Pupdate

We started obedience training with our kids a couple of weeks ago. For those of you who don’t know their story, here’s a brief version. We got Tucker in January 2009 when Mike insisted we were ready and stable enough for puppy parenting. He was supposed to be our trial before having kids. In July 2010, we got him a little canine sister instead. When Lily came into the picture, Tucker changed a bit.

He’s a brilliant people pleaser who loves to kiss, particularly on the mouth, and has taken very well to training for all sorts of tricks: sit, lay, roll over, dance, up (jumping into our arms) and so on. Lily coasted of Tucker’s accomplishments hoping she’d get the same amount of treats just for looking cute next to him. So, we decided to do some training with the objective of having them equally tricky and working on greeting and walking. I swear that their combined power of 36 pounds is enough to pull a car from a ditch by the way some walks go. The small dog complex barks are shrill and chilling despite their cute little faces.

So, each Wednesday, we pack a crapload of dog treats, mats, water, toys, and leashes and head to training. Since, our sweet-natured but rowdy dogs (not puppies) seem to have taken on some new behaviors. It’s like the stress of walking them in to a foreign place with tight space where the number of new people at least double the number of new dogs has led them to act out in ways they never did before we decided to embark (ha ha) on this training adventure. So, our dogs are the naughty kids in class. They’re attached to their parents, defensive of each other, and a bit more aggressive than I’d like to see when Tucker’s not busy showboating. Giving Tucker a little sister has made him much more protective and Lily feeds off of his reaction to whatever the stimulant may be.

At home, Lily is sitting, laying, coming, and kenneling on command rather than lingering in Tucker’s shadow and we have a ways to go. It’s nice to see our dogs prosper at home but they really need to be socialized. This truly is a test of parenting. I was pretty defensive at any insinuation that my dogs had any behavioral issues. Mike even implied that it may be the other dog’s fault because Tucker’s never reacted to any other dog that way. Home is where they’re best and home is where they are most. But, we’re hoping that more weeks of visits, cheddar cheese, and hot dogs will get them to be angels outside the house as well! We’ll keep you pupdated!