Romeo Goes to School - Part III

Poor Romeo had an off day in school on Tuesday.  There was an unspayed, possibly in-heat, female in the class that created some tension amongst the manly-men.  Another good reason to spay and neuter... and to keep intact and in-heat females at home!  But still Romeo behaved in the end. Good boy:)

Tonight was a good night. Romeo wasn't the best in class. He had an off night.

He was growly, had a mind of his own, bored, tired, and ready to rumble.

That means I got to work with him, and he had to learn that he worked when I wanted him to and not just when he wanted to.

Before you think he was horrible, let me tell you only the big Rotty and Charley were better than he. The pup was still a pup, and Molly, the smaller Rotty, is not only a trouble maker but an unspayed female.

The first part of the class Romeo kept testing me to see if he really had to sit. If he did sit, he seemed to think he should be able to lie down. He wasn't happy being forced to sit, but he did it.

On sit/stay he figured he'd decide when he'd come over, and he didn't like the instructor stepping in. Romeo didn't do anything, but there was tension there.

Molly lunges at every dog there and late in the class Romeo decided he'd had enough of that. That's when he got growly and that took a few minutes to settle him down. He never lunged or did anything more than growl, but he was sending the notice.

Except for Molly and the tiny pup, the dogs are all big males. I suspect there may have been some heat in the air that wasn't coming from the weather.

The bottom line is we got through the class with nothing more than the other dogs have done at one time or another, and Romeo did obey, although unwillingly. I think it was a good class because he got to experience right and wrong behavior and the results.

I also should add that he and Missy chased tree rats all day and there's no doubt he was tired. He was asleep on the floor of the truck almost as we got out of the kennel's driveway.

Romeo Goes to School - Part II (and other tid bits)

Romeo's foster dad sent in the below update on Romeo's second class - as well as some other fun tid bits for your enjoyment!

He got his oatmeal and aloe bath last night. He got his flea/tick and heartworm preventions this morning. About 5:30 this morning I had no more than let them out when an EMT unit with lights going used the drive as a turn around. A bit later a dump truck stopped out front for no apparent reason.

He and Missy have taken up obsessive tree rat watching. Especially annoying to them is a chipmunk who runs along the front of the house causing them to charge from the yard gate into the house to the front door and back and forth and back and forth.

Then there was a thunderstorm which doesn't bother him, but Missy doesn't like them so he had to comfort her. AND, on top of all that, he had class tonight.


Last week's group was there with the addition of a five month old yellow Lab (named Chester and if ever a name fit!). Romeo moved to the head of the class tonight being used as a good example! I had trouble with that - not being used to "good" dogs.

The big Rotty was still a very good dog but he took the "sit - stay" to an extreme. When he was called, he just sat. Romeo was a charm again. I wondered about the "sit-stay" but he never moved as I walked about 20 feet away, waited for the instructor's ok and called him. I simply said a quiet "come," and he did - happily! Talk about rubbing it into the others.

He'd been picked to go first because the instructor thought he'd be the best example, and he was. He was left to sit longer than the others while the instructor explained what was going on.

My experience is that much of these classes deals with what you do with a dog who "won't."

Several times Romeo was referred to as a good dog easy to train. I never said a word!

Of course, Romeo made friends with the Lab and his owner, a small woman by the way but one who knows dogs.

The instructor got in Romeo's face again and got licked - served him right.

There are two old car seats in the room for couches. When the instructor said class was over, Romeo hopped up on one cracking up the place. He was asked if he wanted a television, too. Romeo just smiled and wagged, and we went home for the pack to mug him. The little girl was there again, and Romeo paid no more attention to her than to any of the other people.

He's now passed out behind my chair with Jake curled between his legs. I'd get a picture, but the camera is in the other room, of course, and if I turned it on anyhow, the stupid bells would cause them to move.

Romeo Goes to School - Part I

Romeo recently started attending obedience classes with his foster dad.  Not so much because Romeo needs to learn commands - but because obedience classes offer great opportunities for socialization, confidence building and bonding.

As suspected - Romeo is a quick learner who will do anything in his power to please his person!  Here is the update his foster dad sent in from the first class.

I was really going to give you a wild report, but he was so good I just can't. There were two perfectly behaved dogs there, and Romeo was one of them.

We were the first there so Romeo had a few minutes to sniff things out. The next two dogs came together and they were a male (Romeo's size) and female (3/4 Romeo size) Rottweiler. The male was the other well behaved dog. The female was hyper, but Romeo introduced himself and was a perfect gentleman with both of them - even when the female did a little wrestling. He just stood and took it then came and sat by me. The next dog was an almost 3 month old puppy. Do I need to tell you who became her best friend there? The trainer brought out one of his big male Rottweilers and that was the class.


He pretty much ignored the people. That's not surprising since we were there to work. If one of them spoke to him, he'd wag and go back to work. The family with the pup had a preschool little girl with them, and Romeo ignored her completely even when he passed her as we walked. I don't think he avoided anyone, even the little girl; he just accepted that he was there to work so he did.

The trainer spent some time with him and even got in his face. At one point Romeo looked down, the trainer moved his face back, ruffled Romeo's ears, and Romeo just wagged and stretched his head up for more.

We worked on heeling and sitting tonight. Romeo and the male Rotty already knew the drill and just did it. We returned to a raucus homecoming from the pack and a complete sniffing from stem to stern.

Beyond the perfect behavior, I was most impressed with how well Romeo followed commands, especially when we would sit them for an extended period while something was explained. He would watch me like a hawk waiting for what he was to do. When we walked, I very quickly was able to give him a relaxed leash and only had to remind him once in awhile.

He was like a little kid let out of school when we left, however. At that point, more power to him.
 
Nice job Romeo!