Monte's Class

Training for all Madison area service dogs is on Wednesday.  Usually we set up shop in a local business like HyVee or East Towne Mall.  This week's class was at Whiz Kids Daycare building.  It provides a different setting with varied sights and smells.  We use this to focus on basic commands and fine tuning without a lot of distraction.

Since we were not going to be in public.  I decided to bring our pet dog, Monte, to class.  We took a very long walk before class to burn off some energy; he runs for the whole hour.  Having been quite some time since he had any formal training (even with the exercise), it took him awhile to settle in.  And then it was time to leave :-)

Licorice, Sugar, Buck, and Bentley attended training.  The class could not be any more diverse.  Licorice, a black poodle, is mature and in the midst of being placed.  Sugar, a smallish yellow lab, is well behaved and working on additional mobility skills.  Her raiser has done an excellent job with her.  As a puppy, she was a bundle of energy.  Buck is relatively young and behaves like the adolescent that he is.  Bentley is nearing a year is being trained for autism service work.  But he gets anxious when out and about; he needs more positive experience.  Bentley is, my buddy, Lucy's sister and they could not be more different.




Actually is only took Monte a few minutes to settle in and stop whining.  He did fine until his Achilles Heel was revealed.  Good DOWN STAY until a rubber ball was rolled, tossed, or bounced.  He just cannot control his prey drive, however our walks through the park chasing mice, squirrels and rabbits have only contributed to his issue.  Overall, he was successful with heeling, Sits, and Downs considering that his training takes a back seat to the puppies that we normally have in the house.

He liked getting to go for a ride and seeing more of the world, beyond the dining room window, especially the other dogs.