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.