Last week saw us take our new cockapoo pup, Bonnie, to her first training class. It was at Gulval Village Hall and on a rainy Thursday evening we weren’t sure what to expect. As it turned out the class was pretty busy with pups of all shapes, sizes and breeds. Trainer Anne certainly doesn’t fanny about – after a few walks to heel and getting the wayward pooches to return to their owners with varying levels of success – it was straight into the expandable tunnels. The dogs that is. Thankfully the owners could stay on the outside. Our Bonnie took it all in her stride and even went through the bigger darker tunnel with a bit of a push. Well that and the bribe of a tasty treat. Others were less keen, especially a tiny cross breed pup looking like she needed to grow into her skin. So Bonnie didn’t disgrace us and actually seemed to be enjoying herself, tail in full ‘waggy’ mode. So we’ll be back again and hopefully all the socialising with other dogs will pay off.
As for me and the other half, we’re going through the dog tired stage. Lots of early mornings and a pup that never gets bored with tug games. We’re pretty pooped and it’s only been a few weeks. Trying to fit work in around boisterous Bonnie is a juggling act but we’re starting to get there. ‘Don’t let the dog run you – you run the dog’ the experts tell us. The theory may be right but in practice it takes time to get there. For now it’s a battle of humans versus savvy, knowing pooch. We’ll win in the end – won’t we?
An early taster of things to come for the Penzance Literary Festival, (Litfest), gave me a break from doggy dos. At Penzance’s ‘Lost and Found’ cafe, Joy Salisbury, co-chair of this year’s event, whizzed through the programme and it’s going to be fantastic. It struck me that literary festivals are mirroring what has happened in the music industry. As independent book sellers have struggled, (just as the small record stores did), like minded book loving folk have got together to organise festivals. They’ve sprung up all over the country and isn’t that just grand?
Now over to the very Cornish cockapoo for her latest take on things…
‘Hi there,
You could say that my first training session went well and I think my owners are coping pretty fine. I decided to let sweet Bonnie out of her box so that they didn’t let me down – I mean who wants their rents to look like idiots? A girl has to keep up appearances and I spotted a few handsome types strutting their stuff on the floor. I’m sure a couple of frisky males were giving me the eye but this is a gal who plays hard to get. I wasn’t sure what to make of the tunnel thingy – I mean why do I need to head down the doggy equivalent of the channel tunnel? Still with a tasty treat waiting at each end, I went along with it. I’m definitely trying to lick those owners into shape, so bad Bonnie needs to come out from time to time to keep them on their toes. ‘Treat ‘em mean and keep ‘em keen’ isn’t a bad philosophy some of the time. So the odd chew of a rug or owners shoes just has to be done. Then when they get annoyed I put on my cute Bonnie face – and boy can I turn that one on. So far I think I’m training them up well, so not bad for someone who only moved in a month ago. Woof and out…