getting over her fear of the other dogs! My parents were in the area going out to dinner, so they stopped by Petsmart to visit us while we were practicing in the aisle. Molly was really happy to see them. While they were there, one of the other class members brought her dog to say hi to Molly, and Molly wasn't as scared as normal. By the end of class, she was going up to the other dogs and sniffing them and licking their faces! Once she realized they weren't scary, all she wanted to do was play.
In week 3, we sadly didn't have time for puppy play time. But we learned a helpful trick called leave it. Basically you drop food on the ground. As the dog approaches it, you move your foot in front of them and tell them to leave it. When they look up at you instead of the food, you give them a treat from your hand. At first Molly really struggled with this. She didn't bother to look up, because she was so focused on the treat. The instructor had me use better treats than what I brought (liver treats that smelled awful, but she loved them) and she finally got it. I think some other dogs were struggling, though. We were left out to practice so long that Molly completely lost interest in treats and tricks. I think it was 20-30 minutes that we were out there. When we went back to the group, Molly didn't do well when it was her turn to come to the middle of the circle, because she was too busy running around saying hi to all the other dogs! That was unexpected. But once I did get her attention, she did great at the tricks.
In week 4, we started stay work. It didn't go well for us. Our class got a late start and we had to skip puppy playtime again. There is a chihuahua in our class that has really been struggling--barking a lot and going crazy. She had been doing better but last week she went CRAZY. She actually bit her owner for the first time. Our instructor was at a loss what to do. He couldn't teach us while holding her. He didn't want her owner to hold her, because that little dog is too protective of her. So the next thing I knew (after he asked me if I promised not to sue if she bit me), he had me hand the chihuahua's owner my dog (much to Molly's distress and confusion) and take the chihuahua to the other side of the training pen. That chihuahua fought me so hard! At first she settled into arms, but soon she was frantic. I unfortunately was wearing a t-shirt, and she ripped my arms to ribbons with her claws! I was so focused on holding on to her that I missed the entire lesson on stay. And I couldn't even watch my dog. At first Molly fought to get away from the other person, but soon she cuddled into her.
The instructor usually practices the skill with all the big dogs before we go out into the aisles, but he usually skips Molly and the chihuahua--maybe because Molly used to be too scared and the chihuahua too vicious? He had the other woman practice stay with Molly, but the hand motion is similar to what I taught her for down. So she just sat down.
We went out to the aisles and I realized I had no clue what to do. I told the instructor as much when he came by, but I still didn't get it when he tried to help me and neither did Molly. Worse, he mentioned that to graduate this class, the dogs have to be able to stay for 15 seconds. It's almost time for our next class, and Molly and I have made no progress. I admit I am very embarrassed at the prospect that my dog might fail out of the class for this! Oh well. Whether we get that certificate or not, Molly has learned a lot from this experience, and so have I.
At least Molly has a chance of passing. That poor little chihuahua doesn't. After class, I overheard the instructor telling her owner that she needs more help than he can give. I won't be surprised if she doesn't come back.
All in all, the puppy class has been a good experience. I've learned some training tips, Molly has learned not to be scared of other dogs, and she's learned a few fun tricks. I wish we spent more time on other things though, like discipline for example. Still, I think it's been good to go through the course. But I'm glad I stuck with just 6 weeks--they tried to up sell me to 12 or 18 weeks.
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