Dogs Teach Dogs

No animals were hurt in the gathering of today's photos.

We finally remembered to get some photos from the Saturday playgroup at The Dog Den. The most interesting was this teeth baring interaction. Cooper's preferred playmate was Neato and they sparred for the majority of Teenager playgroup. While many onlookers may view their behavior as vicious, it is normal and encouraged as it teaches an important lesson - bite inhibition. Dogs are the best teachers.

Exhausted after forty-five minutes of wrestling, biting, and chasing, biting, we forced Cooper to endure a second session with ten youngsters. Our only concern was that he might be too tired for his test at the Janesville Mall.

After three and a half hours of recuperation, we met Honor and Flash at the mall. Honor has been training for six months, but Flash a handsome black Labrador (14 months old) started his training today. We walked the mall, remaining calm as the train passed, and worked in the food court. Flash quickly adapted to this new environment and mastered lying under the table/chair. Honor was calm and well-behaved the whole time, even when a Saint Bernard, therapy dog in training passed by. Cooper successfully completed another mock Canine Good Citizen test.

Bowl Goal: We came home and fed Cooper his dinner outside as he practiced RECALLS from sidewalk to porch.