Puppy class: two down, two to go
When we walked into puppy class last night, about half of the people in the room chimed out, "Hi, Rosie!" Ah, my notorious pup.
She actually did pretty well, though she ran out of gas about 50 minutes into the 60-minute class. Sixty minutes is a long time for a ten-week-old pup to concentrate. But first she did very well at the name-recall exercise, and at the "watch me" exercise, and she had a great time playing with the other dogs during their two authorized play periods. (And she tried to initiate a third, unauthorized, play time.)
Last week's passion for the Corgi was forgotten; this time she turned her attention to an intense same-sex relationship with a Boston terrier named Stella. During playtime they couldn't get enough of each other, though they had to be separated repeatedly because Stella kept biting Rosie on the face.
Rosie did not mind.
She did a little better during the "soothing exercise," but she never achieved the coma-like calm of all the other dogs. She squealed loudly. She was calmer when Doug held her than when I held her, but she was never terribly calm.
By the end of class, she was completely exhausted. She exhibits this the way some small children do--she gets wild, out of control, doesn't listen, gets frenetic and almost frightening in her Cujo-like intensity. We tried doing name-recall again in the last five minutes, which was completely counterproductive; all she wanted to do was roll Stella.
She did not, however, pee or poop in class, though several other dogs did. (Including the Corgi, when I was playing with him, lucky me.)
When we got home, we tried to keep her awake until at least 9 p.m. in hopes she would sleep later into the night, but it was impossible. She was soooo tired. (In the interests of journalistic integrity, it must be noted that the bottom picture was taken on Monday night, not Tuesday night, and is used here for illustrative purposes only.)
This morning, Doug woke me up by plopping Rosie in bed with me at about 5:15 a.m. She was awake. Oh, Lord, she was wide, wide, wide awake.
16 comments:
I'm enjoying reading about Rosie's puppyhood. It reminds me a lot of our newest dog Daisy. She loves to play "bitey face" with Tonka and does that wild thing before bedtime, too. The difference is that Daisy is five years old. Our vet told us: "she's a little immature" so we like to tease her with that line from time to time.
Go Rosie!
oh deborah please god that rosie isn't this rambunctious in another five years!
I hope Rosie stays committed to the Corgi. I think their chemistry equals true love, but to each their own.....
the Corgi's name is "Jaws." what a great name.
To be somewhere that dog classes were available would be amazing.
Our poor dogs only have us to direct their training.
Looks like lots of fun.
These posts are so much fun to read. I can just picture Rosie's pre-crash hyperactivity. And the face-biting with Stella. Congrats to Rosie for controlling her bowel/bladder this time (sorry about your Corgi-related incident), and props to you and Doug for being awesome owners.
I should send these posts to my son, who in the state of false calm between toddler-hood and adolescence (his two little boys) is seriously contemplating bringing a puppy into the mix.
But then - why shouldn't his life be as chaotic as ours was?
Oh goodness, I don't think Rosie will still be that wild in five years. Because she is enjoying a normal puppyhood I'm guessing she will mature normally, and your commitment to training will be a huge factor.
We don't know anything about Daisy's past but suspect she was kept locked up for much of her young life, so she is just now going through her second childhood.
Jaws IS a great name!
That class is mainly about socialization anyway. I think it is great that she makes all kinds of dog friends. It sounds like she is keeping you all on your toes..what fun puppies are. I am a tad jealous..:)
Thanks for the morning chuckle--I do like the Rosie updates!
I love your Rosie stories. They are so cheerful, but they also sound like a lot of work and I'm glad that Tyke is three years old now. He's not quite that much of a handful anymore, although he thinks he's still a puppy. I let him believe that up to a point. xox
She is so durn cute, and I love your stories. You sound like a tired, happy mom.
I absolutely love reading about your classes with Rosie-reminds me what I have to look forward to this summer. She is so adorable!!! Enjoy that youthful energy.
Hugs, Noreen
Rosie makes me smile. Thank you.
Oh she is so cute. Puppyhood is wonderful and exhausting : )
Glad that class went better. She's only a baby and even humans can't concentrate for 60 minutes flat with no breaks. And it's great that she didn't pee or poop! The little girl is growing up! :)
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