Puppy Class - who knew it would be a test in patience?

Oh, Miles.

Miles, Miles, Miles.

The first puppy class last week went GREAT. He was an example for lots of good behavior (like "wait", all of the basic commands and such). We got GREAT feedback from the trainer, saying that he needs to work on "shush" the most, so we've really been working with him on that. It always takes consistent work, which I have been really, really trying to do.

Today's was a different story. He was a total turd the whole time - we're talking jumping all over the place, barking more than ever, and generally making it look like we're heathens who never work with him on anything, ever. But, that's to be expected, I suppose - we were working on polite leash walking. What a perfect day to cover this topic, also, because he nearly pulled my arm off getting into class, and I am certain that I've been seconds away from broken fingers at numerous points this week because the leash was wrapped around them when he suddenly decided he wanted to pull as hard as he could.

He's definitely in his adolescent phase at this point - testing boundaries, to see juuuuust how much he'll be able to get away with. I know that's what this is all about, and I'm trying to be patient, but I had a very hard time with the patience thing this morning. But, what made me feel better was that he wasn't the only one like that - there was another dog there who was being just as bratty. Must be a full moon or something.

I also know that a few things will or have happened in the month of June:

1. We moved. He was having trouble adjusting - he's basically been sleeping all week. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it has taken him almost a full week to adjust. He's been doing pretty well with it, though, considering that it was a pretty big change in space and such.

2. As of Tuesday, he will officially be enjoying the final week with his nuts. That's right, we're getting him neutered on the 28th. This will be good on so many levels, not the least of which is excited peeing. But I also think he'll be a lot easier to teach because he'll be a little more mellow.

So, once we get past those things, it will be smooth sailing from puppyhood to doghood.

Also, I realize that by and large, puppies run the full gamut of the spectrum as far as difficulty raising them is concerned, and if him being bratty once in a while is our biggest problem, then we're doing GREAT. He really is such a good boy. :)