Azza in Class

Tonight was Azza's first beginner obedience class. We didn't get kicked out and I haven't yet gotten an email asking us not to return next week.

She was extremely stressed by the time we were able to go into the training room (the woman who runs this place has absolutely no concept of time management, which I think is an insult to the participants, but I already ranted enough about that). She wouldn't take food for nearly 15 minutes, despite being offered very delicious bits of string cheese, turkey hot dogs, and boiled chicken.

I was near an exit of the room which leads to a gravel run, the only potty area for the 30+ dogs they have in doggy day care. Azza fixated on this exit even though it didn't actually lead anywhere. She saw it as a way OUT of that very scary situation.

So I took her in and out of this doorway, kept her moving, kept offering her treats, kept using my marker word to praise her for entering and exiting (no clicker for this dog, she's far too freaky for that), and at last I got her to accept a piece of cheese.

That one little piece of cheese was far more than I actually expected for this first class.

So we were off and running. She can of course perform all of the behaviors we were to prepare for class this week, and more. But the big question was whether I could get her to do those things in class.

And the answer is, yes, mostly. She wasn't quick, didn't move with her usual bounce, and the best I could get was her tail at half mast. But I did get a bit of a wag out of her at one point and her ears gradually moved from plastered to her head to full extension, ready to receive radio signals from Mars.

She sat in heel position on separate verbal and hand commands, did nose touches and sit-stand reps, looked at me when I said her name, moved into heel position from various starting positions, even did some spins.

Heck, I even got her to drop into a down from a stand three times, which is a very difficult behavior for a green, anxious dog like Azza to do in a class setting.

She started to melt down right at the hour mark. She was downright tired of drilling behaviors she already knew and had had enough of being a good girl. The class started late and ran late (I suspect this is typical for them) but I thought I would stay just to make sure there wasn't going to be any last minute surprises. There wasn't. I will leave next week as soon as I detect her starting to wilt.

Pending that email asking us not to come back, I'd say that Azza's first night in class was a success!

And now she's collapsed on the bed on top of a pile of clean laundry, a well deserved nap.