And the award goes to….

Something very strange happened this week at puppy class. Dylan as usual couldn’t wait to get there and did a “poor me I am going to play puppy victim” crying in the the car  as we had arrived too early and had to wait it out.

Honestly listening to her, anyone would think I put that puppy up Dickensian chimneys to earn a living.

Dyls was so happy to see the return of Boo the Cavapoo tonight, as well as Dotty the Spaniel and Molly, the other Cavapoo. The girl band was back together. And of course there was the tiny but feisty Chug, Tilly. Now Dylan had been acting like a gremlin all day, but clearly was feeling very pleased with herself as she has now worked out how to jump on the dining table! Eek! And bang goes another bolt hole for the cats!

Anyway learning this new skill had put her in a good mood, so Dyls decided that Tilly was going to get a special Dylan meet and greet whether she wanted it or not! Which usually means a quick nose rub, sniff round the nether regions and then a two paw jump up onto the other puppy’s back. Yep that works fine for most of the others, but to be honest Dylan has toys bigger than this little Chug. Worrying times indeed! Dyls advanced, stomping towards teeny Tilly, ears flapping, her Welshie bottom wobbling. The word ‘bruiser’ sprung to mind for some reason. Tilly started to bark. “Oh she’s scared” said Tilly’s mum. But Dyls was not put off by this and showing fantastic manners did her meet and greet minus – for once -the jumping part . Phew! And so of course Dotty, Molly and Boo followed Dylan’s lead and the hostilities of last weeks class were forgotten. Yay! Peace reigned and so class could begin.

Which it did with the gate.

We were last to go. Dylan sat, waited, walked through and sat again – without being asked. Everyone clapped including the trainer, who then said “And that is exactly how it should be done!” Wow! Go Dyls! Second exercise – recall. So kitchen door closed – good thing. Several new dogs at the end of the hall -not so good.Dylan’s posse at the other end -very bad!

The minute I said Dylan come she flew down the carpet, came to a sliding halt in front of me and went straight into a sit. We did it again and again, with the same result. The trainer was delighted. Dylan looked smug. I was bloody amazed! Oh and nervous, this surely couldn’t last.

In a break from the norm we then did food etiquette. Now with a couple of Labradors in the group Dyls was never going to be the worst at this. And in fact gave me a look that said”We got this” , because it was like turning over an exam paper and realising all the questions are on the only part of the book you have read…result! So Dylan sat by the food bowl, and waited and waited before being called. Full disclosure we always do this at home, and count 20 so this was a piece of cake – or rather kibble!

Now all eyes were on Dyls. She was not putting a paw wrong. Yes in between she was still jumping on Molly Boo and Dotty, but the instant she got on the training floor she snapped into action. Mmm maybe binge watching Crufts did work!

Final exercise off lead heel walk round the room. Well of course it was too good to last. Dylan did the first part as a Welsh Terrier nose to the ground sniffing and walking like a tortoise. Second part she decided to make like a greyhound and raced down the hall me struggling to keep up. Third leg and she bounced and leapt into the air like Tigger. Fourth and she looked at me and I swear did a shrug before launching herself across the hall and dived into the toy box again, coming out with a reindeer in her mouth which she threw up in the air, caught and then did the Welshie death shake on poor Rudolph. Teeny Tilly looked terrified!

At the end of class Dylan was named puppy of the night. The trainer was beaming saying “There’s a good Citizen award out there with Dylan’s name on it”. Dylan decided to celebrate with a bark fest encouraging all the others to join in. And I looked at this little puppy and thought, Ok it was Mother’s Day yesterday so maybe this is your gift or maybe we are all being lulled into a false sense of security here. And of course my little Welshie looked at me and grinned….Uh oh…

So tonight it’s prosecco again as I am for the second week celebrating a win! However, she hasn’t stopped grinning in a way that suggests maybe we should all be very afraid next time…