human training, part five

Shame, shame, shame.

In Monday's class, I felt like we were back in school and being scolded because we didn't do our homework.

Monday was a holiday and CJ worked outside most of the day, so Henry sat outside on his lead. Occasionally he'd dig in my flowerbeds (many thanks for that, Henry) and would occasionally play with crickets and grasshoppers, but other than that, he pretty much sat there for six hours. After he came inside, he was utterly exhausted. We thought that for the very first time, he'd go to obedience class and wouldn't want to do anything.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

As soon as he got into the jeep, Henry found his second wave of energy. We ended up at class with puppy who wanted to do anything but obey.

And then came the scolding from the trainer, who chided practically the entire class for not working with their dogs and how the dogs weren't where they were supposed to be training-wise. Henry and this other dog were singled out because they wouldn't sit and stay.

Problem is, Henry will do it at home. He'll stay for long periods of time. We've even gotten him to lay down and stay. But to go into class with 10-15 other dogs and people, he somehow forgets.

So, while we've learned some helpful hints and while Henry has made some improvements, we're feeling like this was a waste of time and money. That, and Henry probably won't even get a little certificate of completion at the end.