Emily and Pepper's 7th - And Last - Obedience Training Class

It's time for final semester tests at school so why should obedience training be any different? Emily and Pepper will be faced with the challenge of showing off all of the commands they've learned over the last eight - okay, for Emily and Pepper it's just been seven - weeks. But they're up for it.

First, we have to make our way through one of the dreariest nights of the season:

Fog, mist, just general wetness. The halos around the streetlights aren't an effect of the my cell phone's camera. They're just that halo-y:

Inside, it's warm and dry. Emily and Pepper are ready to get down to business:

And get down to business they do:

Heeling, staying, lying down, sitting - you name it, they did it. Nearly flawlessly.



That's the instructor at the far left and the black blur is his dog, Josey, a standard poodle. He asked me to look after Josey while he took a quick bathroom break and I gladly did. An opportunity to show off to Emily just how things were done. I called my command over the dog awesome; Emily called it bogus.

Emily and Pepper passed with flying colors and earned their certificate. Yay!

Next up: more classes? Maybe. Emily's booked with some other things in the next few weeks so it might be hard to make time. But these last eight weeks have been a tremendous learning experience. Emily did very well. Pepper, too.

Emily and Pepper's 6th Obedience Training Class

Sure, it's Emily and Pepper's 6th class but you'll recall we missed one and it's actually the 7th class, which means there's only this evening and next week's lesson to go. Game face: on!

Pepper's excited herself to a blur:

It's best get yourselves composed before the session starts. Let's put ourselves in the right mind to receive training. It's Zen-like:

Time to gather:

Since it's the penultimate session, they worked on a lot of things they'd worked on before, so nothing really new. Pepper had a bit of a time paying attention but after the break she got more into her stride. Overall, Emily and Pepper did very well.

On to the next lesson. Next week is graduation. I imagine they'll have caps and gowns for the dogs, don't you?

(The training sessions take place in the Oklahoma National Guard's Armory, near the capitol. Where else can you find a wide, open space where it's sort of okay if your dog poops or pees? But I don't know if I've been able to capture the sense of openness about the place. Here's a slightly different shot that might give you the sense of it. Me, I like the wooden roof.)

Emily and Pepper's 5th Obedience Training Class

I say it's Emily's and Pepper's 5th lesson but the instructor says it's their 7th. (With two more to go.) Hmmm. I know we missed one so we could go to Career Night so I've lost count somewhere. Well, whatever lesson this is, it's Obedience Training Night and Emily and Pepper were there and ready to go.

Man, the pictures are getting worse:

That's because Emily doesn't like me taking her picture so I have to do it without her knowing. That means using the zoom. On my camera phone. Without flash. So there.

They worked on turning circles and staying and coming on command. Pepper was a little distracted though so after the break, one of the trainer's suggested a change in collars: a smaller choker with prongs. Prongs! Yikes! Not needle sharp but enough to get Pepper's attention and get it the collar did. Much better the second half of the session.

Emily's a good trainer. She worked hard this session and so did Pepper.

Emily and Pepper's 4th Obedience Training Class

We laid off a week because of last week's career night but Emily and Pepper were back at it this week.

This week's lesson? The "leave it" command, and then some change ups in the pacing of the "heel" command. Lots of stopping and starting and walking fast and walking slow. They worked pretty hard for about 30 minutes and Pepper was ready for a water break. They finished up the next 30 minutes equally hard and both Emily and Pepper were tired when they were through.

Emily's doing a great job with Pepper. No cool tricks yet but that doesn't come until the next series of lessons. For now, it's still the basics.

No class next week. It's Thanksgiving!

Emily and Pepper's 3rd Obedience Training Class

Emily's third class. She's getting a little pre-class workout here.

Tonight's lessons: heeling turns, the random recall, and heel. Though haven't we learned how to heel already?

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UPDATE: The class went very well. Emily's good with Pepper and Pepper follows along for the first part of the class but the class is an hour long and Pepper's attention and enthusiasm starts to fade. Still, I think she and Emily are doing just as well as anyone in the class, and better than most.

Emily and Pepper's Second Obedience Training Lesson

Before Emily and Pepper go inside to begin their second lesson, they go for a stroll.

Tonight's lessons: the sit stay, the "off" command, the back up, praise, and release, the controlled walk. I'm sure they'll both do well.

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Update - The lesson went well. Emily and Pepper were the only ones who started out the heal and sit commands like they were supposed to. Good for them!

Emily Trains Pepper to Heel

Emily and Pepper's second session at Obedience School. Tonight's lesson: heeling. Dad's responsibility: take blurry pictures with his Blackberry.

That's Emily in the dark blue. The black blur at her heels is Pepper:

On their way back:

Both of them did well. Emily says she liked this session better than last week's.

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Emily at Her Obedience Class

Er, actually, it's Pepper's obedience class. It's taught by the Oklahoma City Obedience Training Club at the Oklahoma National Guard Armory. We're waiting for the first class to start and they're supposed to be putting on a demonstration first. Should be interesting.
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