Scotty’s Big Saturday

Last Updated on December 1, 2010

Scotty, who now weighs 69.4 pounds and hardly looks like a “puppy,” still is, but not for much longer. Today, he turned 10 months old.

But he also completed the second round of obedience school, his intermediate class.&nbsp  In addition to the basics of “sit,” “stay” and “shake,” he also knows things like “wait,” “leave it” and “heel.”

The trainer has made it a point to ask us which of the things our dogs have learned from class have helped the most.&nbsp  I think that in Scotty’s case, just because of his size, heel is awesome.&nbsp  When he’s in the pet store, he’s keyed up, so getting a true, calm heel is something of a challenge.&nbsp  But if I’m just walking him outside, or we’re going down the steps, I need to know that he’ll mind and not make me fall and break my neck.

(I figure breaking my neck would be a major inconvenience.&nbsp  Maybe I’m wrong, but I doubt it.)

And in those situations when I really need him to calm down, I see a huge difference since he started doing class.

There’s also the “front” command, something I never thought he’d be able to do.&nbsp  The idea is that he can be anywhere around, but when you call “front,” he’s immediately supposed to get up and walk over to where you are and sit right in front of you, facing you to await your next instruction.

Like I said, I never, in a million years, would have thought he’d get that, but he has.&nbsp  It’s not something I’d likely use that often, but it’s nice to be able to show off what he’s learned.&nbsp  And I’ll definitely keep him doing it because I don’t want him to forget what he’s learned.