Proud mama

At the beginning of this year I enrolled Charlie (one of our two 11-year-old puppies) in basic obedience classes.  He came to us knowing his name and how to sit, but those were pretty much the extent of his direction-taking abilities.  (And he did them selectively.)  Yesterday Charlie (and I) completed our fifth class in a series of eight sessions – so we are halfway through our Obedience Level 1 journey.  During the hour-long instruction, the teacher used Charlie as the “demo dog” a few different times – and each time he behaved like a champ!  He sat, he followed, he heeled… he was great!  As the instructor praised him, I beamed – I was so pleased with our good little boy!  Granted, he and I still have a ways to go (once the treats are removed from the picture the obedience becomes a little more ‘relaxed’ on Charlie’s part [i.e., he doesn’t perform the commands quite as quickly as when a food lure is involved, and sometimes he chooses not to perform the task the first time I say so]), but he’s a little smartie, and he’s learning…and I continue to be delighted by him.  What a cool guy.

Charlie has mastered "sit".

Not to be outdone by his brother, Jojo (left) shows off his "sit" skills, too.

Charlie learning "down". (This one is a work in progress.)

Stef