Jake's First Day of School

This past Thursday was Jake's first day of school. I don't think he had first day of school jitters or anything, at least not as bad as I did. I actually considered getting a picture of him in the front yard in the traditional spot where we take Abigail's picture on the first day of school every year. Then I realized that would be, well, stupid.

When we got in the car, all Jake knew was that we were going for a car ride. He didn't care where we went, he was happy. I was getting more nervous the closer we got. I'm not sure why. Lots of things were going through my mind like, "I hope he gets along with the other dogs" and "I hope his teacher is nice". We got to the parking lot and there were 2 really cute dogs already there. You know how you look at your dog and you think he's the cutest one ever? And then you get around some other really cute dogs and they make your dog look not so cute? Yeah, that's what happened. These dogs should be in commercials with their cute faces and smooth coats. Here's our Jake, all scruffy and tongue hanging out. I had given him a bath in the afternoon (I wanted him to look his best) but he jumped in and out of the pool several times after that and didn't get brushed so his coat was having a bad hair night. The Dog Trainer (DT) came over and looked at Jake, held his hand out and patted him on the head. Ok, sigh of relief, Jake didn't bite, bark or pee on him. He passed the first test. Way to go, Jake! Other dogs got there and we went around back to the fenced in area where we would be working for the next several weeks. After we were told a few basic rules, we let the dogs off their leashes and let them "socialize". Yup, Jake was going to like this. I do have to say, Jake is a friendly dog. He wants to be friends with everyone. Even when dogs don't want to be his friend and they let him know in a rather forceful way, he just doesn't get it. I mean, why would anyone not want to be his friend? He ran around with the other cute little dogs and at one point ran to us and looked up like "hey, thanks guys, this is great" and then ran off to play with his new friends. Our dog made his first friends on the first day of school. I was so proud.

Then it was down to work. We sat down and listened to DT talk. He gave us some exercises we need to work on and, while it all made perfect sense, I kept thinking "this just isn't going to work with our dog". At one point, he asked to use Jake for a demonstration. It's a leadership exercise (I thought only people in big corporations had to do those) where you have to hold your dog on his back in your arms and keep him there. I cringed when he took Jake because I thought, there's no way Jake will do this. He's going to claw DT's face, we'll probably be sued and there goes my hopes of Jake's future in dog food commercials. DT sat down, took Jake, flipped him over and stared at him in the eyes. Who would blink first? Jake squirmed a bit but got a firm uh-uh from DT and then just stayed there. He looked away and then just....relaxed. What?? He held him a little while explaining the procedure and then let Jake go. Wow, can I really do that? Abigail and I couldn't wait to get home and try it. Jeff just took it all in I think, waiting for the class and, most likely, the whole seven weeks to be over. He just wants a dog that will behave.

We learned a few more things and then the question and answer session. We all got to ask questions and our question was about Jake chewing things. DT asked how old Jake was and I told him 11 months. DT said, "And he still chews things?" Wait, what does that mean? Is my dog exhibiting behavior that is not age appropriate? Will he have to be held back? Will he not be in the GT group of dogs someday? Ok, Cindy, reign it in a bit. DT then asked if we have enough toys for him. Jeff was sitting next to me and I could actually feel him smirk on that one. We have more dog toys than most kids have. Of course, some of his toys didn't start out that way. Like Abigail's purple slippers and the tupperware lid but after he got them, what else was I going to do with them? Now, they are dog toys. Anyway, he told us what to do when he chews on things he shouldn't. Again, I thought, ok, makes sense but it will never work with this one.

Never say never.

The very next day, Jake was chewing on something and I did what DT told me to do. About 15 minutes later, Jake had something else he wasn't supposed to have. I went through the same procedure and this time, Jake dropped it right away. Are you kidding me?! Ok, that was a fluke, I'm sure. About an hour later he got something else and again, he dropped it right away! Wow! DT is brilliant! Someone call the papers, call Animal Planet, call Oprah. This guy knows his dogs!

So, our homework this week is to do the leadership exercises we were taught. We've all been doing them with him and if nothing else, he seems to tolerate it well. Actually, now that I think about it, I haven't seen Jeff do the exercises yet. I'm not sure if he's not doing them or if he just doesn't want us to see him cradle Jake in his arms and stare into his eyes.
We'll see how it goes next week.