A few weeks ago, Chloe and I started a basic obedience class, and this last week we graduated. Whoohooo!

It was a great class. There were three instructors for about 12 dogs, and we all had a great time. The instructors all volunteer with Golden Retriever Rescue here in Fairbanks, so most of the dogs were retrievers, or retriever mixes.

Here are a few pictures of some of the class. We'll be starting clicker training next week, and my DH and Diego (our IG) will be taking the class, too.

Handsome retriever boy who was a complete nut job at the start of the sessions . He came a long way in six short weeks.


Lovely mastiff girl who was an angel throughout the class, not to mention VERY funny.


Little boston girl who was funny and sweet, and wanted to be friends with every dog in class. She was the only little one.


One of two tripods that were in class. This pup lost her whole leg, and the other lost a foot. Both were lost due to traps.


This darling husky mix was super shy. He didn't like to leave mom, but he LOVED meeting the other dogs.


And here's Chloe, getting her final treat of the class from one of the instructors.

That is so cool that your greyhound sits. Shadow tries to sit, but then gets scared and immediate lays down and rolls over. These are really great pictures.

Thanks for the pics!!!! What a good girl Chloe is!!! Did she have any reaction to the little Boston girl? I had to put my sweet Maggie in a class of all large dogs - she's a voracious hunter/killer. But she never would sit. ;)

Chloe loved the little Boston. She lives with an IG, though, and I foster a lot of little dogs. She's been around little dogs since she was a baby, so she likes them and knows how to play with them.

The class was a lot of fun, and a success, too. For the last year and a half, anytime we'd go to the dog park I'd have a heck of a time rounding her up when it was time to go home. She absolutely would not come to me (or anyone else) until she was ready to go home. The same applied to lure coursing.

Since she was a pup, I've worked on her recall - y'know, making coming to her person a fun and positive thing - but it didn't matter what I did, she knew that at some point I was going to call her over and we'd leave whatever cool thing we were doing (she's not stupid ).

Well, after about four weeks of class, we could go to the dog park and she would regularly check in with me, come up to get loves and pets, and walk and run around the park at my side. I can't wait to see how this translates at the lure coursing field.

Congratulations on finishing the class. I thought greyhounds were a little too hard-headed for this stuff.

To be honest, I wasn't really sure the class would be anything more than an opportunity to get her out of the house when the weather's been so blasted cold.

She's not food or praise motivated, she's Chloe motivated, so although she's VERY smart, I really didn't expect any big results. I think having a whole hour of Mom's undivided attention, and frequently that of the class, was the real motivating factor.

She's a princess and a diva, so once she started receiving what she perceives as her due , her response was amazing.