Riley's first class and a series of mishaps

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I decided a while ago to forgo the puppy classes and wait until Riey was five months old to take him to obedience training classes.  The best one I found after extensive research is a 40 minute drive from home and with a 9am start I though ok, no problem since we normally start the day at 7am.  Plenty of time to have a little food and the required 15 minute walk as instructed by the course leader. Today though Riley decided to sleep  in until 8am, first time ever and so I leapt up.   I made one good decision when I told my partner to sleep in as he didn't have a great nights sleep.  He was going to come with me and I just thought I will go on my own today and see what it's like.    I decided to feed Riley half his breakfast completely ignoring the instructions.  First mistake.  We didn't get a chance to have the walk and I bundled Riley, treats, water, lead and a toy into the car as well as all my grooming tools as I promised my ex that I would do a big job on Snowy our Maltese after the class who lives with him.

Five minutes down the road Riley threw up all of the breakfast and I pulled into a garage forecourt.  By the way he never throws up in the car but then this is the first time I have fed him and then put him straight in the car.   I ran in to buy wipes and paper roll and cleaned up the mess and headed to class.  As we arrived there with five minutes to start he threw up again!  I had to leave the mess in the car and get to the class which took place in a field.   I didn't go to the two hour seminar which was on last night and was asked why.  I mumbled something about work, tired and a couple of glasses of wine!  

There are lots of dogs of all ages and sizes and Riley is thinking this looks like great fun and is leaping around.  The field next door has donkeys who decide to start a very loud braying contest and we are put into groups of six dogs in each group with a trainer in each group.   There are three groups.   Our group was next to the donkey field so with all that excitement it looks at this stage that I have a totally wild puppy who is finding it very difficult to concentrate.  The grass is long and wet and my leather boots are letting in water so my feet are wet and my hair is plastered down my face as I am trying to hold the leash and navigate the treats from my pocket while pushing my hood over my head to keep the rain off.  The trainer is excellent and I did manage to relax Riley and myself after about 15 minutes.  One very good tip was every time we had to praise our dogs we had to touch their collars.  This is to make the association of touching the collar with a good thing as later on we may need to take hold of the collar when catching dogs!    We concentrated today on luring with treats and I had prepared some lovely soft hot dog pieces for Riley. He decided after a while that hotdogs were boring and gave up on them at which point the trainer gave me some beef jerky which re- focused his attention.  Note to self bring two types of treats next week.

In the middle they played music and it was play time where I got dizzy and ran around the field like a loony with Riley's new favorite toy (a present from Sandy and Hattie which is an American squeeky man!)  Then it was leash training which Riley did really well with and was used as an example.  We were sent home with a list of things to do for 20 minutes per day and given strict instructions to do the homework.

I got back to the car and cleaned the mess that I had left in it and both Riley who was wet through and I who was also wet through headed to my ex's house to groom Snowy.  Snowy hates being groomed and his bark is worse than his bite mostly out of fear.  I ended up cutting myself twice with my new scissors (thank goodness I didn't cut him) so there was blood all over his white coat.  I brushed him, combed him, removed all mats.  I then used my new clippers with a  3 3/4 blade for the first time and followed it up with the scissors again. Three hours later I am now covered in dog hair and plasters and we are home.  Riley is fast asleep and I have to go out to work for a couple of hours.

Hope the rest of the week end is somewhat calmer.

 

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

I so wish your whole escapade had been videoed!  It could be the beginning of a great comedy...

Hope next week is drier, quieter, and goes more smoothly all the way around!

[Pat and Traveler]

Wow--that sounds like quite the training and grooming sessions!  I had to laugh out loud at the distraction of braying donkeys!  Hope you have a more restful rest of the weekend.  Congrats on Riley being such a good leash dog! 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Love the idea of the association of the collar with positive reinforcement each time.  I have not heard that before.  I know when I call Sophie to me and she comes but I'm trying to snag her, every time I go for the collar the jumps back, so that is a wonderful idea.  As for the treats, I personally would not feed before you go as he was probably full so didn't want that many treats.  If he is hungry he will be more willing to work for the treats!  Just a thought.  Otherwise, sounds like a great class.  The Donkey's are a great distraction.  Not sure how I would like working in a wet field though.  Yuck!  FYI -- can you post a pic of the clipping with the 3 3/4 blade so I can see how long that left the coat.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Even without mishaps I found classes very tiring. Luca was not the least taxed. Good luck next week.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Wow...this was quite a day!  I need a nap after just reading this blog.  It does sound like training went well for you and Riley.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Wow, Nicky, you must be exhausted. Sounds like Riley did fine to me. I hope your weekend calms down from this point on!