My incredible dog!

Oliver is a funny guy. He is pretty used to other dogs, but he just freezes up at these pug club meetings.  He was literally trying to crawl into Dan’s jacket (while Dan was wearing it) to hide from the other dogs.  I don’t know what it is, but Oliver is really afraid of other pugs. Anyway, I felt bad because he was obviously having  a terrible time, trying to hide in my hair and Dan’s coat, so I decided I’d try to distract him with treats and tricks.

At first I got him to jump over one of the jumps.  That was too easy, so we decided we would try to get him to do the balance beam.  That was a little trickier, and a little scarier, but after he made it the first time he was just the happiest little dog in the world! He looked so proud. 

After we mastered the beam, we tried the tubes.  Those were a little trickier, but he soon caught onto that, and after about half an hour of training he looked like an old master! We even got  him to go up and down a ramp that was taller than me! He was just awesome.  And, although Dan says he’s not a dog guy, he’s a natural dog whisperer.

In the beginning I was a little embarrassed because Oliver was acting like he had never seen another dog before.  I felt like that parent whose kid sits by himself in the corner eating glue while the others all play with their action figures.  But, in the end I was just beaming! I am so proud of my dog.  So, he’s a little socially stunted, but damn he is smart!