I know, I know.  From mental health to Rosie to Shoes and back again.  But this is a personal narrative blog, so I get to do that, I suppose.

Disclaimer:  We just adore Rosie and would not give her up for the world.
Truth:  Rosie is exhausting.

We had Rosie's first day of Puppy Class last night and while I was under no presupposition that it would go well, I was not at all prepared for how badly it went.

Rose is not a barker.  She maybe "Arf!!'s" once every two weeks.  She's more the chew up your underwear, steal a bunch of bananas and run away, mischievous type of girl.  But she barked throughout the ENTIRE class.  I had no idea she could bark that much.  At one point the instructor had to politely ask us to quiet her.

Oh, honey.  If we knew how to do that, we would have done that.  But we were BAFFLED.  At home, Rose can sit, wait, beg, shake your hand, find a treat if you hide it and lie down.  At puppy class, Rose can run around like a demented animal with her tongue hanging out the side of her head and open her eyes so widely she makes you wonder if she has rabies.

And bark.  She can definitely do that.

She could not walk on a leash.
She could not sit down.
She could not pay attention.

And apparently many of the things we have been doing (as advised by the books we've consulted!) are not the instructor's favorite methods.  Such as:  turn away when Rosie jumps on you so as to withdraw your affection.   According to Puppy Teacher, we have to step into Rosie to invade her space.

Apparently, Goldens do not have a sense of personal space.

Heavens knows ours doesn't.

So here's the truth about me.

I'm kind of a jerk.  I like to know how to do things and do them well.  I do not like to feel embarrassed, and I do not like, above all else, to feel like people view me as lazy.  Unfortunately, alllll of those buttons got triggered at Puppy Class.  (Rosie even did worse than our friends - Tom and Judy - dog Vinnie.  Vinnie can be MEAN.  He's adorable, but he guards Tom and Judy with his life!  And Vinnie did better?  What?)  My attitude was so awesome afterwards that Shoes had to honestly tell me, "If you're going to be like this after every class, I don't want to go anymore."

So, I appreciate his honesty.  And Rose and I will work on our homework every day, twice a day.  And I will hope for the best.

Otherwise, I will start pulling my hair out.  Or start drinking wine before class.  Either way.


4 comments

  1. Katelyn on January 20, 2013 at 3:48 PM

    Oh Rose, the pains you put your parents through!
    I giggled the ENTIRE time I read this, it's the only trick I know how to do. If it makes you feel any better Danny will only sit, lay, and stay for his master, my father, and could care less to follow orders from the rest of us. It aggravates the crap outta me.
    Here's hoping for a better training class!! Love you!

     
  2. Lisa on January 20, 2013 at 4:05 PM

    Love YOU. Rosie and Danny should meet. I'm sure they would become fast friends. Then again, Rosie might teach Danny all of her naughty ways, and Danny might teach her all of his selective hearing ways...

     
  3. Katelyn on January 26, 2013 at 9:38 PM

    The two of those ways put together would equal total domination of the human breed. ;)

     
  4. Unknown on February 5, 2013 at 1:20 AM

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