Library Quiet Talk

Today, after my puppy raiser's photography workshop photo shoot turned into a flop (cause of the rain), she took me to Big Dog class. For some reason she doesn't like getting her camera wet, but she has no problem gettin' me wet!

Big Dog class is the last class we (CCI pups in training) take before heading off to college. We always feel like we're hot stuff when we strut by the Riff Raff and, in particular, the KPT classes. KPT is the very first class pups take. CCI pups start going to KPT when they are only 2 months old and they don't know ANYTHING... unlike us Big Dogs.

When we first arrived at Big Dog class, I was a little excited. I couldn't help it though cause first I ran into my buddy Z (who is still in Riff Raff)... and then I saw LMRAT! She is the lady who teaches our classes, AND she fostered me for awhile before I came to live with my puppy raiser, AND I get to stay with her every once in awhile, AND she is the absolute BEST!!! I can't help but get super excited around LMRAT. I always give her my biggest smile.

Usually we hold our classes outside, but since it was rainy and cold, we headed over to a place called "the library". It was fun... but, we had to be REALLY quiet. My puppy raiser kept whispering commands to me and I had to listen carefully to make sure I heard what she said. I asked her why she was whispering and she told me that it was the library rules. She said that you have to be quiet in the library so that you don't disturb people who are reading.

We practiced commands like "out". This command means that I have to swing my butt out, turn around in front of my puppyraiser, and face her. This command is usually used in conjunction with "back". So, we practiced things like walking up to an aisle full of books, doing an "out", and then doing a "back" all the way down the aisle. My puppy raiser said I did really well... and I even noticed that LMRAT gave me the thumbs up (I learned later this means good job in library quiet talk)!

When we got back home, my puppy raiser started taking some photos of me with a bunch of our favorite dog books. But, it didn't turn out to be a quiet event like the library. At first everything was going well. In fact, I almost started falling asleep. But right after my puppy raiser took the photo above, I shifted (a little too much) and I accidentally pulled the black sheet I was laying on (which was being held down by a bunch of glass coasters on a table in back of me). The coasters came tumbling down behind me and crashed! I jumped up from where I was laying. Books went flying. Ashley (the parrot) got spooked and flew down to the floor. My puppy raiser stood up, looking a little stunned. And... I didn't notice any "library quiet talk" thumbs up!