Saturday, August 15, 2015
Obedience School Dropout
Yes, it's true. It seems that a four-year obedience college is not for Ms. Aubrey, nor even a two-year junior obedience college. After months of dragging her there only to watch her wilfully ignore all the other dogs, get distracted by the mere existence of a cat section, and occasionally tremble, we have decided to call it quits. It just wasn't worth the struggle any more, especially since it tended to conflict with a lot of quality television. Not to mention the fact that the instructor spent easily half of each class dealing with personal dramas on her cellphone while calling it "free play time." Oh, and the fact that she hated it -- I'm pretty sure at least one or two revenge poops have resulted.
Not that there weren't some successes. She has mastered sit, stay, and down. Well, she actually whiffed on sit today when we were in the pet store and she was nervous. But as a general matter she's got them. And she's walking a lot better, though there was nothing but room for improvement on that one. She always seemed to wait until we were at least a mile from home and then sit and refuse to walk any more. Given the choice between dragging and carrying, I went for the latter, but it was quite a spectacle.
So yes, I'm a failure as a parent. It's okay, though -- that leaves me in very good company.
Yes, it's true. It seems that a four-year obedience college is not for Ms. Aubrey, nor even a two-year junior obedience college. After months of dragging her there only to watch her wilfully ignore all the other dogs, get distracted by the mere existence of a cat section, and occasionally tremble, we have decided to call it quits. It just wasn't worth the struggle any more, especially since it tended to conflict with a lot of quality television. Not to mention the fact that the instructor spent easily half of each class dealing with personal dramas on her cellphone while calling it "free play time." Oh, and the fact that she hated it -- I'm pretty sure at least one or two revenge poops have resulted.
Not that there weren't some successes. She has mastered sit, stay, and down. Well, she actually whiffed on sit today when we were in the pet store and she was nervous. But as a general matter she's got them. And she's walking a lot better, though there was nothing but room for improvement on that one. She always seemed to wait until we were at least a mile from home and then sit and refuse to walk any more. Given the choice between dragging and carrying, I went for the latter, but it was quite a spectacle.
So yes, I'm a failure as a parent. It's okay, though -- that leaves me in very good company.
