Emma takes clicker classes

We've decided to enroll Emma in a clicker obedience class. Afterall, I need her to behave when I take her to work, and Emma is a typical doxie -- she thinks she's the boss, and we live for her.

We signed up at Blue Prints Dog Studio in Nottingham Plaza. The first night was 'parent night' -- no dogs. There are two other doxies besides Emma - Tessie and Rosa. Next week should be fun and probably quite chaotic. The other dogs are a boxer, poodle, and shepherd type. Rosa and the poodle have already been to Doggie Day Care so the teacher knew their dogs.

The first night was an overview of what we would be learning (sit, down, stay, settle, recall), and how to use the clicker. The clicker startled me, it was so loud, but the room has no carpeting and sounds bounce around. Curtis got a clicker, too, and the teacher said it was a good idea to have two people reinforcing the behavior.

The hardest part of the clicker is clicking at the right moment -- timing is everything. So we practiced with the teacher throwing a stuffed animal into the air, and then we "shaped" a classmate's behavior. I think we caught on pretty quick, of course, there were no real consequences.

The teacher demonstrated our homework -- we can only use a verbal command for recall, and it's just their name, no "come." Guinness is the teacher's dog, and Guinness proudly demonstrated all behaviors. Guinness is a big, shepherd/collie type mix with a gray muzzle.

We each got folders going over the homework and some rules. I know I felt like I was going to sneeze or something by the end of class, but that feeling eventually went away.