Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Puppy kindergarten

This little sweetie is Ciao Bella. Luka seems to think she is his personal squeaky toy. We've been going to puppy class on Tuesday nights for the last month or so and haven't been made to sit in the corner with the dunce cap, yet!
This is Sam, our trainer. All the puppies seem to love him - I think that's because he always has a treat in his pocket for the well-behaved pup. He's tough to please, but his experience as a canine police officer comes in handy with the unruly pups. That's Ciao Bella at his feet.
This is Whiskey - he's the same age as Luka and is so well-behaved. He's Luka's favorite playmate.
Luka and Whiskey became fast friends - they wrestle and chase one another. I think Ciao Bella is that little brownish blob under Luka's feet - oops! Whiskey is the only pup in the class that's similar in size to Luka and big enough to push him around. I love to watch them play together.
I don't know what type of dog Skippy is, but that's her hiding under the chair while Luka torments her. She's funny - shy with the other dogs during playtime, but she loves to distract them (especially Luka) during the *lesson* with barks and a flirty ear shake. She and Luka regularly compete for who can bark the loudest while poor Sam tries to teach. She comes to class with her mom and at least 5 little kids - none of whom even try to keep her out of trouble. Tonight she went for a swim in the huge water bowl!
The little black pug whose name I can't remember - she's a sweetie too. Luka likes to chew on the side of her face.

So far we've learned Sit, Take It, Leave It, Down, and just tonight - Come! Whiskey seems to be the star student in the group. Luka is just a goofball, true to his nature, but we're having fun.

12 comments:

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Ciao Bella is as big as a speck! You seem to be quick to pick up on all of the dogs' personalties. I really love that last picture of Luka with the little pug (I grew up with pugs and always wanted a black one) Luka has big ears to grow into!

LauraHinNJ said...

Isn't she cute? I'm not one for little dogs, but she's hard to resist.

Luka's ears are huge - we make fun of him for it!

JeanMac said...

Has Luka ever grown! Those classes are great and you meet nice people.

Dave Dorsey said...

Fun is what it's about.

Jayne said...

How fun! Nice that Luka makes friends so easily. :c)

dguzman said...

I used to have a Ciao Bella too, only his name was Scooter Pie! I love yorkies in puppy cuts!

Good Luka--every class needs a clown!

Anonymous said...

We love Luka but we miss the bunnies!!

Mary said...

When I did obedience school with my cocker, my good friend took her black lab with me. My cocker was perfect in every way. Mandy, the six month old lab, was a laugh a minute and barely passed the class (she won the dunce award). In her later years she was incredibly obedient.

We had a lot of fun and the dogs did, too! Go, Luka!

Anonymous said...

Glad you took photos of the class! I can just imagine the chaos at the beginning. Luka seems curious and very happy.

KGMom said...

Thank you for the Luka update. He sounds like the labs I have known--loveable, distractable, easily bribed with food.

Susan Gets Native said...

Puppy kindergarten is such a great start for dogs. Socialization, learning who the boss is.
I want to tie a pole to Ciao Bella and dust something.

RuthieJ said...

Oh Laura, those "school" pictures are so much fun! And I can't believe how much Luka has grown...