Nikki Graduates From Puppy School!

And these two classmates dance for joy! Actually Dakota (left) and Nikki (right) had a fun last day of school. They got to play (despite Dakota's mom's seemingly unwillingess to have the two dogs play together all "semester"), try out agility and then they had their graduation ceremonies, complete with certificate and hat!

Nikki aced the agility training on the first try! She had to be coaxed down the tunnel the first time, but after that she did great, even off-leash. She did much better than Dakota, which I fear was a bit of a blow for his mom as she is quite used to him being top dog in class.

The two dogs went through the agility course several times and then played, which got Nikki pretty tired. Then I video taped Nikki going through her paces, and one time as she was weaving through the weave poles, she got tired and just sat down for a second! Of course, it had to happen while I was taping her. Oh well.

Some cute photos of the two dogs playing together, huh? I also took videos of them playing, so be sure to check out the link on the side panel. Do you notice how much alike the two dogs are in color? Nikki is still much taller than Dakota, who is 5 months old. But his paws are big, so I'm sure he has a lot of growing to do yet. Interesting also how Dakota seemed to be alpha dog ... it takes Nikki awhile to warm up and get confidence and then she can hold her own.

Here Nikki is with her trainer. Isn't her graduation hat adorable? I've signed Nikki and me up for the Intermediate Class, which should be interesting! It will meet on Tuesday nights, and there will be more dogs plus the classes will also deal with distractions, etc., all good for Nikki. So far, Nikki has only met one or two dogs at a time, so this will be good for her to have to make friends with dogs of all sizes, from small to larger.

The other good news was that Nikki was so tired out from playing with Dakota that she was so much easier to handle going home. I had to buy some items and she didn't jump on people at all ... just let them pet her. Oh, and I want to buy some agility items for her. Good training and exercise, and it would be fun for other pups when they come over for play dates. I'd also like to enroll her in an agility class - she has potential there!