Bacon week 2, and off to puppy school!

As of today, we've had Bacon for two weeks.  We've been having many fun adventures, and learning many new things!

Bacon says...
1. I know "sit" now!
2. I love my crate!
3. I can go up the stairs, even the ones that are covered in snow (on the porch).
4. Down the stairs is toooooo scary right now.  I prefer to stand at the top and bark.  When I tried going down a few, I felt pretty out of control (like my butt was going to pass my head!), so my mom gave me a ride.
5. I FREAKING LOVE PUPPY SCHOOL!!!!

That's right, everyone. Bacon had his first day of puppy school today.  We were all excited and a little nervous, and Bacon did beautifully while waiting for the class to start.  He was so relaxed.  Then, we started some training exercises, and we quickly found that Bacon is quite the little class clown!  He was so excited to see the other puppies, and REALLY wanted to play. He did not do well with practicing redirecting his attention to us - the teachers say that he is "not really food motivated," i.e. treats are not that helpful.  He does not care about treats when there are people or other dogs to sniff and enjoy. We tried several different treats, and they worked for about two seconds each.  Toys seemed to be more motivating, so we borrowed some toys from the teachers and rewarded his successful behavior with a few seconds of play with the toys.

After working on redirecting attention and "sit," the puppies got to have some free play time.  Bacon was placed in a play group with two other dogs (although he was the smallest, they placed him in the "medium" group because he was so excited, unlike the other small dogs), and he tore around, sniffing butts and inciting the other puppies to play.  He was the ringleader of the bunch.  I could not believe how energetic he was!

I think the low point came when the instructors were trying to demonstrate how to do the "come" command, and they debated using Bacon for the demonstration (he and maybe two other dogs were still awake at this point). The instructors seemed to be talking in some sort of code about why NOT to have Bacon demonstrate (we see right through you, teachers!), so they chose another of the puppies. We're not offended or anything...

No harm done. Bacon was clearly well-liked by the instructors, other dogs, and other dog parents. They thought he was hilarious. I kind of felt like the parents whom I see in my work: they talk about how excited their children were to start kindergarten, then their kids end up in trouble all day long.  What? My dog? The class clown? Nooooo....

It was a very exciting day.  We have a lot of practicing to do.  Too bad Bacon has been sleeping since we got home....