Finding an Obedience Class

I have not given up on getting Olive into a herding class at Nutmeg Farms, a training facility not far from Hartford that uses real sheep. I decided, however, that a more basic obedience class would be a better first step, then perhaps we will go to Nutmeg in the Spring.

My town's parks and recreation office listed some dog training classes in its Fall brochure. One, titled "Dog Focus", sounded like a good one for Olive. The class description indicated that it was for dogs who are obedient at home but seem to forget everything when out and about. When we are out for walks Olive gets so focused on squirrels that she is oblivious to everything else. My commands, as well as oncoming cars (!) are completely tuned out while she stares at the squirrel she is engrossed with at the moment. I was looking forward to taking Olive to that class on Wednesday mornings and expected her to do well.

Unfortunately, last night I got an email notice that the class has been canceled. I called this morning about another class called "Out and About with your Dog" that was scheduled for early Wednesday afternoons, and was told that was canceled as well.

I did not want to waste this Fall as far as dog training goes. An internet search brought me to an organization in a nearby town called "Tails-U-Win" that I have heard good things about. I registered Olive for a basic "Family Dog" class on Sunday afternoons beginning October 4. So Olive and I will be going to school together.

I was especially happy to see the name of a woman named Sue Sternberg in their website. I knew Sue some years back when she was the fiddler for the New England contra dance band "Wild Asparagus". I haven't seen her in quite some time, though I did hear that she was a highly regarded dog expert and had left her career as a professional musician to pursue a career in dog training. To my knowledge, Sue is now living in upstate New York, so it is unlikely that she will be at any of the classes, but apparently "Tails-U-Win" uses some of her methods. I checked a box to receive Sue's newsletter.

So soon Olive and I will be off on a new adventure at dog training class. You can be sure that there will be a lot about it in this blog.