Just a few days after turning ten months old, my little Paisley Bella has advanced to advanced basic training. Her first class was tonight, and I think we both had mixed emotions about it. I'm definitely glad we took a little hiatus after completing the basic level. I'd hoped it would give her some time to mature and also allow the training a chance to consolidate in her brain. Well I don't think she's much more mature, but she did seem to remember a few things about heeling and behaving in general.
She was stressed though, leaving little damp paw prints after her sit-stays. It's a larger class than I'd hoped, with a really noisy dog, a few big ones, and at least one that seemed a bit aggressive. Everybody was nervous the first time around, I guess though. Maybe next week will be better.
My real dilemma is whether or not I'm doing the right thing bringing her to more training at all. Part of me thinks the experience will be good for her confidence. She's such a timid pup to begin with - today she was scared of the big bad kayaks on the lake. She cried the whole car ride up too. Maybe it's all just too much stress for her. On the other hand, now is definitely the time to expose her to as many different situations and experiences as possible. It could give her coping tools that will help her entire life. Lots of kibbles and a chance to meet new friends should help alleviate the tension somewhat too. So we'll keep at it; hopefully she'll be a little bit happier every week. And no matter what, it's only seven weeks until summer!
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