Real World

Saturday was the Hogs for Guide Dogs motorcycle scavenger hunt at Quaker Steak and Lube. Most of the OccuPaws puppies attended and it was a great day for training. There were other dogs, humans, loud noises, and food on the floor. Monte enjoyed playing with the new yellow puppies, but wasn't sure why we had to chase the two little humans around all day when a leash would prove effective.

After the event, Monte, already exhausted, was only mildly interested in meeting baby Frannie. And she kept her distance from the furry beast. The worst part for Monte was another late dinner.

Monday night we experienced the worst/best training class at The Dog Den. Monte was not on his best behavior due to the frenzy of activity and eight excited puppies. The class provides a very different, more challenging, environment from the usual OccuPaws class where dogs are more calm. Monte feeds off the energy and literally went head over heels performing a basic recall. Then I didn't grab his leash while attempting to correct his position and he bolted to go play with the other puppies that were practicing their recalls.

Nothing like the real world to let you know how puppy training is progressing. We have a lot of work to do and thankfully another twelve months to fine tune Monte's behavior. It's good to see the real puppy occassionally, not a Stepford Dog.