Gracie goes to school

Gracie recently started a basic dog obedience class to give her confidence. I was worried that perhaps it would be overwhelming, but Gracie bravely greeted other people and dogs in her class. On her first night, she intently listened to the teacher and she watched the other owners interact with their dogs. She sat at my feet and looked up in a long, loving stare which I could only interpret as "thank you for believing that I could do this". She is trying so hard to be a "normal" dog and I think she was genuinely pleased that I had asked her to try training.

She was pretty puzzled when I held out a treat and asked her to sit. She began to suspiciously run around me, wondering what I was trying to pull – but eventually she plopped her tail down – and much to her surprise, she got a treat. Hmmm… I could see the gears turning in her mind. Now she is sitting pretty reliably – even when I haven't asked her to yet (sorry, no treat for that!). She is also getting good at down on command – which wasn't hard since a puppy mill rescue is used to freezing and dropping to the ground. Learning to stay is more of a challenge.

Here are a few photos from Gracie at her 2^nd class.