PUPPY OBEDIENCE & MANNERS FOR KARMA – CLASS 4 OF 7 – 08.18.2011

Tonight’s class was interesting.  Orso was a special guest at Karma’s class.  Since he is still a puppy and is huge, the folks at Applause Your Paws like to invite him to the puppy classes so he can show the other owners that big dogs can be gentle too and show the puppies that they don’t have to be scared of a big dog.  For me, it’s great because it gives me a chance to expose Orso to a room full of loose puppies that are safe and positively reinforce his ability to socialize with dogs outside his pack.  AND I get to educate people about the Cane Corso breed and how kind they can be!  As expected, Orso was a complete gentleman.  He was very gentle with all the puppies – there were 6 in total – even though they were all jumping all over him like he was an amusement park ride.  It was actually very cute.  Despite being surrounded by all these puppies, Orso was well-behaved.  I have to admit that I was frustrated with him because he kept coming out of his down-stay when the puppies would come over to play with him, but in all fairness, he was in a down-stay for an entire hour and it probably wasn’t very reasonable of me to expect him to lay there like a statue.  He’s such a good boy that I forget that he, too, is still a puppy and is dying to romp around with all these other dogs.  So, Orso, I apologize to you for getting testy when you kept standing up.  You behaved a million times better in that situation than any other dog I know would have behaved!  Good boy, Buckethead!!!

As for Karma, I should apologize to her too because I ended up ignoring her half the time while I was babysitting Orso.  Amaris was super helpful and made sure that she participated in the class and worked on her social behavior and obedience.  Thanks, Amaris!  I did get to work with her for a little bit.  It was funny because I was sitting on the floor with Orso on one side and Karma on the other, kibble in both my hands and giving commands to both of them at the same time!  Next time, I am dragging someone along to help me!

Below is a very short video clip of the back of Orso’s head – he is on a down-stay – and all the puppies in the class scurrying around him, including Karma.  Sorry there are no photos from tonight!  I took my camera but it was impossible to take care of both dogs AND video AND photograph the class!  Enjoy!