Saturday afternoon was Wookie’s first training class at Petsmart. I think it went pretty well. When we first arrived there was only one other puppy there, but by the time class started we had four others besides Wookie:
Rizzo, a female Golden Retriever
Stormy, a 2-month old male American Eskimo
Pumpkin, an 8-month old female Bichon Frise Shih Tzu mix
Thor, a male white German Shepard
I don’t recall the ages of two of the puppies listed but I assume they were young based on their size since they are large breeds.
All the dogs behaved pretty well except Stormy. He started the class by pooping on the floor and ended it by peeing on it. In between he tried humping any dog he came in contact with and Wookie was two seconds away from biting him (I could hear her growling and she was showing him her teeth) before he was pulled away.
We went over the commands Sit and Watch Me (although we say Look At Me so we stuck with that verbiage). I was proud of Wookie for not hiding under the chairs even though she was nervous. Instead she said between us or in front of me.
It was interesting to note some of the things people were doing incorrectly, like holding their dogs on their laps. I’ve been trying to read up on dog behavior and I learned doing that reinforces their fear. Considering how fearful Pumpkin was of other dogs I don’t think her owner was helping by putting her on her lap so much. I think the trainer should have addressed that with her.
Speaking of the trainer, she seems to know her stuff but I could have done without the long-winded explanation of how she transferred from a different Petsmart to ours because of a conflict with the other store manager, or how none of the managers know the password to the voicemail if you call the 800 number. Especially because the class started late. Plus, I don’t think it’s wise to talk negatively about your employee to a group of people paying said employer for services. But other than that I do like her and I’m excited to see what we learn over the next five weeks.
P.S. When we signed up for another two year membership to the arboretum we got a coupon for a free gift. Last week at the chocolate fest I finally redeemed it. One of the choices included a black tote which is now Wookie’s bag for all her stuff whenever we take her out.
It’s perfect! I love when things happen to work out that way.