Poppy and I start....

[BabyElephant]

training classes on 12 October - wish us luck. We have been to Puppy Parties so far, for socialisation but the real training starts on 12 October. I have had to wait to get in to this class so I hope it's worth the wait.

This guy is supposed to be really good, he's come out of retirement twice due to demand for his services (so not sure how old he's going to be!). I really don't know what to expect - the only stuff I have managed to teach are "sit" and "paw". I feel very inadequate in this department especially compared to Dax and Moo and others who seem to have got their dogs doing all sorts of good stuff but I'm hoping we're going to catch you up

He does training for the Kennel Club Good Dog Citizen exam thingy - have any of you done this? I just wondered whether you thought it was worth doing or not?

[Leslie]

Haven't done it but, I wish you luck!

[Dax]

You'll do great - the trainer is actually training you not your dog - so soon you'll be a champion too.

[Moo]

If you can get your dog to pay attention to you off the bat, you'll be a step ahead of me. I'm sure you guys will be great, and based on what you've already told, it already sounds like you've picked a good class

[BabyElephant]

Dax - what do you mean he's going to train me - I thought the idea was to train Poppy - I'm already trained, I can do sit, lie down, go to sleep (do that one really, really good) and play dead as well... lol...

[Dax]

Baby – it’s true. A good trainer can teach you dog in only a couple of sessions and they will obey the trainer but not you. So the trainer is teaching you to train your dog. It’s a skill you need to learn not the dog. The dog will benefit from the sessions but you’re going to have to do homework with him to really make progress.

I’m glad you can sit – stay. Now bark like a dog – wag your tail. See you’re not quite there yet HEE HEE.