Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Una with her certificate

Una had her final class in basic obedience training last night, and it was an exciting night for us both. For me, because I was proud of what we accomplished. For her, because there were new things to try, including jumps.

We started the class with reviewing our work on heel, having the dogs walk at different paces and do circles to the right and left. Una was very excitable this time, because there was new equipment set up all over the gym, which she'd never seen before.

When another dog in the class came up behind her somewhat quickly, she jumped out of her skin, leaping about a foot forward. The instructor asked us if she was OK.

"She's so good at home," I said, feeling embarrassed.

"She's good here, too," the instructor said. "That's why I wondered."

I explained that she'd just been startled by another dog.

After our warm-up exercises, she explained again how we could continue with training if possible, and then, while we waited for the demo dogs to show up, they handed out sign-up sheets for those interested and answered questions. The instructor and both assistants asked us if we were continuing, and I reluctantly said we couldn't, due to scheduling conflicts. It's too bad; Una's been learning a lot, and she seems to enjoy the classes. It's great together time for us, and I've seen improvements in her behavior.

We got to try out the jumps, then. One of the assistants showed us how to do it, and we took turns trying easy jumps on three different types of equipment. Una did really well with it, which didn't surprise me. She's always been good at jumping. Two of the other dogs didn't do as great: one is overweight and the other was a puppy. They had trouble clearing the jumps, even at the lowest level.

Then we received our certificates of completion for the course. Each dog was independently called up, like a little graduation ceremony. We took the certificate and a bag of treats, and everyone applauded. When Una got up there, of course, she had to investigate the box that contained everyone's treats, but at least she didn't try to jump on the instructor or her assistant. She's come a long way, for sure. She also wasn't the only dog who tried to check out the box of treats.

Finally, the demo dogs arrived and we got to see what we could learn in more advanced courses. One of the assistants and her dog, a German Shepherd mix, showed off different types of intermediate tricks, such as retrieving objects and jumping.

Then another obedience club member and her dog demonstrated more advanced tricks, such as off-leash walking, specified retrieval and even having the dog retrieve one object that the owner had touched, which was placed among a group of similar objects. The dog impressed us, and we applauded with each trick.

I could tell that Una was bored, because this class consisted of mainly sitting still and watching other dogs have fun. Still, I praised her profusely for lying quietly. And I have to say, she did very well, only barking one or two times when the second demonstration dog was brought out but getting quiet as soon as I gave her the command to do so.

It might be silly, but I'm going to get a frame for Una's certificate and hang it up somewhere. It really feels good to have accomplished the beginning course with her, and I'm sure that with continued work she'll only get better.

My fuzzy girl has finished "finishing school"!

More Musings on Una's Obedience Classes

Copyright 2005 by Alyce Wilson

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