Category: School

Graduation Day

4/23/2015

One of the benefits of having fuzzy children is that you don't have to wait 18 years for them to graduate from school. Today, our puppies graduated from the Beginner Level of puppy school. They had to demonstrate what they had learned and passed with flying colors. They even got certificates. We were so proud of them. Each of them got a different sticker on their certificate. Miss M got "Star Student," Mr. M got "Teacher's Pet," Miss S got "Inseparable from her pack," Mr. C got "2 cool for school," and Miss B got "You are one smart cookie."

Miss M has reinvented the concept of portable chair.

After showing off their skills and getting their certificates, the puppies each got treats and got to meet a new instructor in training who may train with them during the intermediate level.

Miss S, Mr. M and Miss M waiting attentively for treats

Mr. C: "Did you say treats? I like treats."

Today was a pretty warm day, so by the time puppy school was over, the puppies were pretty tired. On the way home, we got them a cup of ice from the driveway so they could cool down quicker. Ice is much easier than water while in the car. Water would just be way too messy, but with ice, they get water but you can give it to them like treats. They love the crunch of ice. There was a recipe on Pinterest for banana "Popsicle," The person sliced up bananas and then froze them in an ice tray in water. So it's a piece of ice with a banana chunk inside. Genius! I have to try it.

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Social Puppies

4/11/2015

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Today we took the puppies to their first social event. Their trainer, Ms. A, was hosting a puppy treat give away event, and they were invited. So, after feeding them breakfast and taking them out for a necessary potty break, we got them ready. They weren't expecting it at all and got super excited when the harness bag came out. They are pro's at going to puppy school, so as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, they knew right where to go.
We've actually never taken them to a Petsmart on a Saturday before. Usually we try to take them places when we know it won't be very busy to minimize the distractions. Today, there were tons of distractions. In addition to the treat party, it was adoption day, and there were tons of people in the store with their dogs. I don't think our puppies have ever seen that many other dogs before. They were really excited to see Miss A and were happy when she pulled out the treats.

Most of the other dogs there were small dogs. What we've noticed is that a lot of the small dogs are not super friendly. Our puppies really don't understand why the other puppies don't want to play. It's actually kind of funny to watch. They love puppies, and every time they see one, they want to go over and lick it and play with it. Mr. C totally wants to have every puppy he sees as his own. He's already had lots of practice with puppies (Mr. M, Miss S and Miss M). So he is sure that he needs to lick them and clean them and play with them and cuddle them... The rest of our puppies love other puppies too, and they get very confused when the puppies they see don't feel the same way. Of course, they also get confused when the cats get tired of being slobbered on, but that's a different story.
We decided not to stay right by the treat table the whole time and took them on walks around the store. They got barked at by the adoption puppies. Mostly, they just glanced at them and kept walking- with a little encouragement. They got barked at by a few other little dogs. Mr. M is the only one who barked back. We all had a good time and the puppies were very happy that they got to go do something fun. As usual, they slept most of the way home. We were very proud of how well they did walking around the store with so much distraction. It was super noisy, and there were people and dogs everywhere, but they stayed calm and just walked. They also had their picture taken a few times and got to meet several new people.

Miss S: "Mom, I distinctly remember hearing something about treats. Where are said treats?"

Miss S looking up at Dad trying to find out what's taking so long with the treats.

We decided it was best not to tell the cats where we went. We know they like dog food, and they are already jealous that the dogs get more treats than they do. But can you blame us? The puppies do things to earn treats. The cats just make noise and knock things off of the table. Plus, they already have a reputation for being bad travelers (picture a long car ride with two cats in a carrier full of poop and throw-up- not pleasant). Needless to say, we weren't even thinking about taking them anywhere.

