Graduated … Again!
Eighty percent of success is showing up. ~Woody Allen, American filmmaker, actor, and commedian
I Monkey here.
Bet you’ve all been thinking about me and wondering how I’ve been getting along in the second phase of Puppy School.
Wait no more.
I made it! Graduated … again!
Cool beans, right?
Mama was having trouble keeping the stupid hat on me, so I don’t look especially happy (though I was!)
This time, we started class with a rescue hound/lab mix named Daisy and her mom, and another rescue mix (American Staffordshire/pit bull/who knows?) named Sukie with her dad.
I was the only boy, so I figured I’d be the star of this shindig in no time.
If only I could hear myself think.
You see, those two classmates of mine did nothing for the entire first hour but BARK BARK BARK. And the longer we sat in class, the louder their barking got.
Mama says I shouldn’t blame it on the fact that they were girls because she doesn’t yak like that. Sorry, Mama, I’ve heard you get wound up before, and you, too, can talk a blue streak!
Girls. Huh.
So I Monkey sat right next to Mama and refused to join in their gab-fest. And when Teacher determined none of us could hear what she was saying, she dismissed class early, keeping the two girls and their pawrents behind for a little talk.
The next week, I Monkey noticed Sukie and her dad weren’t there. Only Daisy, her mom, me, and Mama. And that’s the way it stayed for the rest of our sessions.
Putting an end to the hen party and letting us get down to business.
Over the next few weeks, we were taught: Heel (walk right alongside Mama’s leg and ignore Teacher when she distracts us with crinkly toys); Switch (transfer from one side of Mama to the other when the sidewalk becomes crowded); Sit and Stay; Down and Stay; Place (go sit in a designated spot and don’t move, even when Teacher bangs on the door and giggles).
We also learned: Tuck (begin on one side of Mama, then scoot between her feet and sit tight for a treat); Puppy Leap Frog (sit down by Mama while Daisy and her mom walk around us, and vice versa); Settle/Chillax (rest quietly in a designated spot); plus reinforcement of the commands we learned in our first level.
Daisy’s mom was afraid I’d be the “A” student and show poor Daisy up, but the girl was trying so hard, and I Monkey didn’t have the heart to best her too much. Still, I wasn’t giving up my title as Teacher’s Pet!
At graduation, we got certificates, a photo with the goofy uncomfortable hat (that we had to give back), and a puzzle toy (that I figured out fast without tearing it completely apart!)
Mama says education is good, and I’m all for more of it. Treats, too. But now it’s Mama’s turn because Band is starting back up again soon, and I’ll have to endure that screechy flute-thing. Sigh.
Signing off, I Monkey your Prudent-Student.
