Grrr...

Mike decided to work from home this afternoon, so he took off from work and came home by way of dog school to watch. He hadn't done that yet. So, of course, Parker chose today to put on his goofy. When I asked him to sit, he'd give me a down. When I asked for a down, I got a sit. A very crooked sit. He interpreted heel to mean get out in front of me and walk -- or bounce -- backward. Or to flip over to my right side. As a consequence, whenever he did it right, I'd treat him. So after class, Mike's comment was, "You treat him way too often. You're teaching him to be a squirrel."

grrr....

Mostly in class we worked on the sorts of things that we will have to do to pass the Canine Good Citizen Test and a bit on the therapy dog evaluation. So real obedience stuff wasn’t high on the list, and Parker did rather well. He continues to be a gentleman, and while he’s not fond of my leaving him or other people getting too close, he doesn’t jump or pull, whine or bark. We walked through other people and dogs walking and he paid pretty close attention to me, although he kept a close eye on what was happening around us. He wouldn’t go up to a person in a walker or a wheelchair, but I think it was more because there was a person there, rather than that there was a wheelchair. He was on a down stay when one of the teachers suddenly dropped a metal bowl on the floor, and he didn’t startle or budge. And he did let others pet him, although it was clear that it wasn’t his first choice.

So I’m pleased with him. I’m just not all that pleased with Mike.