Hank in Puppy Training

It's time for a Hank update!

Actually, these photos were taken when I was back in Cape Town the second time in March. We took Hank to Puppy Training.

HAHAHA! That just sounds like an oxymoron. But apparently puppy training is possible.

The photos of puppies are just too cute, I had to share them. It was held in a big school field on a weekend. When we got there, there were all kinds of different training sessions going on already, with dogs of all ages and sizes.



Behind where all the older dogs were being trained, was a little walled off area - kind of like a massive play pen - for the younger dogs (up to 15 weeks old only). As you can imagine, it was the cutest sight. Hank was one of the smallest dogs, but man oh man, he's so cocksure of himself... he was strutting up and down, wrestling with all the other doggies. (Yup, he's that tiny black and white Boston Terrier)





It was more like "puppy training lite"... or kindergarten... y'know... the idea is to get your puppy there and socialize them with other dogs so they get used to all kinds of different and new things (animals and people too). There is some minimal training involved... so minimal that I've already forgotten what it is. HAHAHA. Parts of it involved swopping dogs with other people too, so your dog gets used to being handled by different kinds of people. Apparently even if you're looking for a guard dog, it needs to be socialized and be friendly with people first. Only then can you train it to be an attack dog. Or something. (See, that's Kelly in the checkered hat "training" the baby German Shepherd.)




This place is serious about its training! Check out the number of dog trainers going through training too!


Then the puppies got to try out a mini obstacle course. There was a huge traffic jam when some puppies were too scared to go further. Hank was just bored with it and couldn't understand what the heck us humans were trying to make him do.



Frankly, I got bored too, so I turned around and watched the other dog training classes in action, and caught a mock-fight between a Greyhound and Standard Poodle. These dogs are HUGE, and it's pretty amazing watching them wrestle. Check out their size in relation to the other people around them.



Hank had a good first day in puppy training. He curled up on my lap and passed out on the long drive home.


Since this trip, Kelly has taken him to another 2 training sessions, but he's pretty happy with how Hank listens and has decided Hank doesn't need anymore training (famous last words). HAHA! At this point, Hank is now about twice the height he is in those pictures, and still nice and trim. He is growing into such a handsome doggie that a photographer friend of ours wants to take photos of him for Hank's own book. Like seriously, a "model portfolio" book. HAHAHA!!

Some people have expressed interest in using him in their ads. Boston Terriers are rare in Cape Town, and good-looking ones are even rarer. Hank's got a really good disposition to begin with, so he may be manageable on a set (again, famous last words). Hmm... if it happens, it sounds like it could be loads of fun!