Well, our little pup has gone to doggie bootcamp. Yes, it is bittersweet. But Trooper, the Saint Pup, is enjoying a vacation from the mayhem that is the Pup Wonder! If you have ever had to board your dogs for a weekend or more, you know that it is hard to leave them.
We got Mac into the car. He was whizzing everywhere the whole drive to the training center. Mac does not like cars. He howls like a ghoul in the night. You could write a scary story just on his cries! Seriously. We tried to reassure him that we will be coming back for him in thirteen days. In thirteen days, he will become Super Mac!!
Not going to lie. Waiting thirteen days for your dog is not fun. We are excited and relieved. We are anticipating how much better behaved he will be when he comes home. Trooper is in heaven! He is number one again for a little while. I’m pretty sure he threw a Woodstock concert just to say bye to Mac. That silly Labrador!
But no, Trooper misses Mac! He truly cares for the little guy, but he still enjoys the peace and quiet. And truthfully, I have enjoyed sleeping in till 8 or 9. Mac wakes us up howling at 4am. Until this little break, I had been getting more ugly sleep than beauty sleep.
So let’s do the time warp!! Thirteen days have passed. We wake up and head to the training center, happy as happy can be. The sun is shining; the birds are singing; the traffic stinks, but we make the best of it! We get to the center and hear Mac howling before we even go inside. We enter and head to the training area. Mac sees us and runs and leaps through the air and into our arms!! My face was covered in doggy slobber!! And, yes there was some whizzing in the excitement!
We get him calmed down and then meet the trainer. Jake was awesome! He loved Mac, and Mac loved him! Jake took us through the commands and showed us how to work with Mac. I took a treat, hid it behind my back, and told Mac to sit. The pup standing there at attention in front of me actually sat. Then, I told him to lay down and he laid down! I said GOOD BOY and presented his treat to him.
We took him out on his leash and he walked right beside me. Jake showed me tricks to correct Mac if he pulls on the leash—at all. He showed me ways to keep Mac walking with me. We worked on getting Mac to sit immediately when I stop walking. We did the same for my mom. He is a brand-new dog!
The whole ride home Mac was going crazy as if to say “You guys actually came back for me!!!!” We parked in the driveway and heard this thunderous Bark-of-the-Gods. Trooper knew Mac had come back home!!
As you can guess, Mac and Trooper were like too long-lost brothers being reunited! Trooper was too happy to care when Mac pee’d right on him. Or that Mac was chewing on his ear. They were together again.
Mac’s trainer will be coming by the house to work with us and Mac. It’s our turn for some training! Mac’s done his work for now. Coming to the end of doggy bootcamp brought us a lean mean—still peeing—machine.
Mac is a very different dog from thirteen days ago! He has a purpose now! He’s not headed for the police academy anytime soon, but I can take him on walks. I can open the gate without him bolting out! Now it’s time for some fun. I really want to teach him to roll over and play dead! We’ll just enjoy each other for a little while. And then we hope to take him back for service dog training! Please wish Mac luck and good learning!
