First Lesson of '09

Yesterday we went back to our formal Obedience lessons, puppy class. I took Blitz and Moto. Blitz did really really well and just gets so excited and happy to work. However, on the stand for exam I saw him beginning to flag. I'd been swapping dogs back and forth throughout our 1.5 hour lesson and we were getting towards the end. Once back in his crate he laid down and quietly watched the rest of the class. While previously in the crate he'd be watching and anxious to get back out there and have his turn.
Moto also did really well. He did have some attention problems but understood the corrections and tried hard. He did as well, if not better, than the older puppies in the class. Good boy!
Now that Moto understands that he has to RISE to get the dumbbell, I pushed the envelope a bit. We'd done it in one part of the house, now to go to the guest bedroom upstairs to see if he would take it there. Point being, you take the dumbbell NO MATTER where you are! Nope, no can do. Unfortunately I had to give him a harsh correction. You could see his wheels turning....considering whether he should battle me or not. He gave it one more try, got the same harsh correction and then took it. As always, third time was a charm. I'll keep moving around the house, then outside, then different places.
Now for the fun part: I also took Moto out tracking. He remembered instantly what he needed to do and got really excited when the harness went on. He drug me to the start flag, was very proud of himself when he downed at the article, and took off at a RUN! this caused him to overshoot the first turn, circle back, and VROOM down the line he ran again, overshot the second turn, circled back and this time he trotted quickly to the motivational article, found it, downed, and off we went again. Fourth turn he worked but then was thrilled when he found the glove. The track had aged 30 minutes. I was really pleased with him, and he was very pleased with himself!