We showed up empty handed at 6pm and were quickly labeled the "expectant parents" by the other members of the class. There were puppies everywhere struggling at the ends of their leashes to get at the other dogs. A large German Shepherd and a cat were having a showdown in the corner, somehow the cat was winning. A couple of black labs were going crazy and two huge 5 month old bull mastiffs were quietly drooling near the doorway.Jay instantly discovered a shy goldendoodle and its elderly owners far away from the chaotic group. Bayley, a nine-week-old puppy, was being held by her owners and looked like she was about to fall asleep. They explained that they had just taken her for a long walk...just goes to show that Cesar Millan's tactics work, this dog was calm!
We went upstairs behind the parade of pups and frazzled owners to a big open room half-carpeted, half-vinyl. We made our introductions and after a 15 minute lesson on house-training, biting and leadership the puppies were let loose to play. Bayley slept through the beginning of the class and was rudely awakened by the pack of insane dogs. She cowered under a chair and didn't really come out for the rest of the class. She was really afraid and did not seem to like the other dogs at all. It probably didn't help that her owners were comforting her and feeding her fears.
The trainer quickly picked up on the situation and coached the old couple on how to correctly react to their dogs fear. By the end of the class Bayley was responding a little better to the other dogs. I hope our dog will be friendlier, at least she will have a fellow doodle to hang out with.
