Decided to spend the money (like $40 petrol per lesson to get there and back home) to train Socks in obedience then to, eventually, enroll her in trials. Trials are good fun.

Socks likes walking (prefers running but is happy enough with a little stroll, say 5Km.) If, while walking the mutt I stop to chat with someone Socks puts up with that for oh, 2-3 minutes then starts barking, pulling on the lead etc: a simple message, “Let’s go!”

To Socks, who of course doesn’t realise we are in a dog obedience lesson, the lessons are a walk spoiled by FAR too much standing still doing nothing. Barking, pulling on the lead etc, quite annoying because I am trying to listen to the instructor.

Today again I tried a maneuver to reduce the boredom, to, according to a nice old lady instructor, get rid of the “piss and vinegar.” This does work, not as well on Socks as it did on Demi and the dog is quieter at least for the first half of the lessons. For the other half? I used strips of jerky. A dog will always eat food in front of it for the simple reason another dog might eat it instead. So that worked until I ran out of jerky strips! 

Still, 3/4 of the lesson was reasonably pain free.

Must try and get there earlier, let the mutt run for an hour say.

Socks, or is it I, is benefitting from the lessons (about 9 so far.) That recall at Westbury, from 2-300 metres away, doesn’t just happen by itself.