Reufus Jackson Wright... Pass or Fail???

As many of you know... Little Reufus has been faithfully attending and Basic Obedience classes and also taking up a lot of my the Mom's time working very hard outside of class. Until last week, there was a giant question in our collective minds if he might be repeating Basic...

[The photos that follow are not very good, but they capture a little of last night's Class 6!]

Before class starts, it is important that the Mom captures the Reuf attention. That accomplished, she turned the back of her shoe to show off the part Reufus has eaten.

This was not embarassing for Reufus. Setting the Wimberley sofa aside, he considers this some of his best work.

As The Trainer takes charge of the class, the Mom is to issue the settle command. Here is Reuf doing it very nicely...

They also did some loose leash walking, reverses...

And sits. The Mom says he is particularly good with his sits. I would agree if she acknowledged that there is a consonant missing. Just saying.

Little Reuf's success is largely due to Tracie, The Patient, Dedicated, Inspiring Trainer. And the Mom is always proud when she uses Reuf as an example... good or bad!

Here is a nice settle... though Reuf is borderline doing the A.D.D. thing that The Trainer is keenly aware of!

She calls him back to attention, and he looks to her [adoringly] for direction!

The Tracie taught him how to walk across the board. And he loved it! He did it several more times, quickly and with joy.

A little later, he maneuvered a long obstacle course... And he really loved it!!! It consisted of:


Hoop: Sniff and Sit.


Ladder: Step between rungs.


Upright Board 1: Sit. Stay. The Mom crosses over the board. Stay. The Mom crosses back. Release. Both cross over the board.


Upright Board 2: Sit. Stay. The Mom crosses over the board. Release and Recall.


Boardwalk.


Elevated Pad. Sit. [The Mom is reminded to praise!]

In and Out. Weave.

Spin and Twist.

Then Pose... Course complete!!!

A huge part of the whole experience is learning to look to the Mom for direction and approval. Truly, this is the key to success.

Who knew there would be a written exam... Reuf even took a lesson in how to let the Mom take an exam. [To call it an exam is a slight exaggeration, it was more like a comment card... but for the Mom, trying to do this with the Reuf nearby... it was a test!]

The suspense was about to kill the Mom, so she was quite relieved when Reuf's name was called first, and indeed... He graduated!!!

Reufus Jackson Wright... PASS!!!

You know how proud the Mom is if she is willing to allow me to share this photo!

She balked, but I reminded her that noone would believe the little IMP and also HELLION had actually passed if we didn't offer photographic proof! You will note that it took quite a bit of "convincing" on the part of Tracie, the Miracle Worker / Trainer... for Little Reuf to face the camera!

It was a proud moment for all of us. Yeah, yeah, yeah...


In the meantime, I was having my nails done... trimmed not painted... and having my slippers cleaned up. This has been a true spa week for me, as I have been pampered in some way every single night!

Word on the street is that I'm doing something very special on Friday!!! Stay Tuned!!

P.S. We will, hopefully, have better photos to share soon!