The Supernanny - For Dogs

Ginger had her very first puppy class last night. (By the way - 18.2 pounds now. And still growing.) She was very excited to walk into the local Petsmart with Lexie and me, and went nuts when she saw all of her classmates. We tried to reel her in, but were admonished by her instructor, who told us, "Let them play! We don't keep children away from each other in school, do we?" So she happily sniffed and jumped on and licked her new pals.

And the instructor was amazing. Lexie commented, "She's just like the Supernanny, mom, but for dogs!" She really was. Gracie is a large woman, not in a fat way, but in a German fraulein way, if you know what I mean. And she has a British accent. She's definitely not the kind of person you would ever want to be on the bad side of. She stressed that her main concern is the dogs, and that we, as humans, were secondary. That if we worked together, we would have perfectly mannered pooches who would soon become productive members of society. And I believe her. Actually, I'm too intimidated not to believe her. I only hope Lexie stays on her good side...

Anyway, there are seven total dogs in Ginger's class. Since it would've been very rude to snap pictures of them during class, I searched the net for acceptable representations. And I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself. All the pictures are really close to what the actual pups look like. So, here are Ginger's new classmates:

First we'll start with the three dogs whose names escape me. A boston terrier, a wheaten terrier, and a schnoodle (I think - at least this schnoodle looks like the dog in her class).
Then there was Nala, the precocious boxer who learned to "hush" before the rest of the class learned, since she had a proclivity for barking:
And Nunu, who was going through class for the second time (but Ginger really loved Nunu anyway...I have a feeling she's going to be a bad influence on my baby...!): And finally, there was Walter. By far, my favorite of her classmates. Walter didn't quite seem to fit in with the rest of the group... maybe because he was barely ten weeks old... but Gracie said he would be the leader of the class in a couple weeks. I don't know, what do you think? Walter is a papillon/maltese mix and weighs about a pound, if that much. He was really scared around all the bigger dogs, and really didn't want to walk into the classroom. So his owners sort of pulled him on his leash, making him look kind of like a little dustmop. You couldn't help but laugh.

Lexie and I listened raptly as Gracie told us all that it was important to exercise your dog before class so that they would be tired enough to pay attention and learn, but not too tired. "Especially you!" she said sharply, pointing at our Ginger. Lexie and I laughed uncomfortably and shrank a bit on our stools while Ginger continued to prance around as far as her leash would allow. Then Gracie called Ginger and gave her hugs and kisses. So I guess Ginger was forgiven for her rambunctiousness.

At one point in the class, Gracie asked us if any of the pups were fixed yet. Negatives all around. She then asked how many males were in the class. We all looked around in curiosity to see the lone hand in the air - Walter's owner. Amid the laughter, Gracie shook her head. "I'm not sure Walter even knows he's a boy yet," she commented, "and no offense, but I'm thinking it would be physically impossible for him to do anything with any of these ladies anyway." Poor Walter. "Although Lord knows, stranger things have happened," she added with a grin.

All in all, I think all three of us enjoyed the class thoroughly. I just hope that Ginger earns enough points to graduate. I would be mortified if my pup-pup flunked out. I'll keep you posted on all things doggie, I promise.