Onyxx's Training Update: Recent Class Insights

Onyxx’s Class:
I forgot to give an update on Onyxx’s class last week so here it is. The kids + aggressive dog didn’t show. Not sure if they dropped out or if they just missed but it was a very peaceful class. And quite lovely. Onyxx was a little worked up for the first half of class but then he settled down.

We practiced loose leash walking which Onyxx excels at. Really if he would only be quieter around food, he would be perfect in class. We have class again today and next week is graduation week! I don’t think this class has the dogs wear gowns though. Pity. I’ve tried to take pictures but dark room + dark dog + phone does not make for pretty photos.

Socialization visit to the hardware store

Mr. N’s Class:
Despite training, Onyxx’s recall is probably better than Mr. N’s (if you have food/pretend you have food). Because Onyxx doesn’t care if there’s other dogs, humans, squirrels etc. You have the food! Mr. N wants to go say hi to everyone.

So Mr. N is going to go to class too. We’re starting a recall class this week (unless it gets canceled due to weather!). I’m excited because I haven’t taken a class with Mr. N in forever (six months?) and I love working with him and seeing the little wheels spin in his head.

His photo posing skills are good though!

Winter Walks: 
We’re finally getting a cold snap over here in Oregon (for us anyway). It was in the 20s today with a fair amount of wind chill. We’re also under a winter storm warning. Onyxx doesn’t believe in cold or wet conditions so he stayed home aside from quick bathroom breaks.

I bundled Mr. N up in layers and we set off. He gets cold fairly easily (small dog, hair instead of fur, and little body fat) but he believes that he should get his walk(s) no matter what. Some days when I’m feeling sick or the weather conditions are horrible, I think about how nice it would be to have a dog like Onyxx who is perfectly content to stay home. In the long run, Mr. N is good for me though. Even if it means I suffer sometimes!

We went walking in the park. It was a little eerie at first because there was no one else there that we could see. Normally, there’s kids playing and joggers and other dog walkers. About halfway through the park, I spotted a guy with two Labs(?) playing fetch off-leash. Now this is not an off-leash park. It was highly aggravating as it meant we couldn’t walk through a decent portion of the park because the dogs were running everywhere and Mr. N was getting agitated.

The rest of the park was tranquil though and as my friend’s daughter describes it, “smelled like Christmas” due to all the pine branches that were strewn about. Mr. N would start shivering with cold if we stood still in one place for too long so it was a brisk walk. To the point where I had trouble taking this photo because he was getting too cold. He wanted to keep walking though!