Graduation

Marley, or should I say we, successfully completed her intermediate obedience class at The Dog Den. We were a bit worried how it would go because before class even started, Marley was fearful of our trainer whose sunglasses were on top of her head.

Today's class was a culmination of five long hard weeks of training the Puppy Raisers. The final exam was held outside to provide even more distraction. However, Marley was on her best behavior. Her award for the class was the "Calmest Labrador Puppy in the World".

Our most troubling exercise in the past classes has been having Marley walk nice and heel by my side. She was almost perfect tonight. When I slipped the end of the leash in my pocket and she continued HEELing, the trainer mentioned to Lisa that she was just showing off today. She did try to walk up the slide as we passed by.

The proud puppy raisers were even surprised when she mastered the elusive STAND STAY.

Marley's strength has been her STAY ability. She far surpassed her classmates. Today was no exception as she avoided distractions while I walked around the yard. She only shifted her position when offered a large dog biscuit from the trainer.

Her only significant lapse came when we attempted a recall with the trainer with large dog biscuit was between us. The first time she stopped and sat down and stared longingly at the trainer, PLEASE. We tried a second time and she veered away from the temptation and trotted to me - lesson learned. But for how long?