Catching Up - Oreo's Obedience

The girls and I were not the only family members headed to school this fall.  We signed Oreo up for obedience lessons at the local Petsmart.  We attended as a family so that she would learn to respond to all of us.  At least, that was the theory.  I think the kids were more interested in playing with all the other dogs in the class, rather than in working with Oreo!

Oreo was already pretty well behaved when we started.  She had been fostered by a kennel that offered dog training, and I am sure she got some training there.  I had checked out the ASPCA-recommended book The Power of Positive Dog Training and had worked with her a bit on the basics, so she did pretty well in class, right up until the "final exam," where she proceeded to ignore all our commands, eat the "leave it" treats, but still manage to pass the class.  We still have to work on greeting strangers (she acts like a big meanie) and loose-leash walking (she pulls your arm off.)  She was not very  cooperative for her graduation photos - dogs weren't meant to wear hats!

We still have some work to do.