Puppy Class

Ahhh...puppy class...such great memories. Seein' all the posts from new airedale owners brings back such great memories. Some of these folks are just now findin' out that us airedales are really really not like any other dog...duh!

An' they seem to be shocked at what happens when they take their lil' black n' tan bundle of joy to puppy school. Well, here's just a lil' insight....we are independant thinkers...never ever forget that. Puppy class is such a great place. Why do we like it? Well, it's a perfect place to either show off or be the class clown. Sometimes both, lol. We learn stuff so quickly that we get bored. After about the third time bein' told to down or sit...well, it just don't make sense to do it anymore. We'll be off lookin' for somethin' else to do. If you have a great instructor, he/she'll be familiar w/our antics an' give more challengin' stuff for him to do why the rest are tryin' to figure out how to get their dog to lay down. If you get upset or embarrassed......that's just gives us more reason to act like a clown....sorry, but that's how it is. If you find yourself getting frustrated an' losing patience on somethin'...go to somethin' else...'cause you'll just hit a stonewall, we are a lil' stubborn an' just won't do it. One of the keys to gettin' what you want from us, is communication....an' findin' out what motivates your guy/gal. "Why?" and "What's in it for me?", are the things goin' thru our head. It's not the same for every airedale. My sis, Lexie, will do anythin' for a cookie. She's a real "people pleaser", just eats up all the attention. Me?...I'll do it for mom 'cause she asks...I'm not food motivated at all, but I am a lil' bit of a show off. But if I'm busy, an' I know she's ok....I just might make her wait a lil'. Most of us will do stuff if it's fun...remember if it's boring, that comes under that "Why?", an' we're not gonna do it. We love games an' challenges, but things have to make sense to us. Training is as much for the owner as it is for us. When I went to puppy class, I already knew how to do everything, "sit, stay, leave it, come". The rest of the class was made up of a bunch of dogs that hadn't a clue how to even "sit". I was lucky to have a great teacher an' she used me as the "demo" dog, so I never got bored. An' me an mom got to work on more advance stuff out in the aisles of the petstore where the classes were...a lot. Ok...I was the "teacher's pet". ( I told you I liked to show off). The only thing was, I never took treats while in class...not even from mom. I just don't take treats when I'm out in public. I'm not "food motivated". This came in handy when we had to do that recall w/all the toys an' treats strewn about, lol. One thing I wouldn't do in class, was "tricks"...none of that "rollin' over" "balancin' stuff on my nose" business...that was beneath me...thank goodness, mom agreed. Anyway, I sailed thru that class w/flying colors. Graduation day came an' we got to demonstrate in front of lots of people in the local Petsmart. My turn came...I did my "sit/stay"...mom walked to the middle of the store, turned....then called me. She was so proud, as I picked up my lead w/my mouth, an ran towards her...her smile was so big....as I ran past her to the back of the store where they kept all the dog food an' treats. I had wanted to check that place out for weeks...an' I finally had my chance, so, I took it. I did a quick recon...then ran back out to find mom. She was mortified...but everyone else was clappin' an' laughin'...so, I figured I aced it!! lol