Prince Enrolls in Obedience School

After befriending Max and Jack, Prince was positive that every dog he happened to encounter was a potential friend in the making.  Each time an unsuspecting dog walker would pass by, Prince would gallop over to greet them, barking joyously, and race back and forth to try to reach the dog as it passed by.  Unfortunately, most people were somewhat taken aback by the sight of a 100 plus pound German Shepherd racing toward them, spraying dirt onto them liberally, and would hurry on their way instead of pausing to make his acquaintance...in spite of the fact that their dogs, no matter how small they were, never appeared to be intimidated by him in the least.  Some of them even tried to nip at him through the fence.

With the aim of socializing Prince further and calming his overly exuberant reaction to other dogs, I subsequently decided that obedience school might be a good option for him.  I had taken my old dog, Trevor, to obedience school years ago, and while it never really addressed any of his behavioral issues (or made him like other dogs), it was a good opportunity for socialization for him.  With that in mind, I signed Prince up for the "Prestigious Pup School."

"My brother knows the people who run that," my boyfriend told me.  "You should ask him about them."  So I did, even though I had already decided to take Prince.

My boyfriend's brother was somewhat less than enthused.  "Their dogs are like robots," he said.

"Well, I'm really just taking him for socialization," I said.  "Not to really train him."

"Oh.  Okay.  Well, that might work," he said, somewhat doubtfully.  I didn't pursue it further...but in retrospect, I really wish I had.