My human got up and took us for good walk. We KNEW when we got home that something was up when she started filling our backpack with assorted leashes, toys and TREATS. Actually I didn't know, but Velcro dog figured it out and since he was getting all excited, I followed his lead. My human had the hatch open in Harold and we blasted right in. When she tired to get us out to pee before we left, we basically ran in circles barking. So no pre-drive pee.
Our obedience coach lives a little over an hour from us. Her name is Tracy, and she is THE most patient soul in the universe. And since she has a background in education, she is an excellent trainer. When we arrived at her place, we both knew where we were - and we were QUITE pleased to be there.
First it was Frodo's turn. Tracy had set up a rally course for us to start with. Frodo was good, but he barked throughout the entire course, and he REALLY barked when my human did something wrong. He was telling her how to do it. Frodo and I have come to the conclusion that left to our own devices, we could probably figure out the signs on our own, and do the whole thing better WITHOUT our human. Not that we don't love her - but honestly, this dog obedience thing is 5% dog and 95% human behavior. At least that's the way WE see it. When humans get it wrong, which THEY often do - then WE get it wrong. Simple as that.
So after Frodo's turn, it was MY turn. And here the problem again lies with my human. She is simply TOO slow for me. I want FAST rally. And FAST obedience. This is WORK. Speed it up human. And whatever you do, DO NOT speak to me in that upbeat happy voice. It just makes me go even FASTER. And you have to peel me off the ceiling. I do what's called rapid freestyle obedience. It's a joy to watch. If you are a spectator- and not a judge.
We had an awesome lesson with Tracy- and truth be told, I think I was better than Frodo. Not that it is a competition. Now to practice all this stuff at home. Thank goodness Tracy writes it all down - my human would never remember what to do.
So overall things went well - so on the way home, my human decided she needed a milkshake at an Ice cream chain. And she pulled into the drive through to place her order. And in a moment of weakness, felt guilty because she was JUST ordering something for herself. SO she ordered ice cream cones for me and Frodo. Tiny kid sized cones. The person who took the order probably thought she was nuts "Can I have two small kid sized cones, filled only half- way with ice cream?" The person who took the order said "sure,". but with that weird tone that indicates a human is agreeing but questioning at the same time. We pulled up to the window and Velcro dog barked at the person handing my human the stash. My human paid and pulled into a parking spot. At this point, Frodo and I figured that something was about to happen. My human who wanted to get a photo of the event, turned around and leaned on the car horn and nearly scared herself to death. Frodo and I immediately ripped into those cones. We were ice cream piranhas. All the time while my human was holding the cones in one hand and her cell phone in the other - she was trying to get a photo. We started licking and then Frodo realized the cone was edible - so he ripped the top off, ice cream and cone. My human, in her contorted struggle to give us the cones and stay off the horn, tried desperately to keep things "neat." Seriously. At this point Frodo was ripping into cone and ice cream and the stuff was flying everywhere. So much for his freshly groomed coat. All while I was patiently licking my ice cream. Go figure - me the calm one!
My human also did not want us to eat the paper that is around the base of the cone. So she was struggling to take the cones back while we were trying to get at them. If anyone was watching this mayhem, I am SURE they got a good laugh. My human somehow managed to get the paper off Frodo's cone and he ate it. At this point she was covered in ice cream on her hands and arms, the car had drips everywhere, and she realized she had to throw out the paper. She got out of the car, and smartly took her own milkshake with her as the ice cream piranhas would have finished that off too. She fed me the base of my cone through the open rear window, threw out the paper from the cones and composed herself to get back in the vehicle.
So we drove home, hoping to stop at another ice cream store. When we got home, my human sat down on the couch, and promptly fell asleep. For about two hours. The woman has no stamina - seriously - it was US doing all the work in class. WE were the ones training her. I have no idea why she was so exhausted - must have been the drive.
Anyway, I can't wait for our next lesson. AND the stop for ice cream on the way home.
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