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Getting Smarter by the Day

4/9/2015

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We told the puppies that they needed to pay attention in school and learn stuff, and this was their response:

Believe it or not, this was at puppy school before class started. Can you tell that they are comfortable in puppy school? The puppies get super excited every time we go to school, and today was no exception. We took them out for a potty break before going in, and then we walked them around the store for a few minutes before class just to get some of their energy out ahead of time. They got to meet a really nice lady and smell neat stuff on the aisles.

After lounging around in the classroom before class started, we took the puppies to get a drink, where they got to meet another nice lady. They were very social today. Well, okay, they are social everyday, we just don't let them go up and meet everybody. Some people aren't fans of pit bulls, so we are very selective in who we let the puppies "talk" to.

Waiting for water

Their instructor is really good about letting the puppies have a break midway through class to take care of any business they need to take care of, which is a good thing. Mr. C took advantage of this break today. This is the reason we carry poop bags in our pockets when we go out in public. I think we would get very unpopular very quickly if we didn't pick up after this many dogs.

Mr. C taking care of some business while the big girls play and Miss M rolls around in the grass.

Our puppies have been learning about financial responsibility as well. Here, they are scouring the store for things that are on sale so that we can spend, I mean, save more money.

As always, the puppies learned a lot in class and were tired by the time we got home- though not too tired to play with the new cool ball we got. Our trainer found it on the shelf in the store and knew our puppies would like it, so she saved it for us just in case. I should have taken a picture of it. It is out of a tough material and makes noises every time they make it roll or move. It was a big hit at home. Even the cats were interested in it.

Mr. M telling Kitty P about puppy school.

Kitty P: "Does this puppy school I keep hearing about have a lesson on not slobbering all over kitties? Maybe you people should send them through that lesson twice."

On a funny note, this evening after the puppies were in bed, we went into Dad's dojo and found a visitor. Some people have plaques and pictures that gather dust. Apparently, ours gather lizards instead. How she can sleep like this is beyond me, but we left her there in hopes that she will eat any wayward mosquitoes that come along.

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First Day of School

3/19/2015

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So, today the puppies had their first day of school. We signed them all up for the beginners class and today was the big day. The weather has been so bad around here, that they hadn't been anywhere in about two weeks. Needless to say, they were all more than ready to go have fun. So when we brought out the bag with the harnesses and leashes, they started going nuts before they even saw the bag. It didn't take very long to get everyone ready, but it did take a while to convince them that they should go outside for a potty break first.
When we got to the class, it was still a little early, so we walked around for a few minutes just to get some of the energy out.
Miss M was the star of the class and fell in love with the older dog that is in their class too. It's an older chocolate lab that was dumped in bad condition and then rescued by the lady who brought her to class. Mr. M tried flirting with her a little and then gave her owner kisses. Miss M loved the big puppy and gave her kisses and tried to play with her. It was really cute.
Miss B and Mr. C worked with Mom, while Mr. M and Miss S worked with Dad. The teacher worked with Miss M to demonstrate the different skills we would be working on. We had a really good time and can't wait to go back again next week. I think if it were up to the puppies, we would go to puppy school every day.

Dad and the puppies with Ms. Amy, the instructor. (Notice where Miss M is)

Of course, our gangster puppies are already familiar with the idea of stealing lunch money. So when Miss M saw the instructor squat down to take a picture, she wasted no time in trying to take the treats our of her pocket. I think Miss M was paying closer attention than we realized.

Miss M still trying to get treats out of Ms. Amy's pockets. She learned a lot today- like where the treats are kept.

Getting their picture taken, with the older Miss S in the background

We were very proud of our fuzzy children at school today. There was supposed to be a beagle puppy in our class too, but I think that her owner was scared off by the fact that there were going to be pit bulls in the class. I think that's the funniest thing. Our's probably would have been the best class for the other puppy because our dogs like other puppies so much, but when you are too quick to judge books by their covers, you miss out on a lot of things. Our puppies all really like the other dog that's in their class, so I think they will all do well.

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Graduation Day

Social Puppies

Getting Smarter by the Day

First Day of School

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