Tank in training

OK. Last night's puppy training class went well. Mostly the puppies got a chance to just have fun. They ran through tunnels and played in (empty) plastic baby pools.

And I got an autograph (paw print) last night from Daisy, the puppy I mentioned last week that wouldn't cross the street so her owner had to pick her up and carry her across.

Anyway, Daisy's owner, Deborah Haynie, told me Daisy walked across the street on her own this time. Way to go Daisy! And since Daisy is a celebrity of sorts after people read about her in the paper, she's giving out autographs. And I got one!

Trainer Beth Scorzelli told us that we should always be able to examine our puppies' mouths, ears and feet. So, the test of the night was to see if our beloved pets would allow Beth to examine their mouths, ears and feet.

"How many of you clip your dog's toenails?" she asked.

The room went quiet. But owner John Settle was ahead of the rest of us. He admitted to clipping at least one of Sadie's toenails. Sadie is a basset hound and is so adorable. She also was the first one on the table for the trainer to examine. Sadie was excellent. I really didn't want Tank to be next in line because Sadie was a tough act to follow. Not only that, but I really wasn't sure how he would react. I'm always taking things out of his mouth and he gets examined by the vet on a regular basis but I was a little skeptical. And I voiced my concerns to the trainer. But Beth is wonderful and once Tank was on the box, she looked in his mouth and ears. She also messed with his feet and legs. And Tank let her! I was so proud.

Anyway, Tank has a lot of great classmates and I will introduce them to you in next week's blog.

For the rest of this week, Tank and I will be perfecting "out" and will start on "off." When he jumps up on me, I say "off." He hasn't gotten the hang of that one yet.

Photos: Daisy's autograph (paw print); Tank being "examined" by trainer Beth Scorzelli.