Beauty School Dropout

Just got back from an Intermediate level dog training class in which the two of us, canine and handler, barely pulled off any of the things from his puppy or beginner classes classes. Worst of all, my Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever refused to....retrieve! We're supposed to get our dogs interested in their toy before we throw it, but even then - how is any toy (a toy which he retrieves every single night at home for hours and hours and hours) going to be more interesting than the other doggies and their toys? Not that I'm worried about his abilities; we can remain in a holding pattern and take this class a gazillion times if we want. But I was ashamed at myself for feeling so damn defensive. Instead of thinking about the challenge, I felt myself seething at the teacher - wondering why on earth it's important for a dog to retrieve on command. And then it hit me: it's not important. [Note: I'll probably laugh at that notion next time we're retrieving on the beach and he refuses to come back to me] Rather, it's all about him bending to my every whim (no matter how ridiculous that whim might be). It's like I need to have a killer instinct to be a successful dog owner! I wish there was a cuddling class where you could teach your dog to be loving all of the time. Or an eating class where he'd learn to stop the begging and be happy with whatever is in his bowl. Or a being quiet class, that'd be great! And he wishes I'd take a turn-off-the-computer-and-let-me-retrieve-that-toy-I-rejected-at-class class.