Do we look a bit worried here?
It’s only natural to feel apprehensive when one opens a new chapter in life, and that’s where Phoebe is. On Monday, Phoebe is going to school. She’s going to learn to sit and stay, advanced leash walking, and perhaps a bit of English.
When filling out the paperwork, I was asked for placement purposes if she’d ever had any training or if this will be her first class. I didn’t know how to respond to this. Someone had once taught her to run around a track, though they didn’t do too good a job of it. Either way, I wasn’t sure if this was a matter of job-retraining or if we could call this postgraduate work. Education or training? It didn’t matter, the registrar told me, it would still be the same price, and it was only a certificate course.
So she enrolled in Advanced Beginner, which is the first course for adult dogs. I don’t really care what they teach her. She’s a smart dog and I’m told the smart ones get bored without mental stimulation which leads to furniture chewing and other fun things. Hopefully this will keep her mind occupied.
Pass the beer-bong, Phoebe, vacation’s almost over!
The Education of Greyhound Phoebe >>
[saveagrey]
James Brush is a teacher and writer who lives in Austin, TX. He tries to get outside as much as possible.
I don’t know, James, I can see the wisdom in Phoebe’s eyes, I think this dog needs masters classes. Hey, give the dog a chance, I bet she can teach the class. Oh, and feel free to pass the beer bong this direction when you’re done. It’s been a long time since I’ve done one, but some things never go out of style.
Greyhounds are usually honor students in school. One thing to remember though is that they are trained not to sit because if they sit in the box they get a bad start. If trainers aren’t familiar with greys they may see this as resistance, when actually the dogs are doing what they were trained to do.
Phoebe thanks you, Scottage, for your kind words. She thinks she could teach the class as well.
Fred, Thanks for the tip about sitting. Fortunately that’s low on the list of things I want her to learn. I’m mostly interested in stay and come. I have managed to get her past the whole issue they seem to have about not relieving themselves while on a leash since she had to learn to do that when we visited the in-laws, who don’t have fences. It took some time, but now she seems happy to break training on that count.