Obedience class is paying off so far

Bella has surprised us in her training class so far. She does not desperately tug on her leash to play with the other dogs, and she actually does what she's told more than half the time. She loves the teacher and volunteers At Wichita Dog Training Club. She happily takes the treats they offer, licks their hands, wags her tail, lets them pet her face and refrains from her usual, "You're a stranger, back away from me NOW," bark bark barking. And she's learning to sit, stay, down, and walk nicely on her lead.

Dave's brother Mike is visiting us this week and so far she barks at him a lot. She needs to learn a little hospitality. Our neighbor Scott is working to win her over, offering her treats through the fence, and she is starting to warm to him a little, though grudgingly.

With us, she is just an affectionate baby. And she's getting better on her walks too. For our class, we bought a prong collar, which looks like a medieval torture device, but she does not seem to mind it at all, and it helps us train her not to lunge when she sees other dogs. Most often when we let her approach another dog to say hi, she's all kisses and tail-wagging, but her friendliness can be a little overwhelming. (So we're surprised at how she pretty much ignores the other dogs when we're at obedience class.)