Graduation (and weather)

Yesterday we braved the weather forecast; it said the snow would move into Sandpoint late in the afternoon, and even later for us and that it should only be 2-4 inches.  We drove right into the storm, and by the time his last class of the 6 week course was over, Rebecca was urging us to go before it got even worse.  Luckily the snowplows were out and keeping the roads fairly clear.  We did see a number of drivers come out of a side road and punch it just a bit too much for conditions & fishtail.  I kept plenty of room ahead of me, the only direction where I really have any control over safety zones.  For once we didn't grab food on the way out of Sandpoint in the interests of getting home while we could still get in our driveway if it was going to get ugly.  We do have a small "hill" as we come in, with gentle curves, and the ATV can keep it only so wide ... just barely more than passenger car width.  This morning it's up to 33, after a 25 overnight low and the house roof is shedding its 3-4 inches of new snow.  Now it slides down the pile toward the house instead of out toward the yard.  The "burning bush" by the dining room window has a little over 1/8 inch of ice coating it.  Lovely weather.  (Garage is still standing, still carrying a heavy snow load, still precarious)

So, back to Marley's final class for the next several months.  Petco offers puppy classes, which we skipped right over, and Adult Dog 1 and Adult Dog 2, both of which he has now completed.  Rebecca was pretty casual and unobtrusive about how she gave him his final exam.  Since one dog didn't show, and the other was late, we had the first half hour or so one-on-one with her.  As far as Marley knew he was just getting attention & treats.  The basic "in place" behaviors he did with flying colors.  Those are sit, down, stay, target.  She'd seen us practicing leashed walking in the store already and we all know he still needs lots of work on that.  He also did well with "four on the floor" - Petco's term for keeping all 4 feet on the floor when greeting people or being petted.  We also showed off with "shake", "other hand", "high 5" and "step".  So, compared to how our first dog did at the end of her obedience class Marley did really well.  I'd call him the star pupil of the class.  He definitely earned his graduation certificate and package of goodies.

The only other dog to make it was Lucy.  She's a very shy, timid dog out in public and trembles through the sessions.  Just being able to be around people and other dogs away from home is the big thing for her, and yesterday she proved it's working.  She not only greeted Marley, but she approached me, unasked, and even requested some gentle petting.  She still trembled through the time we were all there.

So, what's next for Marley?  We will continue to work on all the stuff he does well, to keep him doing it well.  We'll continue to expand on what he's learned.  Where Una was laid back, what can I do to please you, and Max was a real traveler and tourist, Marley is a learner.  He wants to keep learning new things and he wants to practice the things he has learned.   His puppy excitement is still a barrier to the "nice" leash walking and greeting people, but he's showing signs it will come, with practice.  Eventually, I want to get his "Canine Good Citizen" certificate.  I don't know if it would get any discount with our insurance, but in some cases it does (so I read).  It is a way of documenting that he's a well-behaved dog, which could help in checking into hotel/motel rooms or RV parks if they're at all skittish about labs or big dogs in general.  Beyond that, maybe agility, maybe rally obedience.  But those are all months out before we could even get into training.  Most of those require full obedience compliance as a starting point and being at least a year old.