Thus far in Mom and Dad’s obedience training we have focused on their polite leash walking and how to deal with mine and Asa’s celebrity status when human fans approach. Now we’re going to focus on training Mom and Dad on the polite greeting of dogs. However, it seems that Mom and Dad’s trainer and myself have a difference in opinion on this subject. I believe a strange dog is a friend I haven’t met yet. He, on the other paw, believes the trick is to teach Mom and Dad to apply those same leash walking and sit/stay skills when being approached by other dogs.

Luckily their trainer and I agree on one thing, teaching by example. So for this class he was kind enough to invite a friend to join us in demonstrating our philosophies to my parents. Little did I realize it would be an annoying little puppy! Before I begin to explain how the class went, please let me apologize for not remembering the real name of the puppy who helped us. There was a lot going on that day. I was embarrassed by Mom, Dad and Asa’s behavior. Not to mention I may have been a bit distracted when he introduced himself, because the puppy’s head was the biggest I’ve ever seen on such a small body. So sadly I just remember his nickname of Big Head Pug.

First up Asa took Dad by the leash to demonstrate the proper greeting of dogs. Asa proudly walked across the room with Dad at his side. However, when approaching our new friend, Dad fell back into his old habits. Rather than greet the excitable little fellow as a team, Dad hesitated leaving Asa to surge forward without him. How rude! Even more troubling was the lightning fast snake returned! You may recall during their summer classes when I was trying to train Mom and Dad on polite leash walking I was tormented by a invisible snake that would strike my hind end out of nowhere and disappear by the time I turned around to confront it. This time around, again I didn’t see it, but I heard the telltale hiss, at the same time Asa felt the snake tap him on his back. This gave Asa no choice but to also be rude to his new friend, and immediately turn to face Dad. At least Asa remembered his training to always make sure Dad is safely tethered to him.

Dad’s trainer then reminded Asa that it is his responsibility to stay by Dad’s side and work as a team. By surging ahead he leaves Dad vulnerable, especially if there’s a lightning fast snake lurking. Therefore, it is Asa’s responsibility to build Dad’s confidence by approaching at a relaxed and steady pace. I agree, no more dragging Dad around. But I disagree with what he said next. The trainer suggested that when approaching a fellow dog, if Dad feels the need to stop, we should immediately sit by his side. How can we do a proper greeting of our new friend if we are sitting? Or if Dad is shy and continues walking, we must ignore the other dog and continue on our walk. That’s just plain rude! However, after a few rounds of this, Asa finally conceded to this new approach. Then it was my turn with Mom.

Mom also returned to her bad habits, but in a different way. Rather than hesitate, she tried to avoid the situation entirely. As we walked past, Mom positioned herself between the Pug and myself. At least the trainer and I were on the same page here. He explained to Mom that unless the dog looked like he was going to rip my throat out, there’s no need to try to avoid the situation. Mom needs to trust that I will follow her cues and stay by her side whether or not the dog was lunging to greet us. Ok, I admit after hearing that invisible snake hiss at Asa, I was more focused on avoiding that than meeting Big Head Pug. Therefore, I had no intention of acknowledging him. Instead, I sat on cue and stayed there until she was ready to walk again. After a successful round of this, the trainer suggested we try practicing a different skill.

This time Asa and I sat on our pedestals, with Mom and Dad admiring us from a distance, while the Pug excitedly approached us with his owner. Being older and wiser, I immediately remembered my celebrity status and remained seated on my pedestal, watching Big Head Pug come running up to me. He barked at me a few squeaky words of excitement, ignored his human, and then zipped off to the other side of the room to greet Asa. I regally sat there the entire time, laughing to myself on how silly puppies can behave.

Asa, on the other paw, went flying off his pedestal, the human lost control of Big Head Pug’s leash, accidentally dropped it, and the two new best friends raced around the room in a riveting game of chase. How embarrassing! Thank goodness cameras are not allowed in the training facility! Luckily though, one reminder from Dad and Asa was back at his side. The Pug took a bit longer to corral, which was very amusing to watch. Now I admit I agree with Mom and Dad’s trainer that Asa’s behavior was abysmal. No celebrity, unless you’re Bill Murray, should be seen running wild with their fans. Show some decorum Asa! However, this begs the question how should we greet new acquaintances? This is where our opinions differ. The trainer’s response was that Asa and I need to wait until Mom or Dad give us our release command that it is ok to greet a fellow canine. Why do they get to decide?

However, the trainer ignored my question, and seemed to think this was some sort of teachable moment for Big Head Pug. So instead of continuing Mom and Dad’s lesson, he asked Asa to sit on his pedestal, and then placed the Pug on it next to him! I must admit Asa did a wonderful job sitting there, despite the annoyed look on his face, while the puppy squeaked, jumped, played with Asa’s tail, and tried doing everything else he could think of to get his attention. Finally Asa understands that not all dogs behave rationally when star struck! When the trainer tried the same experiment on the Pug with me, I just laid there. This isn’t my first puppy, and I know all too well it is best to lay still to avoid their notorious razor sharp teeth. Now that I think of it, perhaps this wasn’t a wasted exercise? It taught Mom, Dad and Asa to ignore annoying puppies at all costs so as not to encourage their bad behavior.

Anyways, our homework this week is to practice approaching other dogs while Mom and Dad are leashed to us. We also need to practice working on remembering our celebrity status when greeting fans who have two legs as well as those who have four. It being winter that makes finding other dogs at our usual outdoor haunts difficult. So this can only mean one thing – We’re going to be hanging out at the pet supply store this week!