There's always something a bit sad about the last puppy class. Well, not the class itself. The class was happy, upbeat, and Henry got to go through a tunnel!
It's after the class is over that I always feel a bit sad. It's one of those milestones in a puppy's life that remind me just how fleeting puppyhood really is, and of quickly he is growing up.
Then next class starts after the holidays and by then his hormones will have kicked in. He will be larger, lankier, and, let's face it, not nearly as cute.
(Yes, he'll always be cute to me, but you know what I mean. Those wide innocent eyes will no longer be focused only on me, those scents he barely noticed in this class will be ambrosia, and I will become just that comforting annoyance who keeps him from flirting with the dog a few seats over.)
Tonight we practiced sits and downs (no, his downs aren't really any better) loose leash walking (he walks like a cat, twisting and winding around my legs until I stop, then runs in front of me and... yup... Sit-n-Stares) showed off our new trick (spin!) and of course tried out that tunnel.
(I can't watch a dog go through a tunnel without thinking of Beau. Beau loved the tunnel. It was his favorite piece of agility equipment, and I have no doubt he would have run through it a hundred times if I had let him. I'm not sure the tunnel loved him, however, as he went through it like a freight train. One didn't recall Beau from a tunnel, one captured him when he popped out the other end!)
Finally, we had puppy play time. This might well be his final puppy play time, as the next class doesn't have play time. That really was a sad thing for Beau, but as Henry prefers his Uncle Zachary (just as Zachary preferred his Uncle Beau) I don't think it'll be missed that much.
It was fun watching all the puppies run and chase and spin and bow then run some more...
Since tonight was the last class, we also got a graduation certificate. This is Henry's first certificate, and it will take pride of place in his binder. With luck, there will be many more certificates to go in that binder, and maybe even a ribbon or two (or three, for a title!)
But all that is far into the future. Tonight I just have a tired, happy puppy, curled up asleep, dreaming tired happy puppy dreams.
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