This Saturday Emma started her very first official puppy training class at Happy Tails to You Dog Training in San Jose (www.happytailstoyoudogtraining.com). Owner and prima dog trainer Dawna Caldwell is a long-time supporter of CARE and welcomed Emma as a CARE foster dog despite the fact that at around a year old she's not exactly a puppy anymore. Emma already is house-trained, crate-trained, walks on leash, knows sit, down, stay, off, up, take it, don't touch and come, but so far I'm the only one she listens to! Plus she is still shy around strangers and a (oddly) a bit nervous around small breed puppies. I thought that putting her in a different setting with other dogs and people where she gets lots of positive reinforcement would be really good for her. And of course, all dog training is really more about training the humans than the dogs.
Even though I've been through over 20 six week long sessions with my various dogs, I've never had a dog like Emma who is an absolute extrovert love bug at home and can turn into a stoney-faced lump when meeting new people (aka potential adopters!). I need to learn get her to show her true coolness to more than a select few humans!
This is my third class with Happy Tails (both of my Rotties went through their Canine Good Citizen training with Dawna) and I totally recommend her classes for being both educational and just plain fun. I can't say that Emma was 100% thrilled with the first class, but I thought she did great and can already tell we will both learn a lot. Who ever gets this little girl as a 'forever dog' will be one lucky camper.
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