Graduating Obedience School

Mater is such a naughty little boy.... only when we aren't around. He is really good at playing nice with other doggies and is GREAT with the nieces and nephews. Whenever we are gone though, he likes to chew on things. We crate him if he has to be in the house, but it has been beautiful outside so we have let him hang outside all day. He isn't such a good little boy outside either. Lets take a look at what he has destroyed anywhere we leave him:

• Pillow case
• Shoes
• Piano books
• Second pillow case
• Bedspread
• Any toy he gets
• Garden hose sprayer
• Tomato plants
• Carrots, lettuce, cabbage, cilantro, onions, more tomato, parsley, jalepeno, red pepper, and green pepper plants.
• Tree in back yard
• Second garden hose sprayer
• Phone cable.... burried a foot underground
• Extension cord.... that was plugged in..... he didn't mess with that again... or any other cable
• Headset
• 6 decks of cards
• Gloves
• Flip Flops
• Our yard in general
• Area rug

Not many of the things inside the house he ever did again.... Mike and my hands have gotten some pretty good stinging in conjunction with his back end. Then, he looks at us like this:

How can you be mad at a face like that?

We decided to take him to Obedience School, for a couple reasons.

1. See above list
   
2. He is kind of stubborn
3. He doesn't listen unless Roxi is listening
4. He is never NOT around Roxi- we decided he needed to learn that we are the masters
5. He is small right now.... and will be very large later.... and very strong.... if he needs to learn anything, its now.

Here are some pictures during his classes:





Last week was his graduation. Here are some pictures of the night and all of his friends.






They had a talent show and the best doggie got prizes.... here is Mater doing his.... well, Mike had the camera, so it was more of before he did his trick. It was play dead. He is probably the most dramatic dog when he dies. It is a very slow and painful death, accompanied by whining because he just wants a treat without having to go through the process.... It paid off though.... HE WON!!! It was pretty funny. They had him do it again, and it was just as dramatic! He got a blue ribbon, a toy, and a big bag of treats.

Getting his diploma:


His graduating class.... apparently there are quite of few dogs that are drop-outs... couldn't handle the pressure. His class started out a lot larger.
The little Black Lab that Mater is inappropriately checking out in the above picture is Sammie. She was his Obedience School sweetheart. They would find each other at the beginning or each class and make out any time they were suppose to be listening to the teacher..... Sammy was one of "those" puppies and got around the whole class.... not good enough for my little guy. It was pretty cute how they would look for each other every day at class though.

Mater with his proud mama.... Such a big boy!! Obedience School hopefully helped with the chewing, he hasn't destroyed anything for the last week or so, so thats good. But he is GREAT at obeying my commands (I'm his favorite, he's my little buddy and follows me all around). He is even better than Roxi and will come to us whenever we call him, no matter where Roxi is. I am so happy we took him, it has made a big difference in that area. Hopefully the chewing will come with age.

Good job Mater! We are so proud of you!