Whatever it was, I’d had enough! I was tired of being afraid of the dog parks, tired of crossing the street every time
another dog was approaching and frankly tired of being muscled along on our walks.
So, I completed the paperwork, paid the fee and signed us up
for ... OBEDIENCE SCHOOL.
At the “human only” orientation, I read (and signed) an
agreement. Item No. 3 states that if
your dog shows “unprovoked aggressive behavior toward the other dogs” it is your
responsibility and if not corrected could be grounds for expulsion. (Great, I thought, expelled from beginner level obedience school.) I tried to discuss the issue with the
instructor, but she replied sternly, “Your dog is YOUR responsibility.”
After I had some time to ponder her answer, I realized I had
been hoping for something more along the lines of “Don’t worry, we’ll teach you
how to handle your dog so that she won’t attack and kill other dogs.”
Sitting in the orientation, I started to get the feeling
that I was the one in obedience school. The instructor slapped her hand with a leash as she emphatically stated: “You
will spend TWENTY minutes EVERY day practicing with your dog... and we KNOW who has not been practicing. You will use a leash
like THIS. The right side is the
WRONG side for heel. You will NOT be
late. You will clean up if you dog does
his business. We will not chatter after
class… class is done when class is done. I have never met a dumb dog…it’s always the trainer.” (Etc.)
Completely intimidated, I went home determined not to be humiliated the following week!
... to be continued...